Lowndes County AlArchives History .....Lowndes County 1888
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 September 15, 2011, 10:53 am

VIII.
LOWNDES COUNTY.

    Population: White, 5,645; colored, 25,531. Area, 740 square miles. Woodland,
all, except a few square miles of prairie.

    Acres—In cotton (approximately), 98,200; in corn, 41,169; in oats, 3,630; in
sugar-cane, 201: in sweet potatoes, 1,000.

        Approximate number of bales of cotton, 30,000.

    County Seat—Hayneville; population. 500: located 23 miles southwest of
Montgomery.

    Newspapers published at County Seat—Examiner (Democratic); True Citizen
(Independent Democrat).

    Postoffices in the County—Benton, Burkville, Braggs, Calhoun, Collirene,
Farmersville, Fort Deposit, Gordonsville, Hayneville, Letohatchee,
Lowndesborough, Morganville, Mount Willing, Saint Clair, Sandy Ridge, White Hall.

    Established in 1830, this county was named in honor of Hon. William Lowndes,
of South Carolina. It has long been known for the productiveness of its lands,
and is regarded one of the best agricultural districts in the South. Prior to
the war the planters of Lowndes made immense fortunes from farming upon its
fertile cotton fields. Though in use many years, the lands remain unimpaired in
their productiveness. The county needs only the hands of system and diligence to
direct and urge the industries suited to the capabilities of its soil, to place
it alongside the most advanced sections of our planting interests. Like all
other localities of the famous cotton belt, Lowndes County has shared in the
shrinkage of the valuation of lands. This is mainly due to the destruction of an
organized labor system consequent upon the emancipation of the slaves. Its lands
are well adapted to the employment of improved implements of labor.

    The surface of Lowndes is rolling. The whole of the county lies within the
prairie belt, still there is a fair proportion of upland soils. Along the
table-lands are found sandy loam soils; in the extensive bottoms which prevail
along the river and numerous streams are found dark loam soils, while upon the
prairies proper, and the flanks of the lime-hills, exist the soils which have a
great admixture of lime. While the prevailing surface of Lowndes is rolling,
there are many precipitous hills in the southern portion. The presence of lime
in the clay makes the roads miry during the wet seasons. This feature, connected
with that extreme southwestern portion, has won it the local name of "Little
Texas." But this constitutes but a fractional part of this magnificent
agricultural region. A feature belonging largely to the first bottom soils is
that they are sandy, but they derive vast benefits from the underlying
formations of lime. Here, as elsewhere in the prairie region, there are
occasional interventions of sandy knolls, which furnish locations for houses and
settlements. and also an abundance of good water.

    The main crops grown in Lowndes are cotton, corn, oats, sweet and Irish
potatoes, millet and sugar-cane. The black lands are usually devoted to the
production of corn, while the sandy lands are employed for raising cotton: but
the red lands produce equally well. Many of these lands are well adapted for
pasturage purposes. Numerous grasses llourish, some of which are indigenous and
others imported. These, together with the varieties of clover and the dense
brakes of cane which prevail along the streams and in marshy lowlands, makes
this one of the most desirable sections for stock-raising.

    This consideration is enhanced by the fact that the winters in this latitude
are brief and mild, and stock does not have to be cared for so tenderly as in
sections farther north. Pintlala, Big Swamp, Manack, Cedar and Dry Creeks, with
numerous tributaries, How across the county. It is along these streams that much
of the richest land in the county is found.

    Scattered throughout Lowndes are broad belts of valuable timber, comprising
several varieties of oak, hickory, long- and short-leaf pine, elm, ash, poplar,
walnut, sycamore, gum, beech, cedar, mulberry and chestnut. Points of interest
are Hayneville, the county seat, with a population of several hundred.
Lowndesboro, Benton, Port Deposit and Letohatchee. Good schools are found in
almost all the centers of population, while a common-school system provides
educational advantages for all classes.

    Transportation is afforded by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, the
Montgomery & Selma, and the Alabama River.

    Lands may be purchased from $3 to $20 per acre.

    There are no Government lands in the county.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Northern Alabama: Historical and Biographical
Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land
1888

PART III.
HISTORICAL RESUME OF THE VARIOUS COUNTIES IN THE STATE.
COTTON BELT.


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