| Title | : | Historic Indian Towns in Alabama, 1540-1838 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0817312528 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780817312527 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 264 |
| Publication | : | First published June 4, 2003 |
This encyclopedic work is a listing of 398 ancient towns recorded within the present boundaries of the state of Alabama, containing basic information on each village's ethnic affiliation, time period, geographic location, descriptions, and (if any) movements. While publications dating back to 1901 have attempted to compile such a listing, none until now has so exhaustively harvested the 214 historic maps drawn between 1544, when Hernando de Soto's entourage first came through the southeastern territory, and 1846, when Indian removal to the Oklahoma Territory was complete. Wright combines the map data with a keen awareness of both previously published information and archival sources, such as colonial town lists, census information, and travel narratives.
The towns are listed alphabetically, and the text of each entry develops chronologically. While only a few of these towns have been accurately located by archaeologists, this volume provides a wealth of information for the future study of cultural geography, southeastern archaeology, and ethnohistory. It will be an enduring reference source for many years to come.
SAMPLE ENTRY,
ALIBAMA TOWN (Alibama)
The Alibama consisted of several towns—Mucclassa, Tawasa, Tomopa, Koarsati (Knight 1981, 27:48). Pickett ([1851] 1962:81) adds Ecanchati, Pawokti, and Autauga. The Alibama Town can also be added. Many maps show the Alibama as a group, but one map, 1796 Thomas and Andrews, locates the "Alabama Town"on the east bank of the Coosa just below Wetumpka.
Swanton ([1922] 1970 wrote that the Tuskegee at the Alabama forks may have been known as the "Alabama Town"; however, this is unlikely, as Major W. Blue, a removal agent, wrote in July 1835 that Coosada, Alabama Town, and Tuskegee were ready to emigrate and they all lived adjoining each other in Macon County (ASP, Military Affairs 1861,6:731). On 6 July 1838, some twenty-seven towns, including "Alibama" (NA M234 R225), attended the Creek council held in Indian Territory. Thomas Bibb, brother to Alabama territorial govenor William Wyatt Bibb, and others, including Nashville investors, founded the town of Alabama in 1817 at Ten Mile Bluff in Montgomery County (Moser 1980-94, 4:131). The town soon disappeared into history.
Historic Indian Towns in Alabama, 1540-1838 Reviews
-
Access to info that's otherwise impossible for a layperson to find - 5 stars
The organization of this book - 0 stars
I love the intent of this book, but the author really needed help with organization. The fact that the unknown-to-modern-society indigenous towns in this book are in alphabetical order absolutely blows my mind! Alphabetical order only works when you know what it is you are looking for...
No one knows the names of these towns, so putting them in alphabetical order helps no one. There is no index that would help you locate identity towns within a modern-day county, or by watershed, or (easily) by tribe. The two methods of organization offered are alphabetical and chronological. While I suppose there's could be someone who may come in with a specific date in mind, this just seems incredibly obscure and unhelpful to me.
I feel like it's more likely that common people reading a book like this are trying to find more about the peoples whose land they are on, and therefore including a geography based method of organization makes far more sense. As it stands now, one has to read the entire book to learn about the towns in a given area.
