USA > Alabama > Butler County > The history of Butler County, Alabama, from 1815 to 1885 > Part 8
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and Alph. Carter sold his to John Carter. Will- iam A. Sims bought both interests in 1874, and has had entire control since that time. But the Springs have not been such a place of general re- sort since the war as they were before the war; first, because the people in the surrounding coun try have not got as much loose change to spend in that direction now as they once had, and sec- ondly, because the Springs are not as well kept now as they were then. Most persons who desire to visit a watering-place during the summer sea- son, prefer to go North, to some place situated more conveniently to the railroads.
These Springs were named in honor of CAPTAIN WILLIAM BUTLER, who was killed in 1818, about two miles northeast of them.
The neighborhood of Butler Springs was settled by John Murphy, who came from Georgia in 1817, and Alph. Carter. Both settled near the Springs, which were not discovered then. John Murphy reared a large family, and his descendants are still to be found in different parts of the county. He removed from his old place near the Springs in 1827, and started the mill now known as the old Murphy Mill. He died in 1844.
Alph. Carter also raised a large family, many members of which are still living-still keeping up the reputation of their father for honesty and general information.
This mineral water has been analyzed, and con- tains many elements, in combination, eminently
ยท
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fitted for the cure of a variety o. diseases too numerous to mention here. The author is sorry that he was unable to procure a copy of the anal- ysis for publication. No doubt the water con- tains a large amount of free sulphuric acid, sulphide of hydrogen, sulphate of iron and car- bonic acid gas. Many recommendations of its healing properties can be obtained on application to William A. Sims, the present proprietor of the Springs. It has long been customary for the peo- ple of the county to assemble here on the Fourth of July each year, and celebrate the Declaration of Independence by a basket picnic. The exercises generally consist of a few political and literary speeches, delivered by persons previously selected, after which dancing is participated in until sunset. This is a very good way of spending the glorious Fourth, and should be kept up for years to come.
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CHAPTER XXIV.
JUDGE ANDERSON CRENSHAW.
THE name of Crenshaw is a familiar one in this county, and has always been associated with pub- lic affairs. The subject of this sketch was born in Newberry District, South Carolina, in 1786, and spent the earlier part of his life in this good old State that has furnished Alabama with so many useful and influential men. His kind and thought- ful father paid particular attention to his educa- tion, and, at the proper time, placed him at South Carolina College, where he received his diploma in 1806. Choosing the legal profession, he studied in the office of the distinguished Judge Nott, under whose instruction he succeeded in master- ing the subject and was licensed to practice in 1809.
In 1812, we find him a member of the Legisla- ture of his native State. With the great tide of emigration in 1820, he came to the new State of Alabama, and located at Cahaba, then the Capital. The following year, he was elected one of the Associate Judges of the Supreme Court, a position that was occupied by him for twelve successive years. Shortly after his election in 1821, he re- moved his family to this county, and settled on the Ridge below Manningham, where he resided the remainder of his life.
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When the Supreme Court was separated from the Circuit Court, Judge Crenshaw was retained on the Circuit Bench. He discharged the duties of this office until he was elected Chancellor of the Southern Division in 1839. He was filling . this position when he died in 1847, at the age of sixty-one, after having served in the capacity of Judge for over a quarter of a century. One of his contemporaries has well said that "His mind was stored with a vast amount of knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, and he strove to make his court the forum of the reason and spirit of the law."
Judge Crenshaw was honest, just, and hospita- ble, and his moral character was without blemish. Our State Legislature showed their high apprecia- tion of his noble character by naming a county in honor of him in 1865. He married a Miss Chiles, of Abbeville, South Carolina, and reared a large family, giving each one of his children a liberal education, and a good start in life. His eldest son was the only one that chose the law as a profession. A sketch of him will be found in another part of this book.
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GREENVILLE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE.
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CHAPTER XXV.
Ancient Mounds in This County.
IN Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama, are found a number of mounds, which have ex- cited much curiosity and speculation. These mounds were built in prehistoric times, and vary in size and shape in different localities. In Missis- sippi they have been measured sixty feet in height, and over a thousand feet in circumference. They are oval, elliptical, conical, and sometimes square. In Butler County, however, they are all oval in shape, and small, measuring from fifteen to thirty feet in diameter at the base, and from four to ten feet in height. They are more frequently found in swamps, on creeks, than on high table-lands. Some of them have been nearly leveled with the surrounding land by the process of cultivation ; others still, in the forest, are covered with large trees of natural growth.
A large number of these mounds have been ex- cavated and carefully examined. Bones of per- sons, in a bad state of preservation, human teeth, Indian beads, arrow-heads, earthen pots, pipes of clay, and many other things indicative of savage life, have been found in them.
These mounds are supposed to be the burial- places of the Indians, when that unfortunate race lived and flourished on the fruitful soil that now
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yields so abundantly to the demands of the happy people inhabiting this section of country.
Two of these mounds are found on the south bank of Cedar Creek-one below Sixteenth Bridge, and the other above Steen's Ford, near the old Creampot Springs. Both of these have been con- siderably disintegrated by the leveling action of the plow and the drenching rains of many years.
Two may be found on Long Creek, in the
Bennett settlement. These were examined in 1878, and Walter Bennett has some of their con- tents in his possession as curiosities. Two are found near Pigeon Creek, on Lovet B. Wilson's plantation-one upon a hill near his residence, the other in the hollow of a ravine close by. Both of them have been plowed down, until they are nearly upon a level with the surrounding land, but their exact position is determined by small particles of decayed bones, which can still be seen scattered around over the plowed soil.
There are several of these mounds on the banks of Persimmon Creek, but they are not of sufficient importance to call for a description now.
Many stories of romantic interest are told by some of the superstitious persons living near these mounds. They tell of the death of a heroic chief at the head of his warriors, who sacrificed his noble life in defending the cause of his oppressed tribe. They mourned the loss of so brave a leader, and raised a mound in memory of his heroic life.
Another tale is told of a passionate Indian maid,
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who died in the arms of her lover on returning to her native wigwam, after having been captured in battle and kept from the fond embrace of her lover for five long years.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Oaky Streak-Precinct No. 3.
THIS scattered settlement is situated on the southeast side of Pigeon Creek, and has nearly the same soil as that found in the South Butler neigh- borhood, but being more calcareous, it produces better with less work. Lovet B. Wilson is the oldest person living at this place now. He came here with his father, George W. Wilson, in 1826. They came from Jones County, Georgia, to Cone- cuh County, in 1818, but not being satisfied with that locality, they moved to Butler County. When they moved to this neighborhood, they found a good many persons already here ; the soil being of such a quality that no emigrant could pass it after an examination of its general appearance. David Simmons, Isaac Smith, George Tillman, Richard Prewhitt, and Joe Jones were living here in 1826, when the Wilson family moved here. Thomas Hester, Daniel Stallings, and William Graydon are supposed to be the first settlers of this
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section of the county, but they did not remain long, before they moved farther west.
This place was named Oaky Streak, from the fact that no pine is found here, and oak is the principal growth. As has been stated in a previ- ous chapter in this book, this peculiar soil be- gins on the southeast side of Persimmon Creek, about section 8, and runs up the creek about five miles, and extends across the county in a south- eastern direction, crosses Pigeon Creek, and passing on out of the county, being about nine miles long and four and a half miles wide. It extends on in Crenshaw County to the Patsiliga River, where the formation is different. The road from Green- ville to Andalusia, passing this place, was cut about 1821. The people built a Baptist Church one and a half miles from where the post-office is now. The settlement grew gradually until 1830, when Lem Harvel came here from Covington County, and opened a mixed store, which gave the neighborhood some advantage over the other settlements in the county at that time. In 1835, James Jones opened a very extensive mercantile business here, which proved very profitable, as there were not many stores of any importance in those days, the most of them being mere dram- shops and peanut-stands. The Methodist people erected a church for their congregation soon after this, which was about two miles southeast of the post-office. The Methodist Church still stands where the old one was first built, but the Baptist
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has been moved from its original position to near the Methodist, about a mile from where the post- office now stands.
The wells are from twenty to forty feet in depth in this place. The water is not good, having a large per cent. of lime in solution, yet the health of the place is comparatively good. Dr. Kendrick is the practicing physician here, and is well thought of in the neighborhood. The people are doing very well ; most of them are out of debt, and raise their own corn and other things needed on their farms, this being the principal occupation. The land is worth now from $2.50 to $7.50 per acre, according to improvements and locality. The schools are not as good as they could be, as there are a large number of children here, and most of the parents are able to pay for sending them to school. There are several stores in the neighbor- hood, but John Crittenden has the only store of any importance, he being the wealthiest man in Oaky Streak at this time. There is not much wealth in this section of the county. A majority of the planters farm on a small scale. This little town was called Middleton from 1840 up to 1870, the post-office was then given the name of Oaky Streak. O. H. Crittenden is the present post- master, and has been for several years. This place was once noted for its fights and general rowdy- ism; but, since John Crittenden owns the land around the post-office, he will not allow any whisky to be sold near the place. The people are now
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very peaceable-never being in a row. This neigh- borhood was considerably excited in the fall of 1833. A white man, whose name was never as- certained, passed through here, having in his charge five negro men. It was afterward learned that they were from Mobile, the negroes being stolen from their masters. They lived by hunting and killing people's stock, as they found them in the country through which they happened to pass. They were found gathering chestnuts east of Oaky Streak, and were attacked immediately by the en- raged citizens, who had spent many sleepless nights, fearing to hear of the killing of some of the stock in the neighborhood, or of the robbery of some house. Upon approaching, one of the ne- groes offered to resist the attack by cocking his gun, but he was shot down instantly, and several other shots were fired at the same time, wounding the white man and several of the negroes. All made their escape, however, except the one shot dead at the first fire. They were capured the next day, but the white man was not in the number. On inquiry, the negroes reported that he had died from wounds received the day before, and had been buried. The negroes were put in jail until the news was sent to Mobile of their capture, and they were sent to their proper owners on receipt of the necessary claims. This was a great event in the early history of Oaky Streak.
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CHAPTER XXVII.
COLONEL THOMAS JAMES JUDGE.
BUTLER COUNTY was the home of this distin- guished jurist and cultured gentleman, both in his childhood and in his riper years. He was born in Richland District, South Carolina, November I, 1815, but came with his father's family to Butler County about the year 1820. The early part of his life was spent near Greenville, in assisting his father on the farm and in attending such schools as were then taught in this locality. At the age of fifteen we find him serving an apprenticeship in a printing-office at Montgomery. After hand- ling the composing-stick for one year, he aban- doned the printing art to accept a position as salesman, which had been offered him by one of the dry goods merchants of Montgomery. Re- maining in this store for three years, he left it in 1834 to establish a newspaper in Greenville, which was called the Greenville Whig, and was published by John W. Womack and Thomas J. Judge for about one year.
He volunteered his services in the Creek War, and remained with the army for several months. In 1837, at the age of twenty-two, he removed to Lowndes County and began the study of law in the office of Nathan Cook and John S. Hunter,
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who prepared him for entering active practice the following year.
In 1842 Mr. Judge was appointed Solicitor of the Second Circuit by Governor Benjamin Fitz- patrick. He held this position until the Legisla- ture met, but was defeated before that honorable body by Franklin K. Beck, who was a Democrat, while Mr. Judge was a Whig. Having won the confidence of the people, Mr. Judge was elected by them to represent Lowndes County in the lower branch of the Legislature in 1844, and again in 1845. Two years later he was sent to the upper branch of the State Legislature from Lowndes and Butler Counties, but remained in this trust for only three years, when, in 1850, he removed to the city of Montgomery, which ne- cessitated his resignation as a member of the State Senate. The next year he was a delegate to the National Convention, at Nashville, which nomi- nated Winfield Scott for President.
In Montgomery, Mr. Judge formed partner- ship with Thomas H. Watts, in the practice of law, and gave his whole time as well as talent to the earnest prosecution of all cases entrusted to the firm. He was not, however, permitted to rest from public duty long, for in 1853 he was sent to the legislative halls from the county of Montgomery.
By this time Mr. Judge had won considerable reputation as a man of marked ability as well as a fluent speaker. In 1857 he was the candidate of
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the Whig party for Congressman from the Second District of Alabama against Hon. James F. Dow- dell, of Chambers County. Although the canvass was conducted with particular reference to the fundamental principles of the two distinct parties then in the State, Mr. Judge was defeated at the ballot-box. Not content with this decision of the voice of the people, he solicited the support of his friends again in 1859 against Hon. David Clopton, the Democratic candidate. A second defeat showed his party that it was not due to the want of talent and confidence in Mr. Judge, but to the fact that the Democratic party was much the stronger in the Second Congressional District, for by this time Mr. Judge was generally recog- nized as a man of power throughout the State, and a man whose influence and prominence among the people was greatly envied by the most talented men of Alabama.
In 1860 he supported John C. Breckinridge for President. When war was proclaimed against the Southern States, Mr. Judge entered the ranks of the Confederate Army as a private, but served only a short time at Pensacola, when he was ap- pointed by Governor Andrew B. Moore as Com- missioner to negotiate with the Government of the United States in reference to the forts, arsenals and custom-houses in Alabama, and was entrusted with other business of importance between the United States and the Confederate Government. The President of the United States, however, re-
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fused to recognize Mr. Judge in his official capacity, thereby rendering his mission of no service to his country. His services as a diplomatist being fruitless, Mr. Judge returned to Alabama to enter the military service in defense of the South. He soon succeeded in getting up a regiment, which was organized at Auburn, August 1, 1861, with Thomas J. Judge, as Colonel, in command. This regiment of infantry was composed of men from Chambers, Lowndes and Tallapoosa Counties, and entered the service as the Fourteenth Alabama. Colonel Judge remained with his command in Vir- ginia in active service until April, 1862, when he was so severely injured by a railroad collision that he was forced to resign his position as colonel of the regiment and return home for recovery.
Shortly after Colonel Judge's return to Mont- gomery, President Davis appointed him judge of a military court in Virginia, with the rank of Colo- nel of Cavalry. This position was declined by Colonel Judge, because he was confident that the rheumatism, which he had contracted, would give him great trouble if he should expose himself to the cold climate of Virginia. The President, learn- ing the cause of Colonel Judge's action, tendered him a similar appointment, with orders to serve in Mobile, which appointment was accepted. Colo- nel Judge discharged the duties of this office until the close of the war in 1865, and won much repu- tation as a distinguished tactician and a man well versed in military jurisprudence.
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In 1865, when the Supreme Court of the State was reorganized, Colonel Judge was called to that high tribunal, and it is said that he graced the er- mine with all the dignity of the judges of old. He only remained in this position of highest legal trust three years, when he was removed, in 1868, by the Reconstruction Acts of Congress. Shortly after this he removed his family back to his old home in Greenville, where he spent the declining years of his useful life among the friends of his childhood, enjoying the high esteem of all who knew him, and the happiness of being contented with the success with which he had met in life, with the world and all mankind. He paid the debt that every man owes to Nature on the 3d day of March, 1876, and his remains were buried beneath Butler's fertile soil, amidst a throng of his old acquaintances.
He married Miss Graves, of Lowndes County, and has two sons now living in Greenville, one of whom represented Butler County in the last ses- sion of the Legislature.
The career of Judge Judge is surpassed by that of but few men in Alabama. He began as a poor printer's boy, with but little mental training, but by his earnest application to business and to books, and a determination only excelled by his perseverance, he won a reputation among the people of his State for intelligence and ability that will not soon be forgotten.
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
Garland.
THIS station is in the southwestern corner of the county, in the swamp of Persimmon and Sepulgah Creeks, and is the last station in the county on the L. & N. R. R. going toward Mo- bile.
This part of the county was settled about 1840. It is not known who first cut and built here, but it is known that as early as 1845, John Coleman, Hamp Kebler, Tom and Dan Koker, Edmund Etheridge, lived on the east side of Sepulgah Creek, and Elias Presley, John P. Mires, Andrew Dunham and James Adams settled on the west side of Persimmon Creek. John F. McPherson lived about five miles up the creek from where Garland is now. John Rogers lived in the fork of the two creeks. Garland was located and named in the spring of 1860, by Colonel W. P. Garland, one of the chief engineers on the Mobile and Montgomery Railway. The railroad reached this place in the fall of the same year. Edmund Brooks owned all of the land, and took Garland in with him as a partner. Robert Powell started a dram-shop here in the fall of 1860, at the same time selling a few other things. John Rhodes and H. Clay Armstrong, with his father, started stores
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here the same year, selling general merchandise. The town grew very rapidly. Elias Hinson bought a lot, and soon erected a hotel, but as it was a small town, the hotel never prospered. John Julian started a steam saw-mill at this place in 1861, and furnished the people with a very good article of lumber. When the war came in 1861, every kind of business was suspended here, except the mill, which continued until 1865. H. Clay Armstrong raised a company in this part of the county, and went to join the army.
After the war, merchandising was resumed, and the town has been growing ever since, having now five stores of general merchandise, one drug store, shoe-shop, etc. There are two churches here, but the school is sorry, although there are enough children here for a flourishing school. The post- office is kept by Mr. O. C. Darby. A majority of the people of this place belong to the church, and whisky or ardent spirits are not allowed to be sold in this vicinity. About four miles east of Gar- land, may be found a neighborhood of Latter-Day Saints, consisting of about forty members, having services at appointed times.
Land in this part of the county has always been comparatively cheap, except a while in 1859 and 1860, when it was sold for $5.00 and sometimes $7.00 per acre. Before that time, it was worth $1.25 per acre; now it is put on the market at $3.00 per acre, and much demand for it at that price. There is but little farming interest at this
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place. The soil would produce very well, if prop- erly fertilized. The land is more valuable for its timber than anything else. However, a great deal of the timber has been used. M. B. Bazer started a mill here in 1870, but was soon burned out. He was succeeded in the lumber business by the Binion Brothers, who have cut all the timber in several miles of the place. They moved their mill about four miles east of this place the early part of 1884, and are doing a good business, still keep- ing a lumber-yard at Garland, and sawing a very good quality of lumber.
Some timber is rafted down the creek from this place, there being a good deal of fine pine and cypress wood in the Persimmon Swamps.
CHAPTER XXIX.
South Butler.
JOHN WHEELER and Jessie R. Hinson moved to this part of the county about 1823, the former coming from North Carolina, the latter from Georgia. Both of these gentlemen have long since died. South Butler, like a good many other vil- lages in the county, should have the name of Scatterville. It is a neighborhood about eight miles square, and all of that part of the county is
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called South Butler. There are three stores in this neighborhood, but none of them are in a mile of each other. There is a post-office at one edge of the neighborhood, with Mr. W. C. Shell as postmaster. The soil at this place is a kind of lime, with oak and dogwood growth and short- leaf pine. Land is worth about $5.00 per acre. Some fertilizers are used here, and the soil pro- duces tolerably abundantly when all things are suitable. This is a very healthy section of coun- try, the people never having any need of a physi- cian. There never was but one physician that lived at this place. Dr. U. H. Cook moved here about 1874. He being an old man, did not live long. The water here is not very good, contain- ing some lime in solution. There never was much wealth at this place, and none of the planters farm on a large scale.
The first store was opened by Pleasant G. Jack- son, in the fall of 1835, near where the Georgiana Road crosses the Sparta Road, about two miles from the old South Butler Church. This church was built by the Methodist people in 1827, being the only church in this part of the country at that time.
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