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mcc-jrr_jcc-062
Jordans Chapel Cemetery Summary Report, page 62
which measured 201 feet east - west by 219 feet north - south. This site provided ready access to water for the congregation during the all-day meetings that also ran into the nights. There was water available at the spring and associated headwaters of McDonnell Creek located today on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville just east of Sparkman Drive. There were more springs and increased flow of McDonnell Creek in the area that today is part of the Aviation Challenge pools of the Space and Rocket Center. Both of these “watering holes” were within about a quarter mile of the chapel site, which would have made ideal conditions for early camp meetings. There were additional small springs within less than a half mile on the land to the south of the site -- in the area of the Botanical Gardens and along the west side of Jordan Road today. In fact, there is a small cemetery on the line between the Botanical Gardens and Morris Elementary School, about 40 or 50 yards south of Bob Wallace Avenue (which in Batt Jordan's day was known as part of Brown's Ferry Road). This is almost certainly the location of the old Jordan's Chapel Cemetery. Just as older published accounts stated erroneously that Jordan's Chapel was in Mullins Flat, it may be that Batt Jordan was in fact not buried at the site of Jordan's Chapel. Both claims were based upon information from Jordan descendants who apparently mixed up the facts of their family traditions. Batt Jordan could well be buried in the cemetery on the grounds of the Space and Rocket Center, which is locally said by some to be the Jordan family cemetery. It certainly was on land owned by the Jordans, and it appears to be old enough to fit. However, this study has encountered numerous “red herrings” in the land records and in the old published accounts. Therefore, it cannot be entirely ruled out that family traditions may indeed have some basis in fact. It is easy to see that the Jordan descendants in Mississippi would have heard of Mullins Flats as the ancestral area, since William H. Jordan, a child of Henry Jordan, bought the four tracts of Henry's land in Mullins Flats when the estate holdings were auctioned. Those descendants would also have heard that Henry owned the land where the chapel stood, so they could have easily assumed that the chapel therefore was also in Mullins Flat. The family would have “forgotten” the lands that were owned by Batt Jordan through time, as these lands entirely passed to others outside the family by the late 1800s. With regard to the gravesite of Batt Jordan, it is considered very likely that he would have wanted to be buried on the grounds of the chapel that carried his name. If the data found on Ancestry.com's web pages is true, then Batt 62 - (3216)