CLEBURNE COUNTY, Ala. — Users of the Chief Ladiga Trail, a 33-mile rail-to-trail conversion running through Cleburne County between the Oxford area and the Georgia state line, have recently learned that Chief Ladiga was a person.

Chief Ladiga, also recorded in historical documents as Ladega and Lediga, was a leader of the Upper Creek people in what is now northeast Alabama. He lived in the early nineteenth century. He lived in the region through which the trail now runs. His name, translated from the Muscogee language, has been rendered in several accounts as "The Frog," though this reporter has not independently confirmed the translation and notes that it would not change the basic facts.

A hiker reached at the Oxford trailhead on Thursday said she had used the trail for approximately four years.

"I thought it was just a trail name," she said. "Like, someone named it something that sounded good."

She was asked who she thought had named it.

"The county, probably," she said. "Or the trail people."

The trail was developed on a former railroad corridor and opened in phases beginning in the mid-2000s. It is managed by the Chief Ladiga Trail Commission. The commission's name also refers to Chief Ladiga.

Chief Ladiga signed a treaty in 1814 following the Creek War, ceding significant territory. He signed a second treaty in 1832. He and his people were removed from the region under the terms of that treaty. He did not return. The trail was named for him approximately 175 years after his removal.

A trail user from Anniston, reached near the Cleburne County trailhead, said he had run the trail on several occasions.

"I kind of figured it was something Native American," he said. "I didn't really think about it more than that."

The Alabama Indian Affairs Commission confirmed that Chief Ladiga was a historical figure. It did not indicate this had been previously disputed.

The trail is 33 miles long. It has several water fountains. The surface is paved.