Wetumpka History Alphabet - "O"
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O is for Opothleohola, Chief Opothleohola to be exact.
Opothleyahola, also spelled Opothle Yohola, Opothleyoholo, Hu-pui-hilth Yahola, Hopoeitheyohola and Opothleohola, (about 1798 – March 27, 1863) was a Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted as a brilliant orator and spokesperson of the Upper Creek Council. He fought against the United States government during the first two Seminole Wars, and then for the Union during the American Civil War. He was also known by his nickname, "Old Gouge."
Opothleyahola was born at Tuckabatchee town in present day Elmore County, Alabama. He is believed to have fought in the War of 1812 and again in the Creek War of 1813-1814, including against General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Opothleyahola swore his allegiance to never again bear arms against the Federal government.
After the Creek War, some of the Lower Creek leaders signed a number of treaties that ceded considerable land to Georgia. In 1825, these chiefs signed the Treaty of Indian Springs, which gave up most of the remaining Creek lands in Georgia. The Creek National Council, led by Opothleyahola, protested to the United States government that the treaty was fraudulent. Eventually the treaty was nullified in a new agreement, the Treaty of Washington (1826).
When the Alabama legislature also moved to abolish tribal governments and extend state laws over the Creeks, Opothleyahola appealed to the administration of President Andrew Jackson for appeasement. When none was forthcoming, the Treaty of Cusseta was signed on March 24, 1832, which divided up Creek lands into individual allotments. Creeks could either sell their allotments and received funds to remove to the West, or stay in Alabama and submit to the state laws.
In 1836, Opothleyahola, commissioned as a colonel by the U.S. government, led 1,500 of his warriors against rebellious Lower Creeks that had allied with Seminoles in fighting the white occupation. Soon after, Federal authorities forced the emigration of many of the tribes to the West, an exile known as the "Trail of Tears." In 1837, Opothleyahola led 8,000 of his people from Alabama to lands north of the Canadian River in the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.
Opothleyahola joined the Freemasons and became a Baptist. He became a wealthy trader and owned a 2,000-acre plantation near North Fork Town.
You are on a street named for this Chief. A lot of the street names on the west side of the river in Wetumpka are Indian related. This old Mill no longer turns out the cotton however it is still a cool place.
Congrats to WFD142 on the FTF !!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ovt zrgny ohvyqvat naq Vz zntargvp!