USA > Alabama > Butler County > The history of Butler County, Alabama, from 1815 to 1885 > Part 4
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Gray, or Sandy Loam Belt. The third, or gray belt, embraces all the land covered with yellow
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pine timber as the principal growth, and includes the most of the land lying in the middle and southern part of the county. This soil, which is of a gray, sandy variety, is very productive when properly assisted by fertilization, and can not be cultivated to any advantage if some help is not received in the way of manure, bone phosphate, or some kind of decayed organic matter. The land is very valuable for its pure freestone water, its healthfulness of locality, and its immense for- ests of long-leaf pine, which are now being util- ized by having the timber sawed into lumber and shipping it in large quantities to the Western States, where it finds a ready market. This land, having plenty of timber, an abundance of good water, being level and susceptible of the highest stages of cultivation, will soon be the most valua- ble land in the county. Those desiring a safe investment would do well to purchase a few hun- dred acres of this land while it is comparatively cheap, the price now being from 50 cents to $10 an acre, and if the development in this region con- tinues, the value will increase to four and five times what it now is. The land at Forest Home, in the western part of the county, is of this variety, and has been developed in a remarkable manner within the last ten years. In 1870 the best land could be bought for $3 per acre; none can be bought now for less than $25 per acre. All of our gray lands are becoming more and more in demand every day. They promise to be
COURT HOUSE, GREENVILLE.
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
the garden spot of the South for truck farming. This has been thoroughly demonstrated by ex- periments in the growth of all kinds of vegetables known to grow in this climate. All kinds of grapes and fruit trees can be as profitably culti- vated here as the vegetables. All of the agricul- tural and horticultural properties of this soil have been thoroughly tested by skilled farmers living in different localities of the county.
Cotton is Butler's principal product, yielding 15,000 bales as the average crop. All of the land is well adapted to the growth of corn, cotton, oats, sweet and Irish potatoes, sugar cane, all kinds of garden plants and fruits of nearly every variety known. The author is of the opinion that it would be far better for the farmers to have a di- versity of agricultural products than to depend upon cotton as the only source of revenue or pay. This plan is practicable in many respects. In the first place, the cotton crop often turns out a fail- ure; in this case other products would help out; another good reason is, it would make the farmers more independent; they could live more at home, live better, and become more prosperous. There are 108,480 acres of tilled land in the county, planted as follows: cotton, 41,320; corn, 21,570; oats, 15,350; sweet potatoes, 860; these being the principal products.
Greenville, Butler's seat of justice, is located a little north of the center of the county, on the Mobile and Montgomery Division of the Louisville
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and Nashville Railroad, forty-five miles south of Montgomery, the Capital of the State. This is our largest town, and is an incorporated city of about 4,000 inhabitants. There are five com- modious churches and several fine schools at this place. The Greenville Collegiate Institute is un- der the control of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the South Alabama Female Institute under the supervision of the Baptist denomina- tion. Besides these, there are several private schools-the Greenville Male High School, the Butler High School, and others, all of them hav- ing the services of competent and experienced teachers, who give instruction in the different de- partments of science and literature.
The court-house is beautifully located in the eastern part of the town, and is a very durable building, constructed of the best quality of pressed brick. The Greenville Advocate, the only paper now published in the county, is printed here every Wednesday, with Colonel J. B. Stanley as editor and proprietor.
Georgiana, fourteen miles south of Greenville, is a flourishing little town of 800 souls, and ranks next to Greenville in importance in the county. Garland is about twenty miles below Greenville; population, 300. Both of these towns are on the railroad. Forest Home, a village fifteen miles west of Greenville, is located in a beautiful and productive part of the county. Manningham and Monterey, villages situated on the southern bor-
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
der of the fertile black prairie belt, are very de- sirable localities in many respects.
The people enjoy a very good system of public schools established in every township, the salaries of the teachers being paid by an appropriation an- nually made by the State for that purpose. The private schools are generally very good, but are not what they should be. The people are not as much aroused upon the subject of education as their interests demand, and it is sincerely hoped that they will soon arouse themselves from their apparent lethargy, in order that they may be in har- mony with the efforts now being made by the State to advance the cause of education and to ex- tend its enlightening influence to the masses of the people.
We have no rivers in Butler, though the county is well supplied with water. The most of the streams furnish sufficient water-power to run any kind of machinery, when properly applied. Water- power is now extensively used throughout the county for grinding corn and ginning cotton. Pigeon and Persimmon are our longest and largest creeks, and are both used to some extent for raft- ing pine and cypress timber to Pensacola, Florida, for ship-building purposes.
There are several large steam-power saw-mills situated on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which are doing a very successful business in con- verting our pine forests into very fine lumber.
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
Water-power in other parts of the county is util- ized for this purpose.
Within the borders of the county are found seventy-six churches, most of which are Method- ist and Baptist. None of these churches have preaching every Sunday except those in Green- ville, but they all have services, at least, once each month during the year. This exerts a won- derful influence upon the people throughout the county, and assists very materially in molding their character and in making of them good and useful citizens. Churches, wherever found, are a good sign of an enlightened and prosperous people.
Butler County is known throughout the State for her many accommodations, for her refined society, and for the general intelligence of her citizens. No portion of Alabama is more desira- ble for homes and agricultural purposes than por- tions of this county, and few people are so happy and contented as her people.
The following tabular statement will show the population as it is given by the Federal census :-
1820.
1830.
1840.
1850.
1860. 11,260
1870. 8,590
1880.
Whites,
835
3,904
6,192 . 7, 162
10,684
Blacks,
570
1,746
2,493
3,674
6,862
6,391
8,965
Total, 1,405
5,650
8,687 10,836
18,122 14,981
19,649
The decrease in the population in 1870 is due to the number of men killed in the war, and to the fact that a part of the county was cut off in the formation of Crenshaw County.
PART II.
THIS PART OF THE WORK CONTAINS A DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES IN THE COUNTY, AND SHORT SKETCHES OF A FEW OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED RESIDENTS.
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
CHAPTER XI.
Pine Flat.
THE level portion of low, flat land between Reddock and Pine Barren Creeks, was originally covered with a pine forest and a dense under- growth of dogwood. From the thickness of this undergrowth, this section of the county was called Dogwood Flat, but the name was afterward changed, and is now known as the Pine Flat. The soil of Pine Flat is a brown loam, and pro- duces abundantly, when properly fertilized and cultivated. It was in this beautiful section of level country that JAMES K. BENSON erected the first house ever erected by a white man in this county. The exact date of this historical fact is not known, but the best authorities in the county give it as 1815. The part of Butler County north- west of the Federal Road, belonged to Monroe County at that time.
Reuben Hill, the elder son of Thomas Hill, came to Alabama the same year, and being well pleased with Pine Flat, persuaded his father to leave the State of Georgia and come to the new Territory of Alabama. In the fall of 1816, a party, composed of the following persons, came to try the new country : Thomas Hill, his two sons, Reuben and Josiah ; Warren A. Thompson; Cap-
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THE HISTORY OF
tain John H. Watts, (Ex-Governor Thomas H. Watts' father); Benjamin Hill (brother of Thomas Hill), and his son Isaac. All of these persons had horses, cattle, and enough provisions to last one
year. Tommy Hill settled the place now owned by James Reynolds; Captain Watts settled the Watts' place ; the other members of the party re- mained with these in their houses. 'Squire James K. Benson brought his family here in the fall of 1817, and Thomas and Benjamin Hill brought their families the winter of the same year.
Thomas Hill was one of the pioneer settlers, and named a good many creeks in this part of Butler County. He was born in the great State of Virginia, and was a herder of cattle. When quite a young man, he drove his herds from his native State into North Carolina and then into South Carolina. Becoming dissatisfied with the range in his State, he carried his stock to Georgia, finally removing them to the Territory of Alabama in 1816.
When the Ogly Massacre took place in March, 1818, the people of this section of country erected a fort on a piece of land a little more elevated than the surrounding country. This was on Cap- tain Saffold's place, who had only been here for a few months. This place of refuge for the white people was known as Fort Bibb, named in honor of the Governor of the Alabama Territory. The Saffold place was afterward purchased by some of the Carters, and is still known as the Carter place,
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
but is now owned by Peter Cheatham. After remaining in the fort the whole year of 1818, the people became dissatisfied with this locality, and moved farther West, but their places were soon filled by other emigrants from Georgia, who tried their lots in the Flat. Not being accustomed to the frontier style of living, some of these soon be- came dissatisfied and moved farther West, those remaining, soon wishing that they had done like- wise; for, not taking the proper care of their horses, and feeding them exclusively on switch- cane, the animals soon died, leaving the settlers with no teams to haul their provisions from Clai- borne, and no other means of tilling the soil than by hoeing.
The families that remained in the Flat soon be- came prosperous, from their untiring energy and the readiness with which the soil yielded to the de- sires of the tillers.
A visit to this old settlement will convince any person of the wealth of its first settlers. Some of the palatial residences are still to be seen, but are now crumbling under the frosts of sixty winters. Although this land has been cleared over fifty years, the soil produces corn, oats, and cotton about as well here as on any similar soil in the county.
Land is valued from $10.00 to $15.00 per acre, but can not be bought for hardly any price. Those living here are too well satisfied to sell their inter- est for the purpose of trying some other locality.
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There are three mails per week from Greenville. The name of the post-office is Butler Springs, and put down on the map, Reynolds.
Ex-Governor Thomas H. Watts was born in the Flat, and his mother and father were buried here in the old family graveyard. Captain John H. Watts was born in April, 1781, and died October, 1841.
There is an old church at this place which has long been established.
John Smith lives in this neighborhood, and is the wealthiest man here now, and is a man of considerable influence. James Reynolds, the postmaster here, is known throughout the county.
CHAPTER XII.
Fort Dale.
THIS fort was erected in the spring of 1818, by order of Colonel Samuel Dale, who had charge of a garrison of soldiers at Fort Claiborne. It was built on the top of a small hill, near a spring, now known as the old Poplar Spring, in the neighbor- hood of Oak Grove Church. Although all traces of the fort have long since been removed, the spot still bears the name of the noble soldier who was so instrumental in its erection for the protection
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
of the whites against outrageous attacks by the Indians, that reluctantly saw their favorite hunt- ing-grounds turned into corn-fields. All the peo- ple in this part of the county sought refuge in this fort, and remained there the larger portion of 1818, although a red man was not to be seen.
After the excitement of 1818 was over, the settlers returned to their homes and resumed work. Colonel A. T. Perry entered the land on which the fort was built, and lived there several years, finally selling it to Joseph Hartley, who came from Putnam County, Georgia, January 15, 1825. Hart- ley built a good house of logs, which were sawed with a whipsaw, and cleared a large field around the fort. Several families had settled near the fort, making a kind of village. William Martin started a small store in 1819, and others were opened soon after. These were the first stores in Butler County. A small one was, however, started at Greenville, shortly after this. It is said by some of the older inhabitants, that the first court of any kind ever held in the county, was held here at Fort Dale, on some logs, before Judge Ander- son Crenshaw. This place, like all other new places of the county, was often frequented by the citizens of the county, and was the scene of many foot-races, horse-swappings, drinkings, fightings, etc. One of the most notable characters that visited Fort Dale, was Betsy Donaldson, whose father lived about two miles from Greenville. There is quite a contrast between this representa-
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THE HISTORY OF
tive of the opposite sex at that early period in the history of the county and the average maiden of to-day. She was about six feet in height, very stout and muscular, and weighed about 180 pounds. She was a maid of about eighteen sum- mers, when, one day, while her father was ab- sent from home, she killed a large bear, which had made an attack upon some hogs in the field near her home. This demonstration of her bravery, gave her a considerable reputation among the
many adventurers of the county. She increased her reputation by throwing William Tragus, a worthless young man, into Stalling's Creek one night, for attempting to escort her home against her consent. She frequently visited the stores at Fort Dale, and was bantered for a wrestle one day by one of the bullies of the neighborhood. To the great delight of the bystanders, she gave her opponent a chance to show his agility and strength, and threw him the best two out of three. She soon entered the boxing-ring, and was equal to any man in the county in a pugilistic encounter. Her muscles were now so well developed that she was able to perform a number of wonderful feats of physical strength. It is said that she could pick up a barrel of whisky by the chimes, and raise the bung to her mouth and drink whisky from it without the assistance of any other person. After gaining so much notoriety, Betsy married a very quiet, peaceable man, and settled down, and made for him a good wife. They did not live in this
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
county long before they moved West, where they lived to a happy, old age. She and her husband have both, long since, been gathered to' their graves in peace.
When Greenville was made the seat of justice for Butler County, Fort Dale began to go down, and has continued in that direction ever since. There are but a few families in the neighborhood now, and the stores have been closed many years past. The thing now at this place, of most in- terest to the general reader, is the old graveyard. Here are deposited the remains of many of the first settlers of the county, the descendants of whom are now scattered to all parts of the State. Thomas Gary was the first person ever buried here. He was born in South Carolina, in 1764, and came to this county in January, 1818, and died in the fort in April of the same year. He was a Tory. His wife died in 1826. Andrew Jones was buried here in 1822. Ennis McDaniel died in 1832. Many other pioneer settlers were buried here, but they have no tombs to mark their resting places, and to tell the people whose sepul- chre they guard. Many large trees, regardless of the sacred spots, have grown on the smoldering mounds. Among the old citizens recently buried here, are : Joseph Hartley, born 1769, died 1849; his wife, born 1777, died 1863. Jesse Stallings, born 1795, died 1881 ; his wife, born 1804, died 1883.
The palings that once inclosed this burial-place,
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THE HISTORY OF
have long since rotted down, and should be re- placed by those who have relatives and friends buried here. A small amount, subscribed by each one interested, would be sufficient to put it in a decent condition.
CHAPTER XIII.
Greenville-Early Settlement-Made the Seat of Justice-Gradual Progress-Business Men- Changes Down to the Present.
THIS thriving little city is beautifully situated on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, forty- five miles south of Montgomery. The locality is healthful, the water freestone; the land, however, is not as level as it is in some other portions of the county ; the soil is of the red clay variety, giv- ing rise to an impalpable powder, or dust, in dry weather.
Although Greenville is not a very large town, she is one among the first places settled in the State, having received a few emigrants as early as 1819. She has never made any rapid progress at any particular period of her history, but has grad- ually grown from a small village to her present size and importance. Like the great city of an- tiquity, Greenville was not built in a day.
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
Previous to 1819, the present site of Greenville was a favorite resort for wild deer, hundreds of them often being seen at one time feeding upon the luxuriant growth of grass which covered her verdant hills, or lying down resting themselves in the cool and refreshing shade of the cane thickets that hid the mossy banks of the crystal streams from the face of the bright luminary of day. On the evening of the 14th of January, 1819, the peace of this happy forest of oaks was disturbed by a train of emigrants, who had come from the State of South Carolina to the new country in search of future homes. Being favorably im- pressed with the appearance of this locality, they stopped for the night on what is now known as Routon's Branch, to rest themselves from the fatigue of the day, and to breathe the fresh and invigorating air characteristic of the locality.
After further investigation the next day, they were all well pleased with the surroundings, and at once decided to erect their future homes in this beautiful portion of Nature's happy vineyard. Among the settlers included in this train of emi- grants were James Dunklin, Joseph Dunklin, John Dunklin, Dr. Hilary Herbert, Webster Gil- bert, John Bolling, William Graydon, John Gray- don, William Payne, Thomas Coleman and Dr. George Herbert, eight of these emigrants having families. They brought with them fifty-two horses and twelve wagons, loaded with bedding, clothing, cooking utensils, all kinds of food, and
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THE HISTORY OF
an assortment of tools used in mechanical work. Each family selected a particular spot upon which - to erect a rude cabin, for the shelter and protection of its inmates from exposure to the weather and the danger of attack from wild beasts.
A few weeks after the first batch of emigrants had pitched their tents here, Ephraim Palmer, John Cook, N. Hutchinson, and others, came from the older States, and cast their lots with their friends in this locality. The same year came John Caldwell, Samuel Black, Ezekiel Pick- ยท ens, David Waters, and Thomas Burnett, all of whom settled near where Greenville was after- wards located.
The first marriage in this county was confirmed in February, 1819, by John Cook, the Justice of the Peace, and the contracting parties were Dr. George Herbert and Miss Anna Dunklin. The day set apart for this great event was a cold and rainy one ; the magistrate was sick in bed, thereby compelling the couple to visit his house, and the ceremony was pronounced by Esquire Cook while sitting up in bed. The attendance on this occa- sion was small, compared to such grand social events in the higher circles of Greenville society of to-day, and, of course, the ceremony was marked with brevity and simplicity.
Ephraim Palmer erected the first log cabin in the immediate vicinity of Greenville, it being situ- ated about where the Sycamore stables were after- wards built. It was not long before this section
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CITY HALL AND MARKET HOUSE, GREENVILLE.
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
of country was tolerably thickly settled, and it soon became necessary for the people of the county to have courts, judges, etc. The inhabit- ants of the South Carolina colony immediately took steps to have the court-house located in their midst, and thereby build up a town in this savage land.
The State Legislature, at its second session at Cahaba, in 1820, appointed a committee of citi- zens from different parts of the county, authoriz- ing them to select a suitable place for locating the seat of justice for Butler County, and further in- vesting in them the power of laying off as many lots as they may have purchased for that purpose, and dispose of the same in such a manner as they might deem most expedient for the county. The committee thus appointed, examined all the locali- ties in the new county, and decided upon the pres- ent site of Greenville as the proper place for the location of the court-house. On the 18th of De- cember, 1821, the General Assembly passed an act authorizing the Judge of the County Court and the Board of Commissioners of the Roads and Revenue of Butler County to levy an extra tax upon the property of the people, for the purpose of building a court-house and jail in the town of Buttsville, said town having been made the per- manent seat of justice for the county.
The 5th of May, 1822, was set apart as the day for laying out the future town of Buttsville. It was named in honor of Captain Samuel Butts, a
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.
Georgian, who was killed at the battle of Calabee, January, 1814. The good people of the little town petitioned the Legislature, and had the name changed to Greenville, in memory of the district in South Carolina by the same name, from which a majority of the first inhabitants of the hew town had emigrated.
The court-house was soon completed, and was a neat frame building, which served all the purposes of the people for over twenty-five years. It was a very good house when it, with all the public records of the county, was consumed by fire in 1852. Another frame building was shortly erected on the same spot, and this was replaced in 1871 by a substantial brick structure, at a cost of $12,000. This building is a handsome piece of workmanship, and will, no doubt, last fifty years without much repairing.
About the same time the first court-house was erected, James Johnson put up a log house for Caulfield & Bell, who opened a small stock of goods in it, having hauled them from Claiborne on the Alabama River, a distance of over seventy miles. Thomas McDaniel soon purchased the outfit, and continued the business in the same storehouse. Whisky was a great article of com- merce in these early days, and it was sold to the customers at extremely low prices. J. C. and W. H. Caldwell entered the mercantile business shortly after, the former employing his spare time as a silversmith and jeweler. A hotel was now'
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BUTLER COUNTY, ALABAMA.
erected by W. H. Caldwell, the father of Mrs. M. E. McKeller. William L. Yancey, the gifted orator of Alabama, who set the South on fire with his burning eloquence and caused the secession of the States in 1861, is said to have been among the early business men of Green- ville.
The Bolling Hotel, with John Bolling as pro- prietor, was situated south of the court-house. The proprietor of this primitive inn sold whisky and groceries to his customers on the spot where the Bolling Bar now stands, and kept the accounts of his debtors on the walls of his store with long marks of charcoal. Old Uncle Johnnie was a rare specimen of Butlerian character, and many inter- esting tales are still told of his native originality and shrewd disposition shown in the accumulation of this world's goods. It is said of this good old financier that he never allowed an opportunity for making a dime to pass without making good use of it.
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