Historical Markers and War Memorials in Decatur, Alabama
Athens is the county seat for Limestone County
Decatur is in Limestone County
Limestone County(90) ► ADJACENT TO LIMESTONE COUNTY Lauderdale County(238) ► Lawrence County(58) ► Madison County(210) ► Morgan County(80) ► Giles County, Tennessee(73) ► Lincoln County, Tennessee(55) ►
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The Southeast Air Forces Training Center operated by Southern Aviation Training School, also known as Pryor Field, was constructed in 1941. These two aircraft hangars and beacon tower are the remaining artifacts of one of only a few World War II . . . — — Map (db m85425) HM
A series of racially charged trials where nine African American males ages 13 to 20 were falsely accused of raping two white women on a freight train in Alabama produced a pair of landmark civil rights decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in the . . . — — Map (db m154233) HM
Decatur played a key role in the Federal defenses of the vital rail lines in North Alabama. These defenses were configured in a three-tiered system. First, a number of lightly armored gunboats, constructed on the Tennessee River and nicknamed . . . — — Map (db m86476) HM
The Decatur crossing of the Tennessee River was used extensively by Union forces. In the Fall of 1863, elements of Major General William T. Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee passed through Decatur on their way from Vicksburg to Chattanooga. Union . . . — — Map (db m86477) HM
As Hood’s Army of Tennessee encircled Decatur, sharpshooters advanced upon the Union defenses. Colonel Doolittle’s men responded with heavy artillery and musket fire. During the early afternoon of October 27, the Confederates approached the Federal . . . — — Map (db m28241) HM
As sharpshooting and artillery fire continued throughout the morning of October 28, Granger and Doolittle determined to launch an attack upon the Confederate battery at the edge of the Tennessee River, whose fire threatened the critical pontoon . . . — — Map (db m86478) HM
Alabama Territorial Legislature created this county in 1818 from lands ceded by Cherokee Indians in 1816. County first named Cotaco, for large creek in county.
Named Morgan County in 1821 for Maj. Gen. Daniel Morgan, . . . — — Map (db m27759) HM
Old Town played a vital part in the city's history. The first lot sold in 1821 before the city incorporated in 1826. During Reconstruction, the neighborhood emerged politically, economically and educationally. Many prominent African American . . . — — Map (db m154237) HM
On Jan. 11, 1887, the Decatur Land Improvement and Furnace Company, Inc. was formed under the leadership of E. C. Gordon, C.C. Harris and W.W. Littlejohn. With a capital investment of $7,500,000, the company purchased 5600 acres of land, including . . . — — Map (db m86479) HM
On Jan. 11, 1887, the Decatur Land Improvement and Furnace Company, Inc. was formed under the leadership of E. C. Gordon, C.C. Harris and W.W. Littlejohn. With a capital investment of $7,500,000, the company purchased 5600 acres of land, including . . . — — Map (db m176965) HM
The Battle of Decatur, Oct. 26-29, 1864, was the result of Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood's effort to move his army across the Tennessee River and into central Tennessee in an attempt to reclaim Nashville. The engagement occurred as part of . . . — — Map (db m91145) HM
"This section lying between Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue will provide the central beautification theme as it will evolve into a beautiful elevated rose garden with 2,000 selected roses planted at vantage points... the color ensemble, when . . . — — Map (db m86480) HM
This Greek Revival mansion belonged to Dr. Aaron Adair Burleson and his wife, Janet, during the Civil War. Part of an original 778-acre land grant, the brick home covered by Flemish bond, features 18-inch thick walls and contains one of the . . . — — Map (db m28245) HM
Born in 1894 in Normandy, Tennessee, Carolyn Cortner was raised in the Courtland area of Lawrence County, Alabama. She attended Ward-Belmont College in Tennessee. She married Wilburn Smith in 1912. She did not attend formal architecture school . . . — — Map (db m27814) HM
When classes began on this site in the late 1800s, the teaching staff
of the East End Public School (also known as the Gibb Street School)
consisted of Professor T. A. Frierson and his wife, Anna B. Frierson.
At the time, it was the only school . . . — — Map (db m158179) HM
Of the various detachments that removed the Cherokee People from their home lands in the southeastern United States, three of them landed in Decatur at what became Rhodes Ferry Park. Due to the difficulty of navigating the Muscle Shoals portion of . . . — — Map (db m140846) HM
You are facing the site of the McCartney Hotel, where Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston established his headquarters while reorganizing the Confederate Army of the West in March, 1862. Johnston spent almost two weeks here after he was . . . — — Map (db m28263) HM
The oldest home in Decatur still standing, this Early Classical Revival mansion was built by Frank Dancy and was a private residence until 1872, when it became a boarding house and hotel. During the Civil War, the home belonged to Dancy’s daughter, . . . — — Map (db m28243) HM
Decatur had close to 800 residents in 1860, not many more than the 606 persons counted in the 1850 census. Included in the 1860 census were 267 white males, 206 white females, three free blacks including two males and one female, and 130 slaves of . . . — — Map (db m28209) HM
This Monument is dedicated in memory of Decatur born men who fought & died in the Vietnam War.
Roger Pinkey Crow Dec 12 1948- Sept 30, 1970 •
Billy Wayne Carp March 13, 1947- Sept 10, 1969 •
Tommy L Nighola's March 2, 1944 - Feb 23, 1966 . . . — — Map (db m154234) WM
The Cherokee people resisted the government's order to leave the Tennessee Valley. They signed petitions and lobbied Congress. Yet the Indian Removal Act of 1830 still passed. In March 1837, the first detachment—a group of Cherokee families, slaves, . . . — — Map (db m140851) HM
Led by first pastor Alfred Peters, 21 members organized this church on April 22, 1866, in the home of Sister Jane Young. Services were first held in a storefront building on the banks of the Tennessee River. In 1873 First Missionary purchased a . . . — — Map (db m27765) HM
This church was formed in 1853 by the Tuscumbia Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. The first building, located on the southeast corner of Bank and Church streets in Decatur, was a single story, plastered and . . . — — Map (db m154236) HM
Front:
The historic First United Methodist Church is the oldest continually meeting congregation in Decatur and the only downtown church still worshiping in its nineteenth century sanctuary.
Circuit riders served local Methodists from . . . — — Map (db m102816) HM
For whom this lake in Tennessee River is named lived 1836-1906. His home 16 miles west. Lt. Gen. in Confederate Army 1864-5. Maj. Gen. U. S. Army 1898. Named by Alabama to Hall of Fame, Washington, 1922. — — Map (db m27760) HM
"The opportunies which were at hand in the development of the river and the region were being seized upon by our people with renewed courage and confidence.
We now know that we couldn't be licked again, that what had been preached to us by TVA was . . . — — Map (db m86505) HM
Public Buildings
1. Public City Hall
2. Decatur Police Station
3. Decatur/Morgan Co. Chamber of Comm.
4. Decatur Public Library
5. Federal Bldg./Post Office
6. Morgan County Archives
7. Morgan County Courthouse
8. Morgan . . . — — Map (db m103228) HM
Following the fall of Atlanta on September 2, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood, Commander of the Army of Tennessee, began a series of maneuvers against the Union line of supply running from Atlanta through Northwest Georgia, North Alabama, . . . — — Map (db m28208) HM
Ingalls Iron Works was established in 1910, by Robert Ingalls, in Titusville Alabama. It became the largest steel company in the region. Looking for new opportunities for the steel his company fabricated, Ingalls opened Ingalls Shipyard in 1937 to . . . — — Map (db m86507)
King's Memorial United Methodist Church, formerly St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, evolved out of the Decatur First Methodist Episcopal Church. founded in 1827. In 1854, Richard Rather, Charity Barnes Rather, and Robert Murphy led the church's . . . — — Map (db m154238) HM
In Memory of those who died for our country in the Korean War 1950-1953 Otis F. Alford, Claud Greene, Jr., Thomas C. Hendrix, Paul Gentra Holloway, Richard D. McGhee, Olen Parker — — Map (db m48191) WM
Beneath this hallowed ground lay the remains of fifty-five Confederate soldiers. They gave their lives to establish southern independence, protect their homes, and preserve state's rights. These original headstones were placed in May 1903 by the Joe . . . — — Map (db m86509) HM
Lest we forget
This monument is erected
to the memory of
those who offered their
lives for a just cause,
the defense of states rights
Confederate Soldiers — — Map (db m164879) WM
[Center]
1941 World War II 1945
Erected in
memory of
those from
Morgan
County
who made
the supreme
sacrifice in
World War II
[Left wing]
Forever Honored
Alford, George • Ayers, Thomas P. • Bartlett, . . . — — Map (db m154235) WM
The Old Decatur Historic District dates Back to the town's settlement in 1817; at that time it was called Rhodes Ferry Landing after Dr. Henry W. Rhodes, an early landowner who operated a ferry across the Tennessee River. In 1820, President . . . — — Map (db m103229) HM
The Old Decatur Historic District dates Back to the Town's settlement in 1817; at that time it was called Rhodes Ferry Landing after Dr. Henry W. Rhodes, an early landowner who operated a ferry across the Tennessee River. In 1820, President . . . — — Map (db m103225) HM WM
Erected 1833, Cost $9,482. Classic Revival design. Listed on National Register of Historic Places. Decatur Branch, Bank of The State of Alabama. Chartered 1832 by state legislature, profitable until 1837, charter revoked 1842 and closed. 1842-1901 . . . — — Map (db m27762) HM
The Vine Street Business District, located in Old Town, once played a vital part of the city's history. After the Civil War, the neighborhood emerged politically, economically and educationally. Many prominent African American citizens resided . . . — — Map (db m154243) HM
1838
Trail of Tears: The discovery of gold in Georgia and thirst for land expansion prompted the U.S. Government and white communities to force the Cherokee nation from their ancestral lands. During the summer and winter of 1838, the first . . . — — Map (db m113290) HM
On this river in front of you, 2,300 Cherokee people arrived in waves, forced from their Tennessee Valley homeland in 1837 to 1838. The steamer Knoxville towed flat boats loaded with Cherokee families. Heavy rains soaked their clothes. Cold . . . — — Map (db m140855) HM
"We are definitely in an era of building; the best kind of buildings - the building of great projects for the benefit of the public and with the definite objectives of building human happiness".
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Delano park was . . . — — Map (db m86510) HM
Dr. Henry Rhodes, for whom Rhodes Ferry Landing was named, was Decatur's first Postmaster and one of the organizers of the Lodge (Nov. 22, 1826). Chartered in 1827, its first Worshipful Master was Colonel Francis Dancy, builder of the Dancy-Polk . . . — — Map (db m102823) HM
During the 1870s, Samuel Schaudies and Abbie Robinson Schaudies moved to this site from Huntsville and purchased this five-room cottage in 1881 for $800.00. The deed lists this site as part of Lot 84, “Old Town” Decatur. In 1875, their . . . — — Map (db m27763) HM
Named in honor of
W. W. “Barney” Benson, Supt. Ed. 1927 - 38
H. L. “Shorty” Ogle, Coach 1934 - 64
Aubrey Fuller, Asst. Coach 1929 - 58
The “T” formation was introduced to Alabama here in 1941
On . . . — — Map (db m28268) HM
"It is intended that the city shall be not only a first class business and manufacturing place but at the same time it shall be a delightful place for the home and family."
-Promotional brochure from the Decatur Land Improvement and Furnace . . . — — Map (db m53667) HM
Side A
In 1890, 75 members of St. Paul's Church (founded 1867) in Old Decatur, split away from the church over the location of a new building. Newcomers to the parish and city wanted to build it in New Decatur/Albany, near their homes. . . . — — Map (db m32483) HM
A Century of Service
The Decatur Daily newspaper began publication in the basement of a building on the northeast corner of Moulton Street and Second Avenue on Feb. 26, 1912 to serve the adjacent towns of Decatur and New Decatur. Its web . . . — — Map (db m127338) HM
Guarding the Flame of the Centennial Olympic Games
These heroes carried the sacred flame the
symbol of World Peace, Friendship and Unity.
Lane Barnes, William Debuty,
Charles Friedrich, Jeremy Gaertner,
Kevin Hall, Jordan Hardick,
Katie . . . — — Map (db m106095) HM
In 1860, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was the only east-west route through the United States south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Maintaining control of this rail line was essential to Confederate strategy. Union Brigadier General Ormsby Mitchell . . . — — Map (db m28262) HM
This is a site of painful memory, a place of upheaval. Decatur was just one stop on a deadly journey over 1,000 miles — the forced removal of the Cherokee people from the Tennessee Valley.
Along the edge of the Tennessee River, this town bore . . . — — Map (db m189597) HM
Ellen S. Hildreth founded early Alabama suffrage club in New Decatur 1892. Hosted national suffrage leaders here at Echols Opera House 1895. — — Map (db m222845) HM
Oral tradition—stories passed from one generation to the next—long told the history of the Cherokee people. Sequoyah was the first to write it down. In 1921, about 90 miles east of Decatur, he created the Cherokee syllabary, a set of 85 . . . — — Map (db m140861) HM
In Memory of those who died for our country during 1917-18 John Alexander Jr.,Dorsey L. Baker, Fred S. Baker, Sam Black, James W. Bunch, Harkless Byrd, Joe Campbell, James L. Culpepper, William J. Eaton, Buford L. Flack, Owen Fowler, Claud M . . . — — Map (db m48189) HM
