The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-26
JACKSONVILLE Is
 4 PLEASANT TOWN
People Are Religious and the
 Location is HeaIthfuI
IS HOME OF CONFEDERACY
Here Lies Body of "Gallant" Pelham and Graves of Other Heroes are Kept Green-Has Excel
 lent School.
BY FRANK V. EVANS.

BY FRANK V. EVANS.
 Jacksonville. March -(special)-Far- mers are said to be more honeful and busier just now in this section of the state than at any season for the mast ten years. New grounds bave been clear. ed; the old sedge-fields, once abandoned. again taken in;n enormous quantities of fertilizers purchased, and every ayaiIa. ble man, woman and child, horse and mule suited for farm work can be found between the plowhandles or with hoe in hand. This does not mean "all cotton, either, for none of the food crops are be- ing neglected. Yet it does mean an en- ormous acreage in cotton; and the writer is ready to admit that the industries and intelligent farmers knows exactly what he Is doing Surely the planters have suffered enough by errors in the past- over-production, speculations and cron failures to provide fully against repett. tions of that kind.
 It is quite an easy task for book far mers and theoretical writers for the press to advise the planter what to do and how
 
 best teacher; and he who observes the present prosperous, hopeful and nrogros- sive spirit of the Alabama farmer must conclude that he knows what he Is abouf
 Speaking of this great actIvity on the part of the farmers, did the reader eyer observe from the car window inc ereat number of plowmen who stop their nlovvs to see the trains pass by? It would be an interesting study to calculate the loss thus sustained along the Southern road rom the Georgia to the Mississippi lines. Today there are no less than 5000 blows that are work directly on this line. drawn by no less than TOGO head of mules and horses driven by 5000 plowmen. There are no less than thirty freight and pas- senger trains passing each day. At least two minutes time to each train Is given by this immense force that the drivers or plowmen may see the train Ego bv." NOW hgure 1t out, and you may find an argument for campaign thunder on inc anti-railroad side. Yet the crops are made and harvested and these railroads bear them off to the markets which afford such profitable returns.
 Sharing the Prosperity.
 Jacksonville is sharing the general pros perity of the state. This town of about 1900 people is between 700 and 500 feet above sea level and commands a magnif- cent view. It is situated in beautiful Tallahatchie valley at the foot of Blue mountain This valley is ten to fifteen miles wide and about twenty-five miles long. So fertile 1t is, so salubrious the climate and so pure the water that it was among the last favored spots sur rendered or traded to the whites by the Creek Indians. Not until 1892 did they leave this land of their faith CTS, and before then the blood of the braves flowed into these streams and stained this soil The battle of Talla- hatchie was fought at a point about nine miles from Jacksonville and was one of the most desperate battles Of the Indian wars. It may be stated that this town began its existence when the Indians left the land or yielded it up to the pale faces It was early made the county site and so remained until few years ago, when prosperous Anniston with her large popu- lation voted the courthouse to her own confines.
 In 1885 the county erected here in Jack sonvllle a large handsome and modern courthouse and it was thought there would be no removal. yet the Anniston end of the county overcame even that argument and drew it away, taxing the people to build there one of the hand somess court buildings in all the south, which stands today an ornament to the new city The courthouse here has been transformed into a splendid school build ing and transferred to the Jacksonville State Normal school.
 FIourishing Institution.
 This Is one of the most fiourishng edu- cational institutions in the state Under the superntendency of Prof. c. w. Daug- ette assisted by eleven faithful and efG- cient teachers, 1t has an enrolment of about 325, of which number 300 young men and women are in the preparatory school It occupies two large brick build ings, besides has a large and well ap- pointed dormitory. About 225 of these are boarding pupils-sonie occupying the dor mitory and others making their homes with private families in the town. at minimum expense;
 Not Manufacturing Town.
 Jacksonville does not pose as a manu- featuring town, though it offers every inducement for the location of factories of any and all kind It is in the midst of cotton fields, and of beds of richest iron ore in lnexhaustible quantities. It is only twenty miles from the coal mines of St. Clair and is directly connected with them by rail. It is at the intersec- ton of the Southern and the Seaboard Air Line railroads. Just now there Is a strong movement on foot that may mean great things fet this town in the near future. Said a well known citizen of the place today:
 Never in the history of Jacksonville has there been such unity of purpose and determination on the part of our people to go forward in the march of progress, and there are signs of present and future growth and development here which speak volumes for our town. There are TO factional jealousies or suicidal policies In evidence"
 Had Ups and Downs.
 The town has had it's ups-and-downs as have most towns in the mineral belt of Alabama. In fact Jacksonville once fair ly won the title of a "boom town" and there was of course financial disappoint- ment When the East and West road (now the Seaboard Air Lne) crossed the old East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia (now the Southern) at this point the eyes of speculative investors were at once turned to this spot and the land boomer, the lot stalker and the town builder was in evidence. Yes, there was the land company" and hundreds of industrial en- terprises of enormous proportions were written down in the books and on the maps The horoscope so magnified future Jacksonville that money bags were open ed and bank checks were drawn galore. Among the enterprises proposed was steel works to be erected with q capital