This marker is located on the east side of Monroeville’s downtown square on the front lawn of the “new” Monroe County Courthouse. There’s printing on both sides of the marker, which was erected by the Alabama Historical Association in 1958. What follows is the complete text from the marker.
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“A County Older Than The State – MONROE COUNTY – Throughout colonial times this area was claimed as part of Florida - by Spain, 1519-1700; Louisiana - by France, 1700-1763; West Florida – by England, 1763-1780; West Florida – by Spain, 1780-1795. Spain ceded area to U.S. in 1795; in turn it was then part of Mississippi Territory, 1798-1817; Alabama Territory, 1817-1819; State of Alabama since 1819.”
“A County Older Than the State – MONROE COUNTY – Created in 1815 by proclamation of Governor of Mississippi Territory from lands ceded by Creek Indians in Treat of Ft. Jackson, 1814. Named for President James Monroe, fifth President of U.S., 1817-1825, who purchased Florida from Spain, proclaimed the ‘Monroe Doctrine.’ First county seat at Ft. Claiborne, 1815-32. Gen. F.L. Claiborne built fort in 1813 as base of operations against Creek Indians. In 1832 county seat moved to Monroeville, earlier called Walker’s Mill for first white settler.”
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As you can tell from this marker, Monroe County has changed a lot over the years. According to the 2010 census, there were 23,068 people living on the 1,034.53 square miles within the county’s borders. As you might have imagined, more people live in Monroe County today than in its early history. For example, the 1820 census reported that the county had a population of only 8,383.
President James Monroe’s connection with the county is tenuous at best, and I’m not sure if he ever even visited Alabama during his lifetime. Maybe he did. Nonetheless, Alabama was made a state during his time in office, and this Founding Father is arguably most famous for his “Monroe Doctrine.” This important principal, which came into play during the Cuban Missile Crisis, basically says that attempts by European countries to interfere with countries in North and South American would be taken as acts of aggression.
Fort Claiborne and General Ferdinand L. Claiborne are also mentioned on the marker, and if you from last week’s post in this space, Claiborne was once a sizeable town on the banks of the Alabama River, about 20 miles west of Monroeville. General Claiborne was a successful military officer during the war against the Creek Indians in the early 1800s. Members of his unit participated in the Battle of Burnt Corn and later at the Battle of Holy Ground. General Claiborne died at the relatively young age of 45 in 1815 in Natchez, Miss.
In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another local historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.
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