Since at least 1733, the site along the
Chattahoochee River that is now
Eufaula was occupied by three Creek Indian tribes of the
Muskogee
Nation. One of these was the Eufaulas (pronounced "u-fall-uhs").
General William Irwin, a hero in the War
of 1814, was granted several
thousand acres of land in nearby Henry County. One of
the most
prosperous men in the area, Irwin served as its first state senator.
He used his considerable influence to promote development in
the area and established the first steamboat wharf along
Eufaula's high river bluffs. This set the stage for the town's
rise to prominence as a center of trade. The town
was renamed "Irwinton" in his honor.
Attracted by the rich
soil and further encouraged by the opening
of the Federal Road, white settlers swarmed
into the region. In the
Treaty of Cusseta in 1832, the Creeks ceded their lands in the
area to the whites. Soon Barbour County was incorporated.
In 1834, Captain Seth Lore and others
developed what is now the
downtown area. They named the four main north-south
avenues
Livingston, Orange, Randolph, and Eufaula (L-O-R-E). The Seth
Lore-Irwinton Historic District now encompasses much of
the
oldest part of the city. In 1843, the town was
renamed Eufaula
because mail was constantly being misdirected
to Irwinton, Georgia.
The town became a major
shipping and trading point for
surrounding counties in Alabama and Georgia. The
town's many
impressive antebellum homes and businesses attest
to the wealth
and culture of the period.
Carnegie Library
Eufaula boasts many structures
listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
To continue your tour of our
website, please click
Email Us
or any one of the other links on the left.
Click to go back to Top of Page
Eufaula Heritage Association
340 North Eufaula Avenue
Eufaula, AL 36027
(334) 687-3793 or 1-888-EUFAULA
Web Site created by
KL Designs
Copyright © 1999-2008
All Rights Reserved