Pickensville in Pickens County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Pickensville Historic District
Photographed by Tom Bosse, July 30, 2021
1. Pickensville Historic District Marker (front)
Inscription.
Pickensville Historic District. . In 1817, two years before Alabama became a state, a white man named Josiah Tilley came in the Tombigbee area which was inhabited by Indians. In 1820, the Town of Pickensville was established and named for Civil War General Andrew Pickens of South Carolina. Pickensville (located in West Central Alabama) became a booming town. There were large riverboats entering its ports delivering goods and picking up passengers traveling to Mobile, Alabama. In 1870, after the water transportation slowed, the M&O Railroad came with passenger and freight trains. There was ferry boat transportation back and forth across the Tenn-Tom River to Noxubee County, MS. It operated from 1879 to 1979. Two of its operators were war veteran Raleigh Ryan and Hezekiah Grice, both of Pickensville. There were schools, businesses, doctors offices, and churches. The Methodist Church, the oldest building in Pickensville, was founded in 1921. It was used as a hospital for the Confederate soldiers. Black and whites worshipped there together. , The Stage Coach Inn, built in 1830, served as a stop for stage coaches traveling between Columbus, Mississippi and Eutau, Alabama. Pickensville First Baptist Church was founded in 1847. BB Chapel Methodist Church was founded in 1977 and St. John Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1885. The Rosenwald School (the only school left and currently serving as Pickensville Community Center) was founded in 1925 by philanthropist and founder of Sears and Roebuck, Julius Rosenwald of Chicago, and Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee. Pickensville is the oldest town in Pickens County and was the first county seat. Its first mayor, a riverboat captain named Newell, died in 1843. Once a Confederate Town, Pickensville elected its first African American mayor in 2004, Mary Locke Fuseyamore. She is the granddaughter of a slave (Dora Wilkins Locke, who was born in Virginia and brought to Pickensville in the early 1800s) and the daughter of a local civil rights work Jimmie Locke Sr.
In 1817, two years before Alabama became a state, a white man named Josiah Tilley came in the Tombigbee area which was inhabited by Indians. In 1820, the Town of Pickensville was established and named for Civil War General Andrew Pickens of South Carolina. Pickensville (located in West Central Alabama) became a booming town. There were large riverboats entering its ports delivering goods and picking up passengers traveling to Mobile, Alabama. In 1870, after the water transportation slowed, the M&O Railroad came with passenger and freight trains. There was ferry boat transportation back and forth across the Tenn-Tom River to Noxubee County, MS. It operated from 1879 to 1979. Two of its operators were war veteran Raleigh Ryan and Hezekiah Grice, both of Pickensville. There were schools, businesses, doctors offices, and churches. The Methodist Church, the oldest building in Pickensville, was founded in 1921. It was used as a hospital for the Confederate soldiers. Black and whites worshipped there together.
The Stage Coach Inn, built in 1830, served as a stop for stage coaches traveling between Columbus, Mississippi and
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Eutau, Alabama. Pickensville First Baptist Church was founded in 1847. BB Chapel Methodist Church was founded in 1977 and St. John Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1885. The Rosenwald School (the only school left and currently serving as Pickensville Community Center) was founded in 1925 by philanthropist and founder of Sears & Roebuck, Julius Rosenwald of Chicago, and Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee. Pickensville is the oldest town in Pickens County and was the first county seat. Its first mayor, a riverboat captain named Newell, died in 1843. Once a Confederate Town, Pickensville elected its first African American mayor in 2004, Mary Locke Fuseyamore. She is the granddaughter of a slave (Dora Wilkins Locke, who was born in Virginia and brought to Pickensville in the early 1800s) and the daughter of a local civil rights work Jimmie Locke Sr.
Erected 2010 by The Alabama Tourism Department and the Town of Pickensville.
Location. 33° 13.596′ N, 88° 15.99′ W. Marker is in Pickensville, Alabama, in Pickens County. It is on Broad Street (Alabama Route 14) south of Main Street ( Route 86), on the right when traveling south. Located next to the Pickensville Police Station. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Carrollton AL 35447, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. 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.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 12, 2021. It was originally submitted on August 2, 2021, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,502 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on August 2, 2021, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. 7, 8. submitted on August 4, 2021, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. 9. submitted on August 8, 2021, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
