Ballplay Alabama and Burnt Corn Alabama

Summer is the month for traveling.  It's the time of year when folks like to get into their cars and see what lies beyond their home city.  Here are two small communities that are more than worth a tank of gas to visit.

Ballplay Alabama

Nestled in a large bend of the Coosa River in Etowah County, Alabama is the little town of Ballplay.  It sits about an hour from Huntsville to the northwest and an hour to Birmingham to the Southwest and only 15 miles northeast of Gadsden.

A post office was established in Ballplay in 1840 and remained in operation until 1905.  As of the 2010 census, there were 1,580 permanent residents of Ballplay.  10% of them have earned a bachelors or greater from a college or university.  The median age in Ballplay is 38 with a median income level of $43,346.  Unemployment rates in Ballplay are significantly lower than the state and national levels.

Ballplay is a scenic little community with a unique name.  Long before the town was established, the area was a Court of sorts for the native Americans who inhabited the area.  They would meet at Ballplay and would play ball to resolve disputes among various tribes.  Thus, the name. 

Old farmhouse on the main road leading into Ballplay

The majority of the jobs in this area involve farming or construction.  Nearby Gadsden offers a wide range of manufacturing and other areas of employment.  It is close to numerous community colleges and Universities and within minutes from 6 hospitals.

This is a view of Ballplay from atop a nearby hill.

Christmas sees Ballplay decked out in its finest Christmas lights and is a marvel to behold.  Mr. Gilley lights his farm up from Thanksgiving to New Years and people from all over make a special trip to see it.

Burnt Corn, Alabama

Located in southwest Alabama, Burnt Corn is the earliest known settlement in Monroe County, Alabama.  The population in 1880 was 33.  In 2004 the population had risen to a booming 300.

 Main Street

Abandoned Church on Main Street

Oral history states that the town received its name from the burning of the corn fields as part of the scorched earth policies during the Creek was in early 1800's.  It is also said that the nearby Murder Creek was so named because victims of the Creek war were thrown into the creek.

 One lane bridge over Murder Creek

Murder Creek as seen from the bank.

The Battle of Burnt Corn, an episode of the Creek War in July 1813, did not actually occur in the town of Burnt Corn but at a ford of Burnt Corn Creek to the south, in present day Escambia County.  when the Creek Nation was forced to cede land to the US, in 1815, Burnt Corn Spring was included in a 640-acre land grant to Jim Cornells, a trader who along with his brothers married into the Creek Indian Nation and were assimilated into the tribe.  The Cornells fought on the US side in the war.  Jim's second eldest daughter married Alexander McGillivray who was the most influential of all Creek Chiefs. He had uncanny diplomatic skills and until his death had successfully played the British, Spanish and Americans against one another to the advantage of his people.

Alexander McGillivray aka Hoboi-Hili-Miko 

As for the story behind the cause of the Creek War, according to General Thomas Woodward in his "Woodward's Reminiscences," Jim Cornells "swapped" his niece, Polly Kean, to a man named Sam Jones for a woman named Betsy Coulter with whom he had traveled in the Creek Nation with from Fort Wilkinson. He took Betsy for his wife. Sam Jones did marry Polly Kean but was killed by Jim Cornells in 1816 (Polly then married "one-eyed Billy Oliver" as he was known in Indian Country.")

As tensions heightened, a group of warriors headed to Pensacola to purchase weapons from the Spanish. Along the way, Betsy was captured by the leader, Peter McQueen, son of another trader, Old James McQueen who supposedly went into the nation in 1716 and married a Tallassee woman. Jim and his family did not follow the Prophet Tecumseh who had pushed the Creeks toward war with the whites. He and many half-native Americans were becoming victims of their fellow Indians. Peter and Jim Boy, another principal war chief, took Jim's wife and a man named Marlowe to Pensacola. They sold Betsy to Madame Barrone, a French lady, for one blanket.

Jim was not at his home when this out rage took place. When he returned and found his wife gone, his house and corn crib burned, he mounted "a fast grey horse" and rode south, warning others, including settlers at Jackson. On July 27, Cornells and others formed a large group of mixed blood and whites and waited in ambush for the returning war party. So began the battle of Burnt Corn.

After the surrender of Weatherford at Fort Jackson, William Weatherford returned to his home on Little River. But because of the hostile feeling his neighbor felt towards him, he decided to turn himself into Col. Russell at Fort Claiborne. He was placed in a tent and under guard. One of the guards assigned to him was Jim Cornells. Jim had sworn to kill Weatherford, whom he held responsible for the capture of his wife. Weatherford heard of the threat and confronted Jim directly, asking if Jim would take advantage of him while under guard. Jim replied that no, he would not take advantage of him while under his care. But promised to kill Weatherford when the time was over. Cornells later learned that Weatherford had nothing to do with the kidnapping of his wife and the two became friends.

U.S. Postal service to Burnt Corn began in 1817 when the village also became part of the Alabama Territory.  The post office was closed in 2002.

In December 2009 the Burnt Corn Creek overflowed causing major damage to the farming community.

Today, Burnt Corn is a sleepy little farming community.  Many of the old buildings are still standing and provide a historical backdrop to this old town.  Definitely worth a road trip.