Mickey Starlingreporter3@greenepublishing.comThough times were generally tough for Madison County folks in the early years of the twentieth century, the first week of August in 1902 was particularly rough for a number of…
Category: History
Before Mayberry, there was Madison
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Several years ago, Hurricane Floyd made its way towards the shores of Jacksonville, Fla. This resulted in thousands of residents of that fair city fleeing westward for higher ground….
On this day in history
2 B.C.: Venus and Jupiter in conjunction – possible astrological explanation for Star of Bethlehem. 1191: Crusader King Richard I kills 3,000 muslim prisoners in Akko. 1781: George Washington begins to move…
Celebration at Blue Spring
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com On Friday, June 13, 1902, a grand celebration, called the Big Union Picnic, was enjoyed by many residents of Madison, Hamilton and Suwannee Counties. The festive spirit was brought…
Monday morning blues last all day
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com On a sultry Monday morning in June of 1902, Madison Deputy Sheriff Mike Bass started his day off with an urgent telegram from the Town of Lee. The message…
A salute to the Black female military pioneers
Rev. Gene Hall Contributor Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So, Barak…
“The 50th Anniversary of the Hutto Pond Archaeological Excavations” excerpted from The Reticent Archaeologist Unleashed: The Memoirs of James Michael Wisenbaker – part 3
James Michael Wisenbaker Contributor This is the final article in a series taken from Wisenbaker’s memoirs about his time working on an archaeological dig at Hutto Pond, in Madison. Initially, the…
“The 50th Anniversary of the Hutto Pond Archaeological Excavations” excerpted from The Reticent Archaeologist Unleashed: The Memoirs of James Michael Wisenbaker – part 2
James Michael Wisenbaker Contributor This is the second article in a series taken from Wisenbaker’s memoirs about his time working on an archaeological dig at Hutto Pond, in Madison. Working and living…
“The 50th Anniversary of the Hutto Pond Archaeological Excavations” excerpted from The Reticent Archaeologist Unleashed: The Memoirs of James Michael Wisenbaker
James Michael Wisenbaker Contributor This is the first article in a series taken from Wisenbaker’s memoirs about archaeological digs at Hutto Pond. In the summer of 1971, the Division of Archives, History…
Glass bottles: half full, half empty or just dangerous?
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Many Madison County residents of the early 1900s could attest to the fact that the glass bottles of their day held all types of things, some of which were…
Wedding plans derailed by tragedy
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Madison County readers were saddened by the headlines in the Madison paper in April of 1902. W.E. Howell, a flagman for the Seaboard Air Line Road, was killed in…
Passing on the Mantle: Remembering the Heroes of the Past
Rebekah Sheats Contributor Colin Kelly Here’s one such story many have heard before. It’s the short but heroic tale of Captain Colin P. Kelly, known as the first American hero of WWII….
Dreams of a jailbreak thwarted
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com In March of 1902, Madison sometimes resembled the fictitious community of Mayberry, from the Andy Griffith Show. Our version of Barney Fife was Deputy Sheriff Mike Bass, who slept…
Murder on the Greenville express
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com On Nov. 11, 1901, two prominent citizens of Madison County, known for a lengthy feud with each other, incidentally boarded a South Georgia train bound for Greenville. Joel H….
History of the Madison County Courthouse
Zackery Peterson Contributor Madison is one of three Florida counties that has the same name as the county seat. The county was established on December 26, 1827, as the state’s fourteenth county…
The storm brewing in Hamilton County killed President Lincoln
Lee Trawick news@greenepublishing.com In 1859, a mild, meek-looking religious family moved to a small village named Bellville, in Hamilton County. The family’s name was Powell. Among the children in the family was…
Pastor finds greener pasture
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Rev. L.B. Plumer, a former pastor of Madison First Baptist Church, certainly moved on to greener pastures after moving to Buffalo, N.Y. Plumer was seeing “green” when he was…
Tragedies and mischief mark Christmas of 1901
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com In the weeks before Christmas of 1901, the joy of the season was diminished by a couple of tragedies in the area, as well as a bit of mischief….
Brown dies in tragic accident
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Richard Brown, a well-known local resident, fell victim to a tragic accident while bird hunting with friends on a Sunday afternoon in December of 1901. He had spent the…
Parramore avoids tragedy
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Young John Burton Parramore was playfully rounding a corner on a cold October morning in 1901, when the fun suddenly came to a halt. He had touched an iron…