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Farming For A Better Future, page 359
farmed cotton, corn, peanuts, and sugar cane. Cattle and hogs were allowed to run free in the winter. Other notable families in the community were the Lacys, Burnses, and Jacobs. In 1941, the families of Mullins Flat were made to move as part of the war effort. The land became Redstone Arsenal, and many of the families moved north but stayed in Madison County. Several of the previous residents and descendants were interviewed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. More descendants were interviewed at the Pond Beat-Mullins Flat Reunion in 2018. 50 ■ Myrtle Grove Plantation* and Collier Cemetery The Collier family plantation, known as Myrtle Grove, was the home of James Collier (1757-1832), a Revolutionary War solider and successful plantation owner who followed his sons to the new Mississippi Territory of Alabama in 1818. Although the Collier family had been in Madison County since 1818, it was only just before James' death that he collected the majority of the land that would be Myrtle Grove. James purchased nine land patents in 1832; his son, Charles Ephraim Collier purchased two more. By the time James died and passed the land onto Charles, the estate was over 2,000 acres. The 1830 census is the first in Alabama and the only one to have James Collier. In that year, James owned 38 slaves. The 1840 slave schedule details Charles in Triana with 30 slaves; then again in 1850 with 83 slaves. The last slave schedule in 1860 records Charles Collier owning 53 slaves and his son, James R. Collier, owning another seven slaves. The Collier Cemetery is on the north end of the large estate and has over 100 graves. James and his wife, Elizabeth, are buried there. Charles is buried in the nearby Blackwell-Collier Cemetery in Limestone County. While the Collier cemetery began as a family cemetery, after the burials of James and Elizabeth Collier in the 1830s, the cemetery lay dormant until 1968 when it appears to have been taken over by the community of Triana, which is majority African American. 511 New Market New Market is located in northeast Madison County and is one of the earliest places settled in Alabama. However, it may have the lowest percentage of households of color among the districts of Madison County and a low rate of landownership among farmers of color. The town of New Market is relatively small, and the area around it is not well populated. In the early 20th century, an average of only 300 households lived in the New Market district. In 1900, about 28% of all households were people of color, this declined to 26% in 1920 followed by a drop to only 18% and 16% of the population in 1930 and 1940. Of these households, an average of 5% owned their property, most of whom were farmers. Although the total percentage of households of color in 1920 and 1930 were on average 22%, these years had a peak of 7% and 6% landownership, respectively. Of the total households of New Market, the percentage of farms owned by people of color began low in 1900 at 16% of all households. It rose in 1920 to a quarter of all households and peaked in 1930, with 32% of all households being farms owned by people of color. This percentage fell again in 1940 to only 17%. Overall, the people of color of New Market did not own many farms. Between 1900 and 1940, there were never more than 19 farms owned by people of color. The number of farms follows a similar trend to the percentage of ownership within the community. Between 1920 and 1940, all property owned by people of color were farms. The census years 1920 and 1930 recorded 19 and 18 farms owned by people of color. The following census of 1940, there was a low of only nine farms owned by the community of color. Despite such low ownership rates, there were several families that owned more than one farm, and some individuals and their heirs held on to their farm for decades. In 1900, the Walker and Hambrick families owned two farms each. The Walkers continued to have two farms in 1910. The Peevy and Baker families had two farms each from at least 1920-1930. The same can be said for the Hereford family, who had three farms in 1920 and 1930 and two farms in 1940. These family members include Henly Hereford who owned his farm from at least 1920-1940 and passed it on to his family. Another farmer of color in the New Market area was Sam Davis, who owned a 340 acres farm from at least 1900-1920. (Below) 1936 USGS/TVA Topographic Map, New Market, Alabama Quadrangle 359 - MADISON 5211 New Mount Olive Church* and Cemetery This church and cemetery are located on Redstone Arsenal in south Madison County, in what was once the community of Green Grove and south of what used to be the community of Pond Beat. The cemetery, located just south of where the church once stood, has been referred to by many names. It is sometimes known by the name of the church, whether it is New Mount Olive or New Mount Hope. Dorothy Scott Johnson's Cemeteries of Madison County, Alabama refers to it as the Moore Cemetery and the U.S. Army recorded it as Green Grove Cemetery. Ancestors of the community that once lived - (4887)