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Farming For A Better Future, page 345
named Martha Martin was recorded paying her taxes in 1857 and 1870. She owned property in what was described as Green Grove.
(Below) 1909 G. W. Jones Map of Madison County,
Alabama Showing Green Grove Community (Alabama Department of Archives and History via University of Alabama Historical Map Collection)
241
Groves Cemetery
This small cemetery is now located on Redstone Arsenal. While there are several graves here, only two are marked, one with a fieldstone and the other with a headstone. The headstone for Austin Groves has the
( } 42 |y.S.O-T.
.......... Co. R^'t U.JiCd'd Inf.
(Above) Photograph of Austin Groves'
Headstone (FindAGrave.com)
appearance of a turn-of-the-20th-century government-issued military marker. It simply states “Austin Groves, Co. A, 42nd U.S.C.T.” Groves' military records are under the name “Austin Grose.” He was 21 years old when he enlisted with the U.S. Colored Troops in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His records describe his birthplace as “Culladinsville, Georgia.” This likely references Culloden, Georgia, which is in Monroe County. Groves may have ended up in Triana, Alabama because he was mustered out in Huntsville on January 31, 1866 with the rank of Corporal.
(Left) Austin Groves' Enlistment Records for the U.S. Colored Troops (National Archives and Records Administration via
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Company Dewiptive Book
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Gurley
The town of Gurley is positioned along the Jackson County line east of Huntsville. While most of the early 20th-century African American landowners had their farms to the southwest of the town, the location of
the Conyers School on the east side of town and the Clay Cemetery in Jackson County indicate that some of this community may have been located in Jackson County.
During the early 20th century, the population of Gurley remained constant at approximately 300 and 360 total households. Of these households, an average of 80 were African American, or roughly 25%. However, the number of African American-owned farms varied greatly during these years. According to the census records, there were 13 farms owned by African Americans in 1900, nine farms in 1910, and 38 in 1920, before declining to nine again in 1930.
(Below) 1936 USGS Topographic Map, Moontown and Paint Rock, Alabama Quadrangles
345 - MADISON - (4873)