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An Englishman named Capt. William N. Thompson was the "founding father" of Autaugaville when he constructed a grist and saw mill bordering Swift Creek in 1820. A short time later, Col. William R. Pickett came. In addition to a fine home just west of town, he built a three-story structure to house the old Pickett Mill on Swift Creek. Pickett was the father of Albert J. Pickett, well-known as author of Alabama's first history.
John McNeel was also an early resident of Autaugaville, and so was Nehemiah Howard. As the town grew, so grew the number of iron fences and the different architecture of the houses. By 1847, most of the people and business from the neighboring town of Vernon were attracted to Autaugaville. Vernon was frequently threatened by floods and health problems associated with its location on the Alabama River.
In 1850, Planters Cotton Factory drew attention by grossing $107,000 in its first year. De Bow's Review hailed it as a manufacturing center in the South. As proof of its growth, Autaugaville was home to a large two-story hotel known as the Autauga House. The town also saw its first local newspaper during this time. The Autauga Mercury printed between 1853 and 1854. The Autaugian, was started in 1856, but ceased publication only a few years later.
Autaugaville's postmaster, Albert W. McNeel, issued a "provisional" stamped envelope on the formation of the Confederate Government in 1861. This item is one of the very rare postage stamps sought by collectors of philatelic material.
The Autaugaville United Methodist Church, reportedly built around 1850, had its beginning in 1822 as a log structure in Smedley's Grove. It stands today at 208 North Autauga Street. Although the building has been moved from its original location, there have been but few structural changes to the old scantuary. Its Sunday School, organized in 1825, holds the distinction of being the oldest "evergreen" Sunday School in the United States. "Evergreen" means that these meetings were conducted regardless of the season or weather conditions.
After the Civil War Autaugaville began to decline; however, in 1875 Theodore Nunn owned and operated Autauga Cotton Mills. By the turn of the century lumber mills began to appear throughout the county and on Swift Creek a business known as Swift Creek Lumber Company operated until 1919. In 1905, another lumber mill named White Water Lumber Company came and operated until the late 1930s.
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