Fort Payne Cabin Site - Vestiges of the Trail of Tears in Alabana
Ft. Payne, AL

Fort Payne Cabin Site Image by David Lipscomb

The Fort Payne Cabin Site is located at at the east end of 4^th Street SE (just east of Gault Avenue South), Fort Payne.

This 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.

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. 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 Reverend John Huss headed a voluntary departure group of 74 persons in November 1837, while the fort surrounding his former home was still under construction. Fort Payne was occupied by Alabama troops from April until October of 1838. In 1838 when the last major detachment of Indians departed. This fort had a singular purpose resulting in its abandonment in October 1838.

John Benge, a local Cherokee leader, led the last Fort Payne detachment. According to various accounts of the journey, more than 1,100 individuals began their foot journey in September 1838, from near Fort Payne.

You can now drive along the Benge Route of the Trail of Tears from the Fort Payne Cabin Site to Guntersville Lake (Driving Directions.)

Interpretive sign at the Fort Payne Cabin Site. Image source: https://www.milesgeek.com/trail-of-tears-fort-payne-alabama

Most of those departing were of Cherokee descent. However, the musters logs identified some Creek Indians and more than one hundred slaves. The Benge Detachment walked for about 100 days on a route that ended roughly 770 miles from their origination point.

SOURCES:
https://www.landmarksdekalbal.org/preserving-dekalb-county-alabama-landmarks/andrew-ross-home/
https://www.landmarksdekalbal.org/preserving-dekalb-county-alabama-landmarks/the-old-cabin-site/
https://www.milesgeek.com/trail-of-tears-fort-payne-alabama