Apalachicola Fort Site

The Apalachicola Fort Site is an archaeological site near Holy Trinity, Alabama, United States. Spain established a wattle and daub blockhouse here on the Chattahoochee River in 1690, in an unsuccessful attempt to maintain influence among the Lower Creek Indians. It was abandoned after about one year of use. The site was rediscovered in 1956, and has been investigated by archaeologists. The site is owned by the county, and is not open to the public. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964.[2]

Apalachicola Fort
Apalachicola Fort Site
Nearest cityHoly Trinity, Alabama
Built1689 (1689)
NRHP reference No.66000931
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHLJuly 19, 1964[2]

Setting

The Apalachicola Fort Site is located in a rural setting in eastern Russell County, Alabama, on a bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee River a few miles from the Holy Trinity monastery. The site was chosen by the Spanish governor of La Florida, Don Diego De Quiroga y Losada, for its proximity to Apalachicola, the principal town of the Lower Creeks. The fort site measures about 72 feet (22 m) across, encompassing the site of bastioned blockhouse surrounded by a wooden palisade and dry moat.[3]

History

The Spanish governor was concerned over the encroachment of English traders from the Province of Carolina into Spanish territory, where the provided local Native Americans with a broader selection and higher quality of trade goods than Spanish traders did. This fort was built in an attempt to extend Spanish influence into the northernmost reaches of its claimed territory. The effect of the constructing the fort was that the local Creeks, instead of staying with the Spanish, migrated to English-controlled areas. This move undermined the purpose of the fort, which was already encumbered by a long supply line. It was consequently abandoned after just one year of use, and largely demolished by the Spanish prior to their departure.[3]

Although the Creek village was later reoccupied, the Creeks were forced out of the area in the 19th century by American Indian removal policy. The site lay abandoned and unknown until 1956, when archaeologists and one of the monastery's monks worked to locate the site from the few surviving records. Subsequent archaeological digs confirmed the find, and led to its designation as a National Historic Landmark. The site, located on privately held farmland, was turned over to the county in 1971.[3] It is not open to the public.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "Apalachicola Fort Site". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2007-09-27. Archived from the original on 2009-03-01.
  3. "Fort Apalachicola Site". Encyclopedia of Alabama. April 3, 2017. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
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