Title
Northport Marker
Subject
Historical markers--Northport, AL
Description
A marker, called a unity marker by Ben Windham in his Jan. 8, 2006, column in the Tuscaloosa News, can be seen from the walking trail along the Northport, Alabama, levee near the old 1898 M&O Railroad Trestle. Often mistaken for a grave stone, the marker is surrounded by a small iron fence. Research by the late historian Marvin Harper using a hand written manuscript of W.S. Persinger's "Early History of Northport," showed that it is a boundary marker. Persinger wrote that his father Elias Persinger, a cotton warehouser, erected the rough rock slab near the riverbank in 1858 to mark the spot where Sections 15,16,21 and 22 of Township 21 South and Range 10 West meet.
In "Matt Clinton's Scrapbook," he comments on the marker's significance. "Most of Section 15 and nearly all of Section 16 lies on the north side of the river. Nearly all of Section 22 and most of Section 21 lie south of the river. Original Tuscaloosa was built on Section 22 and the Lower Part of the Town of Tuscaloosa (later called Newtown and now called West End) was established on that part of Section 21 south of the river."
Thus the slab marks where historic Tuscaloosa and Northport come together making it what Ben Windham called a unity stone.
In "Matt Clinton's Scrapbook," he comments on the marker's significance. "Most of Section 15 and nearly all of Section 16 lies on the north side of the river. Nearly all of Section 22 and most of Section 21 lie south of the river. Original Tuscaloosa was built on Section 22 and the Lower Part of the Town of Tuscaloosa (later called Newtown and now called West End) was established on that part of Section 21 south of the river."
Thus the slab marks where historic Tuscaloosa and Northport come together making it what Ben Windham called a unity stone.
Creator
The Tuscaloosa News
Source
Tuscaloosa News Archive
Publisher
The Tuscaloosa News
Date
Jan. 8, 2006
Contributor
Betty Slowe (Description)
Type
Photograph
Identifier
2322
Coverage
Northport (AL)
Original Format
Photograph