Much of Fort Tombecbe is currently owned jointly by the University of West Alabama and The Archaeological Conservancy. UWA has owned the approximately 2-acre core of the site since 1985. At that time, the Alabama chapter of The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, a genealogical heritage organization, deeded the property to the school, then Livingston University. The Colonial Dames had owned the fort since purchasing it from Dr. John William Epes in 1913. In 1915, they erected the large granite monument that can still be seen near the river bluff today.
When the Colonial Dames acquired what they thought was Fort Tombecbe, they actually secured only a portion of the site. They made an assumption, still made by many visitors to the fort today, that the site is demarcated by the visible earthworks. As you have learned elsewhere on this website, the earthworks are the remains of Fort Confederation, constructed by the Spanish in 1794. The 1736 Fort Tombecbe lies underneath, within, and around the earthworks. Associated with both forts are traders' cabins and other ancillary structures, gardens, a cemetery, and Indian houses, some of which are indicated on colonial maps and extend well beyond the Spanish earthworks. In 2010, UWA partnered with The Archaeological Conservancy to purchase 17 acres north of the fort to protect the remains of some of these archaeological remains. Another 12 acres south of the fort were purchased by the Conservancy in 2013.
UWA is very grateful to The Archaeological Conservancy for its help in securing other portions of the site. The Archaeological Conservancy is a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying, acquiring, and preserving our nation's most significant archaeological sites. We encourage you to visit their website and join their efforts to protect our irreplaceable cultural heritage: www.archaeologicalconservancy.org