Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Abram Mordecai / Mordecai's Cotton Gin

Abram Mordecai (1755-1849) Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, January 19, 2014

1. Abram Mordecai (1755-1849) Marker

Inscription.
Side 1 Abram Mordecai
1755-1849
Born October 24, 1755 in Pennsylvania; settled 1783 in Georgia where he became a successful trader among the Cusseta Indians. First U.S. citizen to settle (1785) in what became Montgomery County. Living and marrying among the Creeks, he established a trading house for skins, furs, and medicinal barks two miles from Line Creek. Alabama historian A.J. Pickett visited him in Dudleyville in 1847. Fiercely independent to the end, he died and was buried there two years later. (Continued on other side)
Side 2 Mordecai's Cotton Gin
Alabama's First
(Continued from other side) In 1785, Abram Mordecai, a Jewish veteran of the Revolutionary War, settled in this area which was still Indian country. On the Alabama River near here in 1802, he installed a cotton gin manufactured by Lyons & Barnett of Georgia. Until Indians burned his equipment, he ginned his own cotton and that of his Indian neighbors. His gin, the first in Alabama, was the forerunner of those that sprang up after the Territory was formed in 1817 and pioneers with "Alabama Fever" rushed to claim the fertile soil. The restored Old Alabama Town gin is typical of those operated until the early 20th century.

Erected

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

1992 by the Alabama Historical Association.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Association series list. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1914.

Location. 32° 22.924′ N, 86° 18.197′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. Marker is on Columbus Street, 0.1 miles west of North Decatur Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 454 Columbus Street, Montgomery AL 36104, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Lucas Tavern (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); William Lowndes Yancey (about 300 feet away); Lucas Tavern / Lafayette (about 300 feet away); Ordeman House Museum (about 400 feet away); Thompson Mansion (about 600 feet away); Ray W. Scott Jr. Founded Bass Anglers Movement (approx. 0.2 miles away); Montgomery and Electricity / Hydroelectricity in the River Region (approx. 0.2 miles away); Civil War Laurel Oak Tree (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Also see . . . Abraham Mordecai. Encyclopedia of Alabama entry. (Submitted on January 19, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Mordecai's Cotton Gin Alabama's First Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, January 19, 2014

2. Mordecai's Cotton Gin Alabama's First Marker

Photographed By Mark Hilton, January 19, 2014

3. Marker Area

Photographed By Mark Hilton, January 19, 2014

4. Marker Area

Credits. This page was last revised on September 28, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 19, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 942 times since then and 81 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 19, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.