This volume in the Churches of the Alabama Black Belt series focuses on Dallas County, home to Selma and a wealth of historic churches that span urban centers and rural crossroads. With over 215 churches documented, this book includes recent photographs, GPS locations, and visible cornerstone details when available — preserving a vital part of Alabama’s religious and architectural history.
This volume in the Churches of the Alabama Black Belt series focuses on Dallas County, home to Selma and a wealth of historic churches that span urban centers and rural crossroads. With over 215 churches documented, this book includes recent photographs, GPS locations, and visible cornerstone details when available — preserving a vital part of Alabama’s religious and architectural history.
This volume in the Churches of the Alabama Black Belt series features Wilcox County, one of the most historically rich and architecturally distinct counties in the region. The book includes photographs and precise locations for more than 145 churches, from still-active congregations to abandoned rural sanctuaries. Each entry offers a visual and geographic record, with cornerstone dates and sign details noted where available.
Churches of the Alabama Black Belt: Wilcox County Now available on Amazon!
Some of the most striking church buildings in Alabama’s Black Belt sit quietly in Monroe County — some still active, others long abandoned, nearly forgotten. Over the past few years, I’ve photographed dozens of these churches to help document their presence before they’re lost to time, weather, or neglect.
My book, Churches of the Alabama Black Belt: Monroe County, features full-color photos of these sacred spaces, along with names, architectural features, and any visible signage or cornerstone details. These are places where generations worshiped — often with little fanfare and no recorded history.
For the past several years, I’ve been traveling across Alabama’s Black Belt, photographing and documenting its churches—some active, many abandoned, all with stories to tell. What began as a personal project has grown into a vast undertaking: more than 1,400 churches documented so far across 10 counties, each with a recent photograph and precise geographic coordinates. When available, I include founding dates, signage information, and cornerstone inscriptions.
This has been a labor of love. Every photo, every mile, every entry on my website has been done on my own time and my own dime. I’ve never asked for help—until now.
The truth is, this work comes with real costs: fuel, vehicle upkeep, equipment, internet access in the field, and the basic resources that make this possible. That’s why I’ve created a GoFundMe campaign.
👉 Click below to view and support the GoFundMe campaign:
Your support will go directly toward: – Fuel and travel costs – Photography and computer equipment and replacement – Satellite internet access – Vehicle maintenance – Other expenses directly related to continuing and expanding this project
Why This Matters
Many of these churches are disappearing—literally. One that I photographed not long ago was recently destroyed by vandals. It will never be documented again. Without this work, its memory would be gone. That’s why I believe this matters. And if you believe it does too, any amount of help is deeply appreciated.
Even if you’re not in a position to contribute, just sharing the campaign with others can go a long way.
Thank you for following along on this journey. If you’d like to explore the project further, you can always visit:
Rambling through the countryside always fascinates me. I say it every time I go on a rambling expedition. We are working on Clarke County currently and like so many other places it is a fascinating place to visit. One thing I have found in Clarke County is the number of granite historical markers that are located there. We recently came upon this neat marker near the community of Rockville. It marks the site of one of the South’s most critical wartime resources: the Central Salt Works. This historic…
Salt was an indispensable resource in the 19th century, primarily used for preserving meat before the advent of refrigeration. At the outbreak of the Civil War, much of the South’s salt had been imported from abroad—especially from England. However, the Union naval blockade, which began in 1861, effectively cut off these external supplies. This left the Confederacy scrambling to secure domestic sources of salt, as it became vital for both food preservation and other military uses (Jones, 2013, p. 114).
Clarke County, blessed with natural salt springs, quickly became a hub for Confederate salt production. Three major works sprang up: the Upper, Central, and Lower Salt Works. Among these, the Central Salt Works, located approximately six miles south of Jackson on Salt Creek, became particularly significant. Here, brine was drawn from subterranean springs and boiled in massive iron kettles set over fireboxes, a labor-intensive process that could produce over 600 bushels of salt daily at the operation’s peak (Alabama Historical Association, 1985).
The scale of the operation demanded a substantial labor force and logistical network. To defend the works against Union raids, Confederate forces constructed Fort Stonewall and Fort Sidney Johnston on the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers. These fortifications were part of a broader strategy to safeguard critical inland resources and maintain supply lines to the Confederate armies (Brewer, 1872, p. 295).
Despite these efforts, the salt works were under constant threat. Union raiding parties frequently targeted salt production facilities throughout the South, understanding their vital role in Confederate logistics. While some sites were eventually destroyed, Clarke County’s salt works remained in production well into the latter part of the war.
Today, the Central Salt Works site is commemorated by the pictured historical marker installed by the Alabama Historical Association in 1985. It is located on the west side of County Road 15 near Christian Vall Road, the marker offers a brief yet memorable reminder of the site’s importance. It reads in part: “During the Civil War, Central Salt Works helped supply vital salt to the Confederacy… producing more than 600 bushels daily.”
For those interested in Alabama’s Civil War history or the industrial efforts that supported the Confederacy, the Central Salt Works stands as a testament to the resourcefulness and determination of a people under siege.
References
Alabama Historical Association. Central Salt Works Historical Marker. Installed 1985. Located near Rockville, Clarke County, AL.
Brewer, W. (1872). Alabama: Her History, Resources, War Record, and Public Men from 1540 to 1872. Barrett & Brown.
Flynt, W. (2004). Alabama in the Twentieth Century. University of Alabama Press.
Jones, L. (2013). The Confederacy’s Struggle for Survival: Blockades and Resource Wars. University of Alabama Press.
Suggsville historical marker in Clarke County, Alabama.
Recently, we were out rambling and photographing churches for our ongoing project in the Alabama Black Belt when we came upon a historical marker deep in the woods of Clarke County. The marker stood quietly at the side of the old road, weathered but still legible: “SUGGSVILLE,” it read. Naturally, we stopped, curious about this place we’d never heard of before. What we discovered was a fascinating story of a town that once played a big role in the early days of Alabama—and has now almost vanished from view.
Suggsville was laid out in 1819 at the crossing of the Old Line and Old Federal Roads, vital routes during Alabama’s frontier era. It was named after William Suggs, a storekeeper who helped establish the settlement. This tiny town quickly became an important hub—home to Clarke County’s first newspaper, and to early cotton, carriage, shoe, and silk factories. The marker even notes that Dr. Denny conducted aviation experiments here nearly a century before the Wright brothers ever took flight. Imagine that—homemade flying machines in the backwoods of Alabama in the early 1800s!
In its prime, Suggsville had schools for both boys and girls, businesses, and a community life that revolved around education and religion. It was once one of Clarke County’s largest towns, and by the 1880 census it still ranked third in population after Grove Hill and Choctaw Corner (modern-day Thomasville). That momentum didn’t last, though. Like so many small towns in the South, Suggsville faded after the Civil War, bypassed by railroads and changing trade routes.
Today, Suggsville is an unincorporated community with no defined center and only scattered residences. Most people driving through the area would never know it once bustled with activity. But the history lives on—not just on the marker, but in the stories of people who came from here. Red Barnes and Sam Barnes, both of whom made it to Major League Baseball, were born in Suggsville. So was Charles Rudolph d’Olive, a World War I flying ace who notched five aerial victories in combat.
Standing there among the pine needles and tall trees, we could almost hear the echoes of wagons on the old road and voices from the past. That’s what we love about these backroads rambles—sometimes you find a story waiting quietly in the woods, just like Suggsville.
Sources: Clarke County Historical Marker (pictured), Clarke County Historical Society, Wikipedia, U.S. Census records.
Many things we see every day are hidden in plain sight. They are there. We actually see, them. The problem is we see them but then we don’t see them.
One example I am talking about is the little white house that sits in Perdue Hill, AL. on U.S. Hwy. 84. Thousands of cars pass by it every day. It has a Historical Marker out front. Probably a large percentage of people who pass by notice that there is a little old white house sitting there but, they have no clue what that house is nor who it belonged to.
Recently the Perdue Hill-Claiborne Foundation held an event honoring the 200th anniversary of LaFayette’s Farewell and his visit to Claiborne, AL.
I was honored to be a photographer at the event. I was able to capture drone photos of the procession and some other things in the area while I was there.
During the time there I was able to walk around and tour some of the buildings there that I had always wanted to get to go inside of.
One of those buildings is that little white house.
Of course, since it is only a few miles from my house, and I am somewhat of a history buff, I knew the significance of that little house.
That little house holds prominence in history that in my opinion ranks way up the list. It was the home of none other than William B. Travis. The William Travis who died at the age of 26 years old at the Battle of The Alamo in Texas in 1836.
Thankfully this little house which was originally in Claiborne a few miles down the road was recognized and preserved. Thankfully Ann, and Palmer Bedsole were able to have it moved and restored. It is now part of the list of buildings maintained by the Perdue Hill-Claiborne Foundation which has been working for quite some time maintaining and preserving these beautiful buildings for generations to come.
I often wonder how many other treasures like this have slipped into oblivion because nobody knew what they were. So many have been lost never to be seen again. So many treasures of our historic past gone forever.
So many things we see every day we honestly have no clue what they are, what prominence they might have held, nor who they might tie back to in history.
There is so much of our history that has been obliviated never to be documented. So much of it should have been preserved. So much of the things associated with our history still need to be preserved.
My challenge is to pay attention to what you really see and learn about it. The rewards are astounding to many.
For those that follow us on our adventures we have been working hard in Perry County. As most know Perry County like most of our beautiful Black Belt Counties is very rural. While we were there we photographed over 100 churches and drove over 500 miles doing it.
We had issues locating a place to park our motorhome for a home base to work from.
We met some nice folks while we were working in Dallas County that were gracious enough to sponsor us. They allowed us to park on their property where hunters have their trailers parked. It was definitely a blessing. We were only a few miles south of the Perry County line and it worked out great. As they were telling us about everything going on around us one thing that was mentioned was checking out the Farmer’s Market at Orville.
The Farmers Market is one of those places that I have passed numerous times on the way through on my ramblings. I have always said, “the next time I come through here I want to stop there”. It seems like I have always been in a hurry or had something else I needed to do.
Wednesday night we were talking about our trip home. I remembered the Orville Farmer’s Market and I told my wife that I wanted to stop by there and check it out on the way back through.
I had been following it on social media and knew that it had to be a neat place. I also knew that it was one of the hundreds of places in our beloved Black Belt that had always drawn me like a magnet draws iron but like I said earlier for some reason I had never stopped.
We got up Wednesday morning, packed things up in the motorhome. We then pulled out and went by and thanked our sponsors who had graciously helped us out. Then we hooked the Jeep to the motorhome and pulled out.
We arrived at Orville a few minutes early for lunch. We decided that we would just wait around till lunch was served.
As we walked in the door, we were greeted by several young ladies that were at the counter. We strolled around looking at the well-stocked shelves of so many different things that I would not even start to try to name them.
I loved just walking around looking. There was so much to see, inside and out. Everything was so neat and clean. Whether it is garden supplies from seed or tools on they have it. Dry goods, canned goods, different apparel, gifts, there is something in there that will appeal to everybody.
There were many, many different things on the shelves. There were numerous different types of things like cheese of numerous varieties in the coolers. There were beautiful vegetables neatly arranged. We saw some jalapeno peppers that were huge. There were also some of the largest bell peppers I have ever seen. They would have made some incredible stuffed peppers.
As we were finishing up our tour of the General Store, the workers were finishing up stocking the food on the buffet for lunch.
Then came decision time. I love lunch buffets, but I hate lunch buffets. I love them if they are good ones because I love good southern food. I hate them because it is too hard for me to decide what I want to eat. This one did not disappoint. It looked awesome from the get-go. I settled on chicken strips, okra, macaroni and cheese, and jalapeno cornbread, and sweet tea. Beverly had chicken strips, macaroni and cheese, collards, and jalapeno cornbread.
We got our food and settled at a table in the dining room. The food was awesome. I had NO complaints. The food was excellent. We had to take some of our food home because it was more than we could eat.
I have seen the shirts with the saying on them, American by birth, and Southern by the grace of God. In my humble opinion there are no truer words. We are a blessed people to have the opportunity to experience the wonders of our beloved Southland. In the heart of that is this special place called the Black Belt.
Our Black Belt houses many treasures. I would have to say that the Orville Farmer’s Market is one of those treasures that if you have not visited, you definitely need to. It is definitely worth the drive if you are anywhere close to the area. If you are traveling mark the spot and check it out. You won’t regret it. We will be back as we continue to ramble.
My wife and I have been married over 40 years. Rarely do you see one of us that you do not see us both. Neither of us can stand to just stay at the house. Not because being at home is bad. In fact, we sit at home a lot as well as ramble. Buuutttttt. If rambling is an option, then that is the option we are going to take.
Life is an adventure. I have found that there is always something new to experience. Somebody new to meet is always right around the corner. A new place to go, or a new place to eat is always there.
Last Summer I actually did do some traveling by myself. I went out 5 trips throughout Southeast Alabama. I ran several thousand miles visiting rural map dot towns. You know, the ones that are not on the interstate. The ones that sadly are now in a terrible situation. Those places that so many people relate to. Many times, they are remembered now as places we went to when our grandparents were still alive. For many more they are where we were raised. They represent a different place and a different time. For most of us it is good memories. For so many of us it is a place and time we miss so badly and would love to be back in.
On one of my trips last year, I took a photo of a neat looking place over in the vicinity of Grady, Alabama. I honestly think I took it more for the fact that there was a neat sign with a water tower in the background. When I am out taking photos of that type I normally always capture a few shots of water towers.
I think the place was closed that particular day, or possibly it was the hour of the day that I was there. After I got home and shared photos and communicated with folks and so forth, I came across this business on Facebook.
The name of the business was Red’s Little School House. It is a restaurant. I have followed them on social media ever since. I have commented on their page more than once that when I was back working in that area that I was going to have lunch there.
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were talking about some future excursions. The subject of Red’s Little School House came up. I commented that we had been in Lowndes County recently working and should have broken off one day and went up and given it a try. Unfortunately, we had been preoccupied and did not think about it. My wife said, “why don’t we just ride up there and give it a try?” With that said she got online and found out when it was open, and we made plans.
Now we have been to some incredible places, and we have been to some places that we are not going to go back to. We set out early to mid-morning of Wednesday June 6. We located it on the map and followed GPS. When we got there, I looked, and we had driven exactly 100 miles. That is a pretty good ride to eat lunch at a place you have never been to nor talked personally to that has eaten there before. I had told my wife on the way up more than one time, “I hope we are not disappointed.” Her response every time was, “we have been disappointed before, and I bet we have had worse.”
When we drove up there were cars in the parking lot, but we were kind of early, so it was not crowded. We walked in and were immediately greeted by a friendly young lady who told us to sit wherever we chose. When we got settled at a table she came and took our drink order. She then said help yourself to the buffet.
We headed out! Fried Chicken, chicken livers, pulled pork, camp stew, hamburger steak in gravy, vegetables, fried cornbread, and rolls. OH MY. I loaded my plate. I wanted to try as many different things as possible, but realized real quick that there was no way I could try it all.
We went to the table and all I can say was wow! There was a sign I read in there that said, “If you find food any better your grandmother cooked it”, or something very similar. That my friends, was an understatement! I have eaten folk’s grandmothers cooking that was not as good as that was. Actually I have had a lot of home cooking that was not as good as that.
The only thing I regret about that trip is that instead of just going through the line and helping my plate, I wish I had gone through and checked it out before. I LOVE fried chicken, and I love chicken livers. That fried chicken was excellent. The livers were as well. HOWEVER, WHEN and I said when not IF I go back if it is on a Wednesday and they have the hamburger steak I definitely will load up on that and if they have the camp-stew, I will load up on that. There was not one thing we tried that was not wonderful in our opinion.
So to recap this, we drove a hundred miles to a local restaurant that serves a lunch buffet for lunch. If you have never been there, we highly recommend you give it a try. We definitely will go back and eat there if we are anywhere close to the area. In fact, we are subject any time to get up one morning and make the drive back and give it another whirl.
My hat’s off to Red’s Little School House. Your food in my opinion is better than you portray it to be. I highly recommend you to anybody hunting great home cooked Southern Food.
On an almost daily basis I see people who are hunting something different. What I mean is they are fed up with the hustle and bustle of modern life. They are fed up with everything associated with the industries today that are governed by money rather than efficiency. Many are learning to be self-sufficient.
Buck eye
I see many that are growing their own food and learning the old ways of doing things that worked for centuries. I like so many I encounter are interested in many of these old and mostly lost ideas. One of the things that I personally am interested in is natural medications. I am at this writing 67 years old and I do not take any medication of any kind nor does my wife. We are thankful for this and hope it remains that way as long as we live. We also hope to live long productive lives.
I have on more than one occasion seen books offered that taught about utilizing wild plants to eat and medicate. For me anyway it would get overwhelming. First off it utilized plants from all over the world or at least not my local area.
Highly toxic in bloodstream.Passion Fruit, “May Pop”.MulleinElderberry plantBlack BerryDevil’s Walking StickHuckleberryBrown Eyed Susan
Recently I have started noticing people on social media talking about plant walks. My curiosity was spurred. Exactly what is a plant walk, and what happens at one? Those were two questions I wanted to find out the answer to.
A few weeks ago my friend Demp Bell messaged me and asked me to come to one. He owns Cornwallis 1828 which is a very interesting and unique place in the Alabama Black Belt. I serve as one of the Pro Staff Photographers for Cornwallis 1828.
I was eager to get this on my calendar. It was a Saturday morning event. I made the drive up and was waiting when others started to arrive. I was introduced to a young man named Kyle Fuqua. He was the guy who was leading the plant walk. It did not take two minutes to realize he was a walking encyclopedia on plants. I was both shocked and amazed at his knowledge.
Within a few minutes others started to arrive. Demp had coffee, muffins, juice, milk and other things on hand for those attending. As always everything I have ever participated in at Cornwallis 1828 was done with perfection.
As we started one of the first things I learned was that in the short distance we were going to walk Kyle had scouted the evening before. He said he had identified over 80 plants within a short distance of the trails he had covered. I would estimate the distance to be ½ mile approximately.
Once we got started it was incredible to follow along and learn. Over the course of the next three hours, we learned that you can make cookies or bread from persimmons that grow wild. We learned that you could utilize the leaves and balls from a Sweetgum Tree to create the equivalent of Tamiflu to treat cold or flu.
We learned that Ragweed is very nutritious and that although most people think they are allergic to Golden Rod but, it is Ragweed that causes the allergy. Ragweed is at the right stage at the same time as the Goldenrod blooms. That is why folks blame the Goldenrod for their allergies.
We learned that you could put white clover in soups and stews. The numbers of other plants that we learned you can eat is just unreal. I have spent countless hours in the woods in my lifetime and I had no clue that many were nutritious and edible.
We found out that what we commonly call Begger lice can be utilized as an antibiotic. Curley dock roots can be used as an anti-parasitic.
Kudzu, of all things, astounded me. You can eat the leaves; you can take the roots and make flour. Kudzu flowers are edible and can be used to make jelly.
It just goes on and on and on as to what works for what. Another thing we learned was that many times moss will have chiggers in it so stay away from it.
Beauty Berry can be used as a natural mosquito repellant, as well as other things. Saw briar leaves can be used to make a tea that is good for the common cold. Dog Fennel can be used on the skin for bug bites but will shut your liver down if you ingest it.
It is intriguing, literally that there are so many things right there around you that you walk and drive past daily that can serve so many purposes in everyday life. Many can be eaten. Many can be used as medications. Many are poisonous. Many that are poisonous can be used if they are prepared correctly.
Discussion was made before we all left as to the possibility of doing future plant walks. I highly recommend to anyone that is remotely interested to find Cornwallis 1828 on social media and watch for upcoming events of that type. I truly believe that pretty much anyone would benefit from the knowledge that is passed on through these events.
Cornwallis 1828 is a special place in the Black Belt Region of Alabama. It is a place of learning and history. Children can roam free and be safe. I know I plan to be at the next plant walk that is held and I cordially invite you too as well.
I have been told all my life that seldom does one have more than one perfect dog in his life. I can’t honestly say that is true because in my lifetime I have owned several. All of which were a different breed and served a different purpose at a different stage of my life.
When the boys were growing up, I had a couple of decent bird dogs but none that I would say were outstanding by any sense of the word.
We started rabbit hunting with beagles and over the years we ran them I culled many to get some really good ones. I had a 15” Tri-color that I would have dropped the tail gate on with any that I ever saw run. His name was Barney and he would tote the mail for you.
He was a big-mouthed dog that I could literally pick out of a hundred running in a big pack competition. I have seen him run briar patches until he would be bloody like he had been in a fight. I have seen him run till he would be so sore that he could hardly climb out of the doghouse the next morning. He did not know the meaning of the word quit. I ran him with a female we called Lucy, and she could hold her own as well with about anything that you dropped out with her.
Over the years I had a couple of working herd dogs that were fair as well.
We had gone years without a dog while we were involved in ministry. I did not have any livestock and did not hunt.
I decided in 2013 that I wanted a dog as a companion animal. I got a puppy that was brindle colored and called him Peete. He was very intelligent, but he just did not fit with our lifestyle. I learned quickly that I needed a dog had a lot of criteria that had to be met or I could not make it work for us or the dog.
I found a home for Peete, and we decided that we would try to adopt one from the animal shelter. We went to the shelter the last week in May of 2013. We found a small female dog that for some reason we were attracted to. Honest to goodness it was almost like trying to adopt a child from a foreign country. I came within an inch of walking away and telling the lady at the shelter to forget it. We had to fill out an application and the lady grilled us on numerous questions. The lady told us to come back the following Monday and if we were accepted that we could pick up our dog. Again, I almost did not go back. It was ridiculous.
We went back though the first Monday in June of 2013. We picked our little dog up and carried her to a groomer and had her bathed and trimmed and she looked like a different little dog. The girls in the shelter had named her Taffy and we chose not to change her name.
The lady who groomed her asked us was she about to have puppies. We had been told at the shelter that she was not with puppies. We took her to the vet to have her health checked. The vet said that she was not with puppies that he could tell. A few days later we left her with our granddaughter for a day while we were out of town and while we were gone, she delivered two puppies.
We took care of her and the puppies till the puppies were old enough to wean and we gave them away to a friend. We had Taffy spayed and life was good.
Taffy was exactly what I had been hunting. If you heard her bark or alert, you had better get up and check. Somebody or something was there. She was NOT a yapper. House broke to the utmost. Playful enough to be fun but not overboard. Never met a stranger.
She was attached to all of our family members that visited. Most Friday evenings family would come to our house, and we all ate together. One of our brother in laws named Bob always played with Taffy. When Friday came Taffy would gather her toys and be playing with them by 3 in the afternoon. We could ask her “Taffy, is Uncle Bob out there?” Immediately she would run to the door and look. If she was in the sun-room she would rear up to look out the window.
There were numerous other things we could ask her and get a response. She would immediately hunt me or Beverly if the other one asked her where we were.
We were never sure exactly what Taffy was. She was a beautiful blonde color. She did not shed at all. NO hair in the house period. We thought from her appearance that she was a cross between a Dachshund and a Yorkie. My wife took her photo one time with the Google Lens on her phone and it said she was a cross with a Dachshund and a Poodle. We never went to the time nor expense to have her DNA tested to see what she was.
Taffy weighted 15 pounds and pretty much always held within a pound or so of that.
I have seen many little dogs in my life, but I honestly can say I have never dealt with a dog that had more intelligence than Taffy. You could literally talk to Taffy like she was a kid and she would mind.
If I was sitting in my recliner, she was going to be laying between me and the left arm of the recliner. If my wife was sitting on the couch, she would sit with her a while and then come sit with me. She had rather ride in the jeep than eat when she was hungry. She could jump up in my Jeep which was sitting in 35” mud-grips with NO trouble if she knew she was going to get to ride.
In 2022 we noticed Taffy was losing weight. We had her checked and the vet did not find anything wrong with her. We spent 8 days with family out of state over Christmas of 2022 and boarded Taffy. That was the longest she had been away from us in all of those years. When we got back we noticed changes in her. Normally over all the years we could just leave food out for her. She would just graze through and pick up a few morsels of dry food and bring it in the living room and eat it a few times a day. After that time, she would eat everything we put out immediately. Soon she started having anxiety attacks. If we left, her alone for any length of time she would have anxiety issues. Sometimes she would have them even sitting at home with us at night.
Honestly looking back, she had been going downhill long before that. Us being away from her for that long we saw it magnified. Kind of like when I worked shutdowns and did not see my kids for long periods of time and then saw them and realized they had grown.
In December of 2023 we noticed she was fading fast. Her belly was getting enlarged and she had no energy. She would not play with her toys and just was not herself. Our vet examined her and did an x-ray. That is when we realized that her liver and some other organs were severly enlarged. She also had a bladder infection that would not go away. We had to keep her on antibiotics constantly and as soon as we stopped them it was back with a vengeance. We knew then that it was a matter of time.
Over the next weeks we saw her fade fast. She got to the point that it was a labor for her to just get up the two steps into the house. She would have to go out numerous times a day which she had never had to do. One afternoon when she went outside she fell over and it was hard for her to just get up.
Our forty first anniversary was Feb 4. That day we realized we were going to be faced with what we had been dreading for a long time. She had gotten to the point that she was drinking unreal amounts of water. It was obvious she was suffering, and she could not control her bladder which was not normal.
The next day Feb. 5, we were eating lunch and both of us knew it was time. We called the vet and made an appointment. We then took her and wrapped her up and took her out and rode on the golf cart. That was one of the joys of her little life. She just laid in Beverly’s lap and looked. We knew we were making the right decision as hard as it was to do it. We took her in. They took us into the back and the vets assistant told me that she needed to hold her to assist the vet.
We stood there with her rubbing her till she was gone. In my opinion we were the most important thing in her life and we stayed with her till she was gone. Then we brought her home and buried her.
Our constant companion was gone.
Forever it seemed everywhere we went was a reminder of Taffy. There was a water bowl in the car, and in the Jeep, and in the pickup. There were toys here there and yonder. Her food, and water bowls in the house and in the camper. There were the little smudges on the car and Jeep windows where she had put her nose looking out the windows. The same little smudges on the windows at the house where she had always ran to check things out if she heard something outside to investigate.
Even now months later we still come across stuff that as associated with Taffy.
We have no intentions of getting another dog. We discussed it but first off, there will never be another one as perfect for us as she was. Plus, because we are always on the go it would be hard to take on the responsibility.
I honestly don’t believe that once you have had that perfect one there is nothing better. Little Taffy was one of a kind. If there was ever a perfect little companion doggie. Taffy was it.
I have been through Pine Apple many times over my lifetime. I have heard numerous times that there was a statue there in the graveyard. I never gave it much thought. It was just one more rabbit trail that I had filed in the back of my mid that I needed to run but never got around to it.
I have so many of those rabbit trails that it would be impossible if I had three more life times left to run them all. I still like to run them though from time to time.
This week my wife and I were out checking out churches in Wilcox County that I had not gotten to for my upcoming book.
I started on a photo book of Wilcox County Churches back in October. I had a lot going on and to be able to work on that many churches requires a lot of travel. Instead of completing Wilcox County, I just settled in and went to work on Monroe County. I had numerous personal things going on, and there was no way I could leave home for two or three days at the time. I could however take numerous trips of a couple of hours at the time. I had to burn the midnight oil to get it done, but I was able to release my Monroe County Book the first week in January.
Then my Jeep decided it was time to give me fits and I lost almost three weeks trying to get it fixed. I got it fixed and then we had weather issues. I don’t function well when the temperature is in the teens.
Finally, it looked like it was going to break for a day or so. We left home on Monday morning and headed north. I had worked for hours upon hours scouring maps and other sources online hunting the churches in Wilcox County.
We made it into Pine Apple and I was taking photos of the Friendship Baptist Church. I looked across the road and saw the large cemetery over there. I saw the marker on the fence identifying it as a Black Belt Heritage Area.
Beings that I am totally committed to the things of the Black Belt, and I thrive on learning history I immediately had to take a photograph of the placard with the phone number of the recording on it for a future reference and I had to see the statue listed on there. I walked across the cemetery to the statue and viewed it. Then I captured some photos of it and read the tombstones around it.
Since I had a lot of miles to run to get all of the church photos that I could for the day, I didn’t give the statue much thought for the rest of the day.
The next day I started to ponder on that statue. Who was this man? Where did the statue come from? So many questions. So few answers.
At first, I sat down and googled “Statue at Pine Apple Alabama. Immediately there were a couple of things that came up. I stared to read about this statue. I had seen the name on it was William Joseph Melton. He was born Sept. 29, 1846, and died in July 4,1900. That much I knew but what else was there to know?
It turned out that Mr. Melton was a very influential man in Wilcox County. He was also a very successful planter. All of the sources I saw said that when he died his daughter took a photo of him with her to Italy and commissioned an artist there to carve a statue of him out of marble.
All of the sources said that the statue was transported by ship and then transported up the river to Claiborne where it was off loaded onto a wagon and hauled the rest of the way to Pine Apple.
Then when the statue was being erected in the cemetery is where things got complicated. Supposedly the members of the church had some issues with it being there because it violated the Ten Commandments because it was a “Graven Image”. Finally, a compromise appears to have been reached. The statue was allowed but it had to be laid down instead of standing up. Then at some later date permission was given for it to be erected. Now I don’t know if it was given or just somebody took it upon themselves to erect it. Regardless of that fact it stands 122 or so years later facing East and proudly overlooking the cemetery.
The recording states that Mr. Melton was a Civil War Veteran that was captured as a prisoner of war. Supposedly he died suddenly in Montgomery. His body was transported back to Pine Apple where he was buried.
So here we are all of these years later and I found it. Now that is one off of my bucket list. I ran a long day looking for churches and found some. I can only imagine what interesting thing I will find the next time I go out. That was definitely an interesting find.
I was born in 1957. Growing up in Monroe County Alabama was indeed incredible. When I was born my parents lived with my grandparents. When I was three years old, my mother went to work at the Vanity Fair Mill in Monroeville. I stayed with my great aunt while my mother worked. I also was blessed to spend a lot of time with my grandparents. Because of that fact I was blessed to hear hundreds if not thousands of stories. What would I give now to be able to go back and rehear those stories again.
My great aunt was born in 1896. My grandfather was born in 1906. My grandmother was born in 1908. My grandfather and great aunt were born and raised up at Sedan which was a community located a short distance above Vredenburgh, in Southern Wilcox County.
My grandmother was born in Clarke County, in the area called Cane Creek, which was in the vicinity of Chance, Syrene, and Lower Peach Tree. I am not sure what went on with her family, but her mother and the children moved to Monroe County in approximately 1916. She always told me it was when she was 8 is where I draw that conclusion.
Between the three of them there were literally thousands of stories. So many of them I remember bits and pieces of but do not know enough of facts in them to retell them accurately. That is something that I totally regret and wish so desperately that I could.
One story that I remember was of the dirigible. My grandfather always told a story of the time that the Hindenburg flew over Vredenburgh. Now I honestly do not think it was the Hindenburg because I find no record of the Hindenburg flying in this part of the world. I do indeed believe that there was a airship of that type that did. The reason being that there were so many people that saw it. Therefore, I do not believe he was imagining things.
Looking online I found that the Hindenburg was slightly over 800 feet long. That was huge. I can imagine that the one that they saw was quite possibly something close to that in size. The Hindenburg crashed in May of 1937. By him thinking it was the Hindenburg I assume that this would have been very close in that time frame. In fact, I am thinking that this was just a very short time before it crashed that he saw it. He seemed to think that it had passed over and then crashed like within a day or two.
This thing whatever it was came over at night. Supposedly there were lights all over it. Or it was well lit. Apparently, it caused quite as stir in Vredenburgh. From what I can determine it was not running very fast. Also, from the information I can remember it was not flying very high.
Think about it being 1937 in the town of Vredenburgh. It is night, and this huge thing comes flying over. I don’t know if they had ever even seen an airplane although I would have thought that they would have. Regardless of what they had seen or not seen; this thing definitely caused a stir. Apparently, many were terrified. My grandfather always said that one older woman came running in at the commissary screaming at the top of her lungs. She was screaming over and over, “Lord have mercy, that Frisco has done left the rails.” It had to have been pretty large for her to associate it with a train from the Frisco Railroad. Also for her to associate it with the Frisco Railroad it would have come from the West heading East, since the L&N RR. serviced Vredenburgh from the east side.
Now almost a century later, I have not found anybody else that tells that story. I have not heard it recapped in decades. I just know that from all appearances it really happened. Like so many other stories that have been told it is one that definitely deserves to be written down and passed on to the future generations.
For those that lived it, this was an experience that they remembered till the day they died.
The night that the dirigible came to Vredenburgh was definitely a historic event.
I say it every time I go on another adventure or write another blog, but I want to say it again. I love doing what I am doing. There is always another interesting time, place, person, or thing, right around the corner. More times than not they are hidden in plain sight as well.
For years I have seen pictures of the Pilgrim Rest Church in the Red Hills. As all of those that follow me know I was fortunate enough to finally run somebody down that knew something about that one. When I was getting information on it another old church came up. It also sits in the Red Hills of northern Monroe County. This one unlike the old Pilgrim Rest is not as well-known nor as often photographed. One reason is it is not on the main drag road. The other is that it is on private land with no trespassing signs out a distance away from it.
New Liberty in the Red Hills
I knew of its existence before talking to my friend about the Old Pilgrim Rest. However, I did not know anything about it. Because I was working on so many different things I kind of put it on a back burner in my mind so to speak. It was one of those places that I would think about from time to time but did not work on finding anything on.
I recently started working on a picture book of the churches of Monroe County. As I was working on that project, I realized I needed to share that one in the book. With that in mind I started searching.
As I started asking questions to my sources that know the people in that area I hit on a name. Then I got a phone number for a guy. Because I had so much going on I held on to the number for a couple of weeks before I called. When I called, I got a guy named Ronnie Nettles. He was a nice guy that I immediately knew I needed to visit and get more info from.
We agreed on a time to meet up at the old church and so on a beautiful Sunday Afternoon, we left home heading that way.
New Liberty A.M.E Church sits in the Red Hills on Olivia Road. Olivia Road is off John Shannon Road. It is a short distance south of where John Shannon Road and River Ridge Road cross each other. John Shannon Road runs from Old Scotland Road all the way to County Road 56 between Vredenburgh and Buena Vista. Olivia dead ends in private property at the old church.
My wife and I drove to the old church and parked. In just a short time a pickup rode up with two guys in it. They introduced themselves and we shook hands. One of them was Ronnie the guy I had been talking with on the phone. He sent the other one back down the road to where they had been sitting to get his older brother. He drove up shortly. His name was Clevester.
Broken cornerstone
We walked around the old church and talked. It was interesting to learn. First off, I learned that the building was the second building. The first building had been sitting on the south side of the present building. It was built in the mid to late 1800’s but neither Ronnie nor Clevester knew the years.
Secondly, I learned that not only was the first building a church, but it had also been a school. It was amazing how many people used to be out in those hills where nobody is now. Now there is nothing out there but woods and miles of red dirt roads. This church was only a mile or so as the crow flies from the Old Pilgrim Rest Church. There was two if not more churches in that community.
I learned that these guys’ great grandfather Jeremiah Fountain had been the founder of the church.
As we continued to talk, we walked over to where the old cornerstone for the present building was. Unfortunately, it had been damaged in an accident. From it we were able to see that this building had been built in 1970.
As we continued to talk, I learned that they closed the doors on this one and moved to Tunnel Springs and founded another church. That one also is named New Liberty. The one in Tunnel Springs was built in 1995 and the one in the Red Hills was closed at that time. The reason for closing this one and moving to Tunnel Springs was the fact that it was in such a remote location and that the roads were in such bad shape for people to try to travel.
New Liberty A.M.E Church at Tunnel Springs
I had learned from the information I got on Pilgrim Rest Church that the two churches had often fellowshipped with one another until their closings. Pilgrim Rest had closed before New Liberty. These guys also told me that same thing.
One other interesting thing I learned was that while in the present location that there was always a weeklong revival the third week in September. This weeklong revival normally drew significant crowds and was looked forward to all year long.
Clevester, who was older than Ronnie also had an interesting contribution. He talked about the old original building. He said that it had two front doors and two rows of pews. He also said that it was heated with a wood heater and that it used kerosene lamps for lighting.
We briefly walked out into the cemetery and they both pointed out graves of their grandparents and other relatives who had now passed on but were significant to this old church. There were several graves that had slabs but nothing on them signifying who was buried there. I understood that there were others that were unmarked.
Click to enlarge.Click to enlarge.Click to enlarge.
One interesting fact to me was that there was a grave, that the marker appeared to be that of a civil war soldier buried there. His name was Fletcher Fountain. That one I will have to try to research further.
Click to enlarge.
As we continued to talk, I learned that the New Liberty church in Tunnel Springs closed for the pandemic. During that time, it suffered some water damage. Now it is being worked on to re-open soon.
As I we prepared to leave and said our farewells I was swept up in thoughts. We headed out across the Red Hills heading back across to Franklin. As we crossed the miles of rough red dirt roads my mind considered many things. I thought about how many people once lived in what is now nothing more than woods for miles in all directions. I thought about what it must have been like living out there back then. I would imagine that even then although it was a populated area, it would have still been sort of isolated. By that fact I bet that there was a strong sense of community. Then as always, I pictured in my mind travel across the rough hills and hollows. I wondered how many years it was before automobiles came into that part of the world. I could picture a way of life that in many ways was hard. I also pictured a way of life that was fulfilling in many ways. It was no wonder that these two guys I had the privilege to meet today were the great guys they appeared to be. I understood the pride they must have in the fact that their family carries a rich heritage in the Red Hills of Monroe County Alabama. It was definitely a pleasure to meet them, and I look forward to seeing them again one day soon.
