Hart Family Massacre, Kinston AL - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

The possibility of Indian attacks was a real threat to the early settlers of Coffee County. To counter this danger, they erected small forts where the families could gather when an attack was imminent. However, it was not always practical to run to the forts every time an Indian was spotted, so the settlers would also take other precautions. They would try to go in groups when at all possible and the men carried their muskets loaded and ready should a threat emerge. Brothers Josiah Joseph & Bob Hart had established their homesteads close to one another in the present-day Fairview community. Unknown to the two families of Harts, they were being observed by hostile Creek Indians.

On a fall afternoon in 1835, the Josiah Joseph Hart family was milking their cows when they were jumped by the renegade Creeks. The result was a bloody massacre; all of the family were left for dead. During the night, the renegades made their way from Joseph Hart's home to the cabin of Bob Hart. They waited for the family to milk their cows in the early morning as they routinely did. The barking of the family dog alerted the family to the presence of the indians, and they fled back to the cabin just in time.

The Indians attempted to break into the cabin but the men, who were expert marksmen, shot through the holes they had poked in the walls and picked off the attackers one by one. The Indians were forced to withdraw after many, including their chief, were killed. The family remained on alert until they were sure the indians had left their area.

That afternoon, Dan Powell, Bob Hart's son-in-law, rode to the cabin of Josiah Joseph Hart to check on them. He discovered seven members of the family lying dead in the cowpen. He reported the massacre to Bob Hart. Bob and his family went over to clean up the carnage. Among the slain was two year old Melinda Hart, who was found to be still breathing though horribly injured. The child survived and was raised by the family of Bob Hart. When Melinda became of age, she married George Marlow. They had four sons and one daughter. They lived in the area of Samson in Geneva County.

The remainder of the family were buried in a mass grave in what is now the Weeks Assembly of God Church Cemetery in the Holley's Store community.


Sign text:

Joseph Hart and six members of his family were massacred and buried here in a common grave in the fall of 1835-36. The lone survivor was a two year old daughter, Mary (Melissa) Hart. She married George W. Marlow.

Group that erected the marker: Kinston, Alabama Ruritan Club, Lelon and Grace Weeks, and Coffee County Judge Marion Brunson URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Route 2 Box 268 Kinston, AL USA 36453

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