Dade County was often called the “State of Dade” because legend held that the county seceded from the Union before Georgia and returned to the Union only on July 4, 1945. It was created on December 25, 1837, and named for Major Francis Langhorne Dade, who was killed by Indians in Florida in December 1835. The county seat was first named Salem, then changed to Trenton in 1840. Its outstanding picturesque mountain scenery led to the creation of Cloudland State Park, and its rich coal and iron deposits have been worked since Ante-Bellum times.