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Wilson Parks Howell

In 1835, Wilson Parks Howell (WPH) moved (at age three) with his pioneer parents from Georgia to White Plains in Benton County, AL (now Calhoun and Cleburne Counties). There were no electrical services, water systems, mail services, stagecoach services, schools, churches, railroad services, telephone services, or incorporated areas in Benton County when WPH came.

In 1832, Benton County was chartered as one of nine counties formed from Creek Indian Territory and Drayton was founded from 320 acres purchased from Chief Ladiga. Drayton’s town square was developed with crude cabins around it, and it was selected as the first county seat in 1833. Drayton was renamed Jacksonville in 1834, and it was incorporated in 1836.

In 1836, a road was built from Jacksonville to Rome, GA and another one built from Ladiga in Goshen Valley (five miles north of where Piedmont stands) to where White Plains, AL now stands. Mail service by horseback on two days per week was established in 1837 with stops at Ladiga and Hollow Stump (now Piedmont). Stagecoach service began in 1838 and Jacksonville got its first brick building on the square (The Old Tavern still stands). WPH’s father started the first school and church in the part of the county where they lived (Oak Level, AL) in 1838.

Alabama had 49 counties in 1840 and Benton County had a population of 14,260. The name of Hollow Stump was changed to Cross Plains in 1848. By 1850, Cross Plains had three families, a blacksmith shop, and a general store and Dr. James Francis built an office for his medical practice in Jacksonville. Oxford was incorporated in 1852. Benton County was renamed Calhoun County in 1858. By 1860, the population in Calhoun County had increased to 21,539. The first railroad tracks connecting Talladega to Oxford were completed in 1861 and a depot was built in Oxford.

At the onset of the Civil War, every able-bodied man within military age was forced into the army, hence many preferred to volunteer. WPH served in the Civil War (1861-1865) and became Captain of Company “I” of the 25th Alabama Infantry Regiment. WPH was in six battles with the Army of Tennessee and was wounded at the Battles of Chickamauga, Atlanta, King's Mountain, and Bentonville. At Bentonville, WPH’s leg was broken just above the ankle, and at the war’s end, he traveled back to Alabama on crutches, walking the last 60 miles to get home. WPH’s service to the Confederacy was a result of his desire to protect his way of life and his family and not to defend slavery.

WPH served as Tax Assessor for Calhoun County from 1865-1868. Calhoun County lost part of its original territory by the formation of Cleburne County and Etowah County in 1866. In 1868, Jacksonville installed a waterworks system. Also, The Selma, Rome, & Dalton Railroad reached Cross Plains. Calhoun County’s population was down to 13,980 in 1870 which was 7,559 less than before the Civil War. The population in Jacksonville was 958 and Cross Plains was 350.

Between 1870 and 1901, WPH served in the State government for 25 years. His service included 20 years in the Alabama Assembly (legislature) (10 as elected representative and 10 as Enrolling/Engrossing Clerk) The Enrolling Clerk organized the bills, resolutions, and amendments and maintained an archive for them until they passed. The clerk then directed each bill's legislative progress through the other chamber and finally the governor’s office for signature. Engrossing consisted of proofreading and editing bills, resolutions, and amendments. It also included the preparation of the official Journal which was the minutes and detailed index for the hundreds of pages documenting the session’s activities.

WPH served four years as Clerk for the Alabama State Treasurer who was responsible for the day-to-day financial transactions for the State. This meant keeping track of departmental budgets; collecting, depositing, and investing tax revenue; and accounting for all the State funds. This role included managing State debt and cash flow and completing allocations of State funds to various entities. This role also included financial record keeping for the State departments, coordinating with the Alabama Assembly on budgeting, and financial reporting for the State. WPH served as a Delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1901.

Anniston was founded in 1872 by Samuel Noble, Daniel Tyler, and Tyler’s sons as a private industrial community around the Woodstock Iron Company. They planned streets, houses, stores, churches, schools, parks, and trees. It was a company town designed to be the ideal community for Woodstock workers. No outsiders were allowed. This community was originally named Woodstock but was renamed Anniston (Annie’s Town) for the wife of Alfred Tyler, the company president.

WPH served in the Senate (for Calhoun and Cleburne Counties) of the Alabama Assembly from 1876-1880. In November of 1878, WPH was selected as Chairman of the committee with W. J. Wood and John D. Bush, to formulate a bill for granting Anniston a charter. The bill was passed by the Assembly and was signed by Governor Rufus W. Cobb on February 4, 1879. By 1880, Anniston had 942 residents. In the 1880s, Anniston became Alabama’s fastest growing town. In 1882, it became the first town in Alabama to be lit by electricity.

The Alabama Assembly’s act to launch the State Normal School (SNS) at Jacksonville was passed in 1883. Jacksonville was selected from a dozen different localities in Alabama for the school to teach teachers. WPH was named in this act as a founding member of the board of directors for this new SNS. Here is section two of this act. ''General Assembly of Alabama Session of 1882-83'' Officers of The Senate Geo. P. Harrison, Jr., President WM. L. Clay, Secretary Thos. H. Clarke, Assistant Secretary W. P. Howell, Engrossing and Enrolling Clerk W. J. B. Padgett, Door-Keeper Act No. 252; approved on February 22, 1883 Signed into law by Gov. Edward O’Neal Sec. 2."Be it further enacted. That a board of directors is established consisting of the following named persons: S. K. McSpadden, J. M. Caldwell, James Crook, W. P. Howell, Wm. M. Haines, D. A. Aderholt, H. L. Stevenson, W. J. Alexander, J. Y. Nisbet, L. W. Grant, and John D. Hammond, and the superintendent of education, and which shall be known by the name and style of the Board of Directors of the State Normal School at Jacksonville, and the directors shall hold their office at the pleasure of the board, and shall receive no compensation.

At the first meeting of the SNS board on May 1, 1883, WPH was elected as the first temporary president of the board to organize the board into a quorum for officially electing the first permanent officers of the board. This board then hired the first president and faculty members for the school. WPH went on to serve as a director for the first 15 years of the SNS. The directors of the SNS were active in the operation of the school. They visited the college frequently (sometimes every two weeks) and hired the faculty. All expenditures were authorized by the board. WPH went on to serve 15 consecutive years on the board of the SNS.

The SNS at Jacksonville would be a state institution and its teachers paid out of the State treasury to the extent of $2,500 annually. Pupils from any part of Alabama were to be admitted with no tuition upon signing a written agreement to teach two years after graduation in the public schools in Alabama. A president and three faculty members were hired to start this school.

In 1883, the SNS acquired the existing Calhoun College’s 12 acres of land and two-story brick building (Atkins Hall valued at $16,000) near the current town square in Jacksonville. The SNS began offering a two-year curriculum to train primary and intermediate schoolteachers.

In the 1883-84 school year, there were 25 students in the SNS. Revenue for the SNS was $4,751.25 and the expenses were $5,006.60. Tuition was free for those in teaching and the collegiate students had to pay up to $3.00 per month plus a $5.00 incidental fee for the 10-month term. Board at the SNS was published as $10 to $15 per month with private families. In 1883, the curriculum at SNS included school management, methods of instruction, physiology, hygiene, logic, pedagogic psychology, and ethics. English, mathematics, music, foreign languages, and calisthenics were also taught. In the 1884-85 school year, there were five teachers.

The Jacksonville Mining and Manufacturing Company constructed the Alleghany Hotel and 100-horse stable near the town square in 1885. The SNS’s first class graduated in 1886 with nine graduates. The hotel was rented as a dormitory for the first boarding students at the SNS. From the 1880s to 1920s, the front of “The Old Tavern was a dry goods store while the rear was used as a rooming house for SNS girls.

In 1884, telephones became available in Anniston. In 1885, a second courthouse was built in Jacksonville. The Old Tavern there began use as a rooming house for SNS girls.

In 1888, Jacksonville had a population of 1,500 and there were no bar rooms, gambling dens, or a house of debauchery. The road from Gadsden to Jacksonville to Atlanta was under construction.

By an act of the Alabama Assembly in 1888, Cross Plains became Piedmont. Piedmont had 1,000 citizens, five churches, two schools, two hotels, a printing office, a drug store, a carriage shop, a wagon and buggy shop, a dozen grocery and dry goods stores, two doctors, one lawyer, and one dentist.

In 1890, The Coosa Plant (textile) was started in Piedmont, the Piedmont Springs Hotel, and Piedmont’s first electric light plant was established. By 1890, Anniston had rail service from Atlanta to Birmingham and beyond and from Talladega to Jacksonville and beyond. More than 9,000 people lived in Anniston. By 1890, the Southern Railway was serving Jacksonville along with the East and West Railway.

The 1894-95 school year at the SNS had a president and six teachers. At the end of 1894-95 year, a total of 81 had graduated since the inception of the SNS. By the 1896-97 school year, the curriculum had expanded to include science, horticulture, floriculture, botany, physical geography, chemistry, geology, astronomy, political economy, ancient and modern languages, history, mental and moral philosophy, stenography, physical culture, art, and business (book-keeping, commercial law, penmanship, merchandising, banking, joint stock, manufacturing, and business practice). A secretary, treasurer, grounds keeper, and janitor were added to the staff.

A courthouse was built in Jacksonville in 1885 to replace the original courthouse. The reduction of the county boundaries by the creation of Cleburne and Etowah counties, the location of railroads, and the growth of Anniston preceded the relocation of the county seat to Anniston in 1899. In 1900, the SNS was relocated to the former courthouse building, which was on the southern end of the town square in Jacksonville.

By 1904, there were 14 teachers and officers at the SNS. The SNS outgrew the former courthouse building and the old Calhoun College building was renovated and incorporated as a wing of a newly constructed building. This new building was christened Hames Hall in 1908 in memory of Captain William M. Hames, president of the board of the SNS from 1883-1898.

WPH wrote The History of the 25th Alabama Infantry Regiment, CSA in 1906. WPH’s history of the 25th Alabama Regiment, C.S.A. covered the regiment’s founding in 1861, the Battle of Shiloh (TN), the Battle of Murfreesboro (TN), the retreat to Shelbyville TN, the advance to Chattanooga, TN, the winter of 1862-63, and the Battles of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Lookout Point (battle above the clouds in November 1863). WPH also described the Battle of Franklin (TN), the regiment’s retreat to Dalton, GA, and the battles of Cassville, Kenesaw, and Atlanta (GA). WPH detailed the regiment’s march to South Carolina and the battle at Columbia. WPH explained the regiments’ travel to North Carolina for the battles at Kingston, King’s Mountain, and Bentonville, and the surrender at Greensboro, NC on April 26, 1865.

WPH directed the construction of a tabernacle in Iron City near White Plains, AL in 1910. It was built to provide a central location for religious, political, educational, and other gatherings. This tabernacle was called "The W.P. Howell Memorial Tabernacle” in his honor. WPH passed away on December 6, 1912, in Iron City (Calhoun County), AL. WPH’s contributions to his home area and the counties of Cleburne and Calhoun, in Alabama, are inestimable. His contributions were significant to the State of Alabama through his many years in State government during the reconstruction years following the Civil War.

I recently completed A Biography of Captain Wilson Parks Howell (1832-1912). It documents his life in early Calhoun County and his personal account during the Civil War. It includes photos and documents from his service in State government during the reconstruction years of the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s. To obtain a copy of this 115-page book, visit https://store.bookbaby.com/book/a-biography-of-captain-wilson-parks-howell-1832-1912.

References

1.Thomas McAdory Owen and Marie Bankhead Owen. The History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography (1866-1920); S. J. Clarke Publishing Company; Montgomery, AL; 1921

2.Journal of The House of Representatives; State of Alabama, Session of 1870-71; Montgomery, AL; 1871

3.Journal of The House of Representatives; State of Alabama, Session of 1872-73; Montgomery, AL; 1873

4.Journal of The House of Representatives; State of Alabama, Session of 1886-87; Montgomery, AL; 1887

5.Journal of The House of Representatives; State of Alabama, Session of 1894-95; Montgomery, AL; 1895

6.Journal of The House of Representatives; State of Alabama, Session of 1896-97; Montgomery, AL; 1897

7.Journal of The Senate; State of Alabama, Session of 1876-77; Montgomery, AL; 1877

8.Journal of The Senate; State of Alabama, Session of 1878-79; Montgomery, AL; 1879

9.Journal of The Senate; State of Alabama, Session of 1880-81; Montgomery, AL; 1881

10.Journal of The Senate; State of Alabama, Session of 1882-83; Montgomery, AL; 1883

11.Acts of the Session of 1871-72; General Assembly of Alabama, W. W. Screws, State Printer; Montgomery, AL; 1872

12.Acts of the Session of 1872-73; General Assembly of Alabama, Arthur Bingham, State Printer; Montgomery, AL; 1872

13.Acts of the Session of 1873; General Assembly of Alabama, Arthur Bingham, State Printer; Montgomery, AL; 1873

14.Acts of the Session of 1876-77; General Assembly of Alabama, Barrett & Brown; State Printer; Montgomery, AL; 1876

15.Acts of the Session of 1878-79; General Assembly of Alabama, Barrett & Brown; State Printer; Montgomery, AL; 1878

16.Acts of the Session of 1882-83; General Assembly of Alabama, W. D. Brown, and Co. State Printers and Binders; Montgomery, AL; 1883

17.Acts of the Session of 1886-87; General Assembly of Alabama, W. D. Brown & Co.; State Printers and Binders; Montgomery, AL; 1887

18.Alabama State Treasurer, Annual Report, Montgomery, AL; 1888

19.Alabama State Treasurer, Annual Report, Montgomery, AL; 1889

20.Alabama State Treasurer, Annual Report, Montgomery, AL; 1890

21.Alabama State Treasurer, Annual Report, Montgomery, AL; 1891

22.Official Proceedings of The Constitutional Convention of The State of Alabama of 1901; Wetumpka Printing Company; Wetumpka, AL; 1940

23.Catalogue of The Officers and Pupils of The State Normal School at Jacksonville, AL; 1883-84

24.Annual Announcement of State Normal School; Jacksonville, AL; 1888-89

25.Catalogue of the State Normal School; Jacksonville, AL; 1894-95

26.Catalogue of the State Normal School; Jacksonville, AL; 1896-97

27.Minute Book; State Normal School at Jacksonville, AL; 1887 Through 1898

28.Captain Wilson Parks Howell. History of The 25th Alabama Infantry Regiment, Company “I” of CSA; At The Request of General George D. Johnston, published by The Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, AL; 1906