Tuscaloosa, located at the falls of the Black Warrior River in
west central Alabama, is the the fifth-largest city in Alabama
with a population of 90,468, and the seat of Tuscaloosa County.
It is named for the Choctaw chieftain Tuskalusa (meaning Black
Warrior), who battled and was defeated by Hernando de Soto in
1540 in the Battle of Mauvila. Best known as the home of the
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa is also the center of
industry, commerce, healthcare, and education for the region
commonly known as West Alabama. The area at the fall line of
what would be later known as the Black Warrior River had long
been well known to the various Indian tribes whose shifting
fortunes brought them to West Alabama. The river shoals at
Tuscaloosa represented the southernmost site on the river which
could be forded under most conditions. Inevitably, a network of
Indian trails converged upon the place, the same network which,
in the first years of the 19th Century began to lead a few white
frontiersmen to the area. The pa