HISTORY: Madison County towns that could have prospered

The history of Madison County is interesting to study. 

Because of the proximity to the Hatchie River, the towns of Denmark and Estanuala were formed and had great promise. 

They would utilize this river to transport commerce and because of the lack of bridges, they used ferries to allow people on stagecoaches to cross on their way to other locales. 

In a story that sounds like Madison County’s version of the Goonies movie (Warner Brothers, 1985), an accident occurred in Estanuala, which is an Indian word meaning “Here we cross.”

A ferry sank and twin brothers, 10 years old, George and Louis Ford, drowned. 

A story circulated that $30,000 was stolen from the Brownsville bank and was hidden by secreting the money between the brothers’ graves. 

People looked for the treasure for years and the story goes that someone came back and took it in the 1920s. (Historic Madison County, Emma Inman Williams)

Estanuala had stores and taverns, or what we would probably call restaurants today. 

Nothing remains of the town, as the river traffic fell off when the railroads became a much more efficient way of transporting commerce and people. 

Denmark at one time rivaled Jackson in size, but there was a problem. 

The railroad went through Jackson, and left Denmark out of the loop. 

The town leaders put some money together and had a railroad spur built, trying to remain imperative. 

But being a spur was not as attractive, and it failed. Denmark was destined to remain a small town. (Tales of Madison, Harbert Alexander)

One person, Feilding Hurst, was a Union Colonel from Bethel Springs, Tennessee. 

He was considered a traitor by many for that reason. 

Shortly after the Federal Regular Army left Jackson in 1863, Feilding Hurst had a band of soldiers that seems to have operated on their own. 

They were known for killing prisoners and burning churches and businesses. 

They occupied Jackson and threatened to burn down all the buildings Downtown unless they were able to receive a $5,000 ransom. 

That amount would be significantly higher adjusted for today’s inflation. 

The leaders and business owners raised the money somehow and paid the ransom. 

Colonel Hurst set the town on fire anyway and to make it worse, his men had cut the ropes for the main downtown well, which at the time was on the east side of the Courthouse. 

Most of the Downtown buildings were lost because no water could be brought up. (Historic Madison County, Emma Inman Williams)

Robert Cartmell wrote in his famous Civil War era diary that the fire was the largest he had ever seen and at least 14 buildings were lost. 

Hurst survived the war, moved to Middle Tennessee and was a judge for a short time. 

His health deteriorated and he died destitute in 1882. 

He was only survived by his wife, whose name was interestingly Melocky. 

Southerners would visit his grave for years and spit on it. (Tennessee Encyclopedia, Derek W. Frisby)

Jeff Shepard is a retired Jackson Police Captain who researches local history.