Clay County, Georgia
Clay County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,848, making it the fourth-least populous county in Georgia. The county seat is Fort Gaines.
History
This area w ...
, United States, which was located along the
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...
. Following legislation of the late 1940s, the
United States Army Corps of Engineers
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constructed major dam and reservoir projects on the river. The manmade, 46,000-acre
Walter F. George Lake
The Walter F. George Lake, named for Walter F. George (1878–1957), a United States senator from Georgia, is formed on the Chattahoochee River along the state line between Alabama and Georgia. It is also widely known by the name, Lake Eufaula – ...
was developed north of the dam by the same name. Its construction and flooding required the evacuation of Oketeyeconne and its residents were forced to relocate elsewhere. The lake opened for use in 1963."Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River System History" , US Army Corps of Engineers, accessed 23 June 2012"Oketeyeconne/Chattahoochee Theater" Historical Marker Database, accessed 23 June 2012
Geography
Oketeyeconne's latitude is 31.6432225 and its longitude is -85.0804849. The town was flooded to create
Walter F. George Lake
The Walter F. George Lake, named for Walter F. George (1878–1957), a United States senator from Georgia, is formed on the Chattahoochee River along the state line between Alabama and Georgia. It is also widely known by the name, Lake Eufaula – ...
. It now lies under 90+ feet of water. It can be found with a depth finder by boat.
History
Archeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
have found evidence that earlier cultures of
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
have lived along the river since 1000 BC. Oketeyeconne was known historically as a
Hitchiti
The Hitchiti ( ) were a historic indigenous tribe in the Southeast United States. They formerly resided chiefly in a town of the same name on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River, four miles below Chiaha, in western present-day Georgia. The n ...
-speaking town of the Lower
Creek tribe
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsSawokli, Tamathli, Apalachicola,
Yamasee
The Yamasees (also spelled Yamassees or Yemassees) were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans who lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida. The Yamas ...
,
Mikasuki
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving fed ...
, and
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
peoples.
In 1799
Benjamin Hawkins
Benjamin Hawkins (August 15, 1754June 6, 1816) was an American planter, statesman and a U.S. Indian agent He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a United States Senator from North Carolina, having grown up among the planter elite. ...
, the United States Superintendent for Indian Affairs south of the Ohio River, described the settlement as being "a nice town settled on good land with room for livestock". He was encouraging Native Americans of the Southeast to adopt European-American farming techniques, and lived among the Creek.
Due to
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
settlers' encroaching on their territory, the Indian citizens of Oketeyeconne became disgruntled over food shortages and land seizure in the early 1800s. After the
Creek Wars
The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...
resulted in refugees coming into the area following defeat at
Horseshoe Bend Horseshoe Bend may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Horseshoe Bend, New South Wales, an inner city suburb in the City of Maitland in the Hunter Region
* Horseshoe Bend Station, a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Alice Sprin ...
by
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
of the United States Army, they appealed to the British for help in 1813. They had longstanding trading ties with the British dating to before the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. The British tried to capitalize on Native American interests to attract allies during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
with the United States. At this time, some whites believed that Native Americans of the area were acting as spies for British forces. The British considered the Chattahoochee to provide a possible invasion route, via the
Apalachicola River
The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 160 mi (180 km) long in the state of Florida. The river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its fa ...
, from Florida on the Gulf of Mexico.
During the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, the residents of Oketeyeconne were divided in their affiliations, siding with both the CSA and the Union. The majority of the town's residents were Native Americans, descendants of people who had evaded
Indian Removal
Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...
of the 1830s, or agreed to become state citizens in exchange for being allowed to stay. The Muskogee-speaking Creek Confederation citizens sided with the Union during the war. Descendants of Seminole and other tribes historically affected by the Seminole Wars tended to side with the Confederacy.
The town remained unincorporated. During the mid-twentieth century, it was evacuated when the federal government took it over for development of water control and navigation projects on the river. Following legislation of the late 1940s, the United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed major dam and reservoir projects on the river. The manmade, 46,000-acre
Walter F. George Lake
The Walter F. George Lake, named for Walter F. George (1878–1957), a United States senator from Georgia, is formed on the Chattahoochee River along the state line between Alabama and Georgia. It is also widely known by the name, Lake Eufaula – ...
was developed north of the dam by the same name. Its construction and flooding required the evacuation of Oketeyeconne. The lake opened for use in 1963.
Legacy and honors
*1989, the community's Native American and War of 1812 history was told on a historical marker erected on the highway nearby.