Fort Mitchell is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Russell County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States. The settlement developed around a garrisoned fort intended to provide defense for the area during the

Creek War The Creek War (also the Red Stick War or the Creek Civil War) was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within th ...

(1813–14). Fort Mitchell is about 10 miles south of

Phenix City, Alabama Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee ...

and

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

;

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

lies on the opposite side of the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It ...

from Fort Mitchell. The community is the home of the

Fort Mitchell National Cemetery Fort Mitchell National Cemetery is one of the 130 U.S. National Cemetery, United States National Cemeteries, located in Fort Mitchell, Alabama, adjacent to the state-owned and operated Fort Mitchell Park. It has interred approximately 5,000 indiv ...

, established in 1987 for interment of all US veterans.

Landmarks

Fort Mitchell Historic Site Fort Mitchell Historic Site is a park and an archaeological site in Fort Mitchell, Alabama, that was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1990. The park features a reconstruction of the 1813 stockade fort that was an important United States ...

History

A major United States fur trade factory was situated here between 1795 and 1807 before it was moved a few miles south to

Hiawassee Hiawassee is the county seat of Towns County, Georgia, United States. The population was 981 at the 2020 census. Its name is derived from the Cherokee—or perhaps Creek—word ''Ayuhwasi'', which means meadow, (A variant spelling, "Hiwassee, ...

.Wesley, Edgar Bruce (1935). Guarding the frontier. The University of Minnesota Press, p. 38.

Notable people

James Cantey James Cantey (December 30, 1818 – June 30, 1874) was a Confederate States Army brigadier general during the American Civil War. He was a lawyer, slave owner, state legislator in South Carolina and officer in the Mexican–American War, and a ...

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

brigadier general *

Samuel Checote Samuel Checote (1819–1884) (Muscogee) was a political leader, military veteran, and a Methodist preacher in the Creek Nation, Indian Territory. He served two terms as the first principal chief of the tribe to be elected under their new constitu ...

, Muskogee Creek, who was the first principal chief of the tribe, then located in

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

, after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

* John Crowell, first

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from Alabama; appointed by President Monroe as the United States agent to the

Creek Indians The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsAsbury Manual Labor School Asbury Manual Labor School was an American Indian boarding school near Fort Mitchell, Alabama. Founded by the United Methodist Church, and named for Francis Asbury, it opened in 1822 and closed in 1830, when the Creek were forcibly removed to Okla ...

Gallery

Below are photographs taken in Fort Mitchell as part of the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

: File:Historic American Buildings Survey W. N. Manning, Photographer, July 18, 1935 FRONT AND SIDE VIEW, S. E. - Crowell-Cantey-Alexander House, State Road 165, Fort Mitchell, Russell HABS ALA,57-FOMI,1-5.tif, Crowell-Cantey-Alexander House File:Historic American Buildings Survey W. N. Manning, Photographer, July 18, 1935 OLD SLAVE HOUSE, N. W. OF HOUSE - Crowell-Cantey-Alexander House, State Road 165, Fort Mitchell, HABS ALA,57-FOMI,1-12.tif, Old slave house, beside Crowell-Cantey-Alexander House File:Historic American Buildings Survey W. N. Manning, Photographer, July 18, 1935 OLD WOOD SHED, S. E. CORNER - Crowell-Cantey-Alexander House, State Road 165, Fort Mitchell, Russell HABS ALA,57-FOMI,1-14.tif, Wood shed, behind Crowell-Cantey-Alexander House File:Historic American Buildings Survey W. N. Manning, Photographer, July 18, 1935 TOMB MONUMENT OF COL. JOHN CROWELL, SR. AT FORT MITCHELL, ALABAMA - Crowell-Cantey-Alexander House, HABS ALA,57-FOMI,1-15.tif, Monument to Col. John Crowell Sr., at Crowell-Cantey-Alexander House File:Historic American Buildings Survey W. N. Manning, Photographer, July 18, 1935 FRONT AND SIDE VIEW, N. W. CORNER - Old Post Office, Fort Mitchell, Russell County, AL HABS ALA,57-FOMI,2-1.tif, Old post office File:Historic American Buildings Survey W. N. Manning, Photographer, July 18, 1935 OLD IRISH GARDENER HOUSE - Crowell-Cantey-Alexander House, State Road 165, Fort Mitchell, Russell HABS ALA,57-FOMI,1-13.tif, Old Irish gardener house

References

Unincorporated communities in Russell County, Alabama Unincorporated communities in Alabama Columbus metropolitan area, Georgia {{RussellCountyAL-geo-stub