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The People Who Lived on the Land that is Now Redstone Arsenal, page 304
named Tolbert were the same age suggests a combined family. Also shown as a member of the household was a brother-in-law, William Tolbert, age, 24.] On a small piece of property that was like a small niche carved in the McWhorter property was what was by James Long as a Methodist church, which was for White people. James Long said Sam Harris, Sr. sawed the lumber for the church and neighboring men had come to help build it. According to Duncan Woodward, the church's congregation was sparse by the late 1930's, and it did not have a full-time preacher. The church is discussed in detail in the interview of Edith Woodward Price. The Army Real Estate map shows a small Parcel (D-159) that appears to have been carved out of the parcel shown as owned by Stella Tolbert McWhorter (D-166). The Tolberts were White people. Parcel D-159 is shown as being owned by the Madison County Board of Education. None of the people from this area who were interviewed mentioned school ever having been held here. The White people from this area all stated they went to Farley School. The Harris family moved to Pond Beat in 1920; since it was said that Sam Harris sawed the lumber to build the Methodist church, the construction would have been after 1920. Deed research would reveal the date when the County Board of Education first had ownership of the tiny parcel. James Long listed the property owners along the west side of the road, continuing south toward the river. Immediately south of what has been identified as Parcel D-166 (Stella Tolbert McWhorter), I. Schiffman & Co., Inc. owned a large parcel (F-262). Going south toward the river, Long commented about people who lived there. Shab Tolbert lived in a sharecropper's house and worked Schiffman land, then not far below him was Roy Hastings. About a quarter mile south of Hastings was “Old Buddy Clay.” He was a Black tenant farmer. Buddy was deaf. He had his own mules. About a mile and a quarter below Clay was another tenant farmer, Loach Robertson. South of where Robertson farmed was the Blount place (Parcel F-274). Long said the Blount house was built “old style.” It was a square plank house. It probably had six rooms and had a tin roof. Blount farmed it. He had his own barns and a smoke house. A little road came off the road south to the river (McAlpine), and went west along the south boundary of the Blount property for a short distance, and then, where the property extended further toward the river on its west side, the road cut through the Blount property. Nick Fitcheard, Jr. is shown on the Army Real Estate Property Map as owning a small piece of property [F-275] bordered by Blount's property on the north and west and partially bordered by the road south to the river on the east. A small parcel (F-276) is cut from the Fitcheard property where it borders the road. Immediately beside the road, as if carved out of Parcel F-275 owned by Nick Fitcheard, is Parcel F-276, the location of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church. A cemetery is on the east side of the church, which was shown on the Army cemetery maps made prior to this study as having the same name as the church. The cemetery name has been changed to Jamar Cemetery. This was initiated by Dr. Elnora Lanier, of the Clay family. Her mother is buried in the cemetery; she said it was known to the community as the Jamar 304 - (4337)