A number of significant cities lie on the banks of the Tallapoosa River. raging river that thundered over menacing rapids with well-deserved names like Devil’s Staircase, Hell’s Gap, and Butting Ram Shoals.28 The Laura Moore, with Captain Cummins Lay at the helm, is the only powered boat in history to have successfully navigated the entire length of the Coosa River, a testament to both the river and the Captain. Now the most intact Mississippian culture site in the Southeast, the village contains 6 earthen mounds that acted as political, religious, and living centers. During this era, river towns along the Coosa watershed were born. In 1929 it was joined by Jordan Dam (pictured below), which flooded the Coosa’s most infamous rapids, Devil’s Staircase. Coosa River Fishes. The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. Northwest Georgia Historical & Genealogical Society. 1813 – 1814: American frontiersmen and Native Americans fought what is known as the Creek War, part of a larger conflict – the War of 1812. 1717: The French established Fort Toulouse at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa. Even Popeye the Sailorman called the Coosa home. William Patrick Lay was producing hydroelectric power at a plant on Big Wills Creek, a Coosa tributary, and selling it in the Attalla vicinity. 1890: The United States cancelled all mail contracts with riverboats on the Coosa turning them over to the railroads. Thirty-nine steamboats would flourish on the Coosa from 1845-1930. A 67-mile local historic trail through the Coosa River Valley commemorates the actions of "Citizen-Soldier" John Wisdom. Trees are absolutely stunning in e, For the month of November, we will be giving thank, Georgia voters overwhelmingly put the Trust back i, “The act of fishing – for fish, dreams or what, We’re nearly at the finish line. The Upper Coosa River is the historic home to 100 different fish species, including 12 endemic species. of. The project would be completed in no more than ten years. American frontiersmen and Native Americans fought what is known as the Creek War, part of a larger conflict – the War of 1812. Prepare yourself for, Our lovely volunteers, @ink_by and Thena (river pu, Turns out, 82% of GA voters sends a pretty clear m, We’re hiring! Lower Creeks allowed the United States government to build a horse path by which mail could be carried. Map of the Coosa River from Lock No. Between August of … Major cities. It begins at the confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah Rivers in Rome, Georgia. 4 to Greesport, Alabama Publication Info: Baltimore: A. Hoen and Company, [1890]; compiled under the direction of Captain Philip M. Price, Corps of Engineers to accompany the annual report of 1890 Lay built the first electric power plant in Gadsden – a steam operation to only serve the town. Cleanup funding, Hey there! By the late nineteenth century the age of electricity was dawning, and Lay was one of Alabama’s pioneers in the field. Ultimately it would decide the fate of Alabama. The Coosa chiefdom was one of the most powerful chiefdoms in the southeast at the time. 1540: Chief Tuskaloosa & de Soto fought for control of the resource rich Coosa Valley. Dr. Jackson has written an interesting, readable history of the Alabama and Coosa Rivers. In 1929 it was joined by Jordan Dam, which flooded the Coosa’s most infamous rapids, Devil’s Staircase. It is formed by the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula rivers at Rome, Ga., and flows southward for 286 mi (460 km) through the Appalachian Ridge and Valley … THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ALABAMA. #MeanderingMon, Happy Saturday! The v-shape was pointed downstream, channeling fish through an opening at the point – where a basket was placed for easy fishing. Four streams make up the Alabama River system, the Coosa, Tallapoosa, Cahaba, and Alabama. The Coosa River has long played an important part in the history of the county. The company would invest $100 million to build five dams on the river. In 1920, Alabama Power built Mitchell Dam on the Coosa, creating Mitchell Lake. Around 90% of the Coosa River's length is located in Alabama. Around the turn of the twentieth century, William Patrick Lay, scion of river valley pioneers and a leader in the Coosa-Alabama River Improvement Association, was beginning to imagine other uses for the Coosa. Coosa. The Coosa Valley, rich in aquatic biodiversity and natural beauty, is the one of the most developed rivers in Alabama – The River State. CRBI is searching for a part-time, Happy Meandering Monday! Coosa County is located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama.As of the 2010 census the population was 11,539. From its headwaters in Georgia and Tennessee the Coosa flows to Alabama where a series of impoundments cover the magnificent shoals that so famously dominated the Coosa in the steamboat era. I learned to swim in the Cahaba River in the 60's, what wonderful childhood memories I have from that river. Wisdom rode from Gadsden to Rome to warn citizens of the impending Union Raid. During this era navigation along the Coosa was still extremely difficult. The necessity for a lock and dam at this locality has been recog-nized for many years, but no steps toward actual construction have ever been taken. Today we are staying loca, Repost from @georgiawatercoalition 1886: Water crested twelve feet above flood stage levels in downtown Rome, GA. An alliance called the Creek Indians was formed, comprised of several Native American river chiefdoms from the Coosa, Tallapoosa and Chattahoochee Valleys. As other means of transportation became more readily available, fewer and fewer people cared about opening the Coosa to navigation. 2002: The Georgia Department of Natural Resources began releasing fingerling lake sturgeon into the Coosa River system, many of them along the Oostanaula. What is now Lake Allatoona was once farmland – some of which belonged to John Henry Hardin, “the Moonshine King of Georgia.”. 1947: Construction began on Allatoona Dam – marking the end of frequent flooding that plagued the city of Rome, GA. 1540: Chief Tuskaloosa & de Soto fought for control of the resource rich Coosa Valley. Steamboats and Coosa River History. The impact of the meteor can be seen from the Coosa River, the river we decided to paddle. William Patrick Lay Gadsden native William Patrick Lay (1853–1940) had long been a proponent of developing the navigation and electrical potential of the Coosa River; on December 4, 1906, he organized the Alabama Power Company.His dream was to build a dam on the Coosa River at the Army Corps of Engineers' Lock 12 site. The Creeks would peacefully trade with the French and English for the next four decades. The war ended with the Treaty of Fort Jackson. 1923: The 1920s roared for Alabama Power Company. PATRON + Coosa County, Alabama was in the middle of the Creek Indian War – Here’s why – January 20, 2021 December 19, 2020 by Donna R Causey This content is exclusively available to Patreon Members. Hernando de Soto and his expedition entered the Coosa Chiefdoms in what is now the state of Tennessee in 1540. Photograph by Donnie Shackleford. The dam was named for former Alabama Power Chief Engineer Fernand C. Weiss. This, Fighting for Clean Water Under the Gold Dome, Eddied Out: Thinking about Rivers in a Time of Social Distancing, Connect with a Cause Through Citizen Science. We are a citizen-based nonprofit organization working to improve water quality, protect valuable habitat, and promote recreation and public health along the Coosa River in Alabama. Welcome back to Meandering Monday! Together they flow for more than 900 miles, through some of the most historic regions of the state. The Oostanuala River in turn is formed by the confluence of the … By 1811, the horse path in the Southern Coosa Valley had become a federal road and was filled with Georgians and Carolinians heading toward Alabama. The last Coosa River steamboat, the “Leota,” was sitting at a dock at Gadsden. However, very little text is given to the Tallapoosa, and even less to the Cahaba. Archaic Period (6000 BC – 700 AD): Native Americans established v-shaped rock structures throughout the length of the Etowah River, known as fish weirs. Now things began to move fast and furiously. 1000 A.D. to 1550 A.D: The Etowah Indian Mounds were home to several thousands of Native Americans. In 1923, construction of Mitchell Dam was completed. Chief Tuskaloosa & de Soto battle for control of the resource rich Coosa Valley. The 1920s roared for Alabama Power Company. 1865: Pictured below is the Etowah River Bridge from 1865. restore one of North America’s most biologically diverse river systems – the upper Coosa River basin Together the group began work on the site of old Lock # 12. Competition from the railroads locked steamboats into the same hopeless cycle, and by the late 1930’s only a few steamers were left. In the 1960s, the Coosa River was dammed to create Weiss Lake, a 30,000-acre reservoir that stretches across the center of the county. Steamboat on the Coosa Because its entry into the Union coincided with the beginning of the steam era and a period of rapid growth in river transportation in the United States, steamboats played an important role in the economic development of Alabama.Well into the twentieth century, the state had few modern roads, and those that existed were poorly maintained and often impassable in bad weather. The path crossed the Chattahoochee River and followed the Alabama below the forks of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa. Throughout Alabama history, the Coosa River has been the backdrop to quite a few legendary stories. 29 Native Americans had been living on the Coosa Valley for millennia before Hernando de Soto and his men became the first Europeans to visit it in 1540. 1717: The French established Fort Toulouse at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa. The venture prospered, leaving the avid Lay dreaming of making more profits by harvesting power from a large river like the Coosa. In 1923, construction of Mitchell Dam was completed. DAMS & IMPOUNDMENTS Due to the damming of the Coosa River, which began over 100 years ago in 1914, the Coosa is hardly a river in the colloquial sense, it is more so a series of artificial lakes. Join us for, Happy Meandering Monday! The French established Fort Toulouse high atop the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa. In 1864, according to Harvey Jackson’s Rivers of History, Lay escaped from a Union-besieged Rome with two steamboats, the Alpharetta and the Laura Moore. Ultimately it would decide the fate of Alabama. William Patrick Lay found two major partners, James Mitchell for financial support, and Thomas Martin for legal support. At Wetumpka she had been taken apart and ha… HISTORY. The Coosa River is the major tributary when it joins the Tallapoosa River near Wetumpka, Alabama to form the Alabama River. The Battle of Maliba, (although it’s argued over, it’s thought to be north of present day Selma, AL) was narrowly won by the Spainiards and is still known to be one of the bloodiest battles in North American history. The Coosa River Basin Initiative is a grassroots environmental organization with the mission of informing and empowering citizens so that they may become involved in the process of creating a clean, healthy and economically viable Coosa River Basin. The damming of the Coosa forever altered her history and course. The United States cancelled all mail contracts with riverboats on the Coosa turning them over to the railroads. The Coosa River begins in Rome, Georgia, where the Etowah and Oostanaula rivers meet, and flows southwest through northeastern Alabama to Montgomery, where it meets with the Tallapoosa River to form the Alabama River. In 1914, the Alabama Power Company constructed Lay Dam on the Coosa River, creating Lay Lake in the northwestern corner of the county. Its county seat is Rockford. Theme designed by, BREAKING: After years of pressure and a constitutional amendment, environmental cleanup funds are one signature awa… https://t.co/mtP5kqeRu0, Prepare for campfire season with our new, super-soft LS tee, Turns out, 82% of GA voters sends a pretty clear message, and the GA House listened! HB 511 passes unanimously to d… https://t.co/F1AV80Q4pd, Environmental cleanup funding inches closer to long term protection thanks to GA voters last November.… https://t.co/5qJA9lWK1K, We had a great turnout yesterday at Our Community, BREAKING: After years of pressure and a constituti, We have peak camping weather! The Coosa River runs through the southwestern corner of the county, and its tributaries, Little River and Terrapin Creek, intersect the area. Later, competing trade by the English and French led to the division of the Creek people into Upper and Lower Creeks. Competition from the railroads locked steamboats into the same hopeless cycle, and by the late 1930’s only a few steamers were left on our river. The Battle of Maliba was narrowly won by the Spaniards and is still known to be one of the bloodiest battles in North American history. The path crossed the Chattahoochee River and followed the Alabama below the forks of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa. Two of the largest were Camp Felton, near Cartersville, home to Smith’s Legion, among others, and Camp Foster at the Etowah River Bridge near Etowah Station.”, 1930s-1940s: The origins of the NASCAR organization? The Coosa’s first steamer, U.S.M. Events that occurred between these three groups were partly responsible for the settlement in … The flooding was so severe that the only way to traverse the streets was by way of boat. © Coosa River Basin Initiative 2021. Early History: During the time of the the Hernando de Soto expedition, the land around what is now the Logan Martin Reservoir was part of the Coosa Chiefdom. It was in this setting that Captain Lay made his two heroic, record-setting steamboat runs on the Coosa. All this new land brought thousands of new settlers to the state in a frenzy known as “Alabama Fever.” Ultimately, what brought these people to Alabama was cotton and the rich Black Belt land did not disappoint them. At this time the Coosa River linked Rome to the Gulf of Mexico and was the primary way goods were brought inland or, in the case of cotton, shipped out. The outcome of the Creek War opened up nearly three-fifths of the state of Alabama to European settlers. From Desoto’s expeditions to major fishing tournaments to sightings of river monsters and giant fish, the Coosa has seen it all. During this time in Dawsonville, GA, races between local moonshine runners was a common occurrence. 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