Since at least 1733, the site along the Chattahoochee River, that is now modern-day Eufaula, was occupied by three Creek Indian tribes of the Muscogee Nation. One these tribes was "the Eufaulas" (pronounced "you-fall-uhs.") In 1823, families from Georgia (U.S. state)Georgia, looking for fertile crop land, established a permanent white settlement on the high bluffs and adopted the Creek village's name. General William Irwin, a hero of the War of 1812, was granted several thousand acres of land in nearby Henry County. One of the most prosperous men in the area, he served as its first State Senator. With his influence, he promoted the area's development and established the first steamboat wharf along Eufaula's high bluffs. This set the stage for the town's rise to prominence as a center of trade. In his honor, Eufaula was renamed the city of "Irwinton." Attracted by the area's rich soil, and futher encouraged by the opening of the Federal Road, white settlers swarmed the area. In the Treaty of Cusseta, 1832, the Creeks were forced to abandon their land rights in the area and Barbour County was incorporated. The Creeks were forced to consolidate with others tribes in Muscogee Nation in upper Florida, thus leaving their native homeland forever. In 1834, Captain Seth Lore and others developed that is now the downtown area, naming the four main north-south avenues "Livingston," "Orange," "Randolph," and "Eufaula" (L-O-R-E.) The Seth Lore and Irwington Historic District of Eufaula now encompasses much of the oldest part of the city. In 1843, the town was re-named "Eufaula," because the mail was constantly misdirected to Irwington, Georgia. The town became a major shipping and trading point for surrounding counties in Georgia and Alabama. Its many impressive antebellum homes and businesses attest to the wealth and culture of the period. Eufaula became politically powerful, and the "Eufaula Regency" supported secession of Alabama from the United States. After the start of the American Civil War six companies of Infantrymen and Calvarymen came from Eufaula and it's encompassing county, Barbour County. These men, fought for the Confederate States of America in battles as far away as Virginia. John Gill Shorter, a Eufaula native, served as Governor of the State of Alabama during the Civil War. Following the defeat and fall of Montgomery, the State Capital, to Union Troops, Eufaulians could only wait for the worst. On April 29, 1865, a messenger galloped in with news the General Benjamin H. Grierson, Commanding General of over 4,000 Union calvarymen, was approaching from Clayton, Alabama, to the west. Under a flag of truce, Eufaula's mayor, Doctor C. J. Pope and other prominent citizens met General Grierson beyond College Hill with news that General Robert E. Lee had already surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouseand that Civil War was over. The Union Troops marched peacefully across the river to camp in Georgetown, Georgia as Doctor Pope rushedd back and bearly had enough time to disband the local militias to avoid conflict. Dr. and Mrs. Pope entertained the general and his staff at dinner. Thanks to efforts of Dr. Pope, Eufaula remained intact, her citizens unharmed. After the Civil War, the town's fortunates suffered from the restrictive Reconstruction Act and the loss of platation-produced cotton. However, by the early 1900's, Eufaula was booming again with cotton mills and railways. In 1963, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created Lake Walter F. George (unofficially named Lake Eufaula) behind the lock and dam of Fort Gaines, Georgia, once again assured Eufaula's importance as an inland port. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eufaula%2C_Alabama