Moonshiners of Thorsby, Alabama 1907

Moonshiners of Thorsby Alabama, 1907

Thorsby, Alabama was founded in 1895 by several Scandinavian immigrants, that allegedly came down from Minnesota and Iowa. Notably among them Theodore T. Thorson – for whom the town was eventually named, John F. Peterson, Jno. E. Hedberg and K. G. Faegre(and?) – Norwegian. 

The town grew quickly, with two hotels, a sawmill and lumber company, and two wineries being built within the first couple of years. The town of Thorsby was declared a promised land for northerners looking to relocate to a warmer climate, suitable for farming and better health. The fertile soil of the South produced grapes in large numbers, along with other fruits such as strawberries, and the peaches for which Chilton County is famous.

Chilton County Alabama Map

Chilton County is known for its peaches and its unique landscape. It is home to swamps, prairies and mountains due to the foothills of the Appalachians which end in the county, the Coosa River basin, and its proximity to the Black Belt Prairie that was long a center of cotton production.

Mulberry Creek Alabama Gold

Mulberry Creek Tributaries

Reports that all tributaries of Mulberry Creek contain gold. Mulberry Creek is a 45.4-mile-long waterway in central Alabama. It rises in Chilton County and farther downstream forms the boundary between Dallas County and Autauga County. It is a tributary of the Alabama River. Gold is present at a grade sufficient to have a strong effect on the economics of an excavation project.

Chilton County Alabama

Chilton County Alabama

The Southwestern part of the Alabama gold belt includes portions of Chilton County. Nuggets weighing up to 4 ounces have been reported from Blue Creek, a short tributary of the Coosa River in the southeastern part of the Chilton County.