Selma, Open for Business
From "Selma; Her Institutions, and Her Men" by John Hardy, pub. 1879:
Numbers of persons, especially mechanics, professional men and traders, pitched their destiny at Selma; among whom we can now mention--Timothy Duck, hatter; B. Eggman, carpenter; George F. Plant, sr., tinner; John Simpson, trader; E. Parkman, John Conoly, traders; Abajiah Worley, bricklayer; Wm. Read, trader; John Owen, trader; Steven Maples, trader; Noah Dykes, who with M. G. McKeagg, opened the first drinking establishment about where Boyd’s Book Store is now located; Ben. L. Saunders, Eben Bowles-the first opened and eating and lodging house about the present location of Brislin’s furniture store; Dr. Edward Gantte, James Adams, Jas. H. Blackburn, Wm. Johnson and Dr. Miller. Though the settlements were somewhat scattered in a very few years quite a village sprang up sustained by a good trade from the thrifty farmers, who had by this time, pretty well dotted the surrounding country. Such men as P. J. Weaver, Wykoff, Pickens & Co. and James Douglass, had located at the place, and opened, for those days, each, an extensive trading business. Benj. L. Sounders opened a regular hotel in the place, at the now northwestern corner of Greene and Water street, occupied at present by the extensive brick cotton warehouse of C. Lovelady. James Orman, about this time, established a cotton gin factory at about the present residence of Mrs. Hillyard, and made the first cotton gin, with steel saws, ever made in the State
Abajiah Worley, as a bricklayer, soon found work, and among his first work, and really the firs brick building in the place, was the one near the present Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad Depot; the next was the tenement now occupied by M. Monteabaro as a drinking saloon, on Broad street, succeeded soon after by the erection of the present National Bank building, at the present corner of Broad street and Hinton alley.
In the fall of 1827-28, the following business firms, business and professional men were in the town: Parsons & Taylor, Simpson & Jones, Rodgers & Butler, Burke & Shackelford, Parkman & Douglass, Scott & Robeson, Wykoff, Pickens & Co., Isam Robeson, Isaac T. Hodgson, Mathew McLaughlin, John B. Jones, James G. Cowan, Edwin Butler Michael Woodall, H. Heintz, Gilbert Shearer, Wm. Johnson, William J. Conley, B. Holmes, R. H. Crosswell, Daniel McInnis, Adam Walker, P. I. Weaver, John H. Cowles, Joseph Boone, John T. Taylor, Geo. W. Parsons, Thomas P. Harvey, Shubell Foot, Paschell Traylor, Robert Lowe, B. Smith; M. G. McKeagg, Richard Morrow, James Owens; Pickens & Calhoun, H. B. & A. G. Perry, George G. Brooks, lawyers; Phillips & Cowles, Miller & Hogan, Uriah Grigsby, Edward Gantte, Physicians; Peter McLean, tailor; Benj. L. Sounders, Wm. Huddleston hotel keepers; two warehouses--Mathew McLaughlin’s and P. I. Weaver’s--situated on the bank of the river, just below the present ferry landing. John Erwin was a prominent man in the town. He kept a pack of hounds, with which to catch runaway negroes, charging from $10 to $50 for each capture. Irwin invariably rained his dogs on Sunday. Each Sunday morning he would send a negro around the town, and soon after his pack was put on the trail, and the howling and yelping of the pack could be heard for hours every Sunday. This dog music did not set well with the portion of the population who occasionally had an opportunity to attend preaching. Remonstrances were made with Erwin; finally, Rev. Jo. Walker was to preach, one Sunday, in the house about where Gill’s carriage warehouse stands. That morning before preaching time, Erwin had his negro, not only to run around the town, but around the place of preaching several times, not however, to go in the same track twice, but a different one each time. Soon after preaching commenced, Erwin’s dogs could be heard an soon they took their chase around the church some half dozen times, the services inside giving way to the howling and yelping of the dogs. An attempt was made to arrest him which he resisted, but finally accomplished by strategy, and a fine of some $50 was put upon Erwin, which had a good effect.
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