Celebrating Warren Truss at 250

May 12 will mark the semiquincentennial – 250th anniversary – of the birthday of the man credited as the first known settler of Trussville.

Warren Truss was born in Pitt County, N.C., on May 12, 1772, the son of Samuel and Mary Forbes Truss. Truss, a farmer by trade, was of English descent and signed the last family deed in North Carolina on Oct. 2, 1817, so it appears he left for Alabama sometime after this date. Truss next appeared in St. Clair County, Ala., in 1820. The Census that year reported his family included nine white males, two white females and 17 slaves.

The Truss children included Enos, John, Susanna, Wiley, Arthur, Warren Jr., Samuel, Josiah, Thomas and Zilpha. Only Thomas and Zilpha were born in Alabama, the latter of which died at age 7.

Truss first settled what is now modern-day Springville, but within a few months he decided to look for a home along the banks of the Cahaba River. Truss first purchased land in Jefferson County in August 1821, an area that covered nearly 1,000 acres. He established a grist mill here, and the settlement became known as “Truss.” Truss erected a building near present-day South Chalkville Road to use as a school, meeting house and church. On Oct. 6 ,1827, Truss deeded that parcel of land to Cahawba Baptist Church so that the church could continue. That church later became First Baptist Church of Trussville.

Truss died on Sept. 16, 1837, and is buried in the Trussville Memorial Cemetery, which began as the Cahawba Baptist Cemetery.

Heritage Hall Museum in Trussville includes a “History of the Truss Family” document written in 1912 by Columbus C. Truss, apparently the grandson of Warren Truss.