Early Roads / One of the South's First Railroads 1832

Early Roads / One of the South's First Railroads 1832 (HMJCI)

Location: Courtland, AL 35618 Lawrence County
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Country: United States of America
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N 34° 39.968', W 87° 18.627'

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Inscription
Side A
Tennessee Street along the north side of the square was originally part of Gaines' Trace, a horse path laid out in 1807 under the direction of Capt. Edmund Pendleton Gaines of the U. S. Army. From Melton's Bluff on the Tennessee River, the trace ran westward to Cotton Gin Port on the Tombigbee, in present-day Mississippi. Another important early thoroughfare was the Byler Road (1819), which ran southward through Courtland and linked the Tennessee Valley to Tuscaloosa and lower Alabama.

Side B
Seeking a means to ship cotton and other goods around the treacherous Muscle Shoals of the Tennessee River, area planters and merchants met at Courtland in 1831 to consider a rail line. On January 13, 1832, the 50-mile long Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur railroad was chartered. Early trains were usually horse-drawn, although an English-made steam locomotive was acquired in 1834.Absorbed by the Memphis & Charleston line after 1850, the railway was largely destroyed during the Civil War. The rebuilt railroad became part of the Southern system in 1898.
Details
HM NumberHMJCI
Tags
Year Placed1994
Placed ByThe Courtland Historical Foundation and the Town of Courtland
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, September 14th, 2014 at 5:09pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 471556 N 3836063
Decimal Degrees34.66613333, -87.31045000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 34° 39.968', W 87° 18.627'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds34° 39' 58.08" N, 87° 18' 37.62" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)256
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 231-239 College St, Courtland AL 35618, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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