Butler County, Alabama - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 2 of those read), 1885

Earliest History, - Formation of the County from Conecuh and Monroe - Named in Honor of Captain William Butler - First Settlements by the Whites - Description of the County at That Time.

This county was formed from Conecuh and Monroe, by an act passed December 13, 18 19, by the Legislature while in session at Huntsville. This was the first session of the Legislature of Alabama as a State. The House was composed of forty-five members, with James Dellet, of Monroe, as Speaker; the Senate of twenty-one members, and Thomas Bibb was President. William W. Bibb was inaugurated first Governor of the State on the 9th of November, 18 19, before Congress had yet admitted Alabama into the Union as a State. The name of Fairfield was first proposed for this county, but was changed, on the passage of the bill, to Butler, in honor of Captain William Butler. This brave captain was a native of Virginia, and was of a restless and ambitious nature. He lived in the State of Georgia for a few years, and was, while there, a member of her Legislature, and was also connected with the militia of the State. He soon came to the Territory of Alabama to satisfy his adventurous character, but did not remain here long before he was killed in a horrible manner by the Indians, near

Butler Springs, on the morning of the 20th of March, 18 18. While on his way from Fort Bibb, in the Flat, to Fort Dale, in company with four other men. Captain Butler was wounded and thrown from his horse, - but attempted to make his escape. Seeing that this was impossible, he resolved to die fighting the enemy. By his pluck and skill, he succeeded in killing one of Savannah Jack's bravest warriors, and severely wounding several others who attacked him, but the unfortunate soldier was finally overcome by the numerical strength of the bloodthirsty savages, who not only took his life, but who left his mangled body in the open forest, after having beaten him almost to a jelly with ramrods, scalped him, and cut off his ears and privates, and stuffed them into his mouth. He was found in this condition the next day. Captain Butler was exploring the new country previous to the Ogly massacre, and had taken refuge in Fort Bibb, until the Indians should be driven away. He volunteered his service to go along with any person to carry some important message to Fort Dale, which was situated in another part of the county, about fifteen miles distant. Unfortunately, his daring courage caused him to lose his noble life before he had scarcely time to make it useful to his fellow-men. His remains, along with those of Daniel Shaw and William P. Gardner, were buried the next day by a detachment of men sent by Colonel Samuel Dale for that purpose; and the dense forest, where these young heroes were killed, was their burial-ground ; and the mild wailing of the wind, as it quietly whistled through the branches of the towering pines, was their only mourner for many years.

In the year 1858, or thereabout, after a rest of over forty winters undisturbed, the decayed remains of these adventurous patriots were removed to the city of Greenville and buried in the old cemetery. A large concourse of citizens were in attendance when the remains were quietly deposited in their final resting place, and not a single gun was fired in memory of their heroic lives.

Joseph Dunklin took an active part in having the bodies removed, and he deserves to be highly commended for the noble and patriotic motives which prompted him to be so conspicuous in such a good work. The pall-bearers on the occasion were Joseph Dunklin, Judge Samuel J. Boiling, Ezekiel Pickens and Joseph M. Parmer - four of the oldest residents of Greenville. Hilary A. Herbert, who is now one among Alabama's most distinguished statesmen, delivered a beautiful and patriotic address, which was filled with praise of the sacred names of our first fallen braves. After the delivery of the address, resolutions were offered and unanimously adopted by those present, to raise money for the purpose of erecting a suitable monument over the graves of these dead heroes. Unfortunately, the war between the States soon followed, and the requisite amount of money was never raised for purchasing the marble shaft for marking the spot of Captain Butler's last resting place, and showing to the world that his name still lived, although he himself was dead.

Previous to the war, however, Hon. Benjamin F. Porter removed to Greenville with his interesting family. His kind and cultured wife sought the graves of the buried heroes, and immediately took steps to have a tomb erected to mark the sacred spot. Existing circumstances prevented her from receiving any encouragement from the people, and she was forced -to give up all hopes of their assistance in the matter. In 1861, greatly to the honor and memory of her illustrious name, Mrs. Porter purchased a small slab of marble at her own expense, and had it placed over the grave of the noble William Butler.

It is to be earnestly hoped that the good people of our county will, in the near future, take active steps for having a lofty shaft raised in some conspicuous place in Greenville, in memory of the man whose name Butler County now so proudly bears.

The exact date of the first settlement made by the white people in the limits of this county, is not entirely authentic. It is believed by some to be as early as 18 14, and by others to be about 1 8 16. The author has compromised and put it at 18 1 5. James K. Benson is supposed to have settled in the Flat as early as 18 15, and built the first house ever erected in this county. It was built near where the Pine Flat Methodist Church now stands, and was made of logs. About the same time, or shortly after, William Ogly and John Dickerson came with their families, and made a settlement on the Federal Road, about three miles below where Fort Dale was afterwards erected. In the fall of 1816, a party, composed of the following persons, came from the State of Georgia, and pitched their tents in the dense forest of Pine Flat: Thomas Hill, and his two sons, Reuben and Josiah ; Warren A. Thompson ; Captain John H. Watts; Benjamin Hill, and his son Isaac. They brought with them horses, cattle, wagons, tools, and enough provisions to last them one year. These settlers worked very energetically to prepare for their families, which were brought during the winter of the next year. In the fall and winter of 18 17, a good many emigrants stopped in this county, near Fort Dale, and on the head of Cedar Creek, the names of all of whom the author is unable to give. Among them were the families of Thomas Gary, Colonel A. T. Perry, James D. K. Garrett, and Andrew Jones. John Murphy and Alph. Carter had already located below where Butler Springs are situated.

Butler County presented quite a different appearance at this early period of her history from what it does to-day. The whole country was a deep forest of oak, hickory, pine, chestnut, chinquapin, poplar, sweet and sour gum, etc., with not a stick amiss. All the heads of small streams were covered with a thick undergrowth of switchcane, and the swamps were perfect wildernesses of cane-brakes. Where the land was at all fertile, the canes covered the sides and tops of the hills as well as the bottoms. Thousands of wild animals infested the forests, and rendered the nights hideous with their unfriendly and discontented growls, as they roamed the wilderness in search of food. Hundreds of bears of various sizes rambled up and down the hills, large herds of deer galloped through the thickets, and flocks of hungry wolves made the hearts of the new settlers beat with fear, as they howled yearning for prey.

In these early days, the emigrants lived almost entirely upon the game of the new country. This consisted of deer, turkey, squirrel, opossum, rabbit, raccoon, and all kinds of game-birds. A large portion of the time was at first taken up in hunting and trapping, the farm receiving but very little attention for several years. The settlers at first lived in small, rudely constructed cabins, which afforded good protection from the hungry wild beasts, but only little comfort to the inhabitants. A good many scattered, unfortunate Indians, were still to be seen wandering from place to place, lamenting the destruction of their favorite hunting grounds. The constant echoes of the woodman's axe, as it proceeded to level the forest, told them that civilization was soon to be introduced into the savage land.