DADEVILLE
"KUDZU CAPITAL"
Notable Birthplace: The town is the birthplace of Bozeman Bulger, a nationally known sportswriter. —Bucky Heard of the Righteous Brothers. Author- Johnson Jones Hooper, Charles Allen Culberson; Governor of Texas. Mark Barnes, Attorney, Robert E. Burke, U.S. Rep
Dadeville, County Seat of Tallapoosa, Alabama
(also spelled Ofuski or Oakfuskee)
Okfuskee are a Muscogee tribe. Alternative spellings include the traditional Mvskoke spelling "Akfvske", referring to the tribal town in Alabama, and the comparable spelling Oakfuskee
Heavy Populated Indian town fifteen miles south of Horseshoe Bend. The home of Menawa, a Muscogee Cheif.
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Located at the confluence of Hillabee Creek and Sand Creek in Tallapoosa County, Okfuskee was the largest eighteenth-century Upper Creek town in Alabama. Situated along the Tallapoosa River, the town sprawled across both sides of the river and was home to as many as 270 "gunmen," as reported by Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins. Its strategic position on trading paths from Georgia and South Carolina meant that Okfuskee and its people played significant roles in diplomatic relations with the British colonial government.
Okfuskee healed the county seat first for many years. It was located near Youngs Ferry, now under Lake Martin. The official seat of justice of Tallapoosa County, so the records say, was “Okfuskee near Young’s Ferry.” The Indian town of Okfuskee was on the west side of the Tallapoosa, and the British post was on the east side just opposite. I cannot say where the established county court was held. The heavily populated Indian Town of Okfuskee was 15 miles from Horseshoe Bend. The largest community in the Creek Confederacy.
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A dead town with a discontinued post office north of the junction of Little Kowaliga Creek and the Tallapoosa River in Tallapoosa County. Named for the trading post, Fort Okfuskee, built by the British in 1735 near the Indian village Okfuskee, whose name means 'point.' County Seat 1832-1838. PO 1832-1840.
The idea is that about 1680, the providence of Okfuskee arose. It was in the eighteenth century that] Okfuskee was comprised of several small towns on the Upper Tallapoosa River. The same place the Upper Trade Path crosses the river. Okfuskee was the name of their largest town.
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Before the flooding, we know Okfuskee had a Christian Church. Old Liberty Church was near Okfuskee.
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Some families in Okfuskee before Lake Martin Creation.
1. Chris Haggerty
2, C.D. Yarbrough and wife
3. Claude Milner
4. John Milner
5. Cheif Menawa
6. Ethel Partridge
7. C.O. Blake
8. Thomas Crouch
9. C.A. Crouch
10. D.r. J. h. Ligon
11. June Joiner
12. Albert Mann
13. Jack Mann
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The historic district is roughly bounded by Lafayette St., East St., South St., S. Tallassee St. & West St. 160 acres Historic Function: domestic: single dwelling, multiple dwelling, hotel, secondary structure; commerce/trade: professional, financial institution, specialty store, department store, restaurant; Social: meeting hall; government: courthouse, city hall, post office, fire station; education: library; Religion: religious facility; funerary: cemetery; recreation/culture.
The William Mandan Alexander Mitchell House at 357 W. Columbus Street is the only extant house in Dadeville that was constructed before the Civil War, and it was likely one of the largest and most stylish houses in town. The Mitchell House illustrates the role of prosperous planters and professionals in developing antebellum Dadeville and is an outstanding example of a Greek Revival-style dwelling by a local builder. W.M.A. Mitchell was a physician who was born in Georgia and settled in Tallapoosa County around 1840. Benjamin Cameron built the two-story, Greek Revival-style house for Mitchell in the early 1840s. Cameron also built courthouses in Tallapoosa and Chambers County, and in Troup County, Georgia, as well as other dwellings in the vicinity of LaGrange, Georgia that are similar in form to the Mitchell House.
Dadeville experienced rapid growth between 1840 and 1860, with the population of Tallapoosa County nearly quadrupling.
By 1860, the town had various establishments, including dry goods stores, groceries, a carriage-making shop, a tannery, a printing shop, livery stables, a carpenter's shop, shoemakers' shops, and offices for doctors, dentists, and lawyers. There were also three hotels to accommodate travelers and visitors. Additionally, Baptist and Methodist congregations were established before the Civil War.
Private educational institutions in antebellum Dadeville provided schooling for local youth and contributed to the town's reputation as a prosperous and educated community. In 1852, Dr. Philip Madison Shepard founded the Graefenberg Medical Institute, the first medical college in Alabama, located northeast of downtown Dadeville.
A municipal cemetery, established around 1840, was located at the northeast corner of South Street and East Street, just outside the original town plan.
In the late 1850s, the tensions between the northern and southern states over the issue of slavery led to debates among the residents of Dadeville. In 1861, all three of Tallapoosa County's representatives voted against secession at Alabama's convention. However, after Alabama voted to secede from the United States, the majority of white Dadeville residents supported the Confederacy.
The war and Dr. Shepard's death led to the decline of the Graefenberg Medical Institute, as many potential students left to fight in the war. Federal troops only came near Dadeville once during the war. In the summer of 1864, troops under the command of Union General Lovell H. Rousseau passed by Dadeville en route to Loachapoka, where they destroyed rail lines that supplied Confederate forces.
In 1870, Henry Rainey, Thomas Young (both blacksmiths), and Frank Stone (carpenter) ran their shops in Dadeville. All three men were men of color. In 1874, the Savannah and Memphis Railroad completed a line that passed just northeast of downtown Dadeville, taking over the route from the failed Opelika and Talladega Railroad.
By the early 1880s, Savannah and Memphis had extended north to the growing industrial city of Birmingham and south to Opelika in Lee County, where it connected with rail lines to Montgomery, Alabama, and to Columbus and Atlanta, Georgia. Hotels, livery stables, and doctors' and lawyers' offices remained staples of the downtown business district. At the same time, a growing number of stores supplied residents with groceries and manufactured goods shipped by rail from the northern and Midwestern states. T
The establishment of the Tallapoosa County Bank in 1887 brought modern banking to the town, which had two banks by 1916.
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It's truly fascinating to learn about the growth of the downtown commercial district near the Tallapoosa County Courthouse. In 1889, there were around twenty-two commercial buildings, and by 1898, the number had nearly doubled to almost forty. It's incredible to think that not a single vacant lot remained in the blocks facing the courthouse. The expansion of the district in the early 20th century, with the replacement of older buildings and the construction of new ones, reflects a vibrant and evolving community.
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It's disheartening to learn that in 1903, John W. Pace, a farmer, and former Tallapoosa County sheriff, gained national notoriety for illegally prosecuting African-American convicts, imprisoning them on private property, and selling their labor to white farmers. Despite being convicted by the courts, he was pardoned before serving any time in jail. This was a difficult period for the residents of Dadeville, and it's essential to acknowledge its impact on the community. In 1913, the town had unfortunately segregated the municipal cemetery by race and had erected a wall to separate the white section from the African-American section. This segregation also influenced the design of downtown commercial buildings, with some incorporating rear entrances to serve African Americans.
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It's clear that in 1936, the federal government and the Alabama Extension Service established an SES office near Dadeville in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. This was the state's first federal project, aiming to study and implement methods to reduce soil erosion. Dadeville's involvement in these agricultural reform programs led to it being called the "kudzu capital." In 1943, the Carnation Company built a milk processing facility in Dadeville, providing a market for milk produced by local dairy farmers.
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In 1956, the Dan River Mills Company acquired the Alabama Mills Company, which included the Dadeville plant. At that time, the factory was one of two textile mills in Dadeville. The Dale Manufacturing Corporation had constructed a textile mill on East Columbus Street two years before. These two companies collectively employed over 500 individuals in Dadeville during the early 1960s, contributing to commercial expansion and new housing development.
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In 1926, the editor of the Dadeville Spot Cash praised the recent street paving but called on the city government to do more, noting that poor streets hindered town improvement. Car-related businesses thrived, while livery stables and blacksmiths closed due to increased car usage. The demand for hotels near the courthouse decreased as county residents could travel to Dadeville more quickly. By 1924, only one hotel, the Miller Hotel, remained. Constructed in 1923, the Miller Hotel closed in the 1950s.
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During the period between 1920 and 1970, Dadeville experienced a notable increase in the construction of public buildings and institutions, indicating a period of growth and development. However, in the 1980s, the construction of U.S. Route 280 as a bypass route resulted in a shift of commercial development away from downtown Dadeville. The closure of Dadeville's textile mills in the late 20th and early 21st centuries mirrors the broader decline of textile manufacturing across the Southern region. Presently, healthcare facilities and educational institutions stand as the primary employers in Dadeville, signifying a shift in the town's economic landscape.
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Among the early inhabitants of Dadeville were the Youngs, the Bulgers, the Mitchells, the Dennises, the Vaughns, Berrys, Cosbys, Johnsons, Clarks, Holleys, Culbersons, Hatchers, Reeveses, Olivers, Corprews, Sturdivants, Galloway and others.
