Native Indians

According to The Gurley Lions Club website, "Although the Mississippi Territory had been ceded to the U.S. Government in 1802, “Old Madison County” never came in existence until 1807 when it was ceded by both Cherokee and Chickasaw Indians. Both Indian tribes claimed it as their hunting grounds, but it was never actually inhabited by either tribe." Legend says that this is because the Native Indians regarded the area as "the valley of sickness," and couldn't understand why anyone would want to inhabit it for a long duration of time. They moved out, and gave settlers the ability to move in. However, it was still used as hunting grounds for a long time to come. In his book, A History of Madison County and Incidentally of North Alabama, Judge Thomas Jones Taylor records the relationship of the Native peoples and the new settlers of that time period:

South of the mountains were the creeks—always hostile and troublesome; but it was the middle and southern portions of the State that suffered from their encroachments. In the Indian war, instigated by Tecumseh and his prophet brother, considerable apprehension was felt that proved groundless, as our near neighbors, the Chickasaws and Cherokees who did not remain neutral, took part with the whites. The early settlers say that the county was an Indian hunting ground, that the Indians visited it in autumn and returned laden with game to their settlements on the Tennessee as winter set in. Their narrow trails could be plainly traced from the upper valleys of Flint and Hurricane to the Tennessee, and when the hunting season arrived they could see the smoke from their camp fires rising down the valleys, and to the present time their camping ground can be located by the stone arrowheads and hatchets scattered over the fields (19).

In regards to how the land was divided, Beth Shaw Milstead writes in her book, The Fisks of Madison County Alabama,

On January 23, 1805, the Chickasaws ceded their claim to the land east of a line run from the mouth of Duck River on the Tennessee line, to the western part of the 'Chickasaw Old Fields' on the Tennessee River. January 7, 1806, the Cherokees ceded their land to the west of a direct line from near the source of Elk River to Chickasaw Island, in the Tennessee River. This area contained 322,000 acres. . . In 1808, the governor of Mississsippi Territory created the County of Madison. Here was made the first government of the territory, and in 1809, the first public sale of land was held in the territory of Madison County (8).

Forced Out

Across the country, tensions grew as settlers invaded Indian land. At times, many encounters turned violent, and it became the opinion of national leaders that the Native Indians should be relocated to another region of the country. Unfortunately due to a decree set forth by President Andrew Jackson, the Tribes were forced out of the only homeland they had ever known. Many rose up against this demand, but the Cherokees were among the few who flat-out refused to uproot. After court proceedings in which the Cherokees fought to remain on their land, a bitter and vindictive Andrew Jackson demanded that they walk the 800 miles to the reservation in Oklahoma. Thousands died of disease, starvation, exhaustion, and wild animal attacks along the way. To this day, that journey is remembered as "The Trail of Tears."

Lasting Mementos

Not all mementos of the Tribes have vanished. Though the soldiers were ordered to take the Tribes by surprise so as to avoid any possible escapes, a few managed to evade detection. Some stayed and integrated into the community. Many registered as "black Dutch" so as to avoid removal. Indian tools and other artifacts also remain, such as the clay pot found in the New Sharon area. There is an Indian carving on Mount Sharon in Meridianville. The mound of the ancient dead still lie peacefully off of Joe Quick Road in Hazel Green. Farmers still turn up broken arrowheads each time the earth is plowed for a new harvest. Though, sadly, most are gone, their legacy will not soon be forgotten.