Editing Owens Cross Roads, Alabama (section)

==History==
The area has a history that can be dated back to the early 1800’s. Pioneers had drifted into the area from Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia with names such as Wood, Parker, Craig, Craft, Maples, Carpenter and Brannum, but a gentleman named Thomas J. Owens had migrated from Virginia and was the first to build his family home near an intersection of two roads.

The name Owens Cross Roads was very appropriately chosen since the Owens home was at “the cross roads”. The community grew in size at a steady pace over the years as a large frame business house was erected near the intersection, containing a post office (established 1861<ref name="Owens Cross Roads">{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3605|title=Owens Cross Roads}}</ref>), general store and blacksmith shop.<ref name="owenscrossroadsal.org">{{Cite web|url=https://owenscrossroadsal.org/about-ocr/about/|title = History of OCR – Owens Cross Roads, Alabama}}</ref> Owens Cross Roads first appeared on maps in 1850.<ref name="Owens Cross Roads"/>

Following the Civil War, the population grew as businesses sprang up and a new school was erected to replace the original log schoolhouse. With the turn of the 20th century came new growth to the neighboring towns of Huntsville and Guntersville, making Owens Cross Roads a welcome stop for travelers between the two larger towns. The town relied heavily on cotton cultivation throughout much of its early history, with some crop diversification coming in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref name="Owens Cross Roads"/>

===Incorporation===
[[File:OCRPublicSafety.jpg|thumb|left|Owens Cross Roads Police and Volunteer Fire on a scene]]
Incorporated in 1967, the Owens Cross Roads City Hall sits facing Highway 431 South, a busy corridor of modern life. The city proudly boasts of having the first Blue Ribbon School in Madison County, a highly praised Volunteer Fire Department and a Police Department dedicated to serve and protect the citizens of Owens Cross Roads.<ref name="owenscrossroadsal.org"/>