Turkeytown was settled in 1788. The town was established by Little Turkey during the
Cherokee–American wars as a refuge for him and his people from the hostilities along the frontier. On October 3, 1790,
John Ross, who became Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1828–1866, was born here, to parents Daniel Ross, an immigrant Scots trader and his Cherokee wife, Mollie McDonald. The town was facing attack by the
Red Stick Indians (a hostile faction of the
Creek) during the
Creek War in October 1813. Turkeytown chief, and
Principal Chief of the Cherokee,
Pathkiller, asked
Andrew Jackson for help. Jackson responded by dispatching a detachment, led by General
James White and including many Cherokee soldiers, to relieve the town.
Current day Much of the original site of Turkeytown is now underwater, due to the impoundment of the Coosa River which formed
Weiss Lake. The present-day community of
Turkey Town in
Etowah County, Alabama is fewer than ten miles southwest of
Centre, Alabama and near the original site of the town. ==See also==