Historical marker says no one knows for sure how Stockton got its name

'Historic Stockton' historical marker in Stockton, Ala.

This week’s featured historical marker is the “HISTORIC STOCKTON / OLD SCHOOLYARD PARK” marker in Baldwin County, Ala. This marker is located in front of the Stockton Civic Club, on the east side of State Highway 59 in Stockton, Ala.

This marker was erected by the Alabama Tourism Department and the Stockton community in May 2010. There’s text on both sides of this marker, and both sides are different. What follows in the complete text from the marker:

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“HISTORIC STOCKTON: Modern Stockton is situated on a hill just above the original settlement, which was abandoned around 1840 because of Yellow Fever outbreaks. No verified source for the town name exists. Most likely it was named by the local postmaster. The Indian mounds located near Stockton are witnesses of a prehistoric Indian population in the area. In the latter 1700s, Stockton was the most populous settlement in the area, excepting Mobile. Some records indicate the town was settled by Tory refugees from the Atlantic States during the Revolutionary War. Early Stockton residents included the English Commandant of Mobile, Major Robert Farmer, who was visited in 1778 by William Bartram, the noted botanist. At that time, the town was an English trading post. Later, Stockton settlers built saw mills, a small church, a school and a Masonic hall. The old bell used in the Stockton Presbyterian Church is thought to have been cast in Scotland and brought to America. Stockton today is mostly a residential community with some logging and farming occupations. (Continued on other side.)”

“OLD SCHOOLYARD PARK (Continued from other side): This 11.86-acre site was acquired from A.B. Crosby in 1928 for the sum of $500. Upon it was built Stockton Junior High School, which opened with nine grades in 1929. It was the second Stockton public school site, the first being a three-room wooden structure housing 12 grades. That site was less than one mile south of here, the current grounds upon which Stockton Methodist Church is located. An earlier public school was taught in the Masonic Lodge building. Previous education was private, and schools were held in various locations. Stockton Junior High School was closed by a Federal school desegregation order of 1964 and burned in the 1970s. The Stockton Civic Club leases this site from the Baldwin County Board of Education for use as a public park. The Civic Club, with public and private donations, built the covered pavilion, the Community Center building, a walking trail and other recreational facilities.”

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'Old Schoolyard Park' historical marker. 

The marker described above is one of several in the Stockton area. There are at least two more a little further south on State Highway 59. One tells about William Bartram’s travels through the area and another tells about the “Mound Line” that established the first southern boundary of the United States.

In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.