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| Monument at Claiborne tells of Indian village, Spanish explorers. |
If you go to the intersection of Old Fort Claiborne Road and
U.S. Highway 84 at Claiborne today, you will see a large stone monument that is
believed to be the oldest historic marker in all of Monroe County.
I found myself passing through this part of the county the
other day and took a few minutes to stop at this old monument as I had many
times before. It sat there, much like it has for the past 81 years, a silent
reminder that this spot was once important to Indians, Spanish explorers and
the United States military. As 18-wheelers rumbled by on Highway 84, I made my
way through the tall, green grass for a closer look.
Those of you who have been there before will know that the
following words are inscribed into the marble face of the stone monument: Piache,
an Indian town visited by DeSoto in 1540, was near here. DeLuna made a
settlement here, Nanipagna, in 1560. Fort Claiborne was erected on the south
bluff in 1813. LaFayette was entertained here, 1825. Erected by the Alabama
Society of Colonial Dames, March 1939.
As I stood there looking west across the Alabama River and
the Claiborne-Murphy Bridge, I thought about Hernando DeSoto and his men
visiting this place in 1540. According to maps prepared by the University of
Alabama, Piache (sometimes spelled “Piachi”) was located at Claiborne and other
sources back this up as well. I’ve also heard tell that there are Indian
mounds, deep in the woods, near where Limestone Creek empties into the brown
waters of the Alabama River, so it’s not hard to believe that a sizeable
population of Indians once lived in this area.
On the other side of the coin, I know that the location of
Piache is somewhat of a historical controversy. The 1977 book “Dead Towns of
Alabama” by W. Stuart Harris says that Piache was “probably” located where the
town of Claiborne later stood but goes on to note that many historians believe the
village was located on a high bluff on the east side of the Black Warrior River
in Hale County. The 2018 book “Claiborne: A River Town” by Steve Stacey also points
out that the DeSoto Commission of 1976 and the Alabama Desoto Commission of
1985 place Piache in Dallas County.
Stacey also makes mention of the Indian mounds along
Limestone Creek, the largest of which is a burial mound about 100 feet long and
18 feet high. Many who ply the waters of the Alabama River will know that this
sizeable creek flows into the river just north of Claiborne Landing. In days of
old this would have been a paradise for native people, who would have enjoyed
an abundant supply of fresh water, fish and wild game.
As I climbed back in my truck and headed back towards Monroeville,
I thought about the generations of Indians who lived in this area for hundreds,
maybe thousands, of years before the Spanish first set foot in what would later
become Alabama. No doubt, especially if you know where to look, you can still
see evidence of where the Indians left their mark on the land. One is left to
wonder what artifacts lay just below the surface of the soil at Claiborne,
never to see the light of day.
In the end, I’d be interested in hearing from anyone in the
reading audience with more information about Piache, especially evidence that
backs up the claim that it was located at Claiborne. Also, let me hear from you
if you know of any old Indian mounds or village sites in that area. It would be
a shame not to fully document this information for the generations of Monroe
Countians yet to come.
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