Milstead, Alabama

{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox settlement

|official_name = Milstead, Alabama

|settlement_type = Unincorporated community

|image_skyline = 2021-03-12_Milstead,_AL_-_Tallapoosa_River_Railroad_Bridge_(Tallassee_and_Montgomery_Railway).jpg

|imagesize =

|image_caption = The abandoned two-span Tallapoosa River Railroad Bridge in Milstead was part of the Tallassee and Montgomery Railway.

|image_seal =

|pushpin_map = Alabama#USA

|pushpin_label = Milstead

|pushpin_label_position = bottom

|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Alabama##Location in the United States

|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_type1 = State

|subdivision_type2 = County

|subdivision_name = United States

|subdivision_name1 = Alabama

|subdivision_name2 = Macon

|elevation_ft = 207

|population_as_of =

|population_total =

|timezone = Central (CST)

|utc_offset = -6

|coordinates = {{coord|32|26|33|N|85|53|51|W|type:city_region:US-AL_source:GNS-enwiki|display=inline,title}}

| coor_pinpoint =

| coordinates_footnotes =

|timezone_DST = CDT

|utc_offset_DST = -5

|postal_code_type =

|postal_code =

|area_code = 334

|blank_name = GNIS feature ID

|blank_info = 156715{{cite gnis|156715|Milstead}}

}}

Milstead, also known as Cowles or Cowles Station, is an unincorporated community in Macon County, Alabama, United States.

History

The community was named after the location where a gristmill once stood by the Tallapoosa River.{{cite book |last=Foscue |first=Virginia |date=1989 |title=Place Names in Alabama |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=The University of Alabama Press |page=94 |isbn=0-8173-0410-X }} Milstead was located at the junction of the Tallassee and Montgomery Railway and the Western Railway of Alabama.{{cite book|title=The American and English railroad cases: a collection of all cases, affecting railroads of every kind, decided by the courts of appellate jurisdiction in the United States, England, and Canada [1894-1913].|url=https://archive.org/details/americanandengl21courgoog|year=1901|publisher=E. Thompson Co.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanandengl21courgoog/page/n189 171]}}

Fort Decatur, a fort built during the Creek War, was located near Milstead. John Sevier died here while conducting a survey of Creek lands.{{cite book|author1=Mike Bunn|author2=Clay Williams|title=Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_dF2CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|date=1 July 2008|publisher=Arcadia Publishing Incorporated|isbn=978-1-62584-381-4|pages=59}}

A post office operated under the name Cowle's Station from 1867 to 1895, under the name Cowles from 1895 to 1896, and under the name Milstead from 1896 to 1964.{{cite web | url=https://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=AL&county=Macon&searchtext=&pagenum=2 | title=Macon County | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | access-date=3 April 2020}}

Auburn University maintains the E.V. Smith Research Center in Milstead.

Gallery

File:2021-03-12 Milstead, AL - Auburn University E.V. Smith Research Center.jpg|Auburn University's E.V. Smith Research Center is located in Milstead.

File:2021-03-12 Milstead, AL - Tallapoosa River.jpg|The Tallapoosa River at Milstead

File:2021-03-18 Fort Decatur, Alabama.jpg|The site of Fort Decatur, an earthen fort established in March 1814 as part of the Creek War and the larger War of 1812, is located on the banks of the Tallapoosa River near modern-day Milstead. Today, the fort site is marked by a historical marker (pictured) that was placed by the Alabama Anthropological Society in 1931.

References

{{reflist}}

{{Macon County, Alabama}}

{{authority control}}

{{Short description|Unincorporated community in Alabama, United States}}

Category:Unincorporated communities in Macon County, Alabama

Category:Unincorporated communities in Alabama

{{MaconCountyAL-geo-stub}}