Have you ever heard of the Town of Marathon in Lawrence County, Alabama? It was once a prominent town in Alabama Territorial days and was the county seat of Lawrence County from 1818 to 1850. Now it is “below the waters of the Tennessee River, two miles above Lock A.”1
(The following official article about Marathon was transcribed from the Mississippi Free Trader (Natchez, Mississippi – September 10, 1818)
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
WHEREAS, by an act of Congress, passed on the 3d of March 1817, entitled “An act to authorise the appointment of Surveyor for the lands in the northern part of the Mississippi territory, and the sale of certain lands therein described,” the President of the United States is authorised to select certain lands, to be laid off into town lots, and the said lots to be offered for sale –
Therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States, do hereby declare & make known, that public sales for the disposal of the lots in the town of Marathon, (heretofore called Milton’s Bluff) on the south bank of the river Tennessee, near the head of the Muscle Shoals) in Alabama Territory, shall be held at Huntsville, in the said territory, on the second Monday in October next.
The sales shall continue open for one week, and longer if necessary, and the lots shall be offered for sale in regular numerical order, beginning with the lowest number.
Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, this 26th day of May 1818
JAMES MONROE
By the President,
JOSIAH MEIGS,
Commissioner General Land Office
Printers who are authorised to publish the laws of the United States will insert the above once a week till the first of October next, and send their bills to the General Land Office for payment.
A map of the Huntsville District is engraved and a plan of the town of Marathon will be engraved as speedily as practicable, and will be sold at Huntsville; and at the General Land Office, by
JOHN GARDINER
Printers of the laws who insert this notice shall have copies of the Map and plan.
May 29 —
More about Marathon and Melton/Milton Bluff
Melton’s Bluff was the seat of justice when Alabama was a territory
Anne Newport Royall – John Melton robbed boats at Melton’s Bluff & became rich
1“Melton’s Bluff”, Loretta Gillespie, The Moulton Advertiser, April 23, 2015
Tapestry of Love: Three Books In One – a historical fiction novel about the heritage of the Cottingham family who eventually settled in Bibb County, Alabama ca. 1818.
REVIEWS
The exhilarating action & subplots keep the reader in constant anticipation. It is almost impossible to put the book down until completion,
Dr. Don P. Brandon, Retired Professor, Anderson University, Anderson, Indiana
This is the first book I have read that puts a personal touch to some seemingly real people in factual events.
Ladyhawk
Love books with strong women…this has one. Love early American history about ordinary people…even though they were not ‘ordinary’…it took courage to populate our country. This book is well researched and well written.
Julia Smith
A picture of love and history rolled into one. A step back in time that pulls you in and makes you a part of the family and their world.
