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Bullock County was created by an Act
of the State Legislature on December 5, 1866. Carved out of
parts of Macon, Pike, Montgomery, and Barbour counties, it was
named for Confederate colonel Edward C. Bullock. A native of
South Carolina, Bullock moved to Eufaula in the 1840s and later
served two terms in the Alabama State Senate. Like much of
southeastern Alabama, Bullock County was once the home of the
Creek Indians. During the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814, the
Creeks ceded 23 million acres of land in Alabama and Georgia to
the U.S. government. The boundary of the lands ceded by the
Creeks ran across present-day Bullock County from northeast of
Mitchell Station to southeast of Pine Grove. Following Alabama
statehood in 1819 and again after Creek Indian Removal in the
1830s, settlers poured into present day Bullock County. The
richness of the soil in the area made it highly conducive to
cotton production and the county quickly became one of the
richest in the state.
The early history of the county is identified with that of the
counties from which it was formed. Settlement followed the final
Creek cession of 1832. An excellent citizenship filled its rich
lands, coming from other states as well as from adjacent
counties. Handsome homes were located on the plantations and in
the nearby villages.
In January, 1837, the Creek Indians then being removed from the
country, committed some depredations, which brought about an
engagement between them and the whites, about three miles west
of Midway, then in Barbour, but now in this county. One white
man, Walter Patterson, was killed, and Judge W. R. Cowan lost
his left arm. A few others were slightly wounded, and several
horses were killed. General William Wellborn was in command. It
is not known that any Indians were killed. |
