History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II, Part 115

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 724


USA > Alabama > History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II > Part 115


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Value of All Crops.


Total, $2,775,285.


Cereals, $573,152.


Other grains and seeds, $28,284.


Hay and forage, $88,707.


Vegetables, $240,266.


Fruits and nuts, $57,377. All other crops, $1,787,499.


Selected Crops ( Acres and Quantity).


Cereals: total, 49,135 acres; 626,010 bushels. Corn, 43,393 acres; 565,566 bushels. Oats, 5,694 acres; 60,062 bushels. Wheat, 5 acres; 105 bushels. Rye, 42 acres; 257 bushels. Kafir corn and milo maize, Rice, Other grains:


Dry peas, 2,559 acres; 7,935 bushels. Dry edible beans, 19 acres; 165 bushels. Peanuts, 597 acres; 10,036 hushels.


Hay and forage: total, 6,151 acres; 5,780 tons.


All tame or cultivated grasses, 2,626 acres; 2,566 tons.


Wild, salt, and prairie grasses, 1,130 acres; 1,040 tons. Grains cut green, 2,131 acres; 1,982 tons. Coarse forage, 264 acres; 192 tons. Special crops: Potatoes, 211 acres; 13,481 bushels. Sweet potatoes and yams, 1,517 acres; 112,884 bushels.


Tobacco, 125 pounds. Cotton, 59,325 acres; 19,076 bales.


Cane-sugar, 273 acres; 2,937 tons. Sirup made, 40,069 gallons. Cane-sorghum, 435 acres; 1,585 tons. Sirup made, 16,772 gallons.


Fruits and Nuts.


Orchard fruits: total, 96,001 trees; 59,371 bushels.


Apples, 22,206 trees; 11,787 hushels.


Peaches and nectarines, 64,720 trees; 43,- 560 bushels. Pears, 2,965 trees; 1,728 bushels.


Plums and prunes, 5,609 trees; bushels. Cherries, 241 trees; 118 bushels.


2,101


Quinces, 232 trees; 63 bushels. Grapes, 4,618 vines; 55,295 pounds.


Tropical fruits: total, 1,593 trees. Figs, 1,275 trees; 26,944 pounds. Oranges, 303 trees; 100 boxes.


Small fruits: total, 12 acres; 21,968 quarts. Strawberries, 11 acres; 20,328 quarts.


Nuts: total, 182 trees; 4,635 pounds. Pecans, 101 trees; 1,235 pounds.


Labor, Fertilizer and Feed.


Labor-Farms reporting, 1,655. Cash expended, $133,136. Rent and board furnished, $27,632. Fertilizer-Farms reporting, 3,210. Amount expended, $122,479. Feed-Farms reporting, 1,874. Amount expended, $88,424. Receipts from sale of feedable crops, $24,629.


HISTORY OF ALABAMA


Domestic Animals Not on Farms.


Inclosures reporting domestic animals, 1,318. Value of domestic animals, $262,642. Cattle: total, 2,958; value, $75,612. Number of dairy cows, 1,189. Horses: total, 727; value, $93,445. Mules and asses and hurros: total, 520; value, $87,385.


Swine: total, 1,608; value, $5,505. Sheep and goats; total, 353; value, $695.


Post Offices and Towns .- Revised to July 1, 1919, from U. S. Official Postal Guide. Fig- ures indicate the number or rural routes from that office.


Ahernant.


Brookwood-1.


Kellerman. McConnells-1.


Buhl-1.


Moores Bridge.


Coaling.


Northport-4.


Coker-2.


Olmsted Station.


Cottondale-2.


Peterson.


Duncanville-2.


Ralph-1.


Echola.


Rickey.


Elrod.


Rockcastel.


Fosters.


Samantha-1.


Goethite.


Sandlin.


Greeley.


Searles-1.


Hagler.


Sylvan.


Holman.


Tuscaloosa (ch.)-4.


Holt.


University.


Hull.


Vance-1.


Jena.


Yolande.


Population .- Statistics from decennial puh- lications of the U. S. Bureau of the Census.


White.


Negro.


Total.


1820


5,894


2,335


8,229


1830


8,807


4,839


13,646


1840


9,943


6,640


16,583


1850


10,571


7,485


18,056


1860


12,971


10,229


23,200


1870


11,787


8,294


20,081


1880


15,216


9,741


24,957


1890


18,261


12,091


30,352


1900


21,509


14,638


36,147


1910


28,533


19,026


47,559


1920


53,680


Delegates to Constitutional Conventions .-


1819-Marmaduke Williams; John L. Tin- dal.


1861-Robert Jemison, jr .; William R. Smith.


1865-Moses McGuire; John C. Foster.


1867-Elisha W. Peck; Hugh McGown.


1875-Ezekiel A. Powell; Andrew C. Har- grove.


1901-G. A. Searcy; J. Manly Foster; Wil- liam C. Fitts.


Senators .-


1819-20-Thomas Hogg.


1822-3-Levin Powell.


1825-6-Levin Powell.


1828-9-Levin Powell.


1831-2-Levin Powell.


1833-4-James Guild.


1834-5-Constantine Perkins.


1836-7-Samuel Johnson.


1837-8-George W. Crabb.


1838-9-Dennis Dent.


1840-1-Dennis Dent.


1843-4-Dennis Dent. 1847-8-Dennis Dent.


1851-2-Robert Jemison.


1853-4-Rohert Jemison.


1857-8-Robert Jemison.


1859-60-Robert Jemison.


1863-4-Ezekiel A. Powell.


1865-6-Ezekiel A. Powell.


1868-J. F. Morton. 1871-2-John M. Martin.


1871-2-J. M. Martin; J. DeF. Richards.


1872-3-John M. Martin.


1873-John M. Martin.


1874-5-J. M. Martin. 1875-6-J. M. Martin.


1876-7-A. C. Hargrove.


1878-9-A. C. Hargrove.


1880-1-A. C. Hargrove.


1882-3-A. C. Hargrove.


1884-5-E. H. Moren.


1886-7-W. C. Cross.


1888-9-A. C. Hargrove. 1890-1-A. C. Hargrove.


1892-3-W. G. B. Pearson.


1894-5-Frank S. Moody.


1896-7-Frank S. Moody.


1898-9-F. S. Moody.


1899 (Spec.)-F. S. Moody.


1900-01-George D. Johnston.


1903-George Doherty Johnston.


1907-F. S. Moody.


1907 (Spec.)-F. S. Moody.


1909 (Spec.)-F. S. Moody.


1911-Frank S. Moody.


1915-J. C. Brown.


1919-J. T. Beale.


Representatives .-


1819-20-James Hill; Hardin Perkins;


Julius Sims. 1820-1-James Hill; Hardin Perkins; Jeptha V. Isbell.


1821 (called)-James Hill; Hardin Perk- ins; Jeptha V. Isbell.


1821-2-Marmaduke Williams; Levin Pow- ell; Simon L. Perry.


1822-3-Marmaduke Williams; James Hill; Thomas C. Hunter.


1823-4-James Hill; Hardin Perkins; John L. Tindall.


1824-5-Robert E. B. Baylor; H. Perkins; J. L. Tindall.


1825-6-Marmaduke Williams; Seth Bar- ton; J. L. Tindall; Richard Inge.


1826-7-Marmaduke Williams; Hardin Perkins; Harvey W. Ellis; Benjamin Whit- field.


1827-8-Henry W. Collier; Hardin Perk- ins; Harvey W. Ellis; William H. Jack. 1828-9-Willis Banks; Hardin Perkins; Seth Barton; Benjamin Whitfield.


1829-30-Willis Banks; Hardin Perkins; Harvey W. Ellis; Marmaduke Williams.


1830-1-Marmaduke Williams; Thomas Hogg; Eli Shortridge; Moses Collins.


1831-2-Benjamin B. Fontaine; William H. Terrell; James Foster; John R. Drish.


1832 (called)-Marmaduke Williams; Con. Perkins; Pleasant N. Wilson; John R. Drish. 1832-3-Marmaduke Williams; Con. Perk- ins; Pleasant N. Wilson; John R. Drish.


1337


1338


HISTORY OF ALABAMA


1833-4-Marmaduke Williams; Thomas


Williams; Harvey W. Ellis; Jolly Jones.


1834-5-Dennis Dent; Samuel G. Frierson; Eli Shortridge; Jolly Jones.


1835-6-Dennis Dent; Samuel G. Frierson; Jacob Wyzer; Abel H. White.


1836-7-Dennis Dent; Samuel G. Frierson; Harvey W. Ellis; George W. Crabb.


1837 (called)-Dennis Dent; Samuel G. Frierson; Harvey W. Ellis; George W. Crabb.


1837-8-Benjamin F. Porter; William Simonton; Pleasant H. May; M. Williams. 1838-9-Benjamin F. Porter; Jabez Mit- chell; Reuben Searcy; M. Williams.


1839-40-Benjamin F. Porter; Jabez Mitchell; John D. Phelan; M. Williams.


1840-1-Robert Jemison, jr .; Jabez Mit- chell; H. Perkins; James G. Blount.


1841 (called)-Robert Jemison, jr .; Jabez Mitchell; H. Perkins; James G. Blount.


1841-2-Robert Jemison, Jr .; Jabez Mit- chell; H. Perkins; William R. Smith.


1842-3-Benjamin F. Porter; Marion Banks; William P. Merriwether; William R. Smith.


1843-4-Jabez Mitchell; Marion Banks; William P. Merriwether; B. W. Hunting- ton.


1844-5-Jabez Mitchell; Robert Jemison, Jr .; William P. Merriwether; Peter Martin. 1845-6-James Guild; Benjamin F. Por- ter; A. Wynn.


1847-8-Benjamin F. Robert Porter; Jemison, Jr .; H. Perkins.


1849-50-Moses McQuire; R. Jemison, Jr .; H. Perkins.


1851-2-James B. Wallace; Marion Banks; R. H. Clements.


1853-4-Joshua L. Martin; Newbern H. Brown.


1855-6-Ezekiel A. Powell; Newbern H. Brown.


1857-8-Ezekiel A. Powell; Newbern H. Brown.


1859-60-Newton L. Whitfield; Newbern H. Brown (resigned).


1860-Ezekiel A. Powell.


1861 (1st called)-Ezekiel A. Powell.


1861 (2d called)-William H. Jemison; John Campbell Spencer (died).


1862-Thomas P. Lewis.


1862 (called)-Thomas P. Lewis.


1862-3-Thomas P. Lewis.


1863 (called)-Thomas P. Lewis; W. A. Bishop.


1863-4-Thomas P. Lewis; W. A. Bishop. 1864 (called)-Thomas P. Lewis; W. A. Bishop.


1864-5-Thomas P. Lewis; W. A. Bishop. 1865-6-Newton L. Whitfield; James A. McLester.


1866-7-Newton L. Whitfield; James A. McLester.


1868-S. W. Jones; C. C. Page.


1869-70-S. W. Jones; Ryland Randolph.


1870-1-Newton N. Clements; W. S. Wy- man.


1871-2-N. N. Clements; W. S. Wyman. 1872-3-N. H. Brown.


1873-N. H. Brown.


1874-5-H. H. Brown; N. N. Clements.


1875-6-H. H. Brown; N. N. Clements.


1876-7-H. H. Brown; N. N. Clements. 1878-9-W. G. Cochrane; W. G. B. Pear- scn.


1880-1-H. H. Brown; M. Donoho.


1882-3-H. H. Brown; S. A. M. Wood.


1884-5-H. H. Brown; A. C. Hargrove.


1886-7-N. N. Clements; N. L. Whitfield.


1888-9-N. N. Clements; William G. Coch- rane.


1890-1-N. N. Clements; J. W. Foster. 1892-3-F. M. Barbour; J. P. Gaines.


1894-5-J. J. Mayfield; W. S. Patton.


1896-7-N. N. Clements; W. W. Brandon.


1898-9-H. B. Foster; W. W. Brandon.


1899 (Spec.)-H. B. Foster; W. W. Bran- don.


1900-01-W. W. Brandon; H. B. Foster. 1903-John Manly Foster; Charles Bell Verner.


1907-Fleetwood Rice; J. M. Foster. 1907 (Spec.)-Fleetwood Rice; James C. Brown. 1909 (Spec.)-Fleetwood Rice; James C. Brown.


1911-James C. Brown; Fleetwood Rice. 1915-Fred Fite; J. T. Bealle.


1919-H. T. Burks; A. S. Van de Graff.


REFERENCES .- Toulmin, Digest (1823), index; Acts of Ala .; Brewer, Alaboma, p. 549; Berney, Handbook (1892), p. 332; Riley, Alabama as it is (1893), p. 119; Northern Alabama (1888), p. 168; Alabama, 1909 (Ala. Dept. of Ag. and Ind., Bulletin 27), p. 203; U. S. Soil Survey (1912), with map; Alabama land book (1916), p. 151; Ala. Official and Statistical Register, 1903-1915, 5 vols .; Ala. Anthropological Society, Handbook (1910) ; Geol. Survey of Ala., Agricultural fea- tures of the State (1883) ; The Valley Regions of Alabama, parts 1 and 2 (1896, 1897), and Un- derground Water resources of Alabama (1907).


TUSCALOOSA MILLS, Cottondale. See


Cotton Manufacturing.


TUSCALOOSA RAILWAY AND UTILITIES COMPANY. A public utility corporation, in- corporated July 1, 1915, under Alabama laws, as a consolidation of the Birmingham-Tusca- loosa Railway & Utilities Co. and the Tusca- loosa Ice & Light Co .; capital stock author- ized and issued, $300,000; shares, $100; funded debt, $800,000; property owned-14 miles of electric railway, spurs and side tracks connecting all steam railway lines at Tuscaloosa and serving wholesale houses and manufacturing plants; an auxiliary power plant; a gas plant supplying the city; an ice plant with a capacity of 85 tons a day; a re- tail coal yard; and franchises for the electric and gas plants continuing 30 years, and that for the railway, perpetual. Electric light and power current is obtained, under a long-term contract, from the Alabama Power Co. (q. v.) ; gas has been obtained from the Semet- Solvay Co. under a contract calling for 65,- 000 cubic feet per day. The company con- trols all public utilities in Tuscaloosa except the water supply, which is owned and oper- ated by the city. The railway was operated


1339


HISTORY OF ALABAMA


by steam until 1914, when it was extended and equipped for electricity; and the light plant has been in operation about 20 years and is equipped with 68 miles of modern service lines in Tuscaloosa and vicinity; of- fices: Tuscaloosa.


REFERENCE .- Poor's manual of public utilities, 1916, pp. 726-727.


TUSCUMBIA. County seat of Colbert County, in the northern part of the county, 2 miles south of the Tennessee River, and on the Southern Railway, the Northern Ala- bama Railroad, and the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, 212 miles south of Sheffield, 5 miles southwest of Florence, and about 43 miles west of Decatur. Altitude: 466 feet. Popu- lation: 1870-1,214; 1880-1,369; 1888-


2,500; 1890-2,491; 1900-2,348; 1910- 3,324.


It was incorporated by the legislature, un- der the name of Ococoposa, December 20, 1820, and an amended charter was issued to the town of Tuscumbia by act of January 13, 1827. The powers of the corporation were enlarged by act of February 4, 1840. Its banks are the Colbert County Bank (State), and a branch of the Tennessee Valley Bank


of Decatur. The Alabamian-Dispatch, a Democratic weekly established in 1831, the Colbert County Reporter, Democratic weekly established in 1911, and the American Star (Negro), a semimonthly established in 1901, are published there.


Its industries are iron foundries, sawmills, gristmills, a wagon factory, a fertilizer plant, an electric light plant, an electric street car system, cotton ginneries, a cotton factory, cot- ton warehouses, and waterworks. It is the location of the Deshla Female Academy, founded by David Deshla in memory of his son, Gen. James Deshla, who was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga. Its churches are Methodist Episcopal, South, established by Thomas Strongfield in 1822, Baptist, founded by J. Davis and J. Burns in 1823, Presbyte- rian, organized by Rev. Dr. Blackburn in 1824, Episcopal, organized in 1852, and Ro- man Catholic, dedicated in 1869 by Bishop Quinlan of Mobile.


Tuscumbia occupies the site of a Cherokee Indian village, which was destroyed by Gen. James Robertson in 1887. The small stream on which the village was situated was called Ococoposa, or more correctly, "Oka Kapassa," meaning, in the Chickasaw-Choctaw dialect, cold water. The stream is now known as Spring Creek. When the town was estab- Jished by the whites, it was given the aborig- inal name of the creek, and it was incorpo- rated under that name. On June 14, 1821, the legislature changed the name from Oco- coposa to Big Spring, and again changed it to Tuscumbia on December 31, 1822. The latter name is a corruption of the Choctaw- Chickasaw words "Tashka ambi," or "Tash- kambi," meaning the warrior who kills.


The first settler at the big spring was Michael Dickson who arrived in 1815, and was soon followed by Isaiah McDill, James McMann, Hugh Finley and - Matthews. In


1817 Capt. John T. Rather, Col. Thomas Hind- man, Col. David Deshla, Henry S. Foote, Anthony Winston, Thomas Hereford, and Joseph S. Sloss settled there. Later came the Sherrod, Warren, Armstrong, Lindsay, Thompson, Barton, Blocker, Beaumont, and Meredith familles.


The first railroad south and west of the Al- leghanies, was built in 1831 from Tuscum- bia to the river's edge, a distance of 2 miles. (See Tuscumbia Railway Company.) The second railroad in the State was built in 1833 from Tuscumbia to Decatur, a distance of 44 miles. (See Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur Railway Company.) The town suffered greatly from the devastation of the War, los- ing most of its buildings and public records. It has been the residence of Gen. Hindman, C. S. A., Gen. James Deshla, C. S. A., killed at Chickamauga, Gov. Robert B. Lindsay, J. N. Thompson, Capt. Arthur Keller, and Miss Helen Keller.


REFERENCES .- Acts, 1820, p. 94; 1821, p. 40; 1822, p. 131; 1826-27, pp. 46-47; 1839-40, pp. 46- 48; Saunders, Early settlers (1899), pp. 33, 257; Armes, Story of coal and iron in Alabama (1910); Northern Alabama (1888), pp. 425 et seq., Polk's Alabama gazetteer, 1888-9, p. 780; Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1915; The North Alabamian, Tuscumbia, circa 1897.


TUSCUMBIA, COURTLAND AND DECA- TUR RAILROAD COMPANY. The second railway company incorporated in the State, chartered by the legislature, January 13, 1832, with an authorized capital of $1,000,- 000. By the terms of the charter the com- pany was to build a railroad connecting with the east end of the Tuscumbia Railway and extending eastward via Courtland to the town of Decatur, a distance of 44 miles. The char- ter was amended, February 2, 1839, to autho- rize an extension of the road westward from Tuscumbia to the Mississippi line, to connect with a projected road through Mississippi, and also with the Memphis & LaGrange Rail- road at LaGrange, Tenn. An increase of $300,000 in the capital stock was authorized for the purpose, but the extension was never built. In 1847 the railroad between Tuscum- bia and Decatur was sold under foreclosure proceedings, and purchased by David Deshla who reorganized it under authority of an act, February 10, 1848, as the Tennessee Valley Railroad Co. Subsequently the last-named company was acquired by the Memphis & Charleston Railway Co. (q. v.) and merged with its lines, finally becoming a part of the Southern Railway system.


The plan for the construction of a railroad between Tuscumbia and Decatur originated with the planters of the rich Tennessee Val- ley, who were desirous of securing a conve- nient and cheap method of transporting their cotton to market. Muscle Shoals interposed an almost insuperable obstacle to the navi- gation of the Tennessee River between Tus- cumbia and Decatur by boats of more than the lightest draft. The first method proposed for circumventing this obstacle was the con- struction of a canal around the shoals, but


1340


HISTORY OF ALABAMA


about the time the project for a canal took definite shape, the suggestion was made that a railroad could be more quickly and cheaply built, and would accomplish the same pur- pose. A convention met at Courtland in 1831, advocating the construction of such a rail- road. A committee was appointed which pre- pared an address to the public, demonstrating the utility, practicability, and the superior ad- vantages of a railroad over a canal. A copy of the address was submitted to the legisla- ture by Gov. Samuel B. Moore with his mes- sage of November 22, 1831. A charter for the proposed railroad was obtained in Janu- ary 1832, and construction was under way within a short time thereafter.


REFERENCES .- Acts, 1832, pp. 67-70; 1839, p. 99; 1848, pp. 146-155; Gov. S. B. Moore, "Mes- sage," Nov. 22, 1831, in S. Jour. 1830-31, pp. 7-16; Clarke, "Railroads and navigation," in Memorial record of Alabama (1893), vol. 1, pp. 318-328; Jefferson County and Birmingham illustrated (1887); Armes, Story of coal and iron in Alabama (1910).


TUSCUMBIA RAILWAY COMPANY. Char- tered January 16, 1830; authorized capital, $20,000. The charter limited its property holdings, both real and personal, to a total of $50,000. The company was organized for the purpose of "erecting a railway from Tus- cumbia to some eligible point on the Tennes- see River." A track consisting of iron straps laid upon wooden stringers was built from Tuscumbia to a point on the southern bank of the Tennessee River opposite Florence, the location of Sheffield, a distance of about 2 miles.


Although this road during its separate ex- istence was never operated with a steam loco- motive and had few of the characteristics of our modern railways, yet it was the first rail- way in the State, because it was chartered as a railway, and later did actually become part of a line which was operated solely by steam locomotives.


The road was sold under foreclosure in 1848. Its purchasers added it to the line of the Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur Rail- road Co. (q. v.), between Tuscumbia and Decatur, and reorganized the two companies as the Tennessee Valley Railroad Co. An increase of $50,000 in the capital stock was authorized with which to repair and improve the property. The consolidated roads were 'later absorbed by the Memphis & Charleston Railroad Co. (q. v.), and finally became part of the Southern Railway system (q. v.).


REFERENCES .- Acts, 1830, and 1847-48, passim; Jefferson County and Birmingham illustrated, (1887) ; Armes, Story of coal and iron in Ala- bama (1910).


TUSKAHOMA. A village and post office in Choctaw County, on the west side of the Tombigbee River. The word is Choctaw, meaning Redwarrior, that is, Tashka, "war- rior," homma, "red."


REFERENCE .- La Tourette, Map of Alabama (1838).


TUSKEGEE. The county seat of Macon County, on the Tuskegee Railroad, a connec- 1,500; 1880-2,370; 1888-2,500; 1890- 1,803; 1900-2,170; 1910-2,803. It was tion of the Western of Alabama Railway, and in the central part of the county, on the head- waters of Caleebee Creek, about 45 miles east of Montgomery. Population: 1872- incorporated by the legislature, February 13, 1843, and a new charter issued, December 14, 1898. It adopted the municipal code of 1907 in January, 1908. It has a jail, 2 fire sta- tions, an electric light plant, waterworks and standpipe, 3 miles of sanitary sewerage, 2 miles of improved streets, and concrete side- walks in the business section. Its tax rate is 5 mills, and its bonded indebtedness, $54,- 000. Its banks are the Farmers State Bank, the Bank of Tuskegee (State) and the Macon County Bank (State). The Tuskegee News, a Democratic weekly established in 1865, the Bulletin of Experiment Station, Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, (negro), es- tablished in 1898, and the Bulletin of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, (negro), a quarterly established in 1905, are published there. Its industries are a cotton- seed and peanut oil mill, a fertilizer plant, 2 ice plants, a turpentine still, a gristmill, lum- ber mills, a lumber and brick works, 2 ma- chine repair shops, a Farmers' Alliance ware- house, 2 cotton warehouses, and the various industries of the Tuskegee Institute. It is the location of the Tuskegee Normal and In- dustrial Institute (negro), the Welch School (negro), a negro preparatory school, and a private school for whites in the buildings for- merly occupied by the Alabama Conference Female College, now the Woman's College at Montgomery. In the center of the town is "Monument Square," containing a whole block, in which the Daughters of the Confed- eracy have erected a Confederate monument. It is also used as a public park and play- ground.


Tuskegee was settled soon after the French and Indian War of 1763. Under the resulting treaty, France ceded Alabama to England, and the fort at Tuskegee was garrisoned with English troops under George Johnson. Gen. Jackson secured possession of it in 1813. From 1836 the region rapidly filled up with white settlers. The town was named in honor of the Creek chief, Tuskegee, whose village was in the triangle formed by the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers.


Macon County was established in 1832, and the town of Tuskegee laid out in 1833. General Thomas Woodward is said to have built the first house on the present site, and selected the place as the county seat. James Dent built the first house on the courthouse square, after the sale of town lots.


Among the early settlers and residents were the Dougherty, Abercrombie, Chappell, Larkins, Williams, Motley, Clanton, Clough, Carter, Ligon, Battle, Cobb, Law, Perry, Mas- sey, Mason, Thompson, Wood, Heard, Howard, Laslie, Frazer, Bilbro, Chilton, Dryer, Alley, Breedlove, Foster, Gautier, Hurt, MacGruder, and Zachry families.


1341


HISTORY OF ALABAMA


Tuskegee is located on an Indian trail, which eventually became the highway from Fort Mitchell to Montgomery.


REFERENCES .- Acts, 1842-43, pp. 84-85; 1898- 99, pp. 206-215; Brewer, Alabama (1872), pp. 337 et seq .; Roche, Historic sketches of the South (1914), pp. 132-133; Northern Alabama (1888), p. 206; Hodgson, Manual (1869), p. 6; Polk's Alabama gazetteer, 1888-9, p. 784; Camp- bell, Southern business directory (1854), p. 20; Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1915.


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TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE. A State school for the educa- tion of colored males and females, located at Tuskegee, Macon County, established by Act of February 10, 1881, and opened on the 4th of July, 1881, in a rented church shanty with twenty-five pupils and one teacher. The Act of creation provided for $2,000 for the pay- ment of salaries of teachers, but no provision was made for the erection of a building. Dur- ing the first session of the school, the pres- ent location, consisting at that time of one hundred acres, with three small buildings thereon, was purchased by Northern friends of the colored race. In 1884 the State ap- propriation was increased to $3,000. The control of the institution was vested in a board of three commissioners named in the Act of creation, as follows: Thomas B. Dryer, M. B. Swanson, and Lewis Adams. By Acts of December 13, 1892, and February 21, 1893, the name of the school was changed to Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute with the following trustees : George W. Campbell, S. G. Hale, Louis Adams, Oliver Howard, Henry D. Smith, B. T. Washington, George S. Chaney, R. C .. Bedford, Warren Logan, C. N. Dorsette. The hoard of com- missioners was composed of George W. Camp- hell, S. G. Hale and Louis Adams. As set forth in the Act of February 21, 1893, the purposes of the Tuskegee Normal and Indus- trial Institute are: "the instruction of colored teachers and youth in the various common academic and collegiate branches, the best method of teaching the same, the best method of theoretical and practical industry in their application to agriculture and the mechanic arts."


The Educational plant in 1920 consists of 2,345 acres of land; 103 buildings, large and small, used for dwellings, dormitories, class rooms, shops, barns, which together with the equipment, stock-in-trade, live stock and per- sonal property, is valued at $1,279,248.45. This does not include 19,910 acres of public land remaining unsold from 25,500 acres granted by Act of Congress, and valued at $300,000.00, nor the endowment fund which latter at the present time amounts to about $1,500,000.00. One of the gifts that has con- tributed to this sum is a bequest of $38,000.00 from the estate of Mrs. Mary E. Shaw, a col- ored woman, of New York. The first effort on the part of the students to perpetuate the work of the school was made on December 1,




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