Monday, August 23, 2021 will mark the 200th anniversary of President James Monroe ordering the Monday, October 29, 1821 public auction of 511 lots which made up the present original city of Tuscaloosa (Queen City to 15th Street to MLK, Jr. to the river). 23rd Avenue was originally named after President Monroe as well as was the beautiful house on the south end of 23rd which we now call the DRISH HOUSE. Prior to this auction, nobody owned land in Tuscaloosa. The only landowners were folks living in New Town. Everybody else was a squatter. Probably no two individual bought more lots than did business partners Edward Sims and David Scott.  (clippings from the January 21, 1904 TUSCALOOSA NEWS, the October 20, 1821 NATCHEZ GAZETTE, the image from the 1887 panoramic map shows the E.N.C. Snow house on 8th Street which Sims help build for the education of Methodist girls)