Madison County AlArchives History .....Huntsville 1888
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I.
HUNTSVILLE.

    Huntsville, in the rolling highlands of the Tennessee Valley, bordered by
mountain ranges, is the heart of the most pleasant, healthful and attractive
canton on the continent of North America. It is the oldest English settled town
in Alabama, and the county seat of the oldest county, Madison. Its early history
is for that period the history of the State. In the undulating table-land
between the State line, north, and the great bend of the Tennessee River, south,
where it breaks through the Cumberland chain, at Guntersville, and turns its
course to the northwest, the town lies at the northwest foot of Monte Sano,
behind which wild-woods and mountain ridges rise to the east. On the eastern
side of a beautiful and fertile valley, extending ten miles southward to the
river, it looks out upon long ranges in the distance, and rounded spurs here and
there looking up from the broad plateau, while north and west a semicircle of
fields and forests is spread, with farm-houses, herds of cattle, horses and
mules, crops of grain, clover and blue grass, cotton and corn, in their season,
giving variety and life to the exquisite panorama.

    Madison County is situated between 9° and 10° of longitude west of
Washington, and between 34° 30' and 35° of north latitude. The 
elevation of Huntsville, at the court-house, is 640 feet above the sea: that of
Monte Sano, 1,700 feet. The climate, winter and summer, is unrivaled in America,
and the air is light, and pure and sweet. The soil is similar to that of the
region of Lexington. Ky. With a red clay sub-soil and limestone foundation, it
is susceptible of the highest degree of fertility.

    Ever since the discovery of Cat Island and Cuba by Christopher Columbus, in
1492, the territory, embracing Madison County and Huntsville, has been included
in various grand land enterprises. With shipping furnished by Henry VII, of
England, and authority to occupy and possess in the name of the King, Sebastian
Cabot first discovered the continent of North America at Labrador in 1497, and
in 1498-9 and 1500 he made further discoveries as far south as the Gulf of
Mexico. Upon this basis of right, Queen Elizabeth, in 1585, granted to Sir
Walter Raleigh, for settlement and development, the territory of America between
45 and 33 north latitude, which was named by him after the virgin queen,
Virginia. But this enterprise soon came to naught, and in 1606 James I, granted
to "the London Company" the territory from the Potomac River to the Cape Fear,
to be called "South Virginia." Under its auspices, the settlement was made at
Jamestown, on James River. This company failed in 1624, and surrendered its
franchises back to the crown. In 1663-5, Charles II, granted to eight of his
principal adherents the territory lying between north latitude 36° 30' and 29°,
from the Atlantic Ocean "westward to the seas beyond," to be called "the   
Province of Carolina." Under these charters, Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George
(Monk), Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord Berkley; Anthony,
Lord Ashley; Sir George Carteret, Sir William Berkley and Sir John Colleton,
their heirs and successors, were created "absolute Lords and Proprietors" of
this magnificent domain, the King reserving only "faith, allegiance and
sovereign dominion." These gentlemen of the "cavalier" party sent settlers, many
of them relatives, to their colony, of which Charles Town (Charleston),
established in 1672, became the chief seat. But in 1719 the people threw off the
Proprietary government and placed the Province directly under the Royal
Government of England. Within ten or twelve years, the successors of the
original proprietors, surrendered for less than $100,000, all title and interest
in "Carolina," which included not only North and South Carolina, but the region
now occupied by Georgia, the greater part of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and
"westward to the seas beyond." In 1732, George II, granted to General Oglethorpe
and twenty-one trustees, for philanthropic colonization of imprisoned debtors
and persons bound to service, the territory from the Savannah River southward to
St. Mary River, for twenty-one years, to be called after the King, "Georgia."
The period of this charter expired in 1753, and Georgia reverted to the British
Crown. The Revolution of 1776, the independence of the colonies, and the
formation of the Federal Government of the United States, changed the status. As
a sovereign State, Georgia then claimed, under the Royal charter, the territory
north of 318, westward to the Mississippi River. In 1783 the British Government
ceded all rights to the United States, and in 1802, for the sum of $1,250,000,
Georgia ceded to the General Government the whole of her territory between the
Chattahoochee and Mississippi Rivers, amounting to 1,000,000 square miles,
stipulating that every sixteenth section should be donated for purposes of
education.

    The commissioners who effected this transaction on the part of the General
Government, were James Madison, Albert Gallatin and Levi Lincoln. Those who
represented Georgia were James Jackson, Abraham Baldwin and John Milledge. North
and South Carolina also ceded all claims to territory from the western boundary
of those States to the Mississippi River and the boundary of Mississippi
Territory was extended northward to the Tennessee State line.

    But, previous to this great transfer, two episodes occurred, touching
territory, in which Madison County is embraced.

    In 1875 [sic], out of that portion of the then territory north of the
Tennessee River, the State of Georgia, by enactment, created the county of
Houston, called after John Houston, Governor of Georgia. Commissioners were
appointed to organize it, and, with eighty men, proceeded to Muscle Shoals for
that purpose. A land-office was opened, and magistrates were made. But
apprehension of the Chickasaw Indians arose. The party broke up and departed,
and the enterprise fell through.

    In 1794-5, the government of Georgia authorized the sale of 21,500.000 acres
of land, now in Alabama and Mississippi, for the sum of $500,000. The purchasers
were companies of speculators called "The Yazoo Land Company," "The Georgia Land
Company," and "The Tennessee Land Company." The measure was passed by bribery
and corruption, and was afterward characterized as "The Yazoo Fraud." The
Legislature succeeding obtained ample proofs of bribery, expunged the bill from
the journal, and had the official engrossed act burned at Louisville, at that
time the capital of Georgia. But, "The Tennessee Land Company" having received a
deed over the seal of Georgia and sign-manual of its Governor, Matthews, to that
part of North Alabama "from the Tennessee line, extending South to latitude 35°
10', and, with Bear Creek as its western boundary, thence running east one
hundred and twenty miles," claimed a good title to all North Alabama for a
distance of sixty miles south, including 1,000,000 acres among the richest, in
agricultural and mineral resources, in the United States. While the Indians
occupied the land, and called it their own, this corporation divided it into
townships and sections, or lots, of one thousand acres each, and sold what they
could on a credit of one, two, three and four years, without interest, about the
years 1806-7. Deeds thus given antedate other titles, except a few, and were
recorded in 1810-11—the first that appear on the county deed books. The oldest
deed is to Martin Beatty, in 1808, for one thousand acres in a square, including
"the big spring," and nearly all of Huntsville. The consideration was one
thousand dollars. Other conveyances were to Freeman Jones, 450 acres, William
Campbell, 640 acres, G. Harrison, 200 acres, and to Henry L. Sheffey, 10,000
acres—all at the rate of $l per acre. The last of these deeds recorded bears
date of record in 1811, to Martin Beatty and Hen-jamin Estill, 40,000 acres,
excepting 6,000 included and already sold at the rate of $1 per acre. This tract
covered land in the region of Huntsville, and was one of the finest in the South.

    The Indian tribes had been recognized by the General Government as
independent communities, and their right to remain in possession of their lands
and to sell them when they pleased, was acknowledged, so that all sales of lands
by companies or individuals, when the Indian titles were not extinguished, were
held null and void and were disallowed by the General Government. And after
lands were ceded by the Indians to the General Government, parties had no
claims, except occupancy and preemption, the same as other settlers on land, at
the time of survey of the public domain for public sale. These just and proper
decisions were arrived at in consequence of the claims set up by the corporators
of the gigantic land speculations, mentioned.

    In 1814, Congress appropriated $600,000 of script, known as "Mississippi
stock," for distribution pro rata among the claimants under the Land Company,
and receivable in payment of public lands in the territory claimed by the
"Tennessee Land Company." Prior to the land sales of 1809, Martin Beatty had
relinquished his claim to the land about Huntsville and the spring, and entered
other lands. The claims of many others were similarly settled by the General
Government. After 1815, the few purchasers from the "Tennessee Land Company "
who had not adjusted or filed their claims were ejected by troops, and the
United States had undisputed title to the lauds obtained from Georgia.

    In 1805, John Hunt first came to the "Big Spring," and, in 1806, brought his
family from East Tennessee to that locality. After him the town was named. He
failed to perfect his title to the land he occupied at first. One of his
descendants was John Hunt Morgan, the distinguished cavalry officer of the
Confederate Army, who was betrayed and killed at Greenville, Tenn. A year or two
before 1805, old man Ditto was among the Indians at Ditto's Landing, now called
Whitesburg; John McCartney, from Georgia, was living near the Tennessee line;
and Joseph and Isaac Criner built a house near Criner's big spring, on Mountain
Fork of Flint River, before the first visit of Hunt.

    The land embraced in Madison County was the common hunting-ground of the
Cherokee and Chickasaw Indian tribes, used by both and settled by neither. These
were the finest of their race in physique, intelligence, and courage; and,
though savage and cruel, they sometimes exhibited genuine magnanimity. The
Cherokees in 1712-13 assisted the colonists of Carolina, under Cols. John
Barnwell and James Moore, to defeat the Tuscarora Indians, who had seriously
threatened the province, and helped to drive them northward, where they joined
the Five Nations under King Philip. The Chickasaws are not known to have ever
been defeated in battle. The rugged mountain region, eastward of Madison, with
their stronghold at Nickajack, was occupied by the Cherokees; and the country,
westward to the Mississippi River, north of the Choctaws, who inhabited the
prairie section below them, belonged to the Chickasaws.

    July 23, 1805, the Chickasaws ceded their claim to the land east of a line
run from the month of Duck River on the Tennessee line, to the western part of
"Chickasaw old fields" on the Tennessee Hirer; and January 7, 1806, the
Cherokees ceded their right to land west of a direct line from near the source
of Elk River to Chickasaw Island, now Hobbs, in the Tennessee River. This area
contained 322,000 acres. About thirty miles north and south, it was three miles
wide on the river and twenty-five wide on the.State line, and when organized was
called '" Old Madison." This occurred in l.so.s. Robert Williams, originally
from North Carolina, the Governor of Mississippi Territory, by proclamation
created the county of Madison. Here was made the first government survey in the
territory, and in 1809, in the land office at Nashvile, the first public sale of
land in the territory was made of the lands of Madison County.

    "The great bend of the Tennessee River," includes the counties of Madison,
Jackson, Lauderdale and Limestone. The river crosses the thirty-fifth parallel
of latitude about ten miles northeast of Bridgeport and turns southwest,
reaching its extreme southern point near Guntersville, at a point about
forty-two miles due south of the Tennessee State line, and then turning
northwest, again enters Tennessee at the northwest corner of the State, some ten
miles down the river from Eastport. The distance from the Huntsville meridian,
along the Tennessee line to Mississippi State line, is about ninety miles and
from this meridian westward to the Tennessee River, is about fifty miles, and on
from the river to the Georgia State line, at the corner of Jackson and DeKalb
counties, ten miles. The great bend measured east and west along the Tennessee
line, is one hundred and forty miles from entrance to exit of the river, and its
greatest extent north and south is forty-two miles. Madison and Limestone
counties occupy the middle portion of this territory, extending from the river
to the State line. The early settlers of Xorth Alabama were men who had fought
the Indians in Western Georgia and Middle Tennessee, and were inured to the
danger, privation, and suffering of pioneer life. But when they came to Alabama,
they found a land of peace and plenty. Though nearly surrounded by savage
tribes, there never was any war or disturbance in Madison County. The white
settlers, who came in 1805-6, were never molested by the Indians. The Cherokees
and Chiekasaws visited it in autumn, and returned to their settlements, as
winter set in, laden with game. Their camping-grounds can now be identified by
the stone arrow-heads and hatchets, scattered over the fields in certain places.
The pioneers who first settled the county, from Georgia and Tennessee,
originally came from North Carolina and Virginia. They were enthusiastic in
their praises of the beauty and fertility of the county: and those who were
attracted to it by the glowing accounts of its wonders, said, "the half had not
been told them." The beauty of the mountains and valleys, the numerous clear and
sparkling streams running over pebbly bottoms, and the magnificence of the
primeval forests, decked with the splendor of great giants of the woods, led
them to think this the finest region ever trodden by the foot of man. They had
at last reached the land of promise. In a climate, free from extremes of either
cold or heat, with a deep, rich virgin soil, subject to neither floods nor
drouths, a region abounding in game of every description—deer and turkeys, ducks
and wild pigeons by the hundreds, thousands and millions, and watercourses full
of trout, bream and salmon, the native game fish, the means of living were
abundant.

    The lands once cleared and fenced, with little labor yielded a generous
support to man and beast. Cattle and hogs required little care and multiplied
rapid]y. The seasons were regular, and good crops could be depended upon.

    When the public lands were surveyed and sold, many of these pioneers, since
known as "squatters," were able to purchase their homes, and, before the close
of 1809, the ancestors of a large number of the best citizens were permantly
settled on lands now occupied by their descendants. Up to the close of the year
1809, a population of nearly five thousand was in the old county limits: but.
with a few exceptions, the population was of the pioneer type; however, stories
of the beauty, fertility and salubrity of the county began to attract a more
cultured and wealthy population from the other States, who developed here the
refinement and luxury of their former homes. The tide of immigration flowed
steadily in this direction, slaves were brought in considerable numbers, and
lands were opened for cultivation, good houses were erected, and money became
plentiful, with abounding prosperity.

    In the year 1807, the general surveyor for Mississippi Territory was
authorized to contract for the survey of public lands in his jurisdiction, to
which the Indian title had been extinguished. Madison County was the first land
surveyed in North Alabama, with the exception of the lands, in Range 2, East,
surveyed by T. Roach. The old county was surveyed by Thomas Freeman, of
Nashville, Tenn., and his work was well performed.

    The first was the survey of Huntsville meridian, from the State line to the
Tennesse River. The survey of "old Madison" was reported to the land office in
May, and in August, 1809, the lands were offered for sale. The land office was
at Nashville, Tenn., Gen. John Brahan being Register. These lands were eagerly
sought for and taken up by a class of settlers who were, in intellect,
enterprise and energy, the peers of any on the continent, and who, for over a
quarter of a century were prominent in the State and National assemblies.

    Immigration to the county, previous to 1809, came from the direction of
Winchester, crossed into the county near its northeast comer, and followed "the
Cherokee line" down Flint River to Brownsboro. The fine water-power at Flint
Bridge attracted many settlers, and Bennett Wood entered the lands from the
Three Forks down to the Bell Factory, with the intention of erecting a mill
thereon. John Hunt had made his way from the New Market country, through the
wilderness, to the Huntsville Spring in 1805, and many followed that path. But
the larger settlement was by way of New Market to Flint Bridge, and down the old
Deposit road to the Brownsboro neighborhood.

    At the land sales in 1809, a strong tide of immigration commenced down the
Meridian road by persons from Williamson, Bedford and Maury Counties, Tenn., to
make purchases in the newly-opened territory. A direct route, via Fayetteville,
to Nashville was established; and the land office remained in Nashville until
1811, founding close business relations between the capital of Tennessee and
Huntsville. The National road, when Natchez was the capital of Mississippi
Territory, leading from Tennessee to the lower colonies, was first called "the
Natchez trace," afterwards "the Military road," because the troops from
Tennessee and Alabama travelled it in marching to the defense of New Orleans,
and is now "the Limestone road." The right of way had been conceded by the
Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes in 1805. In 1809 Wallace Estell entered the quarter
section of land where Cumming's Mill now stands, and there built the first mill
in the county. Charles Cabaniss located at Powers' Spring, entered the old Tate
place above Hazel Green, and built the first cotton factory in the county, on
Barren Fork, in Section S.     H. Ford entered the land near the junction of
Mountain Fork and Barren Fork, and built a cotton factory at an early period.

    Between Flint Bridge and Huntsville, William Moore, Nathan Strong, James
Roper, Matthew Weaver and John R. B. Eldridge lived. Down the Meridian road, the
land was all taken up in large bodies. Robert Thompson and Thomas Bibb entered
nearly all in sections west of the road from Birch Fork to Meridianville; and
James Manning and B. S. Pope the land south to the Strong homestead. On the east
of the road were John Lowry and John and William Watkins. Along the line of the
western road from Pope's place, Powell, Richard Harris, Rowland Cornelius and
others settled. From Strong's to Huntsville, John Connally, D. Humphrey, P. Cox,
John W. Walker, Charles Cabaniss and Hugh McVay entered. Out towards Russell's
Hill, George Dilworth, Edward Ward and John Allison located lands; and east of
Huntsville, in Power's Cave, Charles Cabaniss, Moses Vincent and Allen Christian
lived. South and west of Huntsville many purchases were made in 1809, by
ancestors of the present owners. Among these early buyers were Dr. David Moore,
A. and J. Sibley, J. and S. Acklen, R. Langford, J. Withers, William Lanier,
Archie McDonald, D. Carmichael, James and Andrew Drake, P. McLemore, J. and W.
Blevins, William Simpson, William Robertson, Henry Haynes and the Turners. Large
bodies of land were entered for speculation, and Petersburg, Ga., is remarkable
for having been the former residence of a large number of the heaviest
purchasers of public land. James Manning, R. Thompson, Leroy Pope, John W.
Walker, Thomas Bibb, William Bibb and Peyton Cox, were all from that place, and
probably purchased nearly one-half of the lands sold in 1809. They were, for a
long time, prominent men in the county. Of other large purchasers, C. Kennedy
was from Pendleton District, S. C.; B. Wood from Tennessee; Charles Cabaniss
from Lunenburg County, Va.; S. Allen, Jacob Priest and Willam Robertson were
living in the county before the land sales. In 1810 Thomas Brandon and Nicholas
Reedy entered the Henry Motz farm; and John Baker, the Holding Brick house tract
below McDonalds or Baker's Creek. At that time, J. H. Posey, C. C. Clay and
Gabriel Moore made their first purchases of land in Madison County. G. Moore
settled the homestead west of the brick schoolhouse; Posey, north of Huntsville;
and Clay, a quarter section of land, south of Andrew Drakes, in Drake's Cove.

    December 23, 1809, the Territorial Legislature passed an Act, that "William
Dickson, Edward Ward, Louis Winston, Alex. Gilbreath and Peter Perkins, of
Madison County, be elected commissioners, for the purpose of fixing on the most
convenient place for establishing the public buildings in the said county, and
they, or a majority of them, shall have power to procure, by purchase or
otherwise, not less than thirty, nor more than one hundred, acres of land, at
the most convenient and suitable place, which shall be laid out in half-acre
lots, reserving three acres for public, buildings, and sold at public auction,
on twelve months' credit. The money to be applied by said commissioners towards
defraying the expenses of erecting the public buildings    of the county."

    For the quarter section of land containing the big spring there was no
competition at the land sales of 1809, and Le Roy Pope paid over $23 per acre.
At that time there were two or three hundred inhabitants, scattered over the
ground now occupied by Huntsville. The town was first laid out in 1810, and its
plan was probably agreed upon between Pope and the commissioners. There were
four half-acre lots in each square, and about sixty acres of ground were
embraced in the plan. Pope was a wise and liberal man. The Spring Bluff
determined the angle of the streets, which are thirty-four degrees from the true
meridian. The first survey of the town was probably the work of John W. Leake.
Hunter Peel came into Huntsville in 1816. The original plan of the town was not
recorded and is not extant. The plat thought to be the original plan was drawn
by Hunter Peel, by order of the trustees of the Pope donation, in 1821, and
still exists. After the town was first laid out, the commissioners, who all
lived in the neighborhood of the big spring, purchased thirty acres from Mr.
Pope, paying the nominal price of seventy-five dollars. This deed was not
recorded until 1815. They selected the south half of the town, the line running
through the court-house square. This portion of the town was sold rapidly in
half-acre lots, bringing from two to five hundred dollars each. Ten thousand
dollars was realized and applied to public buildings. Pope afterward obtained
more than twice as much for the northern portion of the town, which he had
retained.

    John Hunt, after whom the place was called, was not able to purchase at the
sales the land on which he located. He did buy one quarter-section, but failed
to make the payments, and it reverted to the United States. In 1811, the town
was incorporated by the Territorial Legislature, as "Huntsville," with a board
of trustees. The Legislature of 1843-44, granted a new charter to the town,
dividing it into four wards, and providing for the election of a mayor and eight
aldermen.

    The first lot sold in the new town, was sold on the Fourth of July, 1810.
The first court-house was commenced soon afterward, and court was held in it in
the fall of 1811.

    The first trading-house or store was that of Alexander Gilbreath, near the
spring, about the corner of Gates and Henry streets. After the town was laid
out, Gilbreath and James White formed a copartnership, and did a large business
in 1811-12.

    The first houses on the public square were built by John Brown and J. O.
Crump, on the north side, called "Exchange Row." Rose, LeRoy Pope and Hitchman
built the first stores on the east side. John Reed, a clerk in the land office
at Nashville, in 1809, bought the west half of the South Side, called
"Commercial Row," and also the corner lot west, across Madison street. On this
he built his first house and sold it to Andrew Jamison, who afterward sold it to
Allen Cooper. Latterly it has been the .property of F. O. Schandies. Reed sold
lots on Commercial Row to J. Falconer, James Clemens, Stephen Ewing and Taylor
and Foote. Stephen Neal, who was sheriff from 1809 to 1822, purchased the east
half of Commercial Row, and sold it, by the lot, to Luther and Calvin Morgan, C.
C. Clay, William Patton and Andrew Beirne, who were long and favorably known
under the firm-name of "Patton & Beirne." Christopher Cheatham erected a tavern
on the Huntsville Hotel lot. Thomas and William Brandon, the builders of the
place, came here in 1810, with no property except their trowels and mechanical
skill; and from a struggling village of wooden shanties, they made a town of
brick and stone.

    The Creek War began with the massacre of Fort Mims, in Washington County, on
the Alabama River, on the 30th of August, 1813. General Jackson appealed at once
to the militia of his division and soon found a considerable force at his
command. Among his troops were four companies from Madison County, led by
captains Gray, Mosely, Eldridge and Hamilton. Organizing his army at
Fayetteville, he established a depot of supplies at Deposit Ferry, on the
Tennessee River, and opened "Jackson's Trace," the Deposit road from New Market,
through New Hope, to the ferry. Enthusiasm was great, and high prices were paid
by some for the privilege of taking the places of the men enrolled. The Madison
companies were put into a regiment with Tennesseans, commanded by Col. James
Carroll, an intimate friend of General Jackson. Under him they participated in
the important battles of Talladega and Emuckfaw, where, being on an exposed
flank, they suffered severely. They were also at the battle of Tohopeka, which
closed the war. The company of Captain Eldridge was raised in Huntsville and
Meridianville, and that of Captain Hamilton in the mountain settlements of Flint
River. These companies bore a part in the occupation of Mobile and Pensacola.

    On the 8th of January, 1815, the battle of New Orleans was fought, and on
the 18th of June the battle of Waterloo. The Treaty of Ghent between England and
the United States and the cessation of fighting between the nations of Europe,
on the imprisonment of Napoleon at St. Helena, gave rest and opportunities of
recuperation to the civilized world.

    Cotton came into demand at a high price, and its cultivation, with negro
labor, educated to the skillful use of the plow and the hoe, reliable and under
control, promised large profits. In 1818 the magnificent lands of the Tennessee
Valley of Alabama were placed upon the market. Speculation became the rage. The
tobacco lands of Virginia had become worn and the profits of that staple had
materially diminished. The price of cotton was high, 20 to 25 cents per pound;
and in the rich virgin soil of the Tennessee Valley of Alabama, each good hand
could make, annually, five or six hundred dollars. Besides, being unlike the
sickly lands of the coast region, high and healthy, the increase of the negro
slaves equalled the proceeds of the crops. Lands purchased in 1809, at $2 per
acre, sold at $15 and $20. For example: In 1817, Robert Thompson sold 640 acres,
entered above Meridianville, to Thomas G. Percy, for $10,800; Jacob Pruitt sold
137 acres, north of Mooresville, for $20 per acre; James Manning sold the land
on which Dr. Hampton now resides, at $18 per acre. These were considered
bargains, and shrewd business men like Charles Cabaniss, Dr. David Moore, John
Brahan and Samuel Allen, who had purchased large bodies in 1809, considered
their lands worth more, and preferred the profits of cotton planting to
speculation. The value of town property kept pace with that of farms. For
instance: John Reed paid the commissioners $750 for lot No. 42, now Shandies'
corner, and in 1815 sold it for $7,500; Reed and Neal paid $500 each for the
lots on Commercial Row; Neal sold his for $8,400. LeRoy Pope realized $10,000
for the Holding Square, including the storehouse of Pope & Hickman.

    On the 2d day of February, 1818, land sales began at Huntsville, then the
only town in the valley. But, with the land-office and a bank, and twenty
thousand people in Madison County eager to invest in lands, the times were
lively. Within two years the counties of Morgan, Blount, St. Clair, Jackson,
Limestone, Lauderdale, Lawrence and Franklin were occupied and organized. And
the towns of Bellefonte, Somerville, Moulton, Athens, Tuscumbia, Florence,
Blountsville, Asheville and Russelville were founded, and nearly all of them
incorporated. At that period there were no preemption laws for the benefit of
the poorer classes of settlers, and men of means, chiefly from Virginia, North
Carolina and Georgia, flocked in to buy and to settle. Lands covered with
primeval forests sold from twenty, as high as one hundred dollars per acre, and
all the best lands in the entire valley were taken up. Fifty thousand people
settled in its limits within a period of two years, and the Tennessee River,
from its entrance into the State, near the Gcorgia line, to its exit, near the
Mississippi line, had a continuous farming settlement on both sides, with a
teeming population.

    In 1818, old Madison comprised about three-fourths of its present area (872
square miles); and the population was 20,000. Huntsville was the only town in
the valley of the Tennessee, in Alabama; and outside of the county limits not a
man owned an acre of ground. Madison received considerable accession of new
territory, to which many of its citizens transferred their energies. But numbers
of prominent men located lands farther down the valley, and became
representatives of the new counties. At the public sales the lands added to
Madison sold well. The uplands of the Matthews plantation, west of the Indian
line, brought $27 per acre; the Donegon place, $20; the lands in Mullin's Flat,
$30. Toward Madison station, the Bradford plantation brought $30; the Clemens
place the same; while the Patton and Stevens plantations, near Swancot, sold at
$50 and $54 per acre, all wild woods. West of Madison the bottom lands brought
higher figures, some, in the region of Tuscumbia, covered with timber, selling
at over $100 per acre.

    During 1818 the United States Government laid off three sites for cities,
"York Bluff," "Cold Water," and "Marathon," and sold the land in one acre lots.
A corporation was also formed under the name of "Indian Creek Navigation
Company"; and the bluff at Triana was marked off for a city, lots of which, at
the first sale by the trustees, realized $90,000. This enterprise was made a
failure by the progress in transportation through science, and the changes in
the carrying trade effected by steam.

    When the laws of the Territory were extended into Madison County in 1810,
LeRoy Pope, Edward Ward, Wm. Dickson, John Withers and Thomas Bibb were
appointed justices of the quorum, Pope being chief justice. In the year 1814.
Wm. Dickson and Edward Ward resigned, and Dr. David Moore and Abner Tatum were
appointed. These gentlemen served until 1819. Wm. H. Winston was recorder, and
was succeeded by Henry Minor.

    In May, 1810, by an Act of Congress, a judge of the Superior Court of Law
and Equity for Madison County was appointed, and Judge Obadiah Jones opened
court at Huntsville, attired, as customary in the older States, with black gown
and cocked hat, the sheriff preceding him, holding in front a drawn sword. Peter
Perkins was clerk of the court, and in April, 1811, Francis E. Harris, who
remained in office until Alabama was admitted into the Union. John W. Walker
served as attorney-general. On the second Monday in December, 1812, Eli Norman
was tried for murder, and convicted. Motion for a new trial was overruled on
Thursday. The criminal was sentenced on Friday and hung on Saturday. There was
no lynch law or lynching in those days. This was the issue of the first trial
for murder in Alabama.

    In 1812, the Territorial Legislature incorporated the old "Green Academy"
for boys: in Huntsville, with Wm. Edmanson, John Brahan, Wm. Leslie, James
McCartney, Peter Perkins, C. Burns, W. Derrick, J. Neely, Jno. Grayson, H. Cox,
B. Woods, S. Allen, A. K. Davis, W. Evans and Nathan Powers as trustees. Woods
and Davis were ministers of the gospel. General Brahan donated the land on which
the public school now stands; and until the establishment of the State
University, in 1821, this was the leading institution in all this region. In
1816 the Territorial Legislature appropriated $500 to the academy; and in 1818
Lemuel Mead, Henry Chambers, Henry Minor, Jno. M. Taylor, C. C. Clay and J. W.
Walker became trustees. In every part of the county there was an effort to keep
up public schools, and very few of the early generation raised in Madison County
were unable to read and to write. Many of them have scattered to the prairie
region of South Alabama and Mississippi, to the Mississippi bottom, to Arkansas,
Louisiana and Texas—and they have generally held their own.

    Among the first ministers of the gospel mentioned in the county are: David
Thompson, Thomas Moore, Woodson Loyd, Robert Hancock and William Lanier, of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, all licensed before 1814; Bennett Woods, John
Nicholson, John McCutchen, John Canterberry and Wm. Bird, of the Baptist Church;
and A. K. Davis and J. W. Allen, of the Presbyterian Church.

    The roll of attorneys who were admitted to practice in the Superior Court at
Huntsville, from the year 1810 to 1820, is an exceptionally brilliant one. J. W.
Walker became Circuit Judge and United States Senator; M. Williams, member of
the Legislature and Judge of County Court at Tuscaloosa; G. Colter, Circuit
Judge at Florence; John M. Taylor. Circuit Judge and Justice of the Supreme
Court; C. C. Clay, Circuit Judge, Member of Congress, Governor, Justice of the
Supreme Court, United States Senator and Codifier of the Laws of Alabama; Henry
Minor, Circuit Judge and Supreme Court Reporter; John McKinley, Member of the
Legislature and United States Senator: Samuel Chapman, Judge of Madison County
Court for fourteen years and Circuit Judge of Tuscaloosa Circuit for twelve
years; William Kelly, Member of Congress and United States Senator; Henry
Chambers, Member of the Legislature and United States Senator: Hugh McVay,
President of the Senate of Alabama and Governor; Wm. I. Adair, Speaker of the
House of Alabama and Circuit Judge; James G. Birney, Member of the first
Legislature of Alabama, and, on removing to the North, the first candidate of
the Republican party for the Presidency of the United States; Arthur F. Hopkins,
Circuit Judge and Justice of the Supreme Court from Mobile, where he moved; and
James W. McClurg, twice Speaker of the lower house of the Legislature.

    In the medical profession, during the early days, were two men of scholarly
attainments and eminent skill, both as surgeons and practitioners— Dr. David
Moore, elsewhere spoken of, and Dr. Thomas Fearn. The latter served under
General Jackson in the war of 1812, and spent 1818 and 1819 in the medical
schools and hospitals of Europe. An article he afterward published on the use of
quinine in typhoid fever inaugurated a revolution in the treatment of that dread
disease. He represented Madison County in the Legislature in 1822, and twice
soon after. He was a Presidential Elector and Member of the Provisional Congress
of the Confederate States in 1861. He was a handsome man, with a fine mind,
great enterprise and public spirit, participating in many of the improvements
about Huntsville and in the various projects of the day. Dr. Alexander Erskine
came later, from Virginia also, and survived his distinguished confreres. He was
popular and beloved, a man of high character. He practiced his profession after
Drs. Moore and Fearn had withdrawn, and long did a lucrative business.

    After these, Dr. Francis H. Newman came to Huntsville from Maryland. He was
a physician of scientific attainments and general information. A man of heart,
retiring in his disposition, devoted to his profession, and able in diagnosis
and treatment, he possessed the confidence of his patients and of the community
in which his life was passed.

    The first newspaper published in Alabama Territory was printed at
Huntsville, in 1812, by a Mr. Parham. and called The Madison Gazette.

    The first bank was established under authority conferred by the Legislature
upon LeRoy Pope, John P. Hickman, David Moore, B. Cox, John M. Taylor, Thomas
Fearn, J. Searcy, C. C. Clay and John W. Walker to open books of subscription
for that purpose, in 1816.

    Hunter Peel, who came to Huntsville in 1816, was a useful citizen, He was an
Fnglishman, and had served in the British Army as an engineer. He surveyed part
of the public domain in 1818, and was an excellent draughtsman. His admirable
map of Madison County was lost or destroyed during the sectional war. His map of
the old Huntsville corporation is extant: and, in connection with J. Barklay, he
constructed the Huntsville Water-Works, which have furnished pure, cold water,
by iron pipes, throughout the town, for sixty-five years.

    Alabama Territory had the pie-requisites to constitute a State. A convention
of the people was called to frame a constitution and to apply for admission into
the Union. This body convened at Huntsville, July 5, 1819, and was composed of
forty-four delegates from twenty-two counties. Madison County was entitled to
eight, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa to two each, and Mobile and Dallas Counties to
one each. John W. Walker, of Madison, was made presiding officer. A Territorial
Legislature also met at Huntsville, October 25, 1819. On the 14th of December,
the same year, Congress, by joint resolution, approved by President Monroe,
admitted Alabama as a State into the Union. The first Legislature of Alabama
assembled at Huntsville, on the first Monday in August, 1820. And the first
Governor of the State was Wm. W. Bibb, of Madison County, who on his death was
succeeded by Thomas Bibb, his brother. President of the Senate, also of Madison.

    In the history of Alabama as a State, nine of its Governors have been
identified by residence or by birth with Madison County, to-wit: the two Bibbs,
Gabriel Moore, C. C. Clay, Reuben Chapman, John A. Winston, before the sectional
war; and Robert Patton, D. P. Lewis and E. A. O'Neal, since the war. Eight
United States Senators, and two Confederate Senators, have hailed from
Huntsville, namely: John W. Walker, who served from 1819 to 1823; William Kelly,
from 1822 to 1825; Henry Chambers, from 1825 to 1826; John McKinley, from 1826
to 1831; Gabriel Moore, from 1831 to 1837; C. C. Clay, from 1837 to 1843; Jere
Clemens, from 1849 to 1853, and C. C. Clay, Jr., from 1853 to 1861; in the
Confederate States Senate, C. C. Clay, Jr., served first and afterward Richard
W. Walker. Gen. L. P. Walker was Secretary of War of the Confederate States, in
1861. In 1842 Dr. David Moore was defeated for the United States Senate by four
votes from his own section of the State, influenced by personal or local
motives; otherwise Huntsville would have had an unbroken succession of Senators
in the Congress of the United States.

    Before the war, in the Conventions of the Democratic party in Alabama, the
basis of representation was the white vote in each county, and North Alabama,
being overwhelmingly Democratic, was called "The Avalanche." because, going down
solid from this region, it overran the more Whiggish counties below. Colonel
Galloway, a native of Madison County, Ala., started an important newspaper at
Memphis, Tenn., and mindful of this soubriquet, called it "The Avalanche," known
and respected to-day. Under the new system of representation in Democratic
Conventions, since the redemption of the State, the white counties of North
Alabama have lost the power they formerly had in the counsels of the party, and,
through the material used in State elections, Democrats of "the black belt"
dominate. There is no disposition to jeopardize the peace, safety and
conservative influence of that section of the State. But the party is organized
on Federal politics, not on State, county, town or personal issues; and the
election of the Presidential electors is the most unfailing, unmixed and
important criterion of party allegiance. In the distribution of party power in
the State, its fairness and squarenesss can not be questioned. When the
Democracy of North Alabama require representation on that basis, it will be
conceded as right: but not until a firm and decided stand is taken. In the mean
time this section is dwarfed of the power justly belonging to it.

    In 1823, the great thoroughfares of the country here were opened in various
directions for convenience and to facilitate communication and the business
interests, superseding the old Indian trails. The streets of Huntsville, many of
them graded by Hunter Peel, were also macadamized with blue limestone rock from
the mountain base. Drains were opened next to the sidewalks and deciduous trees
set out for comfort, health and adornment.

    Between 1820 and 1830, houses of worship were built in Huntsville by the
different denominations of Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians and Cumberland
Presbyterians. They were occupied by large and liberal congregations, as they
are now. Later the Episcopalians raised a gothic structure, and for several
decades have had a full and prosperous church. Since the war the Roman Catholics
have built a stone edifice for their services, on a main street. "The Christian"
sect have recently completed a modest building. And the colored people of
different persuasions have their churches. Among all, the spirit is liberal and
harmony prevails, with absence of bigotry and jealousy.

    In 1830, the population of Madison County was 27,990. In that year the
Pre-emption Law was passed, having been earnestly advocated by C. C. Clay,
Representative in Congress.

    In 1832, great land sales took place in this valley, with additional influx
and settlement by farmers of moderate means.

    In 1831, the Female Seminary was established by Presbyterians, and has
continuously sent forth young ladies of high education.

    In 1832, "The Bell Factory" was incorporated, as "Patton, Donegan &
Company," for the manufacturer of cotton cloths. It ran 100 looms and 3000
spindles, and for many years under direction of Dr. C. H. Patton distributed its
excellent products at a handsome profit.

    In 1836, the last remnants of the Indians were removed from Madison County
to the Indian Territory.

    In 1838, the present court-house was built by Wilson and Mitchell for
$52,000: and at the same time the structure of the National Bank was erected by
George Steel. The streets were extended and graded, drainage was improved; and
many private residences were put up.

    In 1843, the Female College was inaugurated by Methodists, and has since
been an admirable institution, popular throughout the South.

    In the same year a new charter for Huntsville was obtained from the General
Assembly, dividing the town into four wards and providing for a government of a
mayor and eight aldermen.

    In 1850, the Memphis & Charleston Railroad was projected by men of
Huntsville, and soon constructed. The second president of the enterprise was
George P. Beirne, and the third Archibald Mills, of this place.

    In 1872, "The Huntsville Agricultural and Mechanical Association" was
organized, for giving Fairs every fall, with exhibitions of farm produce and
fine stock. It has greatly promoted the objects sought, has been well managed,
and is undoubtedly the most prosperous and substantial Fair association in the
Cotton States. In 1880, it had the best exhibit of farm produce at the State
Fair in Montgomery, and last fall took the first premium of $400 there.

    In 1883, the population of Madison County was 37,625—White, 17,591; colored,
19,034. Acres in cotton, corn, oats, wheat, rye, tobacco and sweet potatoes,
213,221. The production of cotton, 29,879 bales. The rich, red valley lands
constitute 300 square miles; the coal measures tablelands, 150 square miles: and
sandy lands on the mountains, 50 square miles.

    The latitude, the elevation, the configuration of the mountain chains, and
the direction of the valleys and of the prevailing winds combine to create a
climate, the finest throughout the year to be found in the United States. The
beauty of the women of Huntsville is as proverbial as their culture. And the
numerous ruddy children and robust, athletic men give the most substantial proof
of beneficent surroundings.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

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

PART IV.
MONOGRAPHS OF THE PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ALABAMA,
TOGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MANY OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVE PEOPLE.


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