Wheeler Lake HistoryWheeler Lake History Information

1540

Hernando DeSoto and Entourage - First Europeans to Enter the Coosa Valley
Hernando DeSoto and his entourage were the first Europeans to enter the Coosa Valley in 1540. The tribes they encountered during their travels were more like large organized kingdoms than small villages. DeSoto utilized the food, resources, and women of the Natives to sustain his party as they traveled across the state. Displeased with this marauder, the Indian Chief Tascalooza staged an attack on DeSoto at a location in south Alabama (its exact location is unknown). The ensuing fight was the bloodiest encounter with Indians in the Western Hemisphere (Rivers of Alabama). The toll on the Indians was much worse than for the Spaniards, but DeSoto left the state wounded, and much more cautious of his dealings with the tribes.
After the Spaniards left the region, a century of disease (carried by the Spaniards) decimated the tribes. By the time Europeans returned, more than a century later, there was no sign of the once vast kingdoms described by DeSoto. The tribes had fragmented and reconstituted in smaller bands of villages across the state.

City: Greensboro

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