Newswise — There has long been speculation by local historians that three historical log buildings, originally from the old Williamson “Snow Hill” plantation, could have been associated with an early 19th century military structure known as Fort Armstrong. University of Alabama researchers, however, have discovered that the long-time speculation holds no merit.
Dr. Matthew Therrell, an associate professor in UA’s Department of Geography, worked with UA’s Office of Archaeological Research to carry out a tree-ring analysis to determine the cutting dates of timbers used in the construction of the three log buildings. The results conclusively demonstrated that the buildings were not associated with the fort, but the information gleaned from the analysis still answers questions on both a historical and scientific front.
Those results have recently been published in Dendrochronologia with an article titled “The Search for Fort Armstrong: Dendroarchaeology of the Williamson ‘Snow Hill’ Plantation, Cherokee County, Alabama, U.S.A.” The article was authored by Therrell, along with Bouran Mozayen, Cultural Resources Assistant Senior with UA’s Office of Archaeological Research, and Matthew Gage, OAR Director.
The search for Fort Armstrong continues, and recent developments have led UA’s OAR to concentrate on several features they’ve discovered with the help of local historians. If additional analysis currently underway supports their initial discovery, then one of Alabama’s long-lost fort sites will provide answers to questions more than two centuries in the making.
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