Wasaasa

From Bhamwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Detail of an 1819 map showing the location of Wasaasa on the Black Warrior Road

Wasaasa or Wassausey was a trading post at the crossing of the Huntsville Road and Black Warrior Road in what is now Blount County, in what had been, before the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814 Creek territory, near the edge of what had been, before the Treaty of September 14, 1816, Cherokee territory.

Although documentation is scarce, most references identify the post with what was better known as Bear Meat Cabin, named for "Bear Meat", a man variously described as a Cherokee chief, a trader or a Creek translator who lived there in the late 1810s and hosted John Jones and Caleb Fryley the area's first "legitimate" white settlers. As trading activity increased, the post thrived, boasting a blacksmith's forge and the services of a Methodist missionary, Ebenezer Hearn.

Bear Meat Cabin was chosen by the first Blount County Commission as the seat of the newly-created Blount County in the Alabama Territory in 1820. They renamed it Blountsville, which grew rapidly, incorporating in 1827 and erecting a courthouse in 1833.

References

  • Powell, George (Spring/Summer 1965) "A Description and History of Blount County." Alabama Historical Quarterly. Vol. 27, pp. 95-132
  • Sterling, Robin (2018) Tales of Old Blount County, Alabama. Lulu.com ISBN 9781304342768
  • "Addendum: The riddle of Wassausey" (April 18, 2018) The Blount Countian