The Block House/River Port - Fort - Ferry - Newtown, AL
N 31° 20.993 W 085° 33.263
16R E 637507 N 3469281
The Block House was the first public structure in what later became Dale County,Alabama.
Waymark Code: WMGZCM
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 04/27/2013
Views: 11
The Block House/River Port - Fort - Ferry is a standard Historic Chattahoochee Commission metal marker. It is located on the east side of US Hwy 231. The marker was laced by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Dale County Historical Society.
Marker Name: The Block House/River Port - Fort - Ferry
Marker Type: Rural Roadside
Addtional Information::
Marker Text:
The Block House
1814
The first public structure in what later became Dale County was erected one mile east of this marker at the confluence of the East and West Choctawhatchee Rivers. Called the Block House, it was built of logs by a contingent of Jackson’s Army in 1814. This post was not fortified, it provided shelter for militia and settlers driven into it by fear of Indians. The site of a ferry across the river, it was occupied as a store and was designated a Post Office from 1833 to 1841. First postmaster was John Whitehurst.
River Port – Fort – Ferry
The Block House was the center of a settlement which included Thomas Obadiah Dick, ferry operator, and John Beverett who purchased the site in 1836. In 1823 this area was surveyed by Robert D. Harris of the Spatz Land Office, Headquarters of the Conecuh Land District. In 1824 Elisha Matthews taught school in the home of William Mills for which he was paid $10.00 per month and board. In 1827 Seaborn Ledbetter, local merchant, launched a “pole” boat named the “Choctawhatchee Hornet”. Nearby John Huccaby operated the first grist mill.
Date Dedicated / Placed: 1979
Marker Number: None
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Visit Instructions:
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