Early Wilcox County pioneers and settlers had strong ties to Fort Mims

Reenactor fires rifle at Fort Mims.

The annual reenactment of the “Massacre at Fort Mims” is less than a week away. If you love Alabama history and have never been to this event, I highly recommend that you take the time to do so. It’s well worth the drive to see it for yourself.

This year, the event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sat., Aug. 28, and Sun., Aug. 29, in the Tensaw community in northern Baldwin County. The event is scheduled to begin with an opening ceremony on Aug. 28 at 9 a.m., and both days will feature 1800s crafts, living history exhibits and on-site concessions. There will be limited on-site parking, and an off-site shuttle will be available both days from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The highlight of the event will be daily reenactments at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The 11 a.m. reenactments will portray the Battle of Burnt Corn Creek, and the 2 p.m. reenactments will portray the Massacre at Fort Mims. I’ve been to this event many times, and the reenactments are always action-packed with mock combat and lots of shooting.

The old Fort Mims site is about 80 road miles south of Camden. To get there, just head down to Monroeville and then take State Highway 21 south to Uriah. At Uriah, take State Highway 59 down to Tensaw. At Tensaw, turn right onto Baldwin County Road 80. Follow that road west for three miles and then turn right onto Fort Mims Road. This road will take you straight to the old fort site.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Massacre at Fort Mims, this historic event took place on Aug. 30, 1813 at a frontier fort not far from the Tensaw River in present-day Baldwin County. Around 500 settlers and soldiers were captured or killed by a band of around 700 Creek Warriors. It was truly an event that changed Alabama history.

Many Wilcox County residents will be interested to know that one of the county’s “founding fathers,” a 29-year-old Methodist minister named John Jenkins, saw the writing on the wall and left Fort Mims with his family the day before the massacre. They traveled up into present-day Clarke County and then made their way up the Alabama River. They eventually settled a short distance from present-day Camden.

In 1819, Alabama became a state, and in 1820 Jenkins served on a board of commissioners tasked with selecting a county seat. He also became the county’s first tax collector that same year. If he’d remained at Fort Mims just one more day, Jenkins, his family and all of their descendants would have likely been erased from history.

In the end, I highly recommend that history lovers in the reading audience take the time to attend this year’s reenactment, especially if you’ve never been. It is the premiere event of its type in all of Alabama, and you will not be disappointed. I guarantee that you will leave Tensaw with a whole new appreciation for the events that occurred at Fort Mims in August 1813.