Morgan County Archives

The Morgan County Archives will be closed Thursday April 9 and Friday April 10. Regular hours resume next week.

Today marks my 20th year at the Archives!

In 2000, elementary students in Morgan County submitted pictures of what they thought 2025 would look like, for inclusion in the time capsule. We unearthed the capsule last week. One little girl got it right, saying that we would all carry around little computers!

Today we opened an exhibit of artifacts and photographs to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Alabama State Police. We were honored to have in attendance current and former Troopers, State Senator Arthur Orr and State Representative Terri Collins, and other guests.

This exhibit is only up for two weeks, so make sure to come visit us before the end of October!

Can anyone help the Archives locate this painting, or a good facsimile of it?

PLEASE JOIN US. Mr. William “Bill” Baxley, II, former Alabama Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General, will be our speaker. Mr. Baxley played a major role in the pardoning of Clarence Norris, the last surviving Scottsboro Boys. Following the program, participants will have the opportunity to view the Scottsboro Boys/Judge Horton exhibit. The historic church is where defense attorney Samuel Liebowitz met with the community to obtain witnesses to testify of the systematic exclusion of Blacks from jury rolls.

The State Bank operations in Decatur were managed by a board of directors. The bank started with twelve directors, but the number had dwindled to two by the time the bank closed. Although the bank’s charter required that the cashier live on site, Washington Keyes, the first cashier, had a home near Finley Drive NW where his family lived, about a 10 minute horseback ride from the bank. It is not known how often he spent the night at the bank verses with his family just a few miles away.

The state banking system became a victim of mismanagement. In 1837 a depression set in, and the Decatur Bank could only product $1 in silver for every $100 in outstanding notes. The state legislature investigated the system for fraud with the findings leading to dismantlement of the entire system. Closing the banking system was a long process. A joint resolution from the state house and senate in December of 1842 suspended the ability of the Decatur branch to lend funds and make settlements with debtors. 1845 was the last year the Decatur branch had directors. The bank is known to have operated through at least 1858. It is believed that the original furnishings were transferred to the three final trustees. The massive building sat forlorn and empty, but that would soon change.

Although the building was no longer needed by the defunct state banking system, the iconic temple- fronted building was clearly deemed too important to raze. On February 14, 1860 the state sold the abandoned bank building to a cohort consisting of almost a dozen of the region’s leading citizens: Lawrence S. Banks, James W. Cain, Charles F. M. Dancy, William H. Davis, Henry Fennel, John A. Lile, John T. Rather, James M. Todd, Pleasant Todd, and Resha N. Walden. Most of the grantees owned 1/15 of the property, but Charles F. M. Dancy held a 4/15 share. What plans the men had for the building, and what, if any use, the building had before the Civil War are unknown.

The bank’s destiny was to change considerably during the Civil War. Those tales will be highlighted later this week, so be sure to check this page again!