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Howardtown: Where everybody knows your name
But appearances can be deceiving, for there is much more to Howardtown than meets the eye. It is one of the most unique and interesting communities in Washington County. The more I researched and investigated Howardtown, the more fascinated I became by the community and the people. Howardtown is not incorporated, does not have a post office, does not have a store, though Richard Howard thinks there was possibly a combination commissary/blacksmith shop sometime in the past. And Charlie Howard says there was a grist mill. The man who founded Howardtown was James Jackson Howard. His wife was Elizabeth Sweeney whom he married in Mobile. Deeds show that James Jackson Howard bought 158 acres on the north side of the present community of Howardtown in 1895. This was the beginning of Howardtown and James Jackson Howard was its founder.
Howardtown had a school until 1940, Howard School, taught by Edward Kennedy, his wife Nan and later Mrs. Mary James. Richard Howard’s older brothers and sister Claire attended. Charlie Howard, age 80, the sole surviving grandson of the founder, (there are three living granddaughters) went to the Howard School through 6th grade. Charlie says though that before Howard School, there was a community school held in the old commissary building. The people of Howardtown built their one room school. Much of the above can apply to other rural communities but Howardtown is set apart by a couple of differences: everyone here is descended from one man, James Jackson Howard; and even more fascinating, Howardtown has its own dialect!
Lloyd Howard has done extensive genealogical research on the Howards and traces their line to a Nathan Howard of Boston, born in 1774. Through his research, he believes the ancestors of the Washington County Howards migrated from Boston down into Pennsylvania. The next place he can pinpoint the family is in North Carolina, but has thus far been unable to make a direct link from Pennsylvania Howards to those in N.C. However, because certain first names of Boston/Pennsylvania Howards keep showing up in the N.C. Howards, he believes they are of the same line. And like the ancestors of most Alabamians, the Howards migrated on down the eastern seaboard into the territory which became the state of Alabama. Lloyd Howard remembers telling his father, “Daddy, as soon as I can, I’m going to leave this place.” He also recalls his father’s answer, “Good. I want you to. You will find out that everything you do (away from here) costs money.” Lloyd says, “I did leave, but I came back.” Not only did he return to the place of his birth and youth, but Lloyd Howard has done extensive genealogy on the people he once wanted to leave behind. Charlie Howard stood on his front porch and pointing across Howardtown Road said, “That house belongs to my daughter. She’s been in Pennsylvania. She’ll be back here Sunday, for good.” He continued, “You know what they say about Washington County? They say if you ever drink Washington County water, even if you go away, when that water runs out, you’ll be back here for another drink.” Lloyd chaired the committee which put together the “Washington County Heritage” book (2004) which contains a lot of Howard history. He also assisted Elisa Moore Baldwin who edited the early 19th century diary of May Jordan, Where the Wild Animals is Plentiful, in her local research for that book. He explained that this came about because Ms. Baldwin found so many Howard names in the diary and she contacted him to help her with the research. Richard Howard’s home sits on the exact spot where his grandfather Richardson Howard’s dogtrot cabin once stood, land his grandfather homesteaded. Richard said, “If my grandpa’s cabin hadn’t burned, I’d be living in it. I made it livable.” He fondly recalled his grandma and aunt Pearl quilting; especially in the wintertime. Though it was common in those days for ladies to create quilt tops out of any kind of scrap cloth they could get their hands on, Richard’s grandma and his aunt Pearl made a quilt top out of Bull Durham tobacco sacks! He also recalls the older Howards fox hunting and getting $5 for the hides. One of the stories I heard in Howardtown was about an incident many years ago at The Bend. The Bend is land located in the bend of Armstrong Creek. There is a Big Bend and a Little Bend. I was taken on a guided tour of Big Bend on Dec. 18. Many years ago, Joe Howard, one of the sons of James Jackson Howard, homesteaded 160 acres there. One day a little girl saw a rabbit run into a thicket. She stuck her hand in after it and was bitten by a rattlesnake. The Bend is a good five miles from the Abb Road where Howardtown ends and miles away from the next house. Providence smiled on little Fannie Mae Howard that day, as John Richardson happened to be nearby on horseback and John Dickey was also in the vicinity in a truck. Richardson got the child to Mr. Dickey who took her to Chatom where Dr. Kimbrough cared for her through the night. She survived to tell this story to her children. All that is left at Big Bend is a small cemetery where Joe Howard is buried and the terra cotta casing, marking a water well, at his homeplace. That homeplace spot is tranquil and silent now; but as I stood there, I thought about all the lives lived under those trees; the laughter, tears, happiness and sorrows lived out there. According to Charlie Howard, there was no church in Howardtown until the Boykins bought about 22,000 acres of Turner Pine Land, The Boykins, former Congressman Frank and his son Dick, donated the property for Howardtown Baptist Church and also property for the pastorium and cemetery. Howardtown Baptist Church was established in 1866, (History of Washington County, Vol. II) but according to Richard Howard, the congregation originally began meeting directly across Howardtown Road beneath the trees while construction was going on. One of James Jackson’s daughters married a Clark and that name along with Busby, Knapp, or Parnell, indicates that you are a Howard descended through the female line. There are several Howards who are ministers. In fact, at one time five ministers lived on Clark Road. Leo Howard was Circuit Clerk of Washington County for several years. Howardtown has nurtured an attorney, an electrical engineer, teachers and several nurses. But Howardtown also boasts a professional photographer, Noah Howard, son of James Jackson Howard. His work accounts for the many early black and white photos of this family. Another Howard, James Matthew, was an inventor. An old edition of the Washington County News carries his ad for a cure for hog cholera in the form of a “battery” It seems one put the “battery” in or near the bedding place of the hog and when he arose in the morning, the hog would rub against the “battery,” which was filled with J.M.‚s medicine, thereby killing lice and other insects. J.M. Howard believed hog cholera was spread by insects on the hog. Kill the insects; cure the cholera. Charlie Howard recalls Howardtown Road being a tworut wagon road and remembers the construction by the CCC workers and later the WPA. These workers dug the stumps of black-jack oaks out of the trail and sawed off lighter stumps underground. Both of these groups were types of domestic job corps created by President Roosevelt to create jobs to bring America out of the Depression. The road grader was pulled by a tractor. Not many people had vehicles in those days and it would be weeks or months between cars along Howardtown Road. According to Charlie, when the children in Howard School heard a vehicle, they all rushed to the window to look! Charlie gives longtime Washington County Commissioner, Ray Coaker of Fruitdale, credit for Howard Road finally being paved. Much of the heritage of Howardtown is identical to other rural communities, but they possess one thing, no other community does: their delightful dialect. If you grew up in Howardtown, you know how to speak Howard, and it is no big deal; but to those of us who did not, it is fascinating. “My man” or “governor” is a male greeting. “Where are you going?” Quo Vadis. “Where have you been?” Elsworth. A shotgun is a smokepole but a rifle is a stick. Purvis is tobacco and a Purvis blade is a pocketknife. A dallas is a nap. Have you got any fresh (deer meat)? Have you had any tallow on your lips? Have you eaten any venison? We built a big Babe Jones. We built a big fire. A person who is friendly is a clever person and if someone gets angry, they are slashed. An outsider is a German. Which one of these boys do you want? Which hunting dog do you want to use? I’m going to jump in the dredge, and run to the sieve and go catch a dad. He’s going to get into his truck, run to his house and then go fishing. picked up on these few words and hope I translated them correctly. Perhaps the most clever language usage I found in Howardtown is their parody on names and nicknames. Like most families, the Howards use nicknames for each other. The cleverness comes in, however, with the way they “play” on these nicknames. This is the way it was explained to me: Please keep in mind that “Howard” is the last name of most of the community, so there is little need for last names. Sim Howard’s nickname is Sim Corker. If he has a son, John, John may be referred to within the community as John Corker. Richard Howard’s father’s nickname was Bird; therefore Richard becomes Richard Bird. Albert Parnell has a son called Buddy; i.e. Buddy Albert. The formula really gets multi-layered though, when both father and son have nicknames as in the case of Lloyd Howard and his father. Adon Howard’s nickname was Ajack, while Lloyd’s is Whitey. Lloyd becomes Whitey Ajack. The real treasure of a place is not found in statistics sent down from Montgomery, nor in brick and mortar, nor in bank vaults, nor even in timbered land. The real treasure is found in the people who live there: their special folkways, their work, their neighborliness, their joys, their tears. I have found Washington County to be just a bit richer for having a place called Howardtown.
(Based on personal interviews with: Charlie Howard, Lloyd Howard, Richard Howard and Curtis Green.)
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