Archaeological Survey of the Old Federal Road in Alabama

Searcy Hospital), and to gain access to both sites. Meeting attendees included a number of Mount VernonHistorical Society members, including Larry Simison and Verdell Trotter-Dees, Mount Vernon District#5 Councilwoman. Jim Todd, Auburn Extension administrator for Mobile County and Federal RoadInitiative Grant coordinator, was also in attendance. The goal of a Federal Road Initiative Grant to theMount Vernon Historical Society is to promote tourist activity in and around Mount Vernon related to theOld Federal Road and associated sites. The Mount Vernon Historical Society recently acquired the TrainDepot Museum from the city and plans to develop exhibits there that promote Mount Vernon’s uniqueand rich history. After the meeting, Larry Simison accompanied us to Searcy Hospital, formerly MountVernon Cantonment and Arsenal. While we were able to visit the Administration Building, access to thehospital grounds was not permitted due to the hospital’s strict visitor regulations. We also visited the FortStoddert area, but were unable to obtain permission from the limited liability company that owns the sitewhere the fort was situated. These two historic sites are among the most significant in Alabama and bothhave national importance. We and the members of the Mount Vernon Historical Society hope both caneventually be surveyed for archaeological remains and preserved in a way that benefits future generationsof Alabama residents.Meetings with Baldwin County residents occurred on three occasions; the first with RobertLeslie Smith in Latham on October 21, 2010, and a second meeting for Baldwin and Escambia countyresidents on December 15, 2010, at the Thomas E. McMillan Museum on Jefferson Davis CommunityCollege campus in Brewton (Figure 1-2). Robert Leslie Smith, a 93-year-old long-time resident of northBaldwin County, is very familiar with the local history and has written two books about his experiencesgrowing up in Baldwin County. Mr. Smith knew the routes of old roads prior to paving that first occurredin the 1930s, and he was able to point out several portions of old road bed in the woods adjacent tomodern roads. He was also familiar with several old homes, churches, and cemeteries dating to the OldFederal Road period. On June 24, 2011, we met Claudia Campbell and Robert Slaughter to locate asection of roadbed in the Tensaw and inspect the remarkably preserved remains of Mims’s Ferry atHolley Creek Landing, which Robert showed us from land and water (Figures 1-3 and 1-4)11