SHORELINES

ALABAMA – LAND OF THE GIANTS? In the spring of 1886, the Gadsden area saw flooding like it had never seen before. With nearly 1 foot of rain in a matter of days, the Coosa River rose 6 feet above the highest flood mark. Property, livestock and even people were swept away in the nearly mile-wide raging river. "It was horrible," Crownover said. "Some people lost everything. I have read accounts that people were seen floating on logs and houses down the river and others were clinging to the tops of trees trying not to be swept away." Aer the water subsided, people returned to their homes and farms to see what remained. On April 12, James Henry returned to his family farm in Whorton Bend, about 5 miles south of Gadsden. Once a thriving farm, one of the best in the county, "most of the good soil had been swept away," Crownover said. "Only 40 to 50 acres of his 250 acres were still farmable." To Henry's astonishment, several feet beneath his farmland there had been an ancient burial ground. "According to Henry, there was a pot of earthenware at the head of every grave," Crownover said. "And inside the pots were knives, tomahawks, pipes or ornamental decorations." As Henry continued to examine the cemetery, he came across a few skeletons that "he believed had belonged to enormous giants," said Crownover. "Supposedly, Mr. Henry could place his own head inside a skull, which was over half an inch thick." Henry unearthed and assembled an entire skeleton that, from top to bottom, was over 12 feet tall, Crownover said. "Henry declared that Goliath must have been a native of Alabama," he said. During the 1880s, the average height of a man was around 5.5 feet, so to see a skeleton of such significant length set the locals abuzz. "At the time, Henry preserved many of the artifacts and allowed people to come see them," Crownover said. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the artifacts are unknown, as it would be interesting to see what modern science would make of the Alabama Goliaths. More than 130 years ago, though, some believed that giants had once called Alabama home. e Etowah Historical Society in recent years has developed the Etowah Heritage Museum that contains exhibitions, a library, over 25,000 digitized historical photographs, genealogical information and an almost complete run of e Gadsden Times newspaper dating from 1867. e museum contains the state's first Trail of Tears memorial with an exhibition detailing the Trail of Tears in northeastern Alabama. For more information, visit etowahhistory.com. Photo courtesy of Alabama Power Archives 16 | 2017 Vol:3

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