The Fort Payne Cabin Historic Site
Dekalb Landmark’s property in Fort Payne, containing the old cabin foundation and chimney, is now an officially certified historic site on the Trail of Tears Historic Trail. This interesting site is associated with the Benge Detachment during the Cherokee Indian removal in Northeast Alabama. The cabin itself was demolished in 1946 — it had stood approximately 125 years.
Landmarks’ acquired the property from the Mitchell family in 2002. The Cabin Site was listed with the National Park Service as a Certified Site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail on June 23, 2012. You can now drive along the Benge Route of the Trail of Tears from the Fort Payne Cabin Site to Guntersville Lake (info)
Location: End of 4th Street S. and Gault Ave in Fort Payne, Alabama.
History of Fort Payne and the Cabin Site
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 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 exact function of the log cabin during the time of the removal is in question. Some think it was used for storage, others claim it was officers’ quarters, still others believe it was part of the fort – although two reports place the fort “two hundred yards northeast of the Big Spring”. There is better evidence suggesting the identity of the cabin’s owner prior to the removal. John Huss (Spirit the Preacher) a Cherokee and ordained Presbyterian minister, moved to Will’s Valley around 1824. From John La Tourette’s 1837 map and recent research including the government evaluation of his property, it is believed that Huss’ land included or was nearby the cabin site. Huss and his family voluntarily left for the western territory in November of 1837.
By April 1838, Fort Payne (it is believed to be named for Captain John Payne) had been established and a fort completed. In July of 1838 there were over 800 Cherokee assembled at the fort. On September 29th the first group of Willstown captives left the fort and their homeland, with other groups following daily, creating a great caravan. A Cherokee, John Benge, son of famed warrior Bob Benge, was selected to lead them. His father-in-law George Lowery, the chief known as “the George Washington of his people”, assisted him. Two Cherokees, Otterlifter Hughes and Two Thousand, served as gravediggers. Soldiers did not accompany the Benge group and those that followed. They were allowed to leave without armed escorts after Gen. Winfield Scott agreed to plans worked out by John Ross and other chiefs. By early October 1838, 1079 Cherokee held at the fort were on the road to the west. The army closed Fort Payne and departed Willstown.
In 1839, less than a year after the fort closed, Alexander M. White surveyed the area for the State of Alabama. His field notes place the cabin site within his description of the fort’s location. The first known Land Patent issued for the cabin property after the survey was to John Lyons. In 1872 the cabin and surrounding land passed to Lyons’ youngest daughter, Cordelia Palestine Lyons and her husband Andrew Lewis Campbell. The Campbells lived in the cabin until 1878 when it was purchased by Curran Mitchell.
Many thanks to archaeologist Sharon Freeman of the Office of Archaeological Research in Moundville, archaeologist Gail King, president of the Alabama Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association and Olivia Baxter Cox, Landmarks board member, for all their hard work on this certification effort.
There are two additional certified properties that are owned by Dekalb Landmarks:
Willstown Mission Cemetery located off Godfrey Avenue on 38th Street NE (open to the public)
The Andrew Ross Home, also known as The Cherokee Plantation (private home)
For further information, call (256) 845-6888 or contact us
The opening of the longest signed section of the Trail of Tears in the country, from Fort Payne to Guntersville, was held on June 23, 2012. The opening ceremony began at the Cabin Site in Fort Payne, followed by driving the newly signed section of the Trail and ended with a ceremony at Guntersville Lake.