The Journal-Record - Bicentennial Edition Thursday, July 1, 1976 Section B, Page 4 Winfield was incorporated as a town in Marion County, Alabama located on the Frisco Railroad sometime between 1887 and the 1900s, the exact date is not definitely recorded because of several different fires including the one in the Marion County Courthouse that destroyed the county records, and even the state records also were destroyed by fire. From the Winfield City Hall, full records from May 1928 on to the present time were available. Ez TRULL, well-known builder and contractor in Winfield, stated that his father, W. Jasper TRULL, who came to Winfield in November 1891, became the first Mayor of Winfield in 1902 and served several terms during those early pioneer days after the railroad was built in 1887 and the town grew to the position of needing a governing body. W. R. LODEN followed Mr. TRULL as the second Mayor. Several people including Ez TRULL, M. L. LUCAS and Mrs. R. E. MOORE, Sr. agreed that somewhere around 1910, Tom A. ROBERTS was in the Mayor's office as the third head of the town. That was the term that the present Town Hall was built. On the Board of Aldermen, under Mr. ROBERTS, were J. P. EARNEST, W. A. BLAKNEY, W. M. CURL, H. K. CADDELL, and R. K. SHIREY, who served as clerk. Under this administration, J. E. (Birt) SMITH was town marshall. Up to this time, the town had had several people who served in the capacity of "Keeping the Peace." Mrs. R. E. MOORE, Sr. had learned from several of the earliest citizens that Calvin WEATHERLY was said to have served as the first policeman, Shirl ASTON [David Sherill "Sherl" ASTON] had served for many years as Constable and a Bill MOORE had also been an early policeman but the definite years wee not known when each served. Mrs. R. C. SIZEMORE, a former City Clerk, stated that the corner stone of the Winfield City Hall bears the date, September 1, 1912, and lists the Mayor T. A. ROBERTS and the above aldermen and S. T. CARROLL as the Contractor who built the building that still remains today. T. B. WARD said that he followed his uncle, Tom ROBERTS, as Mayor of Winfield for two terms. Mr. LUCAS remembered J. B. WHITEHEAD as following Mr. WARD. It also seems well-agreed that Walter C. CURL followed WHITEHEAD as Mayor from 1924-26, during the period that the first streets of Winfield, were paved. Up until this period the streets had been quite muddy and, Mr. Ez TRULL tells the amusing story about Mr. John WHITE hooking up his old mule, known as "Aberdeen", and plowing main street from the depot to First Avenue. The merchants would donate sacks of salt and all the citizens would tramp the salt until smooth to form a crude form of "paving" to keep down the mud and dust. W. C. CURL succeeded himself as Mayor in 1928, and in his cabinet, according to the City Hall Records, wee R. E. KIRKLAND, George W. McDONALD, R. C. SIZEMORE, W. L. ROBERTS, and J. E. CADDELLE. W. T. PATE was in charge of street and marshall work, and J. H. HILL was listed as Town Marshall. J. W. WESTBROOKS was also listed as serving sometime during that administration as marshall. Several interesting items were listed in the books of this administration including the Mayor's salary which was fixed at $50.00 and the marshall's pay was $75.00. In May 1928, Winfield's first traffic guides were bought by the CURL administration of $27.50, and also purchased was the one hundred and sixty-five gallon electric pump which was installed in the city well on main street, which furnished water for the town until the franchise was granted to Warrior Water Works September 17, 1928, to furnish water for the townspeople. During this period, in cans and garbage was picked up in wagons on Fridays, and if weeds near the street were not cut and cleared by the property owners, the town did the clearing of the unsightly brush and charged the property owner for the service. In August of 1928, Fourth Avenue and Eleventh Street were graded and gravelled at sixty-three cents per yard. On August 6, 1928, the Town Board voted to fix the speed limit at twenty miles per hour, and the fine for violating this limit was to be not less than one dollar nor more than twenty-five dollars. This was later changed to fifty dollars. In September, the board also passed the ordinance that all business houses on blocks 10, 11, 14, 15, be built of block, stone or brick, and that any dwelling houses on these blocks should cost no less than one thousand dollars. FIRST SPEED LIMIT IN WINFIELD CITY ELECTION SEPTEMBER 17, 1928 (sic) Of course there were city elections before this time, but since the records were destroyed, this was the first election recorded in the City Hall Books. T. C. McCLESKEY, W. R. ROSE, H. M. WEBSTER [Houston Monroe WEBSTER] wee listed as managers and N. S. WHITEHEAD and George McDONALD, clerks. Following this election, H. M. COUCH was sworn in as Mayor, October 1, 1928, by former Mayor CURL, and Aldermen were Wyman BOWLING, J. T. BEEKER, G. W. McDONALD, and R. C. SIZEMORE. Earnest FITE of Hamilton was named Winfield City Attorney. R. C. SIZEMORE was appointed clerk and J. P. EARNEST, treasurer. A new ruling was made fixing the following salaries: Clerk, $180.00 per year; treasurer, $120.00 per year; aldermen, $50.00 per year. J. W. WESTBROOKS was appointed Day Marshall at $100.00 per month and Jim H. HILL, Night Marshall, at $75.00 per month. FIRST FIRE DEPARTMENT The First fire department, then called fire club, was organized February 18, 1929, and March 17, Solon WHITEHEAD was appointed Fire Chief and Kelley MILES, assistant. During this first term of the "Bucket Brigade", WHITEHEAD and MILES were paid $25.00 per year and exempt fro the five-dollar street tax. In 1930, however, the rule was changed to $50.00 per year for WHITEHEAD, and MILES was paid two dollars per fire. END OF USE OF PUBIC WELL Probably quite a sentimental day for many old timers was the boarding-up of the old town well on November 18, 1929. by vote of the town council, W. T. PATE hauled old railroad ties and boarded the well that had been used since the beginning of the town, and on January 6, 1930, the pump which had been removed, was sold t the highest bidder (the town board had stated that at least fifty dollars must be gotten for the pump.) There was no record as to who bought the famous old pump. The well-known well was located in the spot where the large round manhole can be seen on Tenth Street, walking across from the ODUM's 5 and 10 to the Citizens Bank. M. L. LUCAS TAKES OVER In the election of 1930, J. Holley ROBERTS and Gat CARPENTER served as clerks, and A. W. McDONALD, Houston WEBSTER and P. W. WEBSTER, managers, M. L. LUCAS was elected to the Mayorship and sworn in by outgoing Mayor COUCH on October 6, 1930. His cabinet included: R. C. SIZEMORE, Kelley MILES, Albert MAY, Solen WHITEHEAD and J. Morris HIGHTOWER, Sr. and Kelley MILES as clerk and R. C. SIZEMORE as treasurer. Foster BEASLEY was named Day Marshall and James BURNETTE, who had been hired at the last of Mayor COUCH's term, as appointed night policeman, with their salaries lowered to seventy-five and fifty per month, respectively. FIRST WINFIELD TOWN BUDGET M. L. LUCAS, a former member of the Winfield City Council, said that it was during this term as Mayor in 1930, that the town of Winfield had its first budget or financial statement. Mr. LUCAS and his cabinet realized that the town was growing rapidly and that the methods of deriving income necessary to meet the expenses of the town's advancement was far below what it should be to make "the finances balance." In fact, the town owed about thirty thousand dollars at the beginning of the LUCAS administration, according to Mr. Lucas, and the administration borrowed three thousand dollars from the Winfield State Bank to operate on, and began figuring new ways to bring in income to the town. At the end of the LUCAS administration in 1934, the town was only thirteen thousand in debt and all current expenses had been met. Through city tax, street tax, fine money, privilege license, paving and bridge funds, the financial statement totalled receipts in the amount of $30,784.38, and expenses including salaries, utilities, fire department, street work, bonds and notes inherited from previous years, the total disbursements amounted to $30, 784.38, and expenses including will be place in the Journal Window as, according to Mr. LUCAS, the first to be printed in the record of the town. (sic) The move to new ways of income got underway on October 20, 1930 when the administration moved to adopt the ordnance fixing the rate of taxation and levy assessment on all property within the corporate limits of Winfield. The tax was fifty cents on each one hundred dollars worth of property. FIRST CITY TRUCK Seeing the need for a City Service Truck, Mayor LUCAS suggested on November 3, 1930, that the city purchase a truck, and the council deliberated over the suggestion for two days before deciding in favor or(sic) the actual buying of this truck. The Privilege License ordinance was passed in Winfield on January 5, 1931. FIRST TOWN SEAL As far as is known, the first official Town Seal of Winfield, was purchased from ROBERTS and Sons in Birmingham, January 29, 1931, for the sum of $5.56, according to City Records. On March 2, 1931, the town bought from Eurica Hose Company, over five hundred dollars worth of Fire Hose. The public had made up money shortly before that time to purchase the first fire truck of Winfield (a record of this project was not available but it seems that a great deal of credit was due the general public and a number of citizens who took the lead in the behalf of the project). Some of the ordinances passed in this period that have been continued to the present time, and some that greatly affected the health and progress, of Winfield, included: Sanitation rules on June 1, 1931; ordinance requiring dogs to have Rabies shots on April 4, 1932; the law prohibiting cafes to operate with out certified approval of County Health Department. CHANGE OF OFFICIAL SALARIES In August 1932, the Mayor's salary was advanced to $300.00 per year; the town clerk, $120.00 annually; and the town treasurer, $90.00 annually; aldermen, $50.00 annually. Following the election of October 3, 1932, M. L. LUCAS returned as Mayor and Councilmen were J. M. HIGHTOWER, Sr. Clarence HUBBERT, C. C. COUCH; R. C. SIZEMORE, clerk; and R. G. CARPENTER, treasurer. H. F. BEALSEY(sic) served as Day policeman, and Julius ESTES, nigh police (at sixty and forty dollar salaries, respectively). Leon TERRY was added to the fire squad as the third man. Bud WESTBROOKS was also rehired as policeman in 1933. BEGINNING OF SEWAGE SYSTEM On August 18, 1933, the town of Winfield authorized J. B. McCRARY Engineering Corporation to prepare plans for the Winfield Sewage System, the actual work of which was done later. AIRPORT PLANNED A special meeting of the Winfield Town Board was called on December 19,m 1933, for the purpose of locating an Airport near Winfield. Marvin PEARCE read the telegram from Sumpter SMITH about the airport project and explained how it was to be handled in connection with C.W.A. and Board motioned to lease or purchase the land. JAMES McDONALD TAKES OVER On October 1, 1934, Mayor James McDONALD was sworn in for this first term as Mayor of Winfield, and on his Board of Alderman wee: C. C. COUCH, R. C. SIZEMORE, J. G. PEARCE, R. W. HARRIS, Jr. and C. A. HOSCH. Mayor McDONALD was voted a salary of $500.00 per year (paid by month) and was required to donate at least fifty percent of his working day to the town and assumed the duties of clerk and treasurer. Morgan HAWKINS was named City Attorney and on December 3, 1934, was appointed to make improvements on Jail and remodel the City Hall with money to be publicly subscribed. CIGARETTE AND GASOLINE TAXES November 19, 1934 was the beginning date of the first cigarette and gasoline taxes levied by the Town of Winfield. Plans were also gotten underway for much of the present paving on this date (Federal Relief Administration furnished labor and matched city money for paving). Also in connection with F.A.P. was the curb and guttering in October 1936. NEW ORDINANCES OF PROGRESS October 29, 1936, the Winfield speed limit was coordinated with the Alabama Highway Code for through traffic on First Avenue; Ordinance prohibiting loitering, idling and loafing on streets and sidewalks, November 1936; ordinance to define and enforce traffic signals and fine was set at not less than one dollar plus cost.(sic) and not above one hundred dollars. October 1937, Ordinance raising licenses twenty-five percent thus giving approximately one thousand dollars extra town income; present electrical code was recommended and approved by Alabama Power; Special meeting on April 14, 1941, granting J. N. COX and H. W. VAUGHN and Associates a franchise to construct and maintain a telephone system in the town of Winfield, under the name of Alabama Telephone Company; decision to pave the sidewalks, 1937, under the W.P.A. project (the minimum cost was twenty-five cents per foot); ordinance taking Hill Addition into city limits, september(sic) 19, 1938; December 1938, bought land from J. D. CANTERBURY for City Park for seven hundred and fifty dollars; March 20, 1939, Marvin PEARCE, W. C. CURL and J. H. HILL elected to Tax Equalization Board. Also during this period Richard WHITE was appointed night policeman, a nd Furman COUCH retained as day policeman. On June 19, the city requested the Hon. R. L. HILL, Representative, and Sen. Z. L. WEATHERFORD to pass local law rearranging the corporate limits of Winfield, and a map of the town was made by C. R. FRANKS. NEW FIRE TRUCK RECEIVED On April 2, 1941, a special meeting was planned for the receiving and accepting of the New Winfield Fire Truck, by Mayor James McDONALD, and Aldermen: Ivan HILL (chairman and treasurer of fire truck purchase); G. F. TIDWELL, M. V. WHITE, Sr., R. W. HARRIS, Jr., and Rayburn WEBSTER. The truck which serves the people of Winfield, today, was purchased from Peter PUSCH and son in Kinosha, Wisconsin for $3100.00 and the company allowed fifty dollars on the old hose, and the down payment was donated by money from citizens of Winfield. Jack HUGHES was made Fire Chief; Joe Edd McCONNELL and Hershell ROBERTS, assistants. Also a 500-gallon pumping engine was bought in 1941.