ANDREW PICKENS (1739-1817) & THE TUSCALOOSA COUNTY LINE

The Hopewell Treaty between the U.S. and the Choctaw Indians was signed at Andrew Pickens Hopewell plantation on South Carolina's Keowee River in 1786. Pickens County Alabama is named after Andrew Pickens. Andrew Pickens (congressman) - Wikipedia

Geographic Shift & Modern Status

• The Rivers: The property historically overlooked the rushing waters where the Keowee River and Twelvemile Creek converged to form the Seneca River. [1]
• Inundation: Today, that entire river confluence and the adjacent valley have been completely flooded by the creation of Lake Hartwell. [1]
• Current Ownership: The Hopewell property, now known as Cherry Farm, is owned by Clemson University. The surviving historic home is preserved as a window into the state's complex history with early native diplomacy and antebellum plantation economics. [1, 2, 3]
• Lake Hartwell - Wikipedia

The 1786 Treaty of Hopewell set the boundaries between the U.S., Choctaws, and Chickasaws. In Tuscaloosa, the watershed ridge dividing the Black Warrior and Cahaba rivers served as a key historical border, dividing Choctaw and Creek territories. [1, 2]

The Hopewell Treaties (1786)

• What they were: A trio of foundational peace and boundary treaties signed in Hopewell, South Carolina, by U.S. commissioners (including Benjamin Hawkins and Andrew Pickens) and Native nations. [1, 2]
• The Treaties: The Cherokee signed in 1785, while the Choctaw and Chickasaw signed theirs on January 3 and January 10, 1786, respectively. [1, 2, 3]
• Purpose: To establish government-to-government relations, define tribal boundaries in the Southeast, and bring the tribes under U.S. protection over Spanish influence. [1]

Tuscaloosa County Relevance

• River Divide: According to official treaty boundary records, the watershed dividing the Black Warrior River and the Cahaba River functioned as the official territorial divide in this region, specifically separating Creek and Choctaw hunting grounds. [1]
• The "Black Warrior" Border: Historically, this meant the dense forests and rivers of modern Tuscaloosa County fell right along this tense, contested frontier zone between sovereign tribal claims. [1]
• Tribal Homelands: The broader region of northwest Alabama and the Black Warrior basin served as an intersection of Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek homelands as recognized—and subsequently highly disputed—by the U.S. government as settlers expanded westward. [1]

To read the exact verbiage of the accords, you can review the official Treaty with the Choctaw (1786) or the Treaty with the Chickasaw (1786).

• Treaty with the Chickasaw, 1786

  ARTICLE XI. Peace and friendship perpetual. The hatchet shall be forever buried, and the peace given by the United States of Ameri...

  

  go.okstate.edu
• Treaty of Hopewell - Chickasaw.tv

  Set a detrimental precedent that was used against the tribe in future negotiations. Two years after Ugala Yacabe or "Wolf's Friend...

  

  

  Chickasaw.tv
• Treaty of Hopewell | Mississippi Encyclopedia

  Apr 14, 2018 — The Treaty of Hopewell refers to three treaties negotiated with the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations in 1785 and 1786 by c...

  

  Mississippi Encyclopedia
• 1785 Treaty of Hopewell | News | cherokeephoenix.org

  May 22, 2008 — TREATY WITH THE CHEROKEE: 1785 Articles concluded at Hopewell, on the Keowee, between Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, Joseph Mar...

  

  

  cherokeephoenix.org

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