A County Older Than the State-Butler County
Created in1819 by Act of Alabama Territorial Legislature from lands ceded by the Creek Indian Nation by the Treaty of Fort Jackson, 1814. Named for Captain William Butler, soldier of Creek Indian War, 1813-14, early settler killed in Creek Uprising, 1818. Early settlers from Georgia and South Carolina came by Federal Roads built by U.S. Army. County seat first at Fort Dale in 1819, here at Greenville since 1821. Butler County-Flow of settlers was checked in 1818 by Indian revolt against Fort Jackson treaty. Indians committed Ogly, Butler massacres; attacked settlers, drove off livestock. Settlers fled to Forts Bibb, Dale, Gary. With the Indians driven east of Coosa River, settlers poured into area in 1819. In 1821 county seat was moved here. The town was then called Buttsville in honor of Capt. Samuel Butts, a South Carolinian killed in 1814 at Battle of Calabee in Macon County. In 1822 the name changed to Greenville. [1957: Greenville Courthouse, 31.82951N 86.61816W]
Butler Massacre -- March 20, 1818
Creek Indians, led by Savannah Jack, attacked a well-armed party of settlers carrying dispatches to Fort Dale. After this second massacre in 7 days, settlers sought refuge in forts and stockades. [1953: Ala. Hwy 10 west of Greenville, missing 2010]
City Park
The Park was developed as a joint effort of the Father Ryan chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy with the backing of the city government. The United Methodist Church provided the Park site. The sixteen-foot marble statue of a Confederate soldier was erected in 1903. The Park has been maintained by the city with many local citizens and groups helping to make improvements through the years.
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Greenville Public School--City Hall
The two-story brick, "Greenville Public School" was built in 1897 on the site where City Hall stands today in Greenville. When its upper story was partially destroyed by fire in 1921, the schol was remodeled into a grammar school. This, too, burned and the buiding was demolished in 1928. The construction of Greenville City Hall was completed in 1936-37. [2000: E. Commerce at S. Park Street, Greenville, 31.82950N 86.62301W]
Creek Confederacy
The Creeks, a confederacy of Indian tribes, used this area as hunting lands. In 1814 these lands ceded by Treaty of Fort Jackson. In 1819 the first Alabama Legislature created Butler County from part of these lands. [1953: US Hwy 31 south of Chapman; missing 2010]
Fort Dale
5 miles west of marker. Built in 1818 by the famous Indian scout and guide, Colonel Sam Dale. A stage stop, on Federal Road, from Fort Mitchell on Chattahoochee to Lower Tombigbee settlements. County seat of Butler 1819. [1953: US Hwy 185 north of Greenville; missing 2010]
Gary's Stockade
7 miles from marker. Built in 1818 by Thomas Gary as protection from the Indians. Settlers, indignant at the fee charged by Gary, built Fort Dale five miles west of this marker. [1953: US Hwy 31 south of Greenville; missing 2010]
Ogly Massacre
Two frontier families were tomahawked, killed, and scalped by Creek Indians, March 13, 1818. This is one of several such raids on frontier families after Indians lost their lands. [1953: US Hwy 31 south of Greenville; missing 2010]
Old Depot--1910
The Depot, part of the West Commerce Street Historic District, highlights the role that the railroad Transportation system played in making Greenville a major regional trade center. For many years this was the sole shipping point for a six-county area of south-central Alabama. It is one of the few remaining brick and stucco depot buildings remaining in south Alabama. The Depot was reconstructed in 1924 after being damaged by high winds, then was restored in 1991. [2000: Greenville]
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West Commerce Street Historic District
The completion of the railroad in the late 1850s brought this District into being. The District grew into a major trade center between Montgomery and Mobile. The capital accumulated from this trade allowed the construction of brick commercial buildings, most of them completed by 1890. The downtown area was revitalized in the spring of 1997. [2000: Comerce St. at Bolling St., Greenville, 31.82945N 86.62775W] Site of Fort Bibb Built in 1818 by settlers as refuge from marauding Creek Indians, who resented the loss of their land by the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814. [1953: Hwy 10 near Butler Springs; missing 2010]