Sumter County AlArchives History .....Livingston 1888
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 September 15, 2011, 9:18 pm

LIVINGSTON

    LIVINGSTON was founded about the year 1833. It is located upon a beautiful
sandy plateau, with the black, nndulating prairies on the north and east, and
the Sncamatchee River on the south and west. Prior to its settlement by the
whites it is said to have been an Indian village and a favorite resort for the
pastimes of the Red Men. Its groves of green trees, overspreading leagues of
white sand with an occasional patch of grass, were well calculated to lure the
wild hunter to rest, the youths in their primitive games of ball, and the dusky
lovers of the forest wilds. For many years prior to the civil war, Livingston
was a favorite place of residence of the wealthy planters who built handsome
houses along its broad, shady streets, while their slaves tilled the prairie
plantations in the adjacent regions. Thus the place came to be, even in its
earliest days, one of social elegance and refinement.

    Upon the organization of the county of Sumter, Livingston became the seat of
justice, a distinction which it enjoys to-day. It has a population of about
1,200. It is located upon the Alabama Great Southern Division of the famous
Queen & Crescent Line, which extends from Cincinnati to New Orleans. South of
Livingston nine miles. at the village of York, the East Tennessee, Virginia &
Georgia Railroad system crosses the Alabama Great Southern; and north, at Akron,
thirty-five miles distant, the Western Railroad of Alabama forms a junction with
the line upon which Livingston is located. Of late years the place has become a
watering resort and an educational center. While boring for water with which to
supply the town, a saline current was reached, which, upon investigation and
analysis, was found to contain wonderful curative properties. Work was begun
upon the well on December 13, 1854, and it was not completed until April 1,
1857. It is 1,062 feet deep, and yields about five pints every minute. The water
caught at the spout in a clear glass discloses slight effervescent qualities, as
the minute bubbles rise to the surface or cleave to the sides of the vessel.

    The water is saline in taste and to most persons is slightly unpleasant when
it is first drunk, but becomes quite palatable after drinking it a few times.
Its temperature is 68 deg. Fahr., and from this does not vary.

    The following is an analysis of the water:

FIXED INGREDIENTS.
Silicic Acid and Silicates                (Troy Grs)                1.138
Bi-Carb. of Iron                                         "                     
      0.204
Bii-Ciarb. of Magnesia                             "                           
2.320
Bi-Carb. of Lime                                         "                     
      7.140
Perchloride of Iron                                    "                       
    0.190
Chloride of Magnesium                                "                         
  1.839
Chloride of Calcium                                    "                       
    2.983
Chloride of Potassium                                "                         
  0.325
Chloride of Sodium                                     "                       
295.435
Strontia                                                         "             
              Trace
Bromide of Sodium                                        "                     
   l0.980
                                                                               
                     312.554

    Persons resort to the waters from every section of the Union, especially
sufferers from dyspepsia and chronic affections of the bowels, and find the
waters exceedingly beneficial. Large quantities of the water are also shipped.
The well is upon a corner of the public square, which is covered throughout with
a carpet of green grass and shaded by broad-branched water oaks. Within easy
distance of the well are spacious hotels and livery stables.

    There are located in the town two schools of repute—a boys' high school, and
the Alabama Normal Female College. They are liberally patronized not only by the
people of Alabama, but by those of the adjacent States. The town sustains two
banks.

    In the surrounding sections are some of the most fertile agricultural lands
to be found in the famous Black Belt. With its social, religious and educational
advantages. Livingston is the peer of any town of the same size in the South.


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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