Cotton was King

Today, many of the names of local residents can be clearly traced to some of these planters and slaves. Walker has listed planters and the number of their slaves from 1820 through the 1860 census records. He has provided agricultural information, land records, census records, pictures, family members, birth and death information, and stories to make history come alive. This is a great book for those seeking individual profiles and local family information. I am honored to recommend "Cotton Was King" Volume 3. "Cotton Was King" Volume 3 begins with a review of Chief Doublehead and other important Indians who owned these lands before the Turkey Town Treaty of 1816. The author, Rickey Butch Walker, raised in Lawrence County, has always had a love for his Indian heritage and the history of his home county. The book is a historical record of early cotton planters and slave owners who were the first settlers to move into the Indian Territory after the treaty was signed and covers what is now Lawrence and Colbert Counties. There is not another book that compares to the historical account of the earliest days of the area. As we travel through this time capsule of the past, many hidden stories of planters and their slaves are brought to light. It is a compelling read for all who love history and want to get to the truth of the historical roots of Lawrence County.

Glimpse into the struggles of many planters that saw the Tennessee Valley as an opportunity to establish plantations in lands that came available in 1818. The planters brought slaves as labor to turn the lands into cotton fields, cabins, and mansions. The workers made these plantations an economic success.
Rickey Butch Walker is a life - long native son of the Warrior Mountains. He descends from Cherokee, Creek, and Celtic (Scots-Irish) people who migrated into the hills and coves of the mountainous region of north Alabama some 250 years ago. He, as was his father, is a member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama. Mr. Walker retired after some 35 years with the Lawrence County Board of Education during which he earned post graduate degrees in science, education, and supervision. He taught high school science for 11 years and served as Director of Lawrence County Schools' Indian Education Program and Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center until his retirement in 2009. In addition to his Master's Thesis, he has written several books including High Town Path, Warrior Mountains Folklore, Indians of the Warrior Mountains, Indian Trails of the Warrior Mountains, Warrior Mountains Indian Heritage, Doublehead: Last Chickamauga Cherokee Chief, Chickasaw Chief George Colbert: His Family and His Country, Appalachian Indians of Warrior Mountains and his newly released autobiography Celtic Indian Boy of Appalachia.

"Cotton Was King" gives glimpses into the struggles and successes of many planters that saw the Tennessee Valley as an opportunity to settle and establish plantations in some of the richest and most fertile lands that came available in 1818. Some of the wealthiest and most successful men from the east moved to these lands to build their fortunes in cotton. The planters brought many black slaves, and slave labor turned the lands into cotton fields, cabins, and beautiful mansions. The slaves worked the fields, built the buildings, served in all capacities, and made these plantations an economic success. Volume 3 shows the huge impact of slave labor in making cotton king in these northwest Alabama counties.