Tukabatchee: Town of the Muscogee Creek Confederacy

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Tukabatchee:
Town of the Muscogee Creek Confederacy

Tukabatchee or Tuckabutche (Creek: Tokepahce) is one of the four mother towns of the Muscogee Creek confederacy. The pre-removal tribal town was located on the Tallapoosa River in the present-day state of Alabama.

The town is believed to be the first site of the ancient ‘busk’ fire which began the Green Corn Ceremony. Tukabatchee was the home of Big Warrior, one of the two principal chiefs of the Creeks until his death in 1826. Chief Opothleyahola was born here in 1780.

In 1811 Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa (better known as the Prophet) addressed Creek leaders in the Tukabatchee town square. Tecumseh was so disappointed in Big Warrior’s response at the end of his speech against American expansion that he said upon reaching Chalagawtha the Prophet would “…stamp his foot and all of Tuckabatchee’s cabins would fall.” The town was leveled by the New Madrid earthquake a month later.

Source: Wikipedia contributors, “Tukabatchee,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Additional Resources

Hawkins, Benjamin. A Sketch of the Creek Country, In the Years 1798 and 1799 and Letters of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796-1806. 1848. Reprint, Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Company, 1974.

Knight, Vernon J., Jr. “Tukabatchee: Archaeological Investigations at an Historic Creek Town, Elmore County, Alabama.” University of Alabama, Office of Archaeological Research, Report of Investigations 45, 1985.
Knight, Vernon J., Jr., and Marvin T. Smith. “Big Tallassee: A Contribution to Upper Creek Site Archaeology.” Early Georgia 8 (1-2, 1980): 59-74.
Lolley, Terry L. “Ethnohistory and Archaeology: A Map Method for Locating Historic Upper Creek Indian Towns and Villages.” Master’s thesis, University of Alabama, 1994.
Read, William Alexander. Indian Place Names in Alabama. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1937.