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Farming For A Better Future, page 346
In 1940, there were only seven farms. At the peak of farm ownership in the 1920s, the 38 owned farms represented 45% of the African American households and 13% of the total households of Gurley. What could account for the variation in farm ownership is not known. Several families had more than one member who owned a farm, including the Andersons, Clays, Conyers, Gurleys, and McCrarys. John Anderson, David Bostic, and Tom Conyers owned their farms from at least 1920-1940. Aside from farm ownership, the number of African Americans who owned property in Gurley is relatively high, and the majority of the African American population in Gurley owned a house, not a farm. The Graysom School (or possibly the Grayson School), was one of nine Rosenwald Schools in Madison County. While there is an official record of the school, the location of the school has been lost. No family with the name Graysom or similar could be found in the area on the censuses from 1900-1930. It was likely located somewhere between Gurley and Owens Crossroads as there are several landmarks and areas named for Grayson, including Grayson Island, two Grayson Springs, and Grayson Point. The Graysom School was a one-teacher/ one-room schoolhouse approved in 1913 that cost $850, with $300 donated from the African American community, $400 from the Rosenwald Fund, and the other $150 from local funds. 26 ■ Harvest The community of Harvest is located about 12 miles northwest of downtown Huntsville along the Limestone County border. The town of Harvest is historically a white community. In the early 20th century and particularly * Indicates a Historical - Non-Extant Resource following disturbances due to the work of the TVA or the acquisition of land for Redstone Arsenal, several families and communities from south Madison County relocated north to the east of Harvest. The community of Harvest is enumerated within the Cluttsville census district. In 1900, the Cluttsville district had 364 total households, which increased to 486 households in 1940. The area was predominately (Top) 1936 USGS Topographic Map, Capshaw and Jeff, Alabama Quadrangles (Below) An Aerial Photograph of the Community of Harvest, Circa 1950s (Huntsville Revisited Facebook Page) African American until 1930. During the first few decades of the 20th century, the population of Cluttsville was over half African American and peaked at 72% in 1920. In 1920, there were 38 African American-owned farms in the Harvest area. However, this still only represented about 5% of the total households in the area, and downtown Harvest was composed of 100% white households in 1940. It appears that most of the African American community and the major landowners purchased land outside of town. The prominent African American landowning and farming families of Harvest include the Blackburn, Fletcher, Hammond, Moore, and Nance families. The Hammond and Nance families owned four farms each in 1900, and the Moore family had five members who owned farms in 1930. 271 Harvest School* The Harvest School was located in the community of Harvest northwest of downtown off what is today Carroll Road. The school is shown on the 1936 USGS (Grouping Below) Madison County Land Records Showing Richard Moore's Land and the Harvest School (Highlighted in Yellow), 1933-1959 (Madison County Land Records Index) - (4874)