Creek Villages

In the years before the Creek War (1813-1814) the Creek Confederacy’s towns (talwa) stood along rivers and creeks in east-central Alabama and southwestern Georgia. Divided into three districts, its people called themselves Muscogee. When the white man arrived, the white man called them Creeks for the many rivers and streams on which they lived. To further distinguish them geographically, settlers and traders referred to them as Upper and Lower Creeks.

CREEK DISTRICTS

Georgia: Lower Creeks

Ochese (Coweta): Chattahoochee River Basin and Flint River

Alabama: Upper Creeks

Tallapoosa: lower Tallapoosa River
Abeika: Upper Tallapoosa and Coosa Rivers

The Town

A Creek village consisted of summer and winter houses built around a rectangular field, like a plaza. Below are photos of reconstructed examples of both a winter and a summer Creek house, which I took during a visit to the Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson Park in Wetumpka, Alabama. Wetumpka is the Creek word for “tumbling water”, named for a waterfall on the Coosa River.

This is a Creek winter house built on upright poles, its walls plastered with mud and its roof thatched. These roofs also had a hole in them for smoke to pass through.

This is a Creek summer house.

During the winter, councils met in a thatched round building called a rotunda. In warm seasons, they held councils beneath arbors.

These village also had a game field for playing chunkey, a game I described in a previous post.

Red Towns/White Towns

Before their homeland was colonized, the Creeks separated their towns into red and white. In the red towns, they held war ceremonies and in the white towns, peace ceremonies.

William Bartram’s Diagram

William Bartram (1739-1823) was a famous botanist who explored Alabama, recording his observations in a journal. He gave us a diagram of a Creek village, which I show below.

A. The rotunda

B. The town square

C. The chunkey field

Surrounding structures–Creek houses

Sources

“The Muscogee Creek—1600-1840,” National Park Service, Last updated May 24,2021. The Muscogee Creek – 1600 – 1840 – Little River Canyon National Preserve (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).

Hahn, Stephen C. “Creeks in Alabama,” Encyclopedia of Alabama, March 8, 2007, Last updated February 22, 2024, Creeks in Alabama – Encyclopedia of Alabama.

“History,” Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson, Friends of the Fort Foundation, Last Accessed March 14, 2024. History | Fort Toulouse – Fort Jackson | Wetumpka, AL (fttoulousejackson.org).

Lewis, J.D. “The Native Americans, Creek Indians,” Carolina, 2007. Carolina – The Native Americans – The Creek Indians (carolana.com).

Reverend Thomas Ken, Author of “The Doxology”

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Thomas Ken (1637-1711). He was an Anglican minister and a hymn writer. God used him to write what we know today as “The Doxology.”

The Story Behind “The Doxology”

After his parents died, Thomas Ken was raised by his half-sister and attended Winchester College. Once he was ordained as an Anglican minister, he returned to Winchester where he served as its chaplain.

Here at this school, to encourage the students’ devotions (Winchester was an all-male college), he wrote three hymns. One hymn he wrote was to sung in private when the student awakened, the second hymn at bedtime and the third hymn at midnight. These hymns had as many as thirteen stanzas.

By 1680, Ken had become an Anglican bishop and chaplain to promiscuous King Charles II. An unpleasant time for him. When the king asked him to house one of his mistresses, Ken refused and rebuked the king: “Not for the king’s kingdom,” he said. Naturally, Charles got very angry, but Ken was a bold man who wouldn’t compromise his faith.

Later, during the reign of King James II, he suffered imprisonment in the Tower of London for his Protestant faith. After his release, he eventually retired and died on March 11, 1711.

The Doxology

When Ken was buried, his friends and family sang the last line of each of his three hymns. These stanzas became “The Doxology.” Many Protestant churches sing these words today. Its words are a praise to the Lord, expressing love and devotion and thanksgiving.

One Interesting Story

During America’s bloody Civil War, Union soldiers were being marched back to a Confederate prison. A Baptist minister, concerned about the prison’s horrible conditions and what these prisoners faced, began singing “The Doxology” as a way of encouraging them. The soldiers joined in, and by the time they were back inside it, they had confidence that the Lord would take care of them.

Sources

Powell, Luke. “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow.” Story Behind the Hymn, Lyrics and Performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtgJF0BBUxE

“Thomas Ken, The Doxology Hymn Story with Lyrics” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxXMKYHMVC4

“Thomas Ken.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Ken

Native American War Clubs

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Native American gunstock club.

What is a War Club?

Native American tribes used war clubs in close-in, hand-to-hand
fighting. These could be fatal at close range.

Description of War Clubs

War clubs’ lengths varied, as well as their style and construction. Some had a spiked ball at the end, the spikes being made of metal, stone or bone. Others had sharp stone edges. Another style was made of a jawbone, either from a buffalo or a horse. And some clubs, such as a tomahawk, could be thrown.

In the early 1800s, the Southeastern Creek tribe made war clubs from white oak or hackleberry, usually between two and three feet long. Because they resembled the shape of a gun, they were called the “Gunstock Club.” A steel or iron blade was added where a gun’s lock would be. One hard whack on the head with this club could easily kill a man.

The Red War Club

During the Creek War (1813-1814) in Alabama, the Creek faction that opposed the settlers was called Red Sticks because their war clubs were painted red. To paint them this color, dyes were used from one of the following:

The pokeberry plant’s red juice
The puccoon plant’s root
A soft red stone found in Alabama

SOURCES

“Facts and Information about Native American War Clubs.” The American History.org Last accessed February 29, 2023. A look at the Native American War Clubs Native Americans (theamericanhistory.org)

Halbert, Henry S. “The Creek Red Stick.” Alabama Historical Reporter 2, May 1884.

Moore, Ethan. “Cherokees of the Creek War (1813-1814).” National Park Service, Published August 2017. Cherokee of the Creek War (1813 – 1814) (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

“Red Sticks.” Wikipedia. Last accessed February 29, 2023. Red Sticks – Wikipedia

Waselkov, Gregory A. A Conquering Spirit. Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press, 2006

Yost, Russell. “Creek Tribe Weapons.” The History Junkie. Published August 11, 2022. Last modified October 30, 2023. Accessed February 29, 2023, Creek Tribe Weapons – The History Junkie