Battelle Alabama was a thriving mining community at the turn of the century, having spread out to the base of Lookout Mountain, five miles north of Valley Head, Alabama. Now, the forest has taken over, and no buildings remain in what was Battelle. Ruins include scattered bricks, rotted lumber, and a few pieces of metal.
DeKalb County was once a part of the territory occupied by the Cherokee Indian nation. The coming of white men to the county occurred during the American Revolution when a British agent, Alexander Campbell, was sent here for the purpose of arousing the Cherokees against the southern colonies. In 1777, Campbell made his headquarters at Wills Town, a Cherokee Indian village located on Big Wills Creek near the present community of Lebanon. Campbell was successful in arousing a number of the Cherokees by promising them clothing and conquered territory in exchange for the scalps of white settlers.