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Farming For A Better Future, page 338
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Arnett Cemetery
The Arnett Cemetery is a family cemetery located in southwest Madison County, just outside of the Redstone Arsenal boundary. It has at least 78 graves, the first of which was Viola Arnett Patterson (18721907). Ms. Patterson was the daughter or Samuel (1825-1912) and Louisa Arnett (1828-1912). The cemetery property was owned by Samuel Arnett from at least 1900 until his death in 1912, and probably as early as 1870. After his death, the land was divided among his children, mostly his daughters. The land with the cemetery was passed onto Eliza Cowan, who owned the land until her death in 1962.
Members of the Arnett family buried at the Arnett Cemetery include: Samuel and Louisa Arnett, their daughters, Kate Arnett (1857-1945), Virginia Lanier (1863-1957), one of the twins Ellen Toney (18671958), Viola Patterson, and Louvenia Dawson (18741954). Several of the Arnett daughters' husbands and children are also laid to rest here. Other family names include: Leamon/Lehman, Martin, and McDonald. The road that leads to the cemetery is now named Arnett Road.
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Avalon Plantation*
Avalon was a plantation owned by Llewellen Jones, an early pioneer to Madison County on land west of downtown Huntsville. By 1811, Jones owned over 1,000 acres in the county and was a wealthy cotton planter. Unfortunately, as a result of the Financial
Panic of 1819, Jones lost much of his wealth and subsequently committed suicide. His estate passed to his son, Alexander, who never married. By 1850, Alexander Jones was the 4th largest slave owner in the county. He was seen as odd: a lifelong bachelor, he only bought slaves but did not sell them. He also bought old horses that no one else wanted. He passed away in 1867.
After his death, the estate went to Jones' nephew, Alexander Spotswood Perkins, who passed away only two years later. The property then went to James and Priscilla Drake. According to archaeologist Ben Hoksbergen, “the Drakes began parceling out the plantation and facilitated the sale of several of the tracts to former Jones slaves.” A sizable community of former slaves lived in the area, which prompted William H. Councill to establish a freedman's school. The school would later move to Normal, Alabama and become Alabama A&M University. Most of the property ultimately belonged to University Center of Huntsville, which was renamed in 1966 to the University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH).
In the county property records, a small portion of the property was owned by Richard Miller from at least 1920-1938. The 1920 census shows that Richard Miller was 72 years old, which means he was born in 1848. His brother, Tome, who lived with him, was 96 years old. It is possible that Richard and Tom were slaves from the former Avalon Plantation. A young man named Richard Miller signed up for the Union Army in 1864, a farmer from Madison County who joined the 14th USCT, Company E. In 1939, the property passed to Elizabeth Miller, perhaps a daughter.
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Beadle Cemetery
The Beadle Cemetery is a singular grave, that of Daniel W. Beadle (1856-1930) north of Triana. His grave marker attests to his service in the military. The government-issued stone says he was a Quartermaster Sergeant of Company L of the 3rd Alabama Infantry in the Spanish-American War. Beadle was a local landowner, farmer, and served as Justice of the Peace in 1888. The road to the north of the cemetery was renamed Beadle Lane, circa 2010.
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Berkley and the Berkley School*
Located in southeast Madison County, Berkley had a large community of landowning African American farmers in the early 20th century. In the census records from 1900 to 1940, Berkley is included within the enumeration district of Colliers. These records can be used to get a sense of how many African American families were living and farming in the area as well as whether they rented or owned their property.
During the first three decades of the 20th century, Colliers consisted of about 43% African American households. Between 1930 and 1940, the African American population declined to a third of the total households. The number of African American landowning farmers was highest in 1900. That year there were 34 African American-owned farms, about 1 out of 3 African American families. However, the number of farms declined to a low of only 19 African American-owned farms in 1940. These 19 farms made up only 8% of all households in the area.
(Above) 1900 Census, Triana, Madison County, Alabama Showing Daniel Beadle Owning a Farm (U.S. Census Bureau via Ancestry.com) (Below) 1936 USGS Topographic Map, Moontown, Alabama Quadrangle
The size of the African American community in Berkley prompted the construction of a school, known as the Berkley School. Though not labeled with its name, a church symbol is first shown on a 1936 USGS topographic map. According to the Madison County land records, African American farmer Flem Fleming owned this land until 1937 when he passed away. Although the school is still labeled on the most current USGS topographic map, the original school is gone. Students most likely stopped attending the Berkley School in the 1950s when many of the Madison County schools were consolidated and reorganized. It was during this time that Berkley's principal, Ms. Gertrude Langford Simmons, was moved to the Toney School.
Indicates a Historical, Non-Extant Resource - (4866)