Near Addison in Winston County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Looney’s Tavern
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, August 6, 2020
1. Looney’s Tavern
Site of a neutrality meeting of more than twenty-five hundred hill folks during the spring of 1862. C. C. Sheats, Winston's delegate to the Secession Convention and one of twenty-four delegates who refused to sign the Secession Ordinance was the principal speaker. The Looney's Tavern Convention requested that "the Confederacy on the one hand, and the Union on the other, leave us alone, unmolested, that we may work out our political and financial destiny here in the hills and mountains of Northwest Alabama."
When the neutrality proclamation was read, "Uncle Dick” Payne, a Confederate sympathizer who subsequently served the CSA under Longstreet, remarked, "Oh, oh, Winston secedes! The Free State of Winston!", thus giving the county its individualistic name.
History of a Hill County of North Alabama, 1972.
Erected 1972.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil.
Location. 34° 15.091′ N, 87° 11.32′ W. Marker is near Addison, Alabama, in Winston County. It is at the intersection of County Road 41 and NFR 266, on the right when traveling south
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pine Torch Church (approx. 8 miles away); M1841 Mountain Howitzer (approx. 8.6 miles away); The Jail at Houston / Houston-County Seat of Winston (approx. 8.6 miles away); Richard Elliott Payne (approx. 8.6 miles away); Willis Farris (approx. 8.6 miles away); John Anthony Winston (approx. 8.6 miles away); Former Site of Smith Schoolhouse (approx. 9.2 miles away); Brushy Creek (approx. 9.9 miles away).
Also see . . . Wikipedia article on the Republic of Winston. (Submitted on December 17, 2020.)
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, August 6, 2020
2. Looney’s Tavern
Credits. This page was last revised on February 23, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 17, 2020, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,921 times since then and 79 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 17, 2020, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
