Goodson - Gadsden: City of Champions

For many years the only inhabitants to live in the area today known as Gadsden were members of the Creek and Cherokee Indian Nations. During the late 1700s and early 1800s, this area was part of the Mississippi Territory. Part of the land of Etowah County was considered neutral ground among the different Indian tribes that lived in this area. These Indian villages grew along the beautiful Coosa River, which brought life to the area and would eventually bring the first white settlers.

Of the many Indian villages located along the banks of the Coosa River, probably the most famous was the land of Chief Little Turkey, or Turkeys Town. This Cherokee stronghold later became known as Turkeytown and stretched from near Centre in Cherokee County to just south of the present site of Gadsden in Etowah County, where the Coosa River and Wills Creek meet.

General Andrew Jackson passed through this area in a southerly direction during the War of 1812, cutting what is known as the Strother Road to Fort Strother at Ten Islands on the Coosa River and, from that point, marching to the battles of Tallassahatchee, Horse Shoe Bend, and Talladega. On his return from these battlefields, he marched to Turkeytown, crossing Wills Creek at what is known as Jacksons Ford, 2.5 miles from Gadsden, and passing through where Gadsden now stands. At Turkeytown, he concluded a treaty with the Cherokee Indians. In December 1832, the Creek and Cherokee Indians met on a large field near the banks of the Coosa River to settle a dispute over their lands near Gadsden. Rather than fighting to settle this problem, the Indians played a form of stick ball similar to modern-day lacrosse. The stake to the winners was a strip of neutral territory 4 miles wide on the boundary line between the Creek and Cherokee Nations, and this land was to be taken from the losing side. The contest was decided in favor of the Creeks. Future disputes between these two nations were settled on this field known as Ball Play near the present-day city of Gadsden. Some of the white settlers in the area were on hand to watch some of these contests.

In 1836, part of the Creeks, under the leadership of Neomicka, Neomathla, and Jim Henry commenced hostilities against white settlers in the area but surrendered in June of the same year. The leading men of the hostile party were taken prisoner and sent west in chains. Opathleola and Jim Boy, friendly Creek chiefs with 1,400 Creek warriors, were fighting alongside the whites during this campaign. All the hostile party was removed in 1836, and the friendly portion of the Creeks was removed in 1837. The Cherokees were removed in 1838. They were all collected at Ross Landing, now Chattanooga, by the government of the United States, then carried west to the Indian Territory. The Cherokee Chief Stan Wattie, who later served as a Confederate States general in the Trans-Mississippi Department during the Civil War, was born at Turkeytown in this county.

Today, many artifacts are found along the banks of the Coosa River from Centre to Whorton Bend near Gadsden. Arrowheads, pieces of pottery, and small beads can still be uncovered while walking along the riverbanks or searching through freshly plowed fields in and around the area known as Ball Play. These small artifacts are a reminder of two proud Indian nations that were the earliest residents of the future city of Gadsden.

Probably the best-known story about the days of the Indians living in the Gadsden area dates back to just after the Revolutionary War. It was during this time that the legend of Noccalula was born. This legend was first printed in the pages of the Gadsden Times in 1869 and has grown over the years. The story has been enjoyed as a legend for more than 100 yearsbut is this simply a legend or a story of fact?