Mennonite Community Coming To Dutton/Section Area

Mennonite Community Coming To Dutton/Section Area

Special to the Jackson Blaze

By Dale Crawford

DUTTON, Ala.--  Horses and buggies will soon be a familiar sight in the Dutton and Section area as well as old fashioned farming with horses.  A group of Mennonites from Tennessee have purchased 500 choice acres north of Alabama Highway 71 and west of County Road 19. 

Nine new families will soon be building houses, barns and shops.  The Family names are: Martin, Mazelin, Wanner, Shelter, Stalfer, and Hufford.  Some are already located here and are living in temporary quarters.  Others will be coming soon.  Material for barns is scheduled to arrive June 23rd.  The local families will be joined by others from Tennessee and Missouri for the barn raisings. 

Once the houses and shops are built, they will not have commercial electricity.  They intend to harness the water-power from some creeks that flow through their property for some of their needs.  In the meantime, they are constructing some hoop houses for temporary shelter.  By next spring, they hope to have a store built near the pallet barn where they will market their produce and wood works. 

Jim Cisco, present tenant of the pallet barn, is busy cleaning his shop out and locating his pallet business to Hancock's Crossroads between Section and Macedonia.  He has until July 5th to vacate.

Please join me in welcoming our new neighbors.

State and County Road Departments, we will need new road signs for slower traffic.

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