Fairfield

"And down the river from Memphis, and no more that one and one half miles north of Cochran was one of the first settlements on the west side of the river to develop after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit. Fairfield was the name given to this town because it was made up of many settlers who had come from Fairfield District, South Carolina. In eighteen and thirty-two, F. C. Ellis and Major Cook, half-brothers and the sons of Mrs. Elizabeth Ellis, moved to this site, and started the village. Five years later Ellis was elected to the legislature. With a ferry, good landing, warehouses, and progressive citizens the town grew into the largest voting precinct in the county by eighteen eighty. It was the shipping center for many large planters who shipped their cotton to Mobile. The business district included a hotel, a livery stable, blacksmith shop, two saloons, drug stores, seven stores, and three doctors' offices. Acock's store was the largest store there, and it stocked the choicest goods. Here one could buy imported wines, brandy, silk, laces, china, and crystal. Mr. Acock was killed at the polling place in Fairfield when he fought a duel with a Mr. Bethany, following an argument they had had over the election. The village stores were gathering places for men with time on their hands. They spent hours just talking and whittling, using nothing but select cedar that they had sent up by boat from Pleasant Ridge. A newspaper item of eighteen seventy-eight tells of a shipment of wood from Mr. Horton had reached Fairfield that week.

Life at Fairfield was not at relaxed and tranquil as it might sound, for a racetrack was built between Fairfield and Memphis. This attracted racehorse owners from both Alabama and Mississippi. Mr. B. F. Eddins, who owned Race-a-Robin, and Mr. J. P. Massengill, the owner of Grasshopper, were two of the well-known supporters of the track. Betting was heavy and thousands of dollars, as well as property and slaves, exchanged hands after each race. Cockfighting was a great sport, and the editor of the West Alabamian, Andrew Henry, said in eighteen eighty-two, and I quote, AThere are no finer fighting chickens in the nation than those around Memphis and Fairfield, endquote.

Poker was a big thing in the rivertowns. On cold nights the click of poker chips drowned out the sound of rain on the roof, as the men gathered around the wood heaters to play cards from closing time until the wee hours of the morning. The ladies organized sewing clubs where they gathered to embroider, knit, and quilt. A social item tells that Mrs. Clark entertained at a jimsonweed tea to raise money for the church.

In eighteen eighty-three a brass band was organized in Fairfield, and Professor Boyle, of Macon, Mississippi, was hired to teach music and direct a band. The members of the band included Thomas Cook, Dr. R. C. Ellis, J. H. Cook, B. T. Jones, Major Jones, T. C. Clark, Jr., Frank Skinner, T. H. Wilbourn, J. B. Summerville, and Eugene Young. They played for all the ball games, political rallies, and social events. Professor Boyle once said if musicians go to heaven, the Fairfield Brass Band would surely be playing when those saints from over the river go marching in.

In eighteen sixty-seven the Robinson Circus came to Fairfield, having shown in Columbus and Pickensville, advanced notices created much excitement. Crowds gathered on the riverbanks to watch it come downstream and unload. Seeing the animals and watching the tent being raised was almost as good as the show itself.

In summer the elite took their families to Sulfur Springs to Winston County, Mississippi, to camp for weeks at a time. The Macon Beacon reported in July of eighteen and sixty-three the Clark and Windom families of Pickens Count with wagons of supplies passed through town today in route to Sulfur Springs. Food, linens, cooking utensils, coops of chickens, and milk cows were carried along for the comfort of the campers. The spring water was beneficial for one's health, and was an excellent way to meet new people. Many romances and marriages grew out of these camps.

Dr. Jones' grove was the setting for the big Fourth of July picnic over the river. There was always plenty of barbecue and lemonade, and gifted orators gave speeches to remind the crowd that ours is the land of the free. The reading of the Declaration of Independence was very much a part of these events, and the Fairfield Brass Band filled the air with patriotic music. There was always a baseball game after dinner, and later one would later find the men slipping off one by one to the pits for a cockfight.

But the railroad proved fatal to Fairfield. River traffic stopped, and the people of Fairfield moved closer to the railroad and began to build up the village of Cochran."