Larkinsville, Alabama Explained

Official Name:Larkinsville, Alabama
Pushpin Map:Alabama#USA
Pushpin Label:Larkinsville
Pushpin Label Position:left
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Alabama
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Jackson
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Coordinates:34.6897°N -86.1267°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:35766
Area Code:256 & 938
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:121399

Larkinsville is a historic village and populated place in Jackson County, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1828 by David Larkin,[1] it was incorporated into the nearby City of Scottsboro in the late 1960s.[2] In 1895, Larkinsville had a population of 216.[3] As late as 1940, the population was 320 according to the U.S. Census.[4] The historic Blue Spring Cemetery is located one mile southwest of the old village center.

History

David Larkin, third son born to a family of pioneers in Tennessee, established a trading post at Larkin's Landing on the Tennessee River near Goosepond Island shortly after Alabama gained statehood in 1819.[5] In the 1820s, he established a plantation of 32,000 acres[6] two miles west of present-day Scottsboro, and the village of Larkinsville developed around it. A post office was established in 1830, with David Larkin as postmaster, and Larkinsville became the most populous town in Jackson County up until the Civil War.[7] The first overland route through Larkinsville, now known as the Old Stage Road or County Road 30[8] ran from Huntland, Tennessee, across Cumberland Mountain and ended at Larkin's Landing. In 1850 the Memphis and Charleston railroad extended its line through Jackson County; David Larkin, as a railroad commissioner, established a station at Larkinsville.[9]

In the Civil War, Company K, the Larkinsville Guards, was organized in Larkinsville and served with the 4th Alabama Regiment under Captain A.C. Murray.[10] The war devastated Larkinsville, as it did most of North Alabama. On June 30, 1862, shortly after the fall of Huntsville, the Tenth Wisconsin regiment occupied Larkinsville.[11] As a stop along the strategically important railroad, Larkinsville would be occupied by Union forces for the remainder of the war, including the 13th Wisconsin,[12] the 10th Iowa,[13] the 116th Illinois,[14] and the 101st U.S. Colored Regiment.[15]

The postwar establishment of the county seat at Scottsboro began a gradual movement of people and business away from Larkinsville.[16] The railroad kept the village alive into the 1930s, but Alabama State Road 35 and U.S. 72, the main east-west highways in Jackson county, bypassed Larkinsville entirely. [17] Today the formerly thriving village remains a tiny rural community.[18]

Notes and References

  1. Kennamer, John Robert, Sr., History of Jackson County Alabama, Jackson County Historical Association, Scottsboro, Alabama 1935 (reprinted 1993), page 164
  2. Web site: Notification Service Post Offices . September 4, 2023 . www.postalhistory.com.
  3. Web site: Larkinsville (Jackson County, AL): Nearby in 1890s . September 4, 2023 . roadsidethoughts.com . en-us.
  4. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940
  5. Kennamer, p. 23
  6. 1850 Agricultural Census - Jackson Co., AL, Alabama Department of Archives and History,http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/jackson/census/1850/1850jacksonag.txt
  7. Kennamer, page 164
  8. Kennamer, page 26
  9. Web site: The Democrat 21 Mar 1850, page 1 . September 4, 2023 . Newspapers.com . en.
  10. Book: Larkin, Priscilla . Miss Priscilla Larkin: The Civil War Diary of a Southern Belle, January 1-December 21, 1862 . 2021 . Malbuff . en.
  11. Miss Priscilla Larkin, June 30, 1862
  12. Web site: Union - Wisconsin Infantry (Part 1) . September 4, 2023 . www.civilwararchive.com.
  13. Web site: Union - Iowa Infantry (Part 2) . September 4, 2023 . www.civilwararchive.com.
  14. Web site: Default eHISTORY . September 4, 2023 . ehistory.osu.edu.
  15. Web site: 101st Regiment U.S. Colored Infantry . September 4, 2023 . www.buffalosoldier.net.
  16. Kennamer, page 165
  17. Milepost Maps (Map) (1999 ed.). Alabama Department of Transportation
  18. Larkinsville United Methodist Church,photo and caption,https://www.flickr.com/photos/auvet/451426598