Baldwin County
Lottie sits along one of the historic corridors connected to the Old Federal Road. Located on a high ridge in Baldwin County, the community was tied to early travel routes, logging, farming, turpentine work, and the movement of people through this part of South Alabama. The marker also connects Lottie to William Bartram’s 1775 travels and to the events leading toward the first skirmish of the Creek Indian War.
Front Side Marker
Marker Text:
Lottie has the highest elevation in Baldwin County. A ridge forms a divide where waters to the east flow into Pensacola Bay and waters to the west flow into Mobile Bay. Pine Log Creek begins in Lottie. Pine Log Ditch, used to float logs for over 100 years, started in Lottie and ran to the Alabama River. Naturalist William Bartram, in 1775, followed the ridge to Mobile, on part of County Road 47. This Indian trading path became part of the Federal Road of 1805 and was later part of the Old Stage Road. The stage stopped in Lottie at the New Home Church. In July 1813, Col. James Caller led a militia group to camp at Davy Tate’s cowpens in Lottie to wait for reinforcements from Tensaw. His band, 180 men strong, continued up the Federal Road for Burnt Corn Springs, then south on the Wolf Trail to the ford on Burnt Corn Creek for the first skirmish of the Creek Indian War.
Reverse Side Marker
Marker Text:
Turpentining, logging and farming was once the lifeblood of Lottie. W.M. Carney Mill Co. operated a camp and turpentine still at Redtown. The mill had a school, store, and church. Three logging railroads crossed Lottie. Richard Bailey (Dick) Padgett, who was Creek Indian and English, was one of Lottie’s first settlers. Pre-Lottie settlements included Carney, Langham, Magic City, Pine Log, Red Town, and Taitsville. The Lottie area was often called “Head of Pine Log.” In 1903, a post office was established and one name was needed; Lottie Presley’s name was selected from the teenage girls. The first postmaster was Robert Mansfield Chambless. Today, churches maintain the legacy of the community. Former residents return annually to homecoming events at Lottie churches and to visit the resting places of their ancestors at Lottie cemeteries.
Old Federal Road Project
This marker was photographed and documented as part of the Old Federal Road Project, an ongoing effort to visit and document historic sites, communities, and markers connected to the route of the Old Federal Road across South Alabama.
YouTube Video
Location
Lottie
Baldwin County, Alabama
31.11837, -87.63231