Chulafinnee, Alabama

{{Short description|Unincorporated community in Alabama, United States}}

{{Infobox settlement

|official_name = Chulafinnee, Alabama

|settlement_type = Unincorporated community

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|subdivision_name1 = Alabama

|subdivision_type2 = County

|subdivision_name2 = Cleburne

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|timezone = Central (CST)

|utc_offset = -6

|timezone_DST = CDT

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|elevation_ft = 876

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|blank_info = 159405{{cite gnis|159405|Chulafinnee}}

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Chulafinnee is an unincorporated community in Cleburne County, Alabama, United States.

History

Chulafinnee was named after the nearby Chulafinnee Creek, which was derived from Creek words chuli meaning "pine" and fina meaning "footlog".{{cite book |last=Read |first=William A. |date=1984 |title=Indian Place Names in Alabama |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=The University of Alabama Press |page=20 |isbn=0-8173-0231-X }} Chulafinnee was founded in 1835 when gold was found in the nearby creeks. The population was smaller than that of nearby Arbacoochee (which was also formed after gold was found nearby), but considered by locals to be a more permanent town due to the greater number of brick buildings. Local lore held that the King brothers, (who later founded King Ranch), were prospectors in the area.{{cite book |title=Dead Towns of Alabama |last=Harris |first=W. Stuart |year=1977 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |page=71 |isbn=0-8173-1125-4 }} Remains of some of the mines are located on the Frank Spain Scout Reservation, where participating Scouts are able to learn about the history of the area.{{cite web |url=http://ahc.alabama.gov/Alabama%20Register%20Properties/Cleburne%20County/AL.CleburneCo.StriplinGoldMinesOCR.pdf |title=Striplin Gold Mine and Carr Creek Placer |publisher=Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage |format=PDF |access-date=7 November 2019}}

The American geologist Eugene Allen Smith explored the old mines and examined minerals around Chulafinnee in the late 1800s.{{cite book|author=Aileen Kilgore Henderson|title=Eugene Allen Smith's Alabama: How a Geologist Shaped a State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WZ8VROueuhUC|year=2011|publisher=NewSouth Books|isbn=978-1-58838-243-6|page=7}}

A post office operated under the name Chulafinnee from 1842 to 1904.{{cite web|url=https://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=AL&county=Cleburne |title=Cleburne County |publisher=Jim Forte Postal History |access-date=7 November 2019 }}

References

Category:Unincorporated communities in Cleburne County, Alabama

Category:Unincorporated communities in Alabama

Category:Ghost towns in Alabama

Category:Alabama placenames of Native American origin