HALL, DIXON. In memory of Dixon Hall, Born Dinwiddie Co., Va., 1755 Died Montgomery, Ala., 1820 Son of Hugh & Mary Dixon Hall of Petersburg, Va. A soldier of the Revolution who fought with his brother Bolling Hall in the Va. Line. An affectionate Husband A kind and indulgent Father. This grave is on the Flying Field, Gunter Field, Montgomery, Ala.—Information from Miss Elizabeth Pickett, Montgomery, Ala. See also General D.A.R. Report, 1930. HALL, MARY B., of Millbrook. Real daughter.—D.A.R. Report, 1908-09, p. 33.
From: Revolutionary Soldiers in Alabama BEING A LIST OF NAMES, COMPILED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES, OF SOLDIERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, WHO RESIDED IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA COMPILED BY  THOMAS M. OWEN Alabama Department of Archives and History, 1911. And updated in the Alabama Historical Quarterly Winter, 1944, by the Alabama Department of Archives and History
In 1939  a hunter in search of game near Gunter AFB discovered  the obscured---and evidently forgotten--grave of Dixon Hall, Sr. 1 How long Dixon Hall's grave was "lost"
is uncertain. The information in the Thomas Owen document seems to have been part of the 1944 update, for the Flying Field at Gunter apparently did not exist  when the original information was compiled 1911. The grave is situated at the end of a  long-abandoned runway in Gunter Industrial Park. Although the site was once owned by the USAF, it is now owned by the City of Montgomery.

Dixon Hall lived in Alabama for a relatively brief period of time--from about 1818 to 1820. He  immigrated from Georgia at the same time as his younger brother, former Georgia statesman Bolling Hall.

Both brothers acquired land in the newly formed Autauga and Montgomery counties.

The prevailing story concerning the lonely interment of Dixon Hall is that the burial plot is situated on land that was once part of the Hall plantation. This is supported  by the fact that Dixon Hall's will (dated December 28, 1819, witnessed January 13, 1820, and executed in Montgomery Co. in June of 1820) leaves "the tract of land on which I now live" 2 -- nearly 500 acres--to his wife.

In addition to land, his will also leaves "...my personal crop of corn, fodder and cotton with all the plantation..." to his wife. There is also a stipulation in the will that should his wife die or remarry, the land would belong to his son Wesley and his heirs forever.
Although she is not mentioned by name in the will, the "wife" in question is Priscilla Baugh--Dixon's fourth wife. Wesley Hall (1819-1853) was an infant at the time of his father's death.

I have not yet determined when the Hall family relinquished possession of the land. Wesley Hall apparently never married. The large slab covering Dixon's grave certainly indicates that he was well-loved by his family.  A smaller marker, which commemorates Dixon's Revolutionary War service, may have been a much later addition to the grave.
 
According to information received from Dr. Jerome Ennels, historian for the USAF Air University at Gunter Annex, the smaller marker has an interesting past. The marker was removed and replaced several times, initially because it was being damaged when aircraft  taxied across the grave. At some point in the late 1940s, the  marker was again removed--evidently as a prank.  By the 1950s, the wandering marker was being kept in the desk drawer of  the director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) for safekeeping !

In the spring of 1999, after conferring with another Hall researcher about the location and condition of the grave, I contacted Maxwell AFB. Dennis Tates, Cultural Resource Manager for Maxwell-Gunter, visited the grave and provided the photographs used on these pages.  There is no evidence of other burials at this location. In the decades that followed the discovery of the grave, it was maintained by Air Force cadets and the staff of the base motor pool.

As a professional archaeologist  I have encountered situations where graves have to be moved because of encroaching development or transportation projects and I expressed concern that a similiar fate might befall Dixon Hall's grave. I have been assured that Dixon's grave is well-maintained and is in no immediate danger of being disturbed.

- Stephanie M. Stoermer, 1999

Special thanks to Anne, who inspired me to continue my search for information about the history of the Dixon Hall grave site, and to Dennis Tates and Dr. Jerome Ennels who provided the "missing links" and much, much more.