History of a Name

History of a Name. . Side 1 , Old Indian trails leading to the Mulberry River were still fresh when a few dirt farmers began to settle just west of what is now Hanceville. From the beginning a steady stream of settlers, many of whom were German and Irish refugees, was attracted to the new settlement. The L&N Railroad Company constructed a railroad across Cullman County with the link connecting Cullman and Hanceville being completed around 1873. Within two months after the coming of the railroad, Mr. P.H. Kinney was instrumental in forming the nucleus of a hew town through the establishment of a new post office some miles south of Holmes Gap, originally christened with the name of Gilmer. Kinney, the first postmaster, changed the name of the town by order of the U.S. Postal Service because there was already a town named Gilmer in the state. Mr. Kinney honored his father, Hance Kinney, by naming the town for him.

Side 2 , Hanceville's rapid population growth and prosperity made it a leading contender to capture the position of county seat. Unfortunately through the urging of a Cullman delegation, the Alabama Legislature ordered that the boundary line be drawn down the center of town which officially left half the town of Hanceville in Blount County, making Hanceville unable to vote in the forthcoming election to choose a county seat and governing officials. Hanceville was incorporated in Blount County on May 28, 1879 as ordered and decreed by the court. In 1885 the boundary lines were moved a mile north placing Hanceville entirely in Blount County. The lines were again re-drawn along the Mulberry River in 1912, placing Hanceville and several other communities to the south in Cullman County.