Uprooted From Home

Decatur was one stop on a deadly journey of forced removal for the Cherokee people from the Tennessee Valley, and along the edge of the Tennessee River the town witnessed the Trail of Tears. From 1837 to 1838, boats and trains carried 2,300 Cherokee people through Decatur on their way to Indian Territory. Three structures from this time still stand in Decatur: the Burleson-Hinds-McEntire House, the Dancy-Polk House House, and the Old State Bank. The Burleson-Hinds-McEntire House later changed hands during the Civil War and served as a headquarters for both Union and Confederate forces. The Dancy-Polk House is the oldest home in Decatur, built in 1829 for Colonel William Francis Dancy. The Old State Bank, completed in 1833, financed railroads into Decatur. The Decatur Depot and warehouses, shown in 1864, may have sheltered Cherokee people before they boarded trains to Tuscumbia, and the 138-foot-long steamboat Tecumseh transported Cherokee people several times during the forced removal.

Decatur, Alabama · United States