From Chickasaw territory to chattel slavery: the dark origins of an Alabama plantation

Armstead Barton’s Cotton Empire on Stolen Chickasaw Territory

Barton Hall stands as a stark reminder of how wealth grew from stolen land. The Chickasaw Nation lost 2.25 million acres in 1805, then more land in 1816 through forced treaties. Armstead Barton, born in Tennessee, moved to Alabama and built his fortune on this very ground.

By 1840, he owned 40,000 acres and began work on a grand mansion that cost $25,000.

Over 100 enslaved people cut stone, felled trees, and toiled in cotton fields while Barton watched from his rooftop observatory. After his death in 1847, his widow Amanda finished the house.

Today, just one log cabin remains as proof of the enslaved community that made his empire possible. The story of Barton Hall reveals how America’s cotton wealth came at a terrible human cost.

Chickasaws Lost Millions of Acres to Pay Off $20,000 Debt

In 1805, U. S. officials told Chickasaw leaders they owed over $20,000 to trading companies. Chickasaw leaders George Colbert and Chinnubbee first said they had no land to sell.

Talks happened at Chokkilissa’, the main Chickasaw village in today’s Lee County, Mississippi. The Chickasaws ran out of options.

They signed a treaty on July 23, 1805, giving up land so the government would pay their debts.

The First Treaty Took Away Land Across Three States

The 1805 treaty forced the Chickasaws to give up 2. 25 million acres of hunting grounds.

This huge area covered parts of Kentucky, central Tennessee, and northern Alabama. The new border ran from the Ohio River to the Tennessee River, up to Duck River, and along the Nashville-Natchez road.

The Natchez Trace became the dividing line between Chickasaw territory and U. S. land. This first big land grab let white settlers move into these fertile areas.

Jackson Demanded More Land After the War of 1812

The Chickasaws fought with American troops against the Red Stick Creeks during the War of 1812. Their loyalty didn’t help much.

Andrew Jackson pushed them to sign another treaty on September 20, 1816.

This deal took away all their claims to land north and east of the Tennessee River, including more parts of north Alabama. The U.S. agreed to pay $12,000 yearly for ten years plus $4,500 right away.

The 1818 Treaty Left Chickasaws With Just a Fraction of Their Homeland

Andrew Jackson came back in 1818 wanting all remaining Chickasaw land in western Tennessee and Kentucky. He made it clear: sell the land or lose it by force.

On October 19, 1818, the Chickasaws signed yet another treaty. They got $20,000 yearly for 15 years.

After three treaties in just 13 years, all they had left was northeastern Mississippi and a small area in northwestern Alabama.

The Bartons Followed the Path of Land Opportunity

Dr. Hugh Barton moved his family from Winchester County, Virginia to East Tennessee in the late 1700s. His son Armstead was born in Anderson County, Tennessee in 1800.

The Bartons moved down the Valley of Virginia into East Tennessee and then into the Tennessee River Valley. Armstead moved to Tuscumbia around 1825 and started a business with his cousin.

The family set themselves up to profit from newly open lands.

Armstead Built His Fortune on Former Chickasaw Territory

Armstead Barton got rich from buying and selling the fertile Alabama and Mississippi lands the Chickasaws gave up in the 1830s. He ran a store in Tuscumbia and stayed friendly with the few Chickasaws still around.

He married Amanda Cook in 1829. By 1840, he owned about 40,000 acres of land.

The former Chickasaw hunting grounds became the base of his growing wealth and power in the area.

His Massive Plantation Required Over 100 Enslaved Workers

Construction of Barton Hall began in 1840 at the center of his 40,000-acre cotton plantation. More than 100 enslaved men, women, and children worked the cotton fields around the mansion.

The house cost $25,000 to build, not counting the work of enslaved people who cut stone and timber. A rooftop tower gave Barton a clear view to watch workers in the fields.

Only One Cabin Remains From the Enslaved Community

The enslaved workers lived in quarters spread across the huge plantation. The kitchen sat in a two-room brick building behind the main house.

Today, only one log cabin remains from the enslaved community that once lived there. Over 100 enslaved people turned the former Chickasaw land into a productive cotton empire.

Their work created the wealth that built the mansion while they lived in basic structures.

Amanda Finished the Mansion After Her Husband’s Death

Armstead Barton died suddenly in 1847 before his dream house was finished. His widow Amanda took over and finished the mansion in 1849.

The house showed off Greek Revival architecture with a double staircase leading up to the rooftop tower.

The completed mansion grew from wealth built on land deals and enslaved labor on territory that belonged to the Chickasaws just a few decades earlier.

The Grand House Nearly Crumbled Before Being Saved

Amanda Barton lived in the mansion until her death in 1884. The house left Barton family hands in the early 1900s.

It fell apart badly, with 1930s photos showing a shabby, partly used structure. Someone saved it from ruin and fixed it during the 1940s.

Robert and Diana Osborne restored it again in the 1990s.

The house remains a private home today, its grand look hiding the complicated history of how it came to be.

Three Groups’ Stories Converge at Barton Hall

Barton Hall represents the direct transformation of Native American lands into a slave-based cotton empire. The plantation made white speculators rich while displacing Indigenous people and exploiting African Americans.

The government named it a National Historic Landmark in 1973 for its architecture.

The single remaining slave cabin stands as the only physical reminder of more than 100 enslaved people who made the cotton empire possible, while the Chickasaws were forced to move west, far from their ancestral lands.

Visiting Barton Hall, Alabama

Barton Hall is a private residence on Cedar Lane, 0. 7 miles south of US 72 in Cherokee, Alabama.

You can see the National Historic Landmark marker from the roadside and glimpse the Greek Revival mansion through the trees.

The property was once Armstead Barton’s 40,000-acre cotton plantation that used over 100 enslaved people on seized Chickasaw land. One original slave dwelling remains in the field southeast of the main house.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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