The Pointer House, Courtland photo of the Pointer House, Courtland,
made by Roger McNeese, a longtime historian of Lawrence County.
On September 17, 1839, former President Andrew Jackson and Tennessee Governor James K. Polk (soon to be President) travelled to Courtland for a reception hosted by various local citizens. The reception occurred at this house, the Pointer house, not because it was the largest house in town, but because it had the largest room in town (20 feet by 40 feet after certain removable walls and doors were moved) Col. James Edmonds Saunders of Lawrence County described the reception in his book, Early Settlers of Alabama, and he identifed the following hosts for the reception: William McMahon, Sr., Dr. Jack Shakelford, Thomas Ashford, Sr., Tandy W. Walker, James E. Saunders, Wiley Galloway, Michael Mays, A. S. Bentley, Jonathan Gray and Robert Fenner. Polk had an aunt in Moulton, so he knew the area. Polk would be elected President in 1844.
Jackson would die in 1845.Submitted by: Howard Brooks July 14, 2004