Oakville is an unincorporated community located in the southeast corner of Lawrence County, Alabama, United States.

The Copena culture developed from the complex Hopewell tradition, whose people had a wide regional trading network across the continent.

The state museum is designed in the style of a Cherokee council house, as these were the dominant indigenous people of the area at the time of European encounter.

It also includes material on the historic Cherokee nation, whose people had migrated to the area and inhabited it by the time of European encounter in the 17th century.

The grounds of the museum include part of the Black Warriors’ Path, an Indian major trading route which goes past the mounds.