Moulton in Lawrence County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Warrior Mountains
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 30, 2010
1. Warrior Mountains Marker
Inscription.
Warrior Mountains. . This area was the home to Indians, settlers, people of mixed ancestry and their descendants. Local bluff shelters contain evidence of occupation from Paleo Indian (10,000 BC) through the Mississippian Period (1540 AD). Chief Tuscaloosa (Black Warrior), mentioned by Desoto (1540), was a noted Creek Indian leader. A 1733 map identified the southern drainage from these mountains as the Tuscaloosa River. The first known written occurrence of "Warrior Mountains" was made by rifle maker John Bull (1777-1840), who engraved one of his rifles "David Smith, Warrior Mountains - 1829" According to family tradition, James Havens (Smith's father-in-law) said, "bury me by my Indian friends on the side of the Warrior Mountains where the magnolia blooms in the spring” (possibly Indian Tomb Hollow). James E. Saunders’ 1899 book refers to the southern highlands of Lawrence County as the Warrior Mountains. On 15 Jun 1936, Pres. Roosevelt changed the name to the Black Warrior Forest, and on 17 Jun 1942, Congress changed the name to William B. Bankhead National Forest. The Black Warrior Wildlife Management Area, Sipsey Wilderness (1975) and Sipsey Wild and Scenic Rivers are found here.
This area was the home to Indians, settlers, people of mixed ancestry and their descendants. Local bluff shelters contain evidence of occupation from Paleo Indian (10,000 BC) through the Mississippian Period (1540 AD). Chief Tuscaloosa (Black Warrior), mentioned by Desoto (1540), was a noted Creek Indian leader. A 1733 map identified the southern drainage from these mountains as the Tuscaloosa River. The first known written occurrence of "Warrior Mountains" was made by rifle maker John Bull (1777-1840), who engraved one of his rifles "David Smith, Warrior Mountains - 1829" According to family tradition, James Havens (Smith's father-in-law) said, "bury me by my Indian friends on the side of the Warrior Mountains where the magnolia blooms in the spring” (possibly Indian Tomb Hollow). James E. Saunders’ 1899 book refers to the southern highlands of Lawrence County as the Warrior Mountains. On 15 Jun 1936, Pres. Roosevelt changed the name to the Black Warrior Forest, and on 17 Jun 1942, Congress changed the name to William B. Bankhead National Forest. The Black Warrior Wildlife Management Area, Sipsey Wilderness (1975) and Sipsey Wild and Scenic Rivers are found here.
Erected by Lawrence County Historical Commission Inc.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Native Americans
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• Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is June 15, 1936.
Location. 34° 20.712′ N, 87° 20.358′ W. Marker is in Moulton, Alabama, in Lawrence County. Marker is on County Route 33. Located at the Bankhead National Forest-Central Firetower and North Alabama Birding Trail site 14.
Marker is at entrance.
Directions: From the intersection of AL Hwy 24 and AL Hwy 33 in Moulton, head south on Hwy 33 for 11.4 miles into Bankhead National Forest. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Moulton AL 35650, United States of America. Touch for directions.
2. Black Warrior Work Center ~Bankhead National Forest
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 30, 2010
3. Warrior Mountains Marker-nearby Firetower
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 30, 2010
4. Explore the Forest~ You are here
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on November 1, 2010, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 2,176 times since then and 157 times this year. Last updated on June 12, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 1, 2010, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.