Clarkesville (also spelled Clarksville) is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Com ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, United States. It was the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Clarke County until 1831.Harris, W. Stuart. ''Dead towns of Alabama'', pages 72-73. Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, 1977.

History

The Alabama legislature appointed a group of county commissioners on 13 December 1819 to select a site for Clarke County's "seat of justice." The legislature made the provision that the site had to be within of the center of county. The commissioners founded Clarkesville as a result. It remained the

until 1831, when growing dissatisfaction within the county caused the relocation of the seat to Macon, later renamed Grove Hill. The town had vanished from maps by the late 19th century. A small modern community, roughly a mile from the old site, presently calls itself Clarksville.

References

Geography of Clarke County, Alabama Ghost towns in Alabama Populated places established in 1819 Former county seats in Alabama Ghost towns in the United States Ghost towns in North America {{US-ghost-town-stub