During the westward expansion of the United States in the early 1800’s, travelers bound for the new Mississippi Territory took a right fork off the Federal Road to reach the Alabama River ferry at Claiborne. After the Creek Indians' land cessions in 1814, Claiborne became one of the fastest growing settlements in the old Southwest and attracted a number of Alabama's early prominent men, including future state governors John Gayle, John Murphy, and Arthur Bagby. Claiborne was also the home of William Barrett Travis, who traveled to Texas and became the hero of the Alamo in 1836.