Planning a Vacation in the Deep South

I think I will take a week or two in the coming months and do some trekking around the Deep South. I may limit myself to one state and theme, or I may trek to more than one that has yet to be determined.

I am thinking about taking a driving and hiking tour through some of Alabama's past, namely some of the pre-statehood locales.

Early Alabama History
It is commonly believed that first Spanish explorers visited Mobile Bay as early as 1519. In 1540 De Soto launched a major expedition through the area. The French established the first permanent European settlement in 1702. The British gained control of the area in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris. In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, Spain captures Mobile from the British.

The history gets a little messier here, as the newly formed United States tries to expand its boundaries with treaties with indigenous peoples and encroaches on Spanush territory, expanding the area known at the time as the Mississippi Territory. By 1799, the US boundary was established just north of Mobile, and later in the same year the Spanish relinquished control of Mobile to the US.



Territorial History
In the early years of the 19th century, treaties with several Indian tribes opened up large tracts of the territory to white settlement. The US claimed Mobile as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The British do not recognize the claim. Additional southern territory is annexed from Spain in 1810. Several towns spring up in the territory, mostly along the territory's waterways.

The War of 1812 (1812-1815) brought many of the significant battles in the territory. In the spring of 1813 the Spanish surrender Mobile to US forces. A British attack on Mobile fails the next year, and they moved further west to attack New Orleans.

Andrew Jackson led his war against the Creeks (and other allied tribe) in 1813-1814, culminating in the famous Battle of Horseshoe Bend which led to the Treaty of Ft Jackson. This treaty led to the cession of some 23 million acres of Indian lands to the US.



Toward Statehood
Alabama is formally organized as a territory in 1817 by Congress. An interesting side note is that Alabama has had a lot of capitals (mostly during this period): the first is St. Stephens, then Cahawba, then Huntsville, then Tuscaloosa, and finally Montgomery. (Cahawba and St Stephens are now ghost towns, long forgotten by most residents.)


Alabama becomes the 22nd second state in December of 1819. The 1820 census provides the following information on the state's population:

Alabama population=144,317

White population=96,245

African-American population=48,082

Slave population=47,449

Free black population=633



Here is map of Alabama in 1827. What is now Birmingham, and the largest city in the state, has yet to be founded. It will be in Jefferson County near the town of Elyton (Birmingham was formed on land owned by the Elyton Land Co.). Other excellent maps of Alabama are available here.

The Journey
I am not sure where I will begin, but I may start in the center of the trying to locate some of the remains of the numerous frontier forts built in the early part of the 19th center. Most sights probably have little more than historical markers, with the notable exception of Horseshoe Bend.


I enjoy the country back-roads and byways. I think it might be fun trip. I will let you know how the planning goes.