Located in Section 18, Township 2, Range 2 East, Buckhorn Tavern was an early wayside stop for pioneer settlers traveling the road from Winchester, Tennessee, into Madison County and predated the county's creation on Dec. 13, 1808. During the Creek Indian War of 1813-1814, the Deposit Road was created at this point and stretched southeastward through Cherokee lands to Fort Deposit near Gunter's Landing, becoming the supply route for General Andrew Jackson's forces. His deputy, Colonel John Coffee, stored supplies opposite the tavern and camped his troops there from Nov. 22 to Dec. 8, 1813. By tradition, the tavern took the name Buckhorn in 1858 after William L. Fanning killed a buck near the site and presented its antlers to the innkeeper; those antlers are now displayed at Buckhorn High School. The original building was demolished in the early 1950s. On Oct. 12, 1863, Buckhorn Tavern was the site of a skirmish when Confederate General Philip D. Roddey's Alabama Cavalry Brigade, moving south from New Market, intercepted Union General Robert Mitchell's Cavalry Brigade, advancing northeast from Huntsville. A brisk firefight broke out at such close range that the opposing forces could see each other's faces by the muzzle flashes. With darkness approaching and heavy rain falling, both sides hesitated to advance. The Union troops camped for the night in the woods, while the Confederates retired to New Market. The next morning, Roddey's Brigade rode on to Athens, and the Union cavalry did not pursue.