Buzzard Roost Spring - Colbert County, AL
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Dulcimoore
N 34° 45.590 W 088° 01.391
16S E 406359 N 3846886
Originally called Buzzard Sleep, changed to Buzzard Roost in 1801 by Levi Colbert, a renowned Chickasaw chieftain. The spring was a water source for the Colbert house which also served as an inn and stand for travelers on the Old Natchez Trace.
Waymark Code: WMC4G3
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 07/24/2011
Views: 10
This is a stop along Alabama's 33-mile stretch of the Natchez Trace Parkway. The coordinates were taken at the marker, the spring is an short stroll away. Also at this location are picnic tables, and handicap accessible restrooms.
The Colbert family was legendary in North Mississippi. James Logan Colbert was a Scottish trader who immigrated to America in the late 1700s. He became familiar with the Chickasaws through trade and married Chickasaw women. He had five sons who took leadership roles in the Chickasaw Nation, as well as owning quite a bit of property as the Chickasaws reckoned it.
Levi Colbert was one of his younger sons. His nickname “Itawamba Mingo” meant “Bench Chief,” and the legend of how he received that name is that as a young man, he led the village in defending against a Cherokee raid while most of the warriors were gone, according to Cecil Sumner. He was awarded the honor of sitting on a bench in council, rather than on the ground.
The Colberts signed the treaties as leaders of the Chickasaw, but in the 1830s when they realized what was really happening, they led the protests against losing their land and being pushed out. Source: (
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