Gurley Historic District - Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Gurley Historic District - Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The Gurley Historic District is a historic district in Gurley, Alabama. The town was originally the plantation of John Gurley, who came to Madison County from North Carolina in the 1830s. In 1857, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad built its line through the property, and Gurley constructed a water tank to service the line's locomotives. A post office was established in 1866, at which time only a few families lived in the area. The town incorporated in 1890, and the population immediately began to grow. Industry was attracted to the area by its abundance of lumber; many sawmills, producers of wooden barrels, and the Eagle Pencil Company set up shop near the town. Retail establishments were centered on Joplin Street, however a fire in 1923 destroyed most of the structures. Depletion of the area's timber and the greater influence of neighboring Huntsville drew industry away in the 1920s and 1930s, though despite declining population a new Madison County High School was built in 1936. Read more on Wikipedia
Source: en.wikipedia.org