Econchattimico's Reserve was an Indian reservation established in 1823 by the terms of the Treaty of Moultrie Creek. Covering four square miles along the west side of the Chattahoochee River, it provided a home for the Lower Creek chief Econchattimico and his followers, most of whom had been born and lived their lives in what is now Jackson County.
Econchattimico, a title that means roughly "Red Ground King," had fought against the United States in the War of 1812 and the First Seminole War of 1817-1818, but by 1823 he was tired of war and was living in peace with his new white neighbors. Jackson County was formed that same year and the chief and his followers actually lived in some of the finest homes in the county at that time. Records of the time indicate that many of them lived in nice frame homes or sturdy log cabins, surrounded by fields and orchards that were enclosed with split rail fences. Econchattimico owned a mill and the reservation also had a blacksmith shop and other necessities of life.
The chief and his followers lived on their lands until 1838, when they were forced west to what is now Oklahoma at gunpoint by soldiers from the U.S. Army and Florida militia. Their removal to the west was part of the episode remembered today as the Trail of Tears.
To learn more, please visit www.twoeggfla.com/econchattimico. You can also learn more by reading The History of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years available here.
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