The Town of Shorter and the surrounding area was once
part of the Creek Nation, which was distinguished by bountiful game,
many water streams, rich agricultural lands, great forest, and agreeable
climate. European settlers moved into the area to trade, and in
some cases live, among the Indians. When the U.S. government
opened the land to settlement in 1830, war broke out between the Creeks
and the military. A relentless policy of extermination greatly
reduced the Indian population, until finally in 1836 the remaining
Creeks were move to Oklahoma.
Macon County was created in 1832, and named in honor
of Nathaniel Macon, a Revolutionary War soldier. The county seat,
Tuskegee, was located on 80 acres of land in Township 17 donated by
William Walker, an Indian trader. The Alabama State Legislature
incorporated Macon in February 1833. The town was named for
Alabama governor John Gill Shorter of Eufaula. The area's rich
soils and hot climate have always been suited to crop production, and
the area was utilized for plantation lands during the antebellum period.
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