Madison in Madison County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Pension Row
Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, March 18, 2011
1. Pension Row Marker
Pension Row is representative of many small town African American neighborhoods. Once a thriving community with its own schools, churches, businesses, lodges, and recreation areas, it has been a part of Madison since Madison was incorporated in 1869. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was home to most of Madison's black citizens, including businessmen, teachers, preachers, farmers, housekeepers, and workers in the town's gins and warehouses. The narrow streets, designed for horse-drawn carts, and the hedges, plantings, and trees help to define a strong sense of place, but the historic buildings are rapidly disappearing.
Many dilapidated houses were demolished in the 1990s, and younger residents have moved away. Pension Row remains home to a small population, many of whom have lived here for generations. It has two historic churches: St. Peter United Methodist Church, founded in 1887, and St. Elizabeth Cumberland Presbyterian Church, founded in 1910. Both continue to draw worshippers from throughout western Madison County.
Erected 2010 by Alabama Tourism Department and the City of Madison.
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Location. 34° 41.747′ N, 86° 45.305′ W. Marker is in Madison, Alabama, in Madison County. It is at the intersection of Pension Row and Arnett Street, on the left when traveling south on Pension Row. Marker was moved from its previous location on Mill Road. A sign on Mill Road points toward the current Pension Row location. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 211299 Arnett St, Madison AL 35758, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama and in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area. 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 original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture,
Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, March 18, 2011
2. Pension Row Marker
Looking west on Mill Road. Pension Row intersection on the left.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: James Henry Bibb (approx. 0.3 miles away); Affair at Madison Station / Affair at Indian Creek Ford (approx. 0.4 miles away); City of Madison (approx. 0.4 miles away); Trail of Tears (approx. 0.4 miles away); "The Roundhouse" (approx. 0.4 miles away); Madison County Veterans (approx. 0.4 miles away); Old Madison Cemetery (approx. 0.6 miles away); Madison Cemetery (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Madison.
Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, November 3, 2016
3. Pension Row Marker
This view shows the marker at its new location at the corner of Arnett Street and Pension Row.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 1, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 6, 2011, by Lee Hattabaugh of Capshaw, Alabama. This page has been viewed 3,087 times since then and 85 times this year. Last updated on November 7, 2016, by Lee Hattabaugh of Capshaw, Alabama. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 6, 2011, by Lee Hattabaugh of Capshaw, Alabama. 3. submitted on November 7, 2016, by Lee Hattabaugh of Capshaw, Alabama. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
