Hanbyville

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Hanbyville (formerly Hanby Mill or Hanby) is a former community located on Turkey Creek, west of Pinson in northern Jefferson County.

Blacksmith David Hanby, who had served in Andrew Jackson's militia during the Creek War, returned to the area to settle in 1819. He obtained a legal title to his land on November 15, 1821 and built a home near what was then called Hagood's Crossroads. He and his sons constructed a mill on Turkey Creek in 1827. The success of that venture allowed Hanby, described by Mary Gordon Duffy as a "fat, jolly farmer" to purchase additional property and engage in coal mining. For that prospect he employed "inexperienced hands" to hand-dig coal from the hillsides and load it onto flat-bottom boats for transport to the port of Mobile.

During Wilson's Raid Hanby's operation was attacked, and Hanby himself killed by gunshot.

References

  • Brown, Virginia Pounds & Jane Porter Nabers (October 1956) "The Origin of Certain Place Names in Jefferson County, Alabama". Alabama Review. Vol. 9, p. 271–272, cited in W. Stuart Harris (1977) Dead Towns of Alabama. University of Alabama Press, p. 83–84