The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING HOBSON CITY'S 123RD FOUNDER'S DAY CELEBRATION
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HON. MIKE ROGERS
of alabama
in the house of representatives
Monday, July 18, 2022
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Hobson City's 123rd Founder's Day Celebration.
The town of Hobson City was first known as Mooree Quarters, a Black settlement dating back to 1868 in a section of Oxford, Alabama.
In 1890, a Black man ran for Justice of the Peace in Oxford and the white mayoral candidate vowed if the Black man won, he would go to the State Capitol and have the boundary lines redrawn excluding Mooree Quarters. The Black man won the election and in 1896 Mooree Quarters Settlement was removed from the Oxford Town Limits.
According to the 1899 Alabama Constitution, to be eligible to vote, a resident had to have lived in the county of his residence for 12 months, be a male at least 21 years old, able to read and understand the Constitution, have a steady job for 12 months, own at least 40 acres of land and pay taxes among other requirements. Some Black property owners were allowed to vote in city and county elections. Twenty men responsible for the incorporation of the town qualified to vote under those terms.
For almost three years, Mooree Quarters settlement sat alone in the county. Taking matters into their own hands, a committee of citizens took their concerns to attorney Ross Black in Anniston, Alabama. Black attorneys were not allowed to practice law in Alabama during this time. The attorney advised them to incorporate the territory into their own municipality. On July 20, 1899, approximately 125 Blacks living in Mooree Quarters filed a petition with Calhoun County Probate Judge E. F. Cook to become a separate and distinct municipality. After proper legal proceedings, the town became incorporated on August 16, 1899, making it the first city in Alabama established exclusively for and by Black people. S. L. Davis was elected the first Mayor of Hobson City. Hobson City was named for Richard P. Hobson, a white Naval hero in the Spanish American War and a representative of the Alabama Legislature. Today, Hobson City is under the leadership of Mayor Alberta McCrory.
Madam Speaker, please join me in recognizing Hobson City's 123rd Founder's Day Celebration August 14-20, 2022.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 118(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 118(2)
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