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The Lodge sits on a high bluff overlooking the Alabama River on the same soil that the native American Indians once roamed. The Indians
once camped on this same bluff. Many arrowheads and pieces of pottery have been discovered here. Less than a mile upstream on the opposite bank of the river was once a massive Indian settlement. A wide variety of Indian artifacts have been found in that location.
Even the name "Wilcox" has ties to the area. Lieutenant Joseph M. Wilcox, based at Fort Claiborne in what is now Monroe County, and several of his men were scalped by the Indians at the mouth of Pursley Creek in this very same bend of the river. The year was 1814.
A few years ago an old newspaper article was found that told the story of a mysterious accident that happened on this same bluff, Coal Bluff, in 1899. A gentleman named W. W. Smith who lived in these woods fell off the bluff one night and was killed. The article cast doubt as to whether it was an accident or an act of foul play.
History is not what lures people to the Swamp these days. Instead, it is the wildlife and the peacefulness. But there is much history to be learned while one is staying at the Horn Swamp Lodge!