Mitchell Town Community

Mitchell Town Community. . (side 1) , Approximately 1.5 miles north of here, across Bluewater Creek near CR76, is the location of an early settlement known as Mitchell Town named for the Mitchells who settled there. In 1833, Samuel Herston owned land in the area which became Mitchell Town. Eli Joiner owned land north of there in 1834. Jack Phillips lived at this location in 1831, and later owned 198 acres and operated a gristmill on Mill Creek. The Robert Wilson family settled on the east side of Mill Creek. Stewart Wilson built a two~story dwelling in 1836, which stands today on CR92. He operated a gin there before the Civil War. John Robert Mitchell was a descendant of Robert and Mary Mitchell, who settled near Lexington around 1818. John joined Captain O’Neal’s Calhoun Guard at Center Star in 1861 and was promoted to Captain in Co. A. 35th Alabama Infantry. Captain Mitchell and his wife, Edna Caroline (Phillips), established their home north of Bluewater Creek were he was a farmer and operated a gristmill. A son, James (Jim) Mason Mitchell, built a two story home on CR33 near CR76 and operated a gristmill, general merchandise store, blacksmith shop, sawmill and cotton gin from 1899 until 1916. (Continued on other side). (side 2) (Continued from other side). Gabriel Butler, an early settler, built the first Bluewater Primitive Baptist Church in 1823 on him land near the present-day Butler Cemetery. The church moved from there to Mitchell Town near the Bluewater Cemetery across from Mitchell’s Mill established in 1836. Around 1913, the church moved to CR33 across from Mitchell’s Mill and in 1940 it was rebuilt near the Blue Water Cemetery, where it stands today. An early school was conducted in the Blue Primitive Baptist Church. It was moved to the Missionary Baptist Church, located near Dog Branch alongside what is now CR50, and was known as Dog Branch School. In 1913, a site near the church was donated for a one-room school. It was named New Hope School and grades 1-6 were taught by one teacher until around 1935. Eventually, commercial trade in Mitchell Town declined resulting in businesses closing. The cotton gin was the last visible reminder of Mitchell Town’s commercial past. It proudly stood and functioned until the mid~1950s and collapsed in 1960. The stately old home built by Jim Mitchell was vacated in the early 1960s and torn down in 1996. It was one of the last remainders of the once thriving business community known as Mitchell Town.