George Singleton found stone ax along Limestone Creek in Monroe County, Alabama in June 1976

Ancient war ax found at Limestone Creek in 1976.

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Tomahawk head reminds us of brave warriors’ passing,” was originally published in the June 24, 1976 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

When one stops to think just how far man has advanced in the past few generations, he will stand in awe of the tremendous strides toward making life easier.

One day not long ago, while looking around an old village site along Limestone Creek I found one of the most perfect relics that I have ever seen in this area. I found an almost perfect stone ax.

This ax dates back long before the early settlers set foot on this continent – probably to the time of DeSoto’s visits, or before.

From the appearance, the ax looks like one that was used as a tomahawk. The short, angled head and the thin blade make one think it was designed for purposes other than hacking trees and canes.

Blade stained

To further seal the evidence that it was a war ax, there are dark stains along the blade. These stains give the appearance of blood that was spattered on it at some time during its use.

Only certain tests could verify for sure that it was blood, although I know for sure that blood stains on any rock or metal are almost impossible to remove after they have been neglected and not cleaned off.

Looking at the stone ax, I wondered just who, or how many, had used this ax. I wondered how many battles or skirmishes this ax had been a part of.

I wondered about the endless miles that this ax had swung on the belt of some unknown warrior. I wondered about the hardships and the heartaches that may have confronted the warrior as he moved rapidly across the area.

Or could it have been that the owner of the ax fell in battle, and the ax has lain there all these years without being uncovered.

In our present-day world it’s hard to visualize that probably somewhere back along the winds of time, a man’s life depended on this primitive weapon. Or maybe several lost their lives because the owner was experienced in the art of tomahawk warfare.

Whichever the case may be, the ax has survived when almost everything else has perished.

Somewhere, on the winds of oblivion, the cries of agony pierce the emptiness and the ghost warriors still battle with their war clubs and tomahawks. From time to time, evidence such as this ax reminds us of their passing.

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He also helped organize the Monroe County Museum and Historical Society and was also a past president of that organization. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)