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Armstead Barton’s Cotton Empire on Stolen Chickasaw Territory
Barton Hall stands as a stark reminder of how wealth grew from stolen land. The Chickasaw Nation lost 2.25 million acres in 1805, then more land in 1816 through forced treaties. Armstead Barton, born in Tennessee, moved to Alabama and built his fortune on this very ground.
By 1840, he owned 40,000 acres and began work on a grand mansion that cost $25,000…