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Blount County: A County Older Than the State of Alabama
Created Feb. 7, 1818 by Alabama Territorial Legislature from lands ceded by the Creek Indian Nation. Named for the Tennessee Governor W. G. Blount, who sent militia under Andrew Jackson to punish the Creeks for Fort Mims massacre. Jackson fought and won the Creek War. Creeks gave up half of their lands in Treaty of Ft. Jackson, 1814. Some of Jackson’s men were first settlers of Blount. County seat moved here in 1889. [2006: 220 2nd Avenue East, Oneonta. 2006 marker has replaced previous marker. 33.94637 N 86.47561 W]
Murphrees Valley
Three miles southeast of Clarence, Alabama.
Murphree Valley is a valley west of Woodhaven, Alabama, southeast of Gurley, Alabama, and south of Brentwood, Alabama. Murphree Valley has an elevation of 653 feet.
Solomon Murphree, son of Daniel and Sarah Murphree, was born in 1757, most likely in Bertie County, North Carolina, where his parents lived at the time. He later lived in Orange and Chatham Counties, North Carolina; in Pendleton District, South Carolina; and in Blount County, Alabama. He married Sarah Ward about 1779.
He served as a private in the Continental Line during the Revolutionary War after which he possibly bought and sold land in Washington County, Tennessee.
Solomon moved from Pendleton District, SC, to Blount County, Alabama. Murphree’s Valley in Blount County is named for him. There he organized the Mt. Moriah Primitive Baptist Church. His last years seem to have been in Benton (now Calhoun) County, Alabama. After his wife Sarah Ward Murphree died, he married (2) Mrs. Mary Elizabeth (“Polly”) Prator (Praytor) whose birth surname is only partially known: Chan–(Chandler?) or Cham–(Champion?). She was born in 1780-1790 and died before the 1850 census was taken.
Solomon Murphree died in Benton (now Calhoun) County in 1854 and is buried in the Eulation Methodist Church Cemetery near Anniston in present-day Calhoun County.
Exploit of Murphree Sisters
Incident of May 1, 1863 during Streight (Union flag)-Forrest (Confederate flag) Campaign. Three prowling Union soldiers invaded the home of sisters-in-law Celia and Winnie Mae Murphree taking food and drink and killing two colts. When soldiers fell asleep, these two young girls took rifles and marched the soldiers to the headquarters of General Forrest, bivouacked at Royal Crossing on Warrior River.
Taits Gap
The elevation of Taits Gap is 1,089 feet. Taits Gap appears on the Oneonta U.S. Geological Survey Map. Located on railroad, 3 miles southwest of Altoona, Alabama. Altoona is a town in Etowah County, Alabama. At the 2010 census the population was 933.
Taits Gap Topo Map in Blount County Alabama
Coal Stripping in Alabama (Article about Tait’s Gap, October 1921)
Champion
On railroad, three miles east Oneonta, Alabama. John Hanby came in 1817 and found a rich seam of brown iron ore. Named Champion in 1882 when Henry DeBardeleben & James Sloss bought land and brought L & N Railroad causing county seat to be moved from Blountsville to Oneonta in 1889. Most ore was mined by Shook and Fletcher 1925-1967 from Champion & Taits Gap mines under E. N. Vandergrift, superintendent. Ore was shipped to Woodward, T.C.I. & Sloss furnaces in Birmingham and Republic in Gadsden.
Inland Junction, Alabama
On railroad, five miles southwest of Allgood (Allgood is located in south-central Blount County at 33°54′15″N 86°30′59″W (33.904216, -86.516428). It is in the Murphree Valley, with Straight Mountain to the southeast and Red Mountain and Sand Mountain to the northwest. Alabama State Route 75 passes through the town, leading northeast three miles to Oneonta, the county seat, and southwest 38 miles to Birmingham.
Royal, Alabama
Five miles due south Allgood (Allgood, formerly known as Chepultepec (pronounced: cha-PULL-ti-peck), is a town in Blount County.. At the 2010 census the population was 622.
Blount Springs
Blount Springs is an unincorporated community about 30 miles north of Birmingham, three miles east of Interstate 65, at 33°55’52” North and 86°47’38” West.. Blount Springs’s mineral springs and rural setting made it a summer resort for thousands of wealthy people from Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and more from 1820 to the 1930s. After a fire started in the kitchen of the main hotel and burned much of the town in June 1915, the end of the resort happened. Combined with the changing of the railroad so that it didn’t go through town anymore and the easy access to other entertainments, the town started dying.
Rockland, Alabama
Hayden, Alabama is a small town in the southwestern part of Blount County. First called Rockland, probably so named because of all of the small to medium size rocks that were scattered over the hilly terrain. Rockland became Hayden with the advent of the L & N Railroad in 1914.
Linton, Alabama
On railroad and south of Blount County / Jefferson County line and three miles north of Warrior, Alabama.
Lehigh
Five miles south of Locust Fork, Alabama.
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]]>Alabama Gold Camp
1398 Co. Rd. 5
Lineville AL 36266
Phone: 1.256.396.0389
gold@alabamagoldcamp.com
CENTRAL ALABAMA ARTIFACTS SOCIETY
Pratt, Alabama
Phone: 205-365-1115
South Alabama Historical Research & Recovery
“Dedicated to the preservation of historical artifacts”
City: Mobile
Contact/Phone: (480) 201-1251 or email: Mike Smith
Meeting location: Golden Coral, 5327 Halls Mill Rd, Tillmans Corner, AL
Meeting Time: First Tuesday of every month @ 7:00 pm
Southeast Treasure Hunters
Alabama Prospecting Supply
789 Brentwood Drive
Gadsden, AL 35901
mismar@att.net
mlhudson1970@yahoo.com
Club meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Meetings begin at 7 PM
Tri-State Coin & Relic Hunters Club
Warrior Basin Treasure Hunters Association
City: Birmingham
Location: Nikki’s West Restaurant 233 Finley Avenue West Birmingham, AL. 35204
Contact/Phone: email: webmaster@wbtha.com
Membership: $15 with an annual renewal of $10
Website: http://wbtha.com/
Comments: The club meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday nights of each month. Eat at 6:30PM. Meetings start at 7:30PM
G.P.A.A North Alabama Chapter
Steele, AL 35987
334-864-8197
North Alabama Coin & Relic Recovery Club
Rocket City Relic Hunters
Central Alabama Artifacts Society
Madison County Coin Club
ANA Member #C-195870 (Region 20, AL & GA)
ANS & GNA Member
Meeting Location: Thomas W. Davidson, Sr. Senior Center
2200 Drake Ave. SW,
Huntsville, AL 35805
Meeting Dates: 4th Tuesday
of every month, except
May & December
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Return To Alabama Metal Detecting Main Page
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]]>It is illegal to metal detect in any National Park, National Recreational Area or at a National Monument. No metal detecting allowed in any of these National properties in Alabama .
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument is a new national park unit located in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a park in progress with limited services, and in the coming years services will be added to the park in cooperation with our partners. Read our Frequently Asked Questions for more information.
Freedom Riders National Monument
Freedom Riders National Monument is a new national park unit located in Anniston, Alabama. It is a park in progress with limited services. In the coming years services will be added to the park in cooperation with our partners. Read our Frequently Asked Questions for more information.
Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
On 27 March 1814, Major General Andrew Jackson ‘s army of 3,300 men attacked Chief Menawa’s 1,000 Red Stick Creek warriors fortified in a horseshoe shaped bend of the Tallapoosa River. Over 800 Red Sticks died that day. The battle ended the Creek War, resulted in a land cession of 23,000,000 acres to the United States and created a national hero of Andrew Jackson.
Map
Little River Canyon National Preserve
The park is located in DeKalb and Cherokee Counties in Alabama. We are in the upper northeast corner of the state. The Visitor Center is located in Fort Payne, Alabama.
Your first stop should be at the Little River Canyon Center at 4322 Little River Trail NE (472 AL Hwy 35 for GPS).Come let us tell you what is available and get a park map before you begin exploring the park. A movie, gift shop, and restrooms are also available at this facility.
Little River Canyon National Preserve is divided into three parts: Backcountry Area, Scenic Drive and Canyon Mouth Park. There are also two waterfalls along AL Highway 35 that people also like to visit (Little River Falls from Boardwalk and Grace’s High Falls).
Little River is unique because it flows for most of its length atop Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. Forested uplands, waterfalls, canyon rims and bluffs, pools, boulders, and sandstone cliffs offer settings for a variety of recreational activities. Natural resources and cultural heritage come together to tell the story of the Preserve, a special place in the Southern Appalachians.
The Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area began to take form in 1999 following a visionary community event, “Muscle Shoals Reconsidered.” During this conference, community leaders addressed the issue of how to create a relationship between the cultural aspects of the region and the area’s quality of life. Following a second conference, “Muscle Shoals Reconsidered II,” two committees were developed to further explore the issue. In 2000, a study of the cultural heritage of the Muscle Shoals Region identified opportunities for coalition building, established an inventory of assets, weighed the liabilities and validated earlier assumptions. The study also helped better define the themes, boundaries and stories of the Muscle Shoals region. In 2001, Alabama Rep. Robert “Bud” Cramer introduced legislation into the House of Representatives directing the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of establishing the heritage area. The legislation was signed into law in 2002, and the designation was approved in 2009.
Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail
The 450-mile foot trail that became known as the Natchez Trace was the lifeline through the Old Southwest. You can experience portions of that journey the way earlier travelers did – on foot. Today there are five separate trails totaling over 60 miles and they are administered by the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Natchez Trace Parkway
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through three states. It roughly follows the “Old Natchez Trace” a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, “Kaintucks,” European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents. Today, people can enjoy not only a scenic drive but also hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping along the parkway.
Russell Cave National Monument
At 7.5 miles, Russell Cave is the 3rd longest cave in Alabama although it is the history of the people that lived here that has made this site nationally significant. Aside from Russell Cave there are over 1500 caves that have been explored in Jackson County. This calculates to more caves per square mile than anywhere else in America. Caving is permitted in many north Alabama caves however; access to Russell Cave is limited to the geologically unusual cave entrance. This flat, protected space is where artifacts have been found dating back to some of the earliest human occurrences in North America.
Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail
Start your journey in Marion, Alabama, the location where Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot by an Alabama State Trooper on February 18, 1965 and died February 26 in Selma, Alabama. Mr. Jackson’s death was among the catalyst that lead to the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965.
Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail
Remember and commemorate the survival of the Cherokee people, forcefully removed from their homelands in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to live in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They traveled by foot, horse, wagon, or steamboat in 1838-1839.
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
Before the first African American military pilots became known as the “Red Tails” they wore striped tails as they began their flight training in the Army’s PT-17 Stearman bi-plane. Their flying adventure started at Moton Field, in Tuskegee, Alabama, where the Army Air Corps began a military “experiment” to see if Negroes could be trained to fly combat aircraft. Come–share their adventure!
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site
In 1881, Booker T. Washington arrived in Alabama and started building Tuskegee Institute both in reputation and literally brick by brick. He recruited the best and the brightest to come and teach here including George Washington Carver who arrived in 1896. Carver’s innovations in agriculture, especially with peanuts, expanded Tuskegee’s standing throughout the country.
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