Gainestown, Alabama

Gainestown is an unincorporated community on the Alabama River in Clarke County, Alabama, United States. It was named for George Strother Gaines, who was the senior United States Indian agent in the region; he established a trading post here in 1809 for business with the Choctaw, the predominant tribe.[1]

"Gainestown" redirects here. For computer hardware, see Gainestown (microprocessor).
Gainestown, Alabama
Unincorporated community
Gainestown Methodist Church
Gainestown, Alabama
Location within the state of Alabama
Gainestown, Alabama
Gainestown, Alabama (the United States)
Coordinates: 31.44544°N 87.69332°W / 31.44544; -87.69332
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyClarke
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
36540
Area code(s)251

The exact date for the founding of the town is unclear. However, the community was being referred to as Gainestown by 1815, following the end of the Creek War and closure of the trading post in 1814. Gainestown grew to be a large town during the heyday of river-based transport, but a slow decline began after the American Civil War.[2]

A tornado on March 26, 1911 destroyed at least 12 homes and much of the town.[2] A contemporaneous account of the storm said that a dry goods store in the town was destroyed, with fragments of its products found as far away as 30 miles (48 km) to the east, in Monroe County.[3]

Gainestown has three sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Gainestown Methodist Church and Cemetery, Gainestown Schoolhouse, and the Wilson-Finlay House.[4]

Geography

Gainestown is located at 31.44544°N 87.69332°W / 31.44544; -87.69332 and has an elevation of 266 feet (81 m).[5]

References
  1. "Historical Markers & Sites in Clarke County". Clarke County Historical Society. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
  2. "Clarke County MPS". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
  3. United States Army Signal Corps; et al. (1911). "District No. 2: South Atlantic and East Gulf States". Monthly Weather Review. War Department, Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 39 (1): 332. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1911)39<331:dnsaae>2.0.co;2.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gainestown, Alabama


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