Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Picture Matt Dillon, exiting his office with guns a-blazing as he tracks down another ruthless villain on the dusty streets of Dodge City. That gives you a sense of…
Category: History
Backroad shooting claims two lives
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Two Lafayette County men with grievances towards one another settled their issues at gunpoint. A week before Thanksgiving in 1902, Charles Trulock was in the process of moving to…
Suicide claims Parramore’s life
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com In September of 1902, Madison native R. Wallace Parramore was found unresponsive on a bench in New York’s Central Park. He was revived long enough to state his name…
“Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” Join the rebellion by reading challenged books during Banned Books Week
Danny Federico news@greenepublishing.com “Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.” (Mark Twain) “I hate it that Americans are taught to fear some…
Watermelon envy results in shooting
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com As the lazy days of summer begin to fade into memory and thoughts of a delicious slice of watermelon still linger happily in our minds, in the summer of…
First Madison County Courthouse
Tommy Greene Contributor The business of the county was conducted at the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, a widow, whose home was near San Pedro until 1832. In that year, San Pedro…
Madison County’s first train
Tommy Greene Contributor In 1859, the Georgia and Pensacola Railroad began construction through Madison County. By the time the War of Southern Independence broke out, the railroad had been completed from Jacksonville…
A tough week for the locals
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…
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…