Milstead, Alabama

Milstead, also known as Cowles or Cowles Station, is an unincorporated community in Macon County, Alabama, United States.

Milstead
Unincorporated community
Milstead Location in Alabama.
Coordinates: 32°26′33″N 85°53′51″W
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Macon
Elevation	207 ft (63 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	334
GNIS feature ID	156715[1]

History

The community was named after the location where a gristmill once stood by the Tallapoosa River.[2] Milstead was located at the junction of the Tallassee and Montgomery Railway and the Western Railway of Alabama.[3]

Fort Decatur, a fort built during the Creek War, was located near Milstead. John Sevier died here while conducting a survey of Creek lands.[4]

A post office operated under the name Cowle's Station from 1867 to 1895, under the name Cowles from 1895 to 1896, and under the name Milstead from 1896 to 1964.[5]

Auburn University maintains the E.V. Smith Research Center in Milstead.[4]

References

1. "Milstead". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
2. Foscue, Virginia (1989). Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-8173-0410-X.
3. The American and English railroad cases: a collection of all cases, affecting railroads of every kind, decided by the courts of appellate jurisdiction in the United States, England, and Canada [1894-1913]. E. Thompson Co. 1901. pp. 171.
4. Mike Bunn; Clay Williams (1 July 2008). Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-62584-381-4.
5. "Macon County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 3 April 2020.