7/27/01

Janet L. McCoy

AU EXPERTS FIND EVIDENCE OF FIRST BUILDING AT FORT MITCHELL

AUBURN -- An Auburn University professor and students believe they have found evidence of an early 1800s Indian trading factory at historic Fort Mitchell in eastern Alabama.

"The building was sort of a combination of an extension service and welfare office," said John Cottier, an associate professor of anthropology at AU. The building was used by the federal government following the War of 1812 to assist Indians with trade goods as well as teaching agriculture, he added.

In addition to a substantial foundation of the building, Cottier says he and 15 students working on the site this summer have found Indian beads, pottery, military buttons, evidence of firearms and cooking utensils. "We've also found a number of coins, even some Spanish coins from the 1700s that were still in circulation in the 1800s."

"The fort has a crucial bearing on the development of Georgia, Alabama and the South," Cottier said. "Prior to Fort Mitchell, this was all Indian land. In the early 1800s, the federal government built a road from central Georgia to Mobile, the construction of which led to the first Creek War, part of the War of 1812."

Fort Mitchell was actually built twice, Cottier says. The first fort was built around 1813 by Georgia troops as a logistical spot for the transfer of men and supplies during the War of 1812.

That original fort was eventually turned over to the Indians but by 1820 was abandoned by Indians and left to fall into decay. The second fort, on the site of the original, was built in the 1830s for the second Creek War. "Federal troops left the second fort in 1840 and in many ways, the land remains unchanged," Cottier says.

"Our excavations are directed toward answering some of the basic questions concerning the organization and function of a military post located along the Mississippi Territory frontier in the early 19th century," Cottier said. "These investigations are providing information on specific aspects of frontier life as well as better understanding the direction of Creek Indian forced cultural change."

jul01:AU-ftmitchell CONTACT: Cottlier, 334/887-8815 (at home).

DIRECTIONS TO SITE: Drive into Phenix City on U.S. 280 East. Before the Chattahoochee River bridge, take U.S. 431 toward Dothan. Drive three miles and look for sign for Alabama 165 and the Fort Mitchell National Cemetery. Drive five miles and turn into the second entrance to the park. Continue straight and you'll reach the excavation site.