The Journal-Record - Bicentennial Edition Thursday, July 1, 1976 Section A, Page 4 OLD PIKEVILLE IS A GHOST TOWN TODAY Most every section of the country has its own ghost town, and according to an article written by J. L. HOLLOWAY, prominent banker of Guin, such is the case of old Pikeville, near Hamilton, where Andrew JACKSON's Army bivouaced (sic) during the War of 1812. General JACKSON's Troops, according to Mr. HOLLOWAY, were enroute from the Battle of New Orleans, and they ate, slept, and some died and were buried in old Pikeville. Graves of many of these soldiers furnish proof of this and a monument set up a few years ago by the Guin American Legion Post, at the head of the Unknown Soldier's grave, is further proof. "Unknown to many in alabama and thousands of Marion Contains of the present generation, the Pikeville, once so familiar and imposing to older folks of this mountain regions, the county seat of Marion now remains only a rendezvous of memories. But its rictradition (sic) [rich tradition] and the part it played in shaping Alabama history have not been forgotten at all," Mr. Holloway wrote, "In this obscure spot on the Jackson Highway, midway between Guin and Hamilton, where giant oaks, yellow pines, cane and broom sage now flourish, business houses, residences, saloons, a post office, and other enterprises were flourishing long before the War Between the States." According to Mr. HOLLOWAY, J. M. HAWKINS and other settlers whose ancestors came to this section in those pioneer years, Pikeville reigned proud and mighty when Birmingham and other cities were unborn, and Mr. HOLLOWAY said that the telegraph line on which the first wire message flashed across the country between the North and South went through the heart of Pikeville. Mr. HOLLOWAY also described Pikeville as a place where spirited political fights once rages, where duels were fought, Indian battles lost and won, and a place with endless promise for the future. No sign of current thriving populace remains, but only a few dim markers such as graves of early pioneers and the portion of the stately courthouse which is now the residence of descendants of Judge TERRELL, who for forty-five years was Probate Judge. In other stories, the Journal-Record Staff told of the first road leading off the Great Natchez Trace, the Old Military Road that reached southward to Columbus, Mississippi, furnished the first route for settlers who came to this county in earlier years. This specific road was the first road leading through old Pikeville.