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

Mitchell Town Community

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, September 12, 2015

1. Mitchell Town Community Marker (side 1)

Inscription. (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

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

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

Mitchell Town Community Marker (side 2) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, September 12, 2015

2. Mitchell Town Community Marker (side 2)

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.

Erected 2014 by East Lauderdale Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1833.

Location. 34° 51.607′ N, 87° 26.391′ W. Marker is in Killen, Alabama, in Lauderdale County. It is at the intersection of Lee Highway (U.S. 72) and County Route 33, on the right when traveling west on Lee Highway. Marker is located at the Elkins East Chapel parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7435 US-72, Killen AL 35645, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama

and in the Shoals.

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

Mitchell Town Community Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, September 12, 2015

3. Mitchell Town Community Marker

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 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Jesse James Gang Canal Payroll Robbery / Trial of Frank James (approx. 0.3 miles away); Center (Centre) Star (approx. 0.9 miles away); Earliest Methodist Congregation in Lauderdale County, Alabama (approx. 1.1 miles away); Gabriel Butler Cemetery (approx. 1½ miles away); Gabriel “Old Gabe” Butler (approx. 1½ miles away); Cherokee Chief Doublehead's Village Around 1800 (approx. 1.6 miles away); Daniel White (approx. 1.7 miles away); Elgin/Elgin Crossroads (approx. 2.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Killen.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on November 22, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 2,309 times since then and 138 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 22, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.