Today's the Day!

It's in your hands today, Alabama! We know you will do the right thing and vote YES for Amendment 3! We are so fortunate to call this unique little place home. Vote YES to designate Stockton as Alabama's 1st Landmark District and protect our history, heritage, and way of life. Vote YES to give our residents to right to vote on the future of their home! 

Images from Stockton's Past: 

This is it!

It's hard to believe that we are within 24 hours of the polls opening across the U.S! This election is a critical moment for our nation, our state, and our little community of Stockton. When you head to the polls tomorrow, we hope you will remember what we've shared here on the blog over the past few months about Stockon, our history, heritage, and way of life. Amendment 3 is huge for Stockton and it will make history in our state if it passes so please vote YES! We just wanted to share this cute YouTube video today. It was made several years ago and is a fun introduction to our town and our most famous restaurant! Hope you enjoy. Also, a BIG thanks to our volunteers who will be working outside the polls tomorrow promoting Stockton and Amendment 3!

Trivia Answered!

Here is the answer to yesterday's Stockton trivia question. We've also included all of our past questions below. A week from today we will know the results will be in and we will learn if all our hard work over these past few months has paid off! Remember to keep reminding everyone to vote YES for Amendment 3 on Tuesday!

Question: Which 3 major European nations have at one time called Stockton home?

Answer: France, Spain, and England. Stockton's original settlers were of course, Native Americans. The "Taensa" Indians from whom we derive the name "Tensaw" are believed to have been first brought to the Mobile area from Louisiana in 1714 by Bienville. The French settled along the banks of the river along with the Taensa. Around 1765, the French began to move into what is present day Louisiana and English settlers began to arrive, the most prominent being Major Robert Farmar. On May 4, 1796, President George Washington commissioned Major Andrew Ellicott to survey the boundary line between the U.S. and the Spanish colonies in West Florida. The 31st parallel runs straight through present day Stockton. Remains of the mounds built to mark the line are still visible in the area's woodlands. Thus, Stockton became a border town and grew to be quite a lively place by the mid 1800s. 

10/25/12
Question: This beautiful and rare flower is native to Stockton. It was first documented by William Bartram during his travels through the area in 1775. Can you name it?

                        


Answer: The Evening Primrose, also known asOenothera Grandiflora. In 1775, William Bartram who was commissioned as the the King of England's Botanist to the colonies spent a week in Stockton at Major Robert Farmar's plantation on the Tensaw River. He collected and sketched specimens of native vegetation in the area. He identified  this beautiful flower that grows along the river and our roadsides. This plant is very rare and was thought to be extinct for many years until botanists re-discovered it growing here in Stockton. The Evening Primrose is sought because it is an extremely primitive species, highly useful in the study of plant evolution. Oil from its seeds is also said to have health benefits. Seeds from Stockton's Primrose have been sent to the King's Botanical Garden in England, the University of Cologne, Germany, and the University of Michigan. This flower only blooms for a very short period of time, just a few hours. There are stories of Stockton's young men going door to door serenading girls and bringing them bouquets of Primroses. 

10/18/12
Question: Many people do not know that Stockton was once an incorporated town. Do you know what year it was officially incorporated?

Answer: Joshua Kennedy built one of Alabama's first sawmills in Stockton in 1811. The timber industry became the life blood of Stockton and by the 1830s, it had become a very prosperous town of considerable importance, second in size to Mobile! Kennedy began the process of incorporation but died before it was completed. His son-in-law, William Kitchen, carried out Kennedy's dream and the "Town of Stockton" was officially incorporated in 1839. Streets were laid out and a post office was established. Residents could travel to Mobile by a daily steamboat and the Stagecoach made 2 stops in Stockton on its way to Montgomery. It was a lively town, having three of four large stores, three or four hotels, several saloons, a barber shop, a ten-pen alley, and a number of gambling dens. It is unclear at what point Stockton lost its incorporation, most likely when local industry and transportation changed and Stockton's commercial importance diminished. 

10/4/12
Trivia Tuesday Question: What was the original name given to Stockton by its earliest settlers in the mid 1700s?

The Answer: In early history, Stockton and the area to its north was referred to as "Tensa." It was named for the Taensa Indian tribe whose principal village was located in the area. There have been many spellings and variations of the "Taensa" tribe from Taensa, Tensa, Tensau, and finally Tensaw. The community north of Stockton is known as Tensaw today. Prior to the withdrawal of the French around 1765, there were a number of settlers living along the riverbanks in addition to the Taensa Indians. 

Our Last Stockton Trivia Question!

Happy Halloween! We hope you've enjoyed our Stockton trivia series on the blog these last few weeks as much as we have. Hopefully you've learned something new about the rich history of this very unique little community and have a deeper understanding of why it should be designated a Landmark District by Amendment 3. Today's trivia question isn't very spooky, but you may be surprised by the answer!

Question: Which 3 major European nations have at one time called Stockton home?

The answer will be posted on the blog tomorrow along with a re-cap of our past trivia questions. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

The Final Week

This is it. The final week of our campaign is here! It has been a beautiful, fall day here in Stockton but we are certainly keeping everyone in the Northeast in our thoughts and prayers as Hurricane Sandy arrives tonight. We are all too familiar with hurricanes in this neck of the woods.

We still need your help in these final 8 days! The biggest thing you can do for Stockton and our campaign is to spend some time this week at your computer emailing your contacts, posting the link to our blog on your Facebook page, finding various organizations to email, and utilizing the Internet in any other ways to inform Alabama voters to vote YES for Stockton Landmark District, Amendment 3. If you've already emailed your contacts but it's been a few weeks, send them another reminder just before the election. We want voting YES for Amendment 3 to be on everyone's minds as the enter the polls on November 6th!

I am including links below to several Stockton Landmark District fliers that you can attach to your emails and distribute. Thanks for taking a few minutes to send these out!

Why Should I Vote Yes for Amendment 3?

Stockton Landmark District Poster

An Email about the Stockton Landmark District

Remember the address for this blog is stocktonlandmarkdistrict.blogspot.com. Put a link to it in your Facebook status.

This is a link to Stockton Landmark District's Facebook page. Make sure that you have liked us and suggest our page to your Facebook friends.

Setting the Record Straight: The Truth about Amend. 3

This week, our Stockton Landmark District Q&A is devoted to debunking some common misconceptions and misinformation that seems to be swirling about concerning Amendment 3. Amendments are confusing in general and while ours is short, some folks may find it hard to believe it is as straightforward as it seems. Things like that just don't happen in politics. Where's the catch you ask? Guess what, there is no catch! Really, there isn't. And here's why:

-NO effects on taxes- Amendment 3 has absolutely NOTHING to do with money or taxes. Absolutely nothing.

-NO zoning or restrictions on land use- This is important to understand. Many people are familiar with other historic districts that impose restrictions and limit property owner rights. The Stockton Landmark District does NOT do this. You can paint your house any color you want, you can buy and sell property as you see fit. No board or any other governing body will oversee the District. Absolutely NOTHING about our lives and property in Stockton changes. Absolutely nothing.

-Stockton CAN be annexed or re-incorporated in the future. Amendment 3 does NOT permanently prevent annexation by another municipality. It simply gives Stockton's residents the right to vote on annexation, re-incorporation, or keeping things just like they are. Amendment 3 draws a barrier of protection around Stockton and prevents our residents from waking up one morning and learning that Stockton no longer exists. This scenario can happen without this legislation in place.

-Amendment 3 does NOT affect anyone or any place in Alabama except for Stockton and it has NO impact on our way of life in Stockton, it just protects it. It asks nothing of our residents and places no restrictions on them. It just gives us the long treasured right to vote. That's it! No strings attached. No bait and switch.

If you have any questions or concerns about Amendment 3, please do not hesitate to comment below or email us at stocktonlandmarkdistrict@gmail.com. The last thing we want is a misinformed voter to vote "no" when they would have voted "yes" had they had all the facts. Thanks for sharing this post with others! It's an important one.

Tuesday's Trivia Answer

Tuesday's Trivia Question Answered!

Question: This beautiful and rare flower is native to Stockton. It was first documented by William Bartram during his travels through the area in 1775. Can you name it?

                        


Answer: The Evening Primrose, also known as Oenothera Grandiflora. In 1775, William Bartram who was commissioned as the the King of England's Botanist to the colonies spent a week in Stockton at Major Robert Farmar's plantation on the Tensaw River. He collected and sketched specimens of native vegetation in the area. He identified  this beautiful flower that grows along the river and our roadsides. This plant is very rare and was thought to be extinct for many years until botanists re-discovered it growing here in Stockton. The Evening Primrose is sought because it is an extremely primitive species, highly useful in the study of plant evolution. Oil from its seeds is also said to have health benefits. Seeds from Stockton's Primrose have been sent to the King's Botanical Garden in England, the University of Cologne, Germany, and the University of Michigan. This flower only blooms for a very short period of time, just a few hours. There are stories of Stockton's young men going door to door serenading girls and bringing them bouquets of Primroses. 

Stockton is unique not only for its rich history and heritage but also for its natural resources and stunning flora and fauna. Please vote YES for Amendment 3 and help us preserve this special place!