The picture
shows the fort prior to being torn down in 1946. The chimney still
stands between Third and Fifth Streets SE.
Late in
1837, Federal Troops arrived in Will’s Valley to establish a
fort for the purpose of removing the Cherokee Indians from the
area. Principal Chief John Ross and other leaders had lost their
political and judicial battles with The United States and the
Cherokee would be forced to leave their homeland in Northeast
Alabama, as part of what’s now known as the Trail of
Tears.
To accommodate officers, soldiers, Cherokees, supplies and animals,
the local fort property included a fort, water supply (the Big
Spring), holding pens, cabins, encampment areas and associated
outbuildings. Some structures were built specifically for the
compound, while others, owned by the Cherokee, were confiscated for
use as part of the fort.
For generations, many area residents have told the story of one
such structure — a log cabin — used by the soldiers
during the removal. Believed to be the last undeveloped part of
local property seized by Federal Troops as part of the complex, all
that remains of the cabin are a chimney, a foundation outlined in
stones and evidence of a small root cellar. A stacked stone well is
situated nearby. The structural remains of the log cabin are
visibly evident and documented by archaeological research done by
Tim Mistovich (1984) and Sharon Freeman (2009). Materials and
method of the chimney’s construction are consistent with
those built in the early 19th century according to Architectural
Historian Robert Gamble. Architect Winston Walker III, who was
involved in several research projects relating to the pre-statehood
period of the area, stated “the cabin was most probably built
between 1800 and 1825”.
The Stone Well
