Mitchell Ridge Trail

In 1843, John Ridge and his wife Sarah migrated from Kentucky to northern Alabama in the vicinity of what is now Moulton. Two years later a son, Edward, arrived but he did not survive infancy. In 1847, a second son was born.

He was named Mitchell in honor of his grandfather Lt. Col. C. Meigham Mitchell who indeed saw mayhem in Louisiana while serving under General Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812.

In 1850, just as Sarah was giving birth to a third son, John suddenly collapsed and died - a rare instance of the father dying during childbirth. Sarah lived until 1877.

Mitchell Ridge attended the local E/M/H school from the time he was eight until he graduated three years later. He proved not the brightest of students but had at least learned to read the Scriptures and how to make soap. Despite an ability to distinguish profits from Prophets, this was not enough to acquire a Cattle Drivers License - Angus Class (CDL-A), apparently a prerequisite for employment, at least judging from the classified ads in local newspapers.

His training in chemistry however prompted him to go into business with his younger brother, Ezekiel, and two of his cousins, Theodore, and Henry. Using locally available fertilizers and other ingredients, they concocted a brew designed to keep people alert and full of energy, even if it promoted excessive talking and the occasional chewing of lips.

The cousins marketed the product under a brand name derived from the first initials of their names. Unfortunately, these entrepreneurs were way ahead of their time. It would be another 150 years before another METH would capture the hearts and minds (and veins) of rural Alabama.

A distant uncle, another Theodore, arrived on the scene. He suggested to the boys a simple modification of their apparatus that would allow them to manufacture whisky. In addition to being more lucrative, the revised technology would reduce the risk of the whole thing blowing up in your face if you weren't paying attention to the cooking.

Ezekiel, Theodore, and Henry opted out of the new enterprise. They left Lawrence County to seek employment at the new Southern Energy Covered Wagon factory located on the north side of Addison in what is now Winston County.

But Mitchell decided to make a go of it. A country boy, Mitchell had a fondness for the word "still". What Uncle Ted, who abruptly left town soon thereafter, had neglected to mention was that the production of moonshine whisky was strictly illegal. It wasn't long before Mitchell found himself in trouble with the law and faced legal action.

Mitchell's lawyer insisted that the trial be held locally up in the hills, a practical idea since Lawrence County's log cabin courthouse had recently burned down. The chosen site was on top of a bluff, about a half mile walk through the forest along a winding path.

On the day of the trial, an Australian journalist passing through noticed all the commotion and wondered where everyone was going. "G'dye mytes", he called out, "Where you all be going?" (a feeble attempt to sound native). "Up t' the trial" came the response. The locals, sensing an increased interest in this event, suggested that the visitor might help letter a directional sign, he being a man of letters and all.


	photo restoration from a 19th century Daguerreotype, original photographer unknown