Pinson Day

WHEREAS, Pinson, one of Alabama’s oldest communities, was settled by General Andrew Jackson’s soldiers in the early 1800s, after victory at Horseshoe Bend during the War of 1812; and

WHEREAS, the community was originally known as Hagood’s Crossroads for settler Zachariah Hagood and his family; and

WHEREAS, it was renamed Mount Pinson, presumably after Pinson, Tennessee, and later called Pinson; and

WHEREAS, Pinson’s first post office was established in 1837. Pinson is also home to one of Alabama’s oldest caves, dating back to the Hamilton period; and

WHEREAS, in 1861, residents from the community volunteered for the Jefferson Warriors and fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War; and

WHEREAS, Turkey Creek Nature Preserve includes the home site and mill of David Hanby, one of Alabama’s early industrialists and a pioneer in the development of Alabama’s coal industry; and

WHEREAS, known as Mount Pinson Ironworks, a small forge and foundry were built in 1863 that supplied horseshoes for Confederate troops during the Civil War; and

WHEREAS, in the 1880s, Alabama By-Products opened Bradford Mines north of Mount Pinson. During the Great Depression, the Federal Government created the Palmerdale Homesteads, north of Pinson, as part of the Farm Resettlement Act; and

WHEREAS, on March 30, 2004, residents of Pinson, Palmerdale and several surrounding communities joined together and voted to become the city of Pinson. The first mayor was Hoyt Sanders and council members were Dawn Tanner, Joe Cochran, Shane Shelnutt, John Churchwell, Jr. and Barbara Clifton; and

WHEREAS, descendants of Pinson’s founding families continue to reside in Pinson, and play a major role in the development of Jefferson County:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim April 11, 2015, as

Pinson Day

in the state of Alabama in honor of Pinson’s Bicentennial.