Hinson's
Crossroads
Washington County, Florida
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Photo by Debbie Isaza e-mail mti98@gate.net
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Pleasant Grove Methodist Church, Hinson's Crossroad, Washington County,Florida.
Burial place of the founding Hinsons and their descendents.
Photo by Debbie Isaza e-mail
mti98@gate.net
I wonder how many of you have heard the tale of how the Hinsons founded the community of Hinson's Crossroads in Washington County. Its kind of like a red neck version of Noah's Ark.
It seems that Harrison Hinson Jr. (1846-1925) and Joshua Hinson (1850-1912) were brothers living on the north Jackson County farm of their father Harrison Sr. (b. Abt. 1790-d. bef. 1860). The Hinsons were ancestors of mine.
Anyway, in the 1870's the Hinson brothers decided it was time to set out on their own, and they found out about an available tract of land in a relatively unsettled area of Washington County.
Everyone hooted when they found out where the Hinson brothers wanted to move to; everyone knew the sandy soil in that area was too poor for farming and that they wouldn't be able to support their families there.
What the Hinson brothers needed was a way to see if the area could support life. They didn't have any doves that they could release, the way Noah did after the flood. So they settled on the North Florida equivalent, and released some hogs into the area. They figured that, anyplace that hogs could live, North Florida crackers could live too.
They returned to the area after forty days and nights, and, lo and behold, the hogs were thriving. One of the hogs came up to them when they returned, and in its mouth, it was holding a ragweed.
They took that as an omen, went back to Jackson County, got their families, and returned to the area forthwith. And thus the community of Hinson's Crossroads was born.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Jeff Armstrong
jlarmstrong@compuserve.com