Fort Dale (Butler County, Alabama)
Butler County · Alabama · Creek War / Indian Wars
History & Significance
Fort Dale was a stockade fort built in present-day Butler County, Alabama, by Alabama Territory settlers in response to ongoing violence by Red Stick Creeks in the post–Creek War period. After the Creek War, hostile Creeks known as Red Sticks remained in the area surrounding Butler County and were indignant over the large number of settlers who began traveling down the Federal Road, soon beginning attacks on them.
Alabama Territorial Governor William Bibb sent Captain Sam Dale with militia from Fort Claiborne to strengthen Fort Bibb at Pine Flat and build a new fort on the Federal Road. The fort's defenses consisted of a wooden stockade and two blockhouses built at diagonal angles.
Fort Dale was garrisoned from April to June 1818, though some sources indicate it was garrisoned until the end of 1818. Once the immediate military threat subsided, a community grew up around the fort site, originally known as Poplar Spring but later known as Fort Dale.
A post office began operating at Fort Dale in October 1818, and the fort served as a stop on a postal road from Greenville to Hayneville. Nothing remains of Fort Dale today; the Fort Dale Cemetery lies along Alabama State Route 185 near the site of the fort.
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Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Dale
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=130050
- https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/creek-war-of-1813-14/
- https://northamericanforts.com/East/al.html
- https://digitalalabama.com/forts-of-alabama/forts-of-alabama-table-of-contents/8974