Editing Meridianville, Alabama (section)

== History ==
The community of Meridianville was established in the early 1800s by a settler named Joseph Fenwick along the major north-south road from [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] to [[Huntsville, Alabama|Huntsville]], now known as [[U.S. Route 231]]/[[U.S. Route 431|431]], deriving its name from being placed on the line of the base meridian. This village site first attracted squatters and small farmers, however, when Fenwick recognized the possibilities of a town, he purchased land, and offered lots for sale in 1818.<ref name="History">{{cite web|title= A History of Early Settlement: Madison County Before Statehood 1808-1819|url= https://huntsvillehistorycollection.org/hhc/docs/pdf/book2/HHR-Madison_County_Before_Statehood.pdf#zoom=100|publisher=The Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society|accessdate=October 3, 2024}}</ref> Within the first decade of settlement, the bustling village of Meridianville offered several mills, gins, and stores.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dupre |first=Daniel S. |title=Transforming the cotton frontier: Madison County, Alabama, 1800–1840 |date=1997 |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |isbn=978-0-8071-2193-1 |location=Baton Rouge |pages=40}}</ref>