About Childersburg
- 570 miles of shore on two lakes, a sportsman’s paradise for fishing and hunting.
- The heart of the greatest recreation area in the southeast.
- The Coosa River — third largest stream east of the Mississippi River.
- Desoto Caverns — first recorded cave in the United States. The onyx draperies are among the largest free-hanging formations at over 30 feet long.
- Only 30 minutes south of Birmingham.
- The oldest settlement in the United States, preceding St. Augustine, Florida by 25 years — 1540
Childersburg, Alabama, proclaims it is the “oldest continuously occupied city” in America, dating back to 1540. The city’s beginnings can be traced to Coosa, a village of the Coosa Indian Nation located in the area. Accompanied by an army of 600 men, Hernando DeSoto, Governor of Cuba and Adelantado of Florida, began his march across the southeastern section of North America in June 1539. Traveling from Espiritu Santo (now known as Tampa Bay) on the west coast of Florida, northward through Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and then into Alabama, his men began their desperate search for gold and other riches unequal to any of those found by others in the new wild land of North America.
DeSoto’s expedition was in what would become the state of Alabama, having discovered it “not by sea, but after dangerous and difficult marches.” Following seven days of slowly marching down the bank of the Tennessee River, DeSoto entered the town of Coste on July 2, 1540. From Coste, the expedition proceeded to Tali, also located on the Tennessee River, and then to the banks of the Coosa River. In the middle of July, DeSoto’s expedition reached the mighty empire of the great Coosa. On July 16, 1540, the vast army of Spaniards arrived at the town of Coca Coosa, located on the eastern bank of the river between the mouths of two creeks, now known as Talladega and Tallaseehatchee.
The 26-year-old Chief of the Coosas came out to receive DeSoto “bourne in a litter on the shoulders of his principal men…surrounded by many attendants playing flutes and singing.” For approximately a month, the travel-weary invaders enjoyed the hospitality of the youthful chief and his tribe, even receiving an offer of a region of land to establish a Spanish colony. DeSoto declined, and he and his men left the Coosa in August 1540. Over a period of approximately 250 years, explorers, conquistadors, traders, and pioneer settlers penetrated the vicinity of what is known today as Childersburg, Alabama.
This area, so rich in American Indian lore and artifacts, abounding in culture and traditions, and substantiated by much-written documentation, can support its claim of being the “oldest continuously occupied city” in the United States.
Don’t Miss these Childersburg Attractions:
- Coosa River
- Natch’s BBQ & Grill
- Old Towne Grill
- Hometown Barbecue
- DeSoto Caverns
- Green Hill Cemetery
- Butler Harris Rainwater Museum
- Kymulga Mill and Covered Bridge
- Fourmile Creek
- Griffen Branch
201 8th Avenue, SW Childersburg, AL 35044-0369 | 256-378-5521