By Marla Ballard
Reporter
DEKALB COUNTY - When family and friends come to visit it is common to take them to see the canyon, the falls, the thrift store and antique shopping, and the other well-known attractions in Fort Payne and the surrounding towns inside DeKalb County. However, sharing with visitors the stories of those whose footprints they are stepping into can give an entirely different meaning to their stay. One does not have to be a history buff to appreciate how the collective past lends to the identity of a place.
Before it was Fort Payne the town was called Willsi and later Will’s Town (Willstown), the name originated in 1780 from the Cherokee Chief William (Will) Weber, the son of Cherokee and German parents. Fort Payne became the official name in 1869 and became the county seat in 1878.
Captain Payne arrived in Willstown in 1838 and approved a site for an Indian stockade. It was Captain James H. Rogers who named the internment camp after his friend Captain Payne. The stockade was built by 22 soldiers and was used for both an internment camp and a removal fort. Five stockades were built in Alabama with Fort Payne being the only internment camp in the state.
What is now called DeKalb County, Alabama was once known as Will’s County until 1836 when it was officially changed. The county was named for Baron DeKalb, who was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1721 and joined the French Army in 1743. In 1761 DeKalb became a brigadier general. After contracting to join the American Army, he sailed from France in 1777 and was appointed a major general by the Continental Congress. DeKalb was revered by his contemporaries and numerous towns and counties across the U.S. are named after him.
For a time, DeKalb County was the home of Sequoyah also known as George Gist or George Guess. As a young man, Sequoyah worked on his mother’s farm raising dairy cows, breaking horses, and hunting for the deerskin trade.
Later in life he became interested in metals and worked as both a silversmith and blacksmith. In 1809 Sequoyah began his work of creating a Cherokee alphabet and completed his independent creation of the Cherokee syllabary in 1821. This enabled the Cherokees to record their traditions and establish a native-language newspaper.
Abundant information comes in printed form and online concerning the Trail of Tears. Annual motorcycle rides commemorate the route taken between 1830 and 1850 when nearly 100,000 American Indians were forcibly relocated by the U.S. government. By the time Sequoyah’s tribe walked the Trail of Tears in 1838, he had already been living in Oklahoma for several years. However, he did travel portions of the trail looking for lost Cherokees.
When guests come to visit take a little time to blend in some history with the other typical tourist activities. Read the many historic plaques located throughout the county. Go online and find maps and facts to share with others about the people who once gazed at the mountainous landscape you now gaze at.
