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Limestone County History and Information

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Limestone County was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General Assembly on Feb. 6, 1818 from lands ceeded in the Cherokee and Chickasaw Cession of 1806 and 1816.

It was formed from land comprising Elk County that was created on May 24, 1817. Limestone County is west of Madison County, north of the Tennessee River, and east of the western boundary line of range six, west of the basis meridian of the county.

An act of the state General Assembly on Nov. 27, 1821 gave to the county all of the land belonging to Lauderdale County, in the fork of the Tennessee and Elk Rivers, east of range six. Today Limestone County is bounded on the north by the State of Tennessee, on the east by Madison County, on the south by Morgan and Lawrence counties, and on the west by Lauderdale County. There was record loss due to a couthouse fire in 1862

The name of the county comes from the creek which flows through it, whose bed is of hard limestone. Athens was chosen as the county seat in 1819. Other towns of note are Belle Mina, Elkmont, Capshaw and Mooresville.

The Official County Website is located at http://co.limestone.al.us/

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Limestone County Court Records

Limestone County Vital Records

Limestone County Census Records

Limestone County Maps & Atlases

Limestone County Military Records

Limestone County Tax Records

Limestone County Genealogical Addresses

Limestone County Church & Cemeteries

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

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Extended History

Limestone County was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General Assembly Feb. 6, 1818. It was formed from land comprising Elk County , then a part of the Mississippi Territory . The county was named for Limestone Creek, which flows through it and whose bed is made of hard limestone. The county encompasses approximately 559 square miles and is the smallest county in the state. It lies west of Madison County , north of Morgan and Lawrence counties, east of Lauderdale County and south of the Tennessee State line. Limestone County consists of fertile agricultural land, scenic hills and waterways that includes the Elk River running through the western side, and the Tennessee River on the south.

After the Cherokee Land Cession in 1806, new settlers began moving into the area now known as Limestone County . The Cherokee cession included much of Limestone County , land that was also claimed by the Chickasaw Tribe. Unaware they were venturing into Chickasaw territory, white settlers began to move west of the Congressional Reservation Line by 1808, leading to clashes between settlers, Indians, and soldiers. These settlers became known as The Intruders and suffered both at the hands of the native tribe and the U. S. government.

The Intruders built cabins, planted crops and settled in during the winter of 1808-9. The Chickasaw, known for their fierce fighting ability, did not look kindly at having settlers moving onto their land, and often made raids on unsuspecting residents. The Chickasaw obtained support from the U.S. government in forcing the settlers out of their territory. The soldiers dealt harshly with the settlers by destroying their cabins and crops. In 1809 soldiers stationed at Ft. Hampton removed 166 settlers from the Chickasaw territory, 93 of which were from the Simms Settlement. Some of these families included widows with children who fled to neighboring Giles County TN and Madison County Alabama. Land entries were made in N.E. Limestone County as early as 1809, and between 1809-1816, 11,001 acres of land were entered in the county.

In September 1816, after many years of fending off attacks from the Chickasaws and removal by the government, the settlers living west of the Congressional Reservation Line were finally allowed to stay. The Chickasaw Nation ceded to the United States all rights and titles to the lands on the north side of the Tennessee River as well as some land on the south side. Settlers flocked to Huntsville land office to buy the land they had cleared and on which they had established homes. By 1820, there were 10,069 people living in the county, 2,919 of which were slaves and 33 free persons of color. The population continued to increase due to the fertile soil that was conducive to growing cotton and other crops. By 1860, the population had increased to 15,306. Of that number there were 7,215 whites and 8,085 slaves. The number of free persons of color had decreased to six.

In November 1819, Reuben Tillman, Thomas Redus, Jeremiah Tucker, Pollock and Samuel Hunley were elected to serve the county, and in 1820, the first of four county courthouses was erected.

In May 1819, members were elected to the state constitutional convention. They were Nicholas Davis, Thomas Bibb and Beverly Hughes. The same year William Wyatt Bibb was elected as governor of Alabama. Davis was elected as a state representative, and William R. King and John W. Walker were elected to the U.S. Senate.

The City of Athens became the county seat in 1819. Cambridge , located 12 miles from the Tennessee River and nine miles north of Mooresville aspired to the county seat designation, but was beaten out by Athens , which had incorporated Nov. 18, 1818 . Cotton Port located south of Athens on the right bank of Piney Creek where it empties into Limestone Creek, flourished for a time and was incorporated Jan. 29, 1829 . Bridgewater , another small town located 15 miles south of Elkton , TN and 10 miles above Ft. Hampton at Sim’s landing, was also a flourishing town in the early history of the county.

The town of Mooresville , incorporated Nov. 16, 1818 , is the oldest legal town in Limestone County . Tradition says the first settler was William Moore. Today, visitors to historic Mooresville find beautiful, well-maintained, antebellum homes where the residents still enjoy small town living.

Other towns in the county include historic Belle Mina where Thomas Bibb built his beautiful home Belle Manor, Elkmont, Ardmore , Lester and Capshaw, now home to the only Hindu temple in the immediate area. Some small towns no longer in existence such as Cotton Port , Cambridge and Bridgewater , were important in the early 1800s. Many beautiful antebellum homes and buildings still grace the landscape such as the Houston Museum and Library , home to Governor George Smith Houston and the Beaty/Mason home located on the Athens State University campus.

The first settlers in Limestone County were mostly Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and Christian Church members. Later, the Episcopal, Catholic and Lutherans established churches in the county. When German settlers moved into the county in the late 1800s, they brought with them their Lutheran faith and established St. Paul Lutheran Church , which is now home to Sand Springs Baptist Church . Located in the Germantown community near the Thach community is the Germantown Cemetery where tombstone inscriptions attest to their Germanic background. Today many descendants of these settlers continue to call Limestone County home.

Education was important to the early settlers. Athens Female Academy was built in 1822, and the Athens Female Institute opened in 1843 in the old academy building. The first building was called Founders Hall, which is now a part of Athens State University . The county’s oldest high school is the former Limestone County High School , now Elkmont High School , built in 1912. W. R. Hansard built the original school in Elkmont on that site in 1874.

Black schools also have an interesting history in the county. Alabama Forks School was founded in 1915 on land donated by Miss Maggie Barbee. Other Black schools included Belle Mina, Beulah built in 1910, Big Creek School on Buck Island Road conceived in 1904, Blue Ridge erected in 1917, Cotton Hill, Dogwood Flat, Elkmont, Greenbriar, Green Hill, Trinity, and numerous others. Today, students of all races attend Limestone County and City of Athens public schools, as well as local faith-based schools.

Until the 1850s, wagon roads and the rivers were the only means of transportation in the county. This changed, however, when the Tennessee and Central Alabama Railroad was built through central Alabama . A station was built at Elkmont and the old Elkmont depot still stands and is well maintained as a reminder of those times. Today the depot is used as a senior center and a modern Rails to Trails walking and riding path has replaced the old train tracks from Hays Mill to the Giles County TN state line.

Because the rail system throughout the south was the focus of much activity during the War Between the States, towns along the path, including Athens and Elkmont were scenes of fighting. In May 1862, Union Colonel John B. Turchin and his soldiers sacked Athens and occupied the city, looting, burning and destroying property there. The east side of the square was burned, and the Presbyterian Church was extensively damaged while it was used to quarter Union troops, animals and a warehouse. The 1833 county courthouse was also burned.

In Elkmont, a notable battle was fought at Sulphur Creek Trestle. The Union Army established a hillside fort at Sulphur Creek Trestle on property now owned by the Dubois family. In September 1864, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forest in an 8-hour battle captured the fort, the trestle, two blockhouses, the Union garrison, along with weapons and horses. The war brought hard times to families in the area, but more was to come during the reconstruction phase.

After the war, former soldiers released from Union prisons and from duty returned home to find the county occupied by Union soldiers, some of whom were former slaves. Many found their property destroyed and their homes in ashes. These former soldiers were disenfranchised and were required to take the oath of loyalty, but it was almost impossible to regain economic stability without equipment, horses, or money. The government, in order to rebuild the state's infrastructure and to pay for the war, imposed high taxes forcing many famers, large and small, to sell their land. Among the properties sold at auction was that of James W. S. Donnell of Athens and Jonesboro . His 240 acre Athens property, which included the Donnell home located on the Athens Middle School property, was part of that auction.

The physical ravages of war were almost gone by May of 1869. By then the new courthouse was rebuilt and numerous programs, such as the Freedman’s Bureau, were set into place to assist the newly freed Blacks’ transition to freedom. However, difficult days continued to plague the local businesses and farmers who needed money to operate. Farmers began employing the furnishing system where supplies needed for crops were bought by pledging the crop itself as security. The farmer paid exorbitant interest rates for those supplies and many were never out of debt from one year to the next. This continued throughout the next two decades as farmers worked to re-establish themselves and gain some form of security for their families.

The 20th century bought new prosperity to Limestone County . By 1900, there were 22,687 residents in the county and the largest town was Athens with a population of 1,010. Cotton was still the main crop in the county, and in 1900 a cotton mill was established. Telephones also came to Athens and a telegraph office was built. In 1907, the need for electricity had increased, and the city of Athens contracted with Westinghouse to provide a 140 kilowatt electric plant and 30 new street lights for $4,025.

By 1920, the economy in the county was booming. The First Methodist Church was built that year, as was the First Christian Church. In 1928 the old Methodist Church building was converted to a movie theater. The economic boom was short-lived due to the shockwaves spreading out from the 1929 Great Depression. Two local banks failed, and a number of homes and farms were lost to mortgage foreclosures. Despite the loss of jobs and the other losses and hardships, county residents survived the depression, and in some respects were better off than people in other areas of the country.

The Tennessee Valley Authority was established in the 1930s and hydroelectric dams were built on the Tennessee River to produce electricity. Approximately 50,000 acres of land was taken from Limestone County to create Wheeler Lake and a dam of the same name. Many county residents were employed by TVA to clear trees and remove houses, farm buildings and cemeteries from the soon to be flooded land. In 1934, Athens became the second city to sign a contract with TVA to purchase electricity. The first was Tupelo , MS . By 1936, the city of Athens began extending electric lines into rural areas of the county by borrowing money from the Rural Electrification Administration. Today, county residents have affordable electric and gas service provided by Athens Utilities.

Government jobs were important in rebuilding Limestone County after the depression. TVA and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided needed jobs for local residents. By the 1930s, money was finally available to build the current system of roads in the county. Today Limestone County has an excellent road system that is continually being upgraded and maintained by a capable engineering department and crews in the four districts.

Following the WWII, agriculture boomed in Limestone County with bumper crops of cotton. While the sharecropper had been an institution since the War Between the States, mechanization was rapidly becoming available to local farmers. Today, Limestone County is one of the largest cotton producers in the state, planting approximately 60,000 acres each year.

The two World Wars, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War and later conflicts found many Limestone County youth the first to volunteer for duty. As is often the case, some gave all, but they are not forgotten. Today all veterans from the Revolutionary War to the current war in Iraq are honored by the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives , located on Pryor Street in the old freight depot leased from the county. The museum was established a few years ago and is dedicated to honoring the memory of all veterans.

In May 1967, TVA constructed the largest nuclear power generating plant in the country on a 920-acre reservation acquired from the Glaze family. Today the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant is in full operation providing electricity to county residents.

Since Limestone County is only a short drive to Redstone Arsenal, NASA and Research Park in Huntsville , many county residents are employed by the Army, NASA and private high tech companies. Local companies in Limestone County also supply contract work for the space and defense industries. At the Welcome Center on I-65 an Army missile stands as evidence of the strong connection between Limestone County and the defense and space programs. In addition, the county is home to Delphi , a Division of General Motors, Federal Mogul, Steelcase and numerous other businesses and industries.

As the county presses onward into the 21st Century, the strength and work ethic of the early pioneers passed down through the generations will continue to make Limestone County a favorite place to live, work, worship and educate future generations.

Limestone County History and Information

Limestone County Court Records

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Limestone County Vital Records

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Limestone County Census Records

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Limestone County Maps & Atlases

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Limestone County Military Records

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Limestone County Tax Records

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Limestone County Genealogical Addresses

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Limestone County Church & Cemeteries

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Extended History