 They came mostly from Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee and were forced to relocate to Oklahoma and the West.It is believed that they stopped in Steelville around the spring to rest, bury their dead, and get supplies.The first settlers in Steelville were William Britton, who built a small grist mill along the Yadkin Creek, and James Steel, who operated a trading post and was appointed by the government as Commissioner to lay out the city in 1835–the year in which Steelville was founded.