Located in the Northeastern section of the state. Madison, Jackson, DeKalb, Etowah, Blount, Cullman and Morgan Counties bound Marshall County. It was created by the Legislature, January 9, 1836. Claysville was the first County seat and remained so until 1838, when Marshall (Now Wyeth City) became the county seat, which in turn surrendered the honor to Warrenton in 1841. Seven years later it was changed to Guntersville where it still remains. Cherokees settled along the Creek Path and the Tennessee River as early as 1784 inhabiting the area. Most of the remains of these towns and villages can be identified. During The War Between the States. Marshall County was the scene of several raids by Federal troops. It was unsuccessfully shelled by these troops on July 30, 1862 in an attempt to capture the town. It was again attacked on March 2, 1864, and again on August 24, 1864. It finally yielded to the invaders January 1865, and was burned and destroyed with the exception of six or seven buildings.
Near the present village of Red Hill, on the west bank of Brown Creek, there was a Cherokee town used about 1790 by the head man of the tribe , Richard Brown, for whom the town was named. The Cherokees fought with Gen. Andrew Jackson at Talladega and Horseshoe Bend, and received Jackson's praise for their military aid. Brown's village was situated on two important Indian trails, one leading from Ditto's Landing, now Whitesburg, across the Brindley Mountains, and the other on the Creek Path. About fifteen miles below the village there was a branch trail leading to the Creek settlement in middle Alabama. Corn Silk Village, on and one-half miles southeast of Warrenton on the Corn Silk farm of the Street plantation, on the banks of Corn Silk Pond, was a small Cherokee village, the head man of which was Corn Silk, for which the village was named.
At the upper end of Pine Island on the Tennessee River, there was a Indian town, Coste, reached by Desoto on July 2, 1540. Near the head of the island were the remains and evidences if a town. Creek Path Town, the Indian name for which was Kusa-nunnahi, was located on the east bank of Brown Creek on the old Russell place about four mile southeast of Guntersville. This was a Cherokee town about 1785 and got its name from the fact that it was situated on the Creek Path which extended from Talladega Creek to the Tombigbee River. This was a very important Cherokee town having about four or five hundred inhabitants, one-third of the entire Cherokee population in Alabama at that time. One of the earliest mission schools was established there and called the Creek Path Mission School. Another Indian village in Marshall County was Gunter's Village, an Important Cherokee town deriving its name from the head man. John Gunter, a Scotsman who married an Indian woman and was admitted into the tribe. This settlement was known as having many intelligent Cherokees. It was situated on the old Indian trail, known as Creek Path that extended from this town across Sand Mountain To Wills and Turkey Town, and thence to Coosa Old Town at the mouth of Talladega Creek. This trail in most part the route used by Gen. Andrew Jackson during his Campaign against the Creek, 1813-14. Cherokees from Gunter's Village gave Gen. Jackson important military aid during the campaign.
At the site of the present old village ford, Melton Village was situated. This was a upper creek town, and was founded about 1813 by the Creeks with the permission of the Cherokees. The head man was Charles Melton from whom the village derived its name. Tali was an ancient town visited by Desoto's expedition, July 10, 1540. It was located on McKee's Island in the Tennessee River near present day Guntersville. The chief of the town endeavored to send the women and children downstream on the approach of Desoto's cavalry. When the Spanish expedition left Tali on July 11, they furnished two men and four women as carriers of there baggage.
In Brown Valley, near the present line between Blount and Marshall Counties, there was a Creek and Cherokee village, situated on two trails, both leading to Ditto's Landing on the Tennessee River, one through Brown's Valley and the other in a course opening further to west. The name of the town was Massas, Near Rock Landing on the Tennessee River. There was a Cherokee fort on Beaird's Bluff overlooking the Tennessee River near Guntersville, which was the scene of a battle between the Cherokees and the Creeks in the latter part of the eighteenth century. The site was known as Cherokee Bluff. On the south bank of the Tennessee River, at the mouth of and on the east bank of Thompson's Creek, about eight miles northwest of Guntersville, was Fort Deposit. This fort was erected by Gen Andrew Jackson in October 1813, and was strongly fortified as he used it as a depositary of his military supplies and equipment. At the time there was a good ferry at the point, which greatly expedited the transportation of troops and supplies across the Tennessee River during the Creek Indian War. There is a series of caves near by which Gen. Jackson utilized for storing of his ammunition.
In 1939 the Tennessee Valley Authority completed the Guntersville Dam and its reservoir, filled with water and made Guntersville a peninsula city.Guntersville itself is an exciting, thriving community. The scenery is breathtaking, and with its 69,700-acre lake every weekend is a vacation.
(Excerpts from "Alabama Encyclopedia Volume 1 Book of Facts")
©1965