September is here and finally this long hot summer is winding down. We have seen some interesting things this year and are still looking forward to seeing more. There are a gazillion things out there to see, do and write about.
For the last year most of the travels I have had the opportunity to take were confined to the areas in and around Monroe County Al. and the counties surrounding it.
It was a welcome relief to me anyways to get to travel a further distance from home and ramble in different territories than I am familiar with.
We had been in the area of Pickensville Al. recently but basically made a flying trip through with very little time to ramble. On this trip we parked the motor home in the Pickensville Campground and were able to so some rambling.
We had seen the Tom Bevill Welcome center before from the outside but did not have time to visit. Today was a different story. It was just too inviting to pass up.
We arrived a few minutes before opening time and so we rode down the road and walked the steps down to the river below the lock and dam. Then after exploring some of the area there we went back up to the Welcome Center. As we were driving up we saw the attendant opening the gate and we were the first people in for the day.
The attendant was a very cordial and knowledgeable lady who gave us the tour. She explained to us that the Tom Bevill Welcome Center was named after a U.S. Congressman who represented Alabama from 1967 till 1997 and was very much instrumental in the legislation that helped pave the way for the constructing of the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway.
The building appears to be an Antebellum Home. In essence we found out that it is actually a replica that was built in 1985. The building was built to depict the period of time between the 1830’s to the 1860’s.
Those who designed the building took ideas from three different mansions. There are actually pictures of all three hanging on the wall in the main living room as you walk into the center. They were the Kirkwood that is in Eutaw, Al which still stands about 40 miles south. The Waverly Mansion is the second and it stands in Columbus Mississippi about 30 miles North. The third is the Rosemont that is located in Green County, Al. about 53 miles south.
The cupola on top was inspired by the Kirkwood. The balcony on the front was inspired by the Waverly. The window design and the columns on the front were inspired by the Rosemont.
The foyer, main stairs and the lobby all have reproduction gas light chandeliers. Common to those fixtures was a cloth sleeve that covered the gas supply lines that supplied them. It was interesting to note that gas was used for lighting before electricity was available.
In one corner in the back of the main room stands a Grandfather clock. The clock still works but is not kept wound. This clock has a hand painted face that has seashell designs on it. The clock is an 1835 English antique. The case of the clock is made from a combination of mahogany and English oak.
There are various other pieces of antique furniture and mirrors scattered throughout the house. One of the mirrors that was intriguing to me was a mirror called Girandole mirror, or chaperone mirror. The reason it was called a chaperone mirror is it is of a convex type that makes the entire room visible in form one vantage point. I thought that was a very interesting mirror indeed.
The beautiful marble floors were made from black and white squares. The Black squares were imported from Europe and the white squares were from northern Alabama.
The landings of all of the stairways are heart pine that was salvaged from an 1830’s plantation house located near Uniontown, Al. The wood on the steps is also heart pine that was salvaged from other sources.
One interesting thig that I learned about these old mansions was that since there was no air conditioning the large open stair cases served a purpose other than just giving the ability to go from one floor to the next or serving as decoration. By opening the doors on the cupola on top and the front entrance doors the air would travel through the house up through the stairwells and create air movement that helped cool the entire house.
This is definitely a beautiful place to visit and the grounds are beautiful as well. One sad thing is that the cupola area is now inaccessible because of the fact that there is a safety issue. There are other places that need attention as well. Sadly like so many places that the U. S. Government owns and maintains funding has been held up to keep them properly maintained.
I highly recommend that anybody that has the opportunity to visit this beautiful place come in and visit and learn. It is definitely a view of our beautiful historic southland.
I have talked to several people who like myself are always digging for things associated with the history of our great land. One thing that I have heard over and over again stated is the phrase, ”I have passed that one a thousand times but never thought about the history of it.” It is like they are hiding in plain sight.
One of those things for me is the Oak Grove Baptist Church outside of Frisco City, Al. Possibly because the church we look at today for many is a more modern beautiful building so therefore it doesn’t cross your mind to ask questions as to the age of the church nor the history of how it got to that point.
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I was talking to my Brother-in-law one night and talking about churches and the age and history of some. He attends Oak Grove and he started telling me about it. He then stated I can get you the history of this one and he did. I was furnished thisinformation by Mrs. Mary Ida Barnes. Once I started reading I was amazed.
The Child in white on bottom in front of right door is Mary Ida Barnes Photo taken in 1927
She sent me a copy of a history that was written by Mrs. Lewis Blanton to read and get information from. In this story I will quote excerpts of information from this writing.
All old pictures furnished by Mrs. Mary Ida Barnes.
All credit of this historical information I give to Mrs. Lewis Blanton.
The Beckbe Baptist Association had been organized in 1816 and included several south-western counties of Alabama, including Monroe County. This, the first and oldest association in Alabama was later renamed the Bethlehem Baptist Association and continues to be strong, active, and respected today.
As the Southwestern portion of Monroe County began to grow, a need arose for a missionary Baptist church.
A concerned group of Baptists decided to establish a church in the fast-developing community. John Wesley Broughton, a planter who had been a postmaster in Tekoa for several years, donated land for a missionary Baptist church a short distance from Tekoa. The original members of the newly named Oak Grove Baptist Church, so named because of the large, aged oak trees in the vicinity, met in a house on the site of the donated Broughton property. The first service was guided by Rev. J.L. Eddins and Rev. Sam Jones.
The church began to grow as the county began enjoying a semblance of prosperity after the War. As it grew, it fulfilled a great need for Tekoa and the surrounding areas of the county. Two years after the founding of the church, Monroe County suffered a severe winter, and new records were set as the ground was covered with six inches of snow. It would appear that the church had chosen a fairly prosperous time for its inception, for in 1888 for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, Monroe County was finally out of debt.
Original Church Building
Not long after the church was established, a visitor came to the house. The man (legend has it that he was a colored man) wandered into the house and stayed there. This occurrence would have been a minor one except that this now infamous visitor was a victim of smallpox. The man died in the “house” as the disease claimed him, and in a desperate effort to curtail the spreading of the disease, the members of the church burned the building.
The congregation erected a new building on the site cross from the present-day parsonage. This second building would be used until 1908.
During the early years of the church, the new converts were baptized in a pool between the Blanton and Broughton places, behind the area of the first church building. Then the church began using a pool near the old Alec Norris place, which was towards Jones Mill. Soon afterward, the church began baptizing in a pool behind Mr. Bill Sawyer’s place. Here Oak Grove built pool houses which served as dressing rooms. The church maintained this area for baptisms until the pool was placed inside the sanctuary.
Oak Grove came to the assistance of Howard College in 1869 when he Alabama Baptist Convention was in much need of funds to relieve the debt of he college. The college had founded in 1841 as an institution for men and would later become the co-educational Samford University.
Second Church Building
1897 was to be a particularly productive year or Oak Grove. The church sent its pastor J.W. Riffe, as a delegate to the Alabama Baptist Convention. 1897marked the first year of a Sunday School at Oak Grove (according to the Associational minutes). Under the leadership of Mr. Lorenzo Wiggins, the Sunday School Superintendent, the Sunday School that year was the second largest in the Association, second only to the First Baptist Church of Monroeville.
In an attempt to improve the church, a committee was designated on October 14, in order that the spiritual condition of the church might be examined. This committee was intended to insure that the church as growing in a spiritual sense. The members were obviously concerned with the spiritual needs of the church body.
Not until 1902 was Oak Grove to house the annual meeting of the Bethlehem Baptist Association. IN that year the Association was 86 years old, and the meeting was held in the second church building of Oak Grove. Both the third and fourth “houses” would host the Associational meetings on several occasions.
W.N. Huckabee of Pineville came to the church in 1903. This gentleman served as pastor for eighteen years, until 1921, excepting only a brief interval in 1909 when L.C. Dewitte served in that position.
The second church building began to fall in disrepair after the turn of the century. In 1908 the members decided that the church was not safe and that is must be substantially repaired or a new building should be erected. After a generous grant of land by Mr. W.M. Lane, the members decided to build a new “house”. On this site, the site of the present building, the new “house” was built. During the period of construction the church members met in the Tekoa schoolhouse. The new sanctuary was embellished by oil lamps with beautiful floral shades. Once the new church-affectionately in recent years referred to as the “old church” – was built, it quickly became an integral meeting place for the community. The building was designated as a voting area, md the church itself was used until the voting house was built. On July 19,1910 the church granted permission to the County Farmers Union to meet in the church building.
In 1911 the South was still suffering from the 1907 Panic. Monroe County was in need for as Christ promised, “the poor were still with us”. Oak Grove established a committee to see to the needs of the poor. After its inception, the committee valiantly and unendingly saw to the ever-pressing needs of the poor. The congregation labored unceasingly giving to those who were less fortunate.
With the coming of World War 1, the church, like the nation, knew the tragedy of war. The lives of many sons of the county were claimed as husbands, sons, fathers’ brothers and beaux risked their lives to protect their home and country. So many paid for this protection with their lives. Certainly the long war was ever present o the minds of the members of the church. Even though countians had purchased numerous war bonds, they could not and would not neglect the spiritual needs of the soldiers. On May 12, 1918 an offering was taken after services “for the purpose of helping preach the gospel among our soldier boys”. The church called W.N. Huckabee to serve as pastor on November 10, 1918 – only hours before the Armistice.
With peace declared God blessed America with a new prosperity. Oak Grove must also have been enjoying prosperity of the 1920’s for in 1924 a committee was appointed for the purpose of buying the pastor, Rev. W.A. Davis, an automobile. AS well, the organ which had been a part of the church for decades was sold and a new piano was purchased in 1927.
Two years after the purchase of the piano, the stock market on Wall Street crashed. This event at first may have had little effect on Monroe County but this occurrence developed into the Great Depression. The church, although hard pressed for funds, survived. The effort which had been extended toward the poor and needy continued even though many members of the congregation themselves suffered privation. Money became even more scarce, and the pastor was frequently paid in flour, chickens, and most especially in gallons and gallons of cane syrup. Tithes were also taken in this manner. Between 1931 and 1932 100 pounds of hay were collected as an offering.
The spirit which had sustained the church through hard times, wars and prosperous times was severely tried. But the brave and stout-hearted members refused to allow deprivation to defeat them. The aged proverb concerning “stepping out on faith” was proven true time and time again. With a never-failing faith in God and he determination of everyone to do his part- to do what had to be done- the church persisted. These fine efforts did not go unrewarded for in 1936, I the middle of the Great Depression, the church raised $171.62 selling ice cream at a nickel a serving. In addition, the church acquired electric lights which were operated by a generator long before the transmission lines were erected. Here was a strong evidence that the membership had faith several times the size of a mustard seed.
When the decade of the 1930’s passed, with it passed the marking of the 50th anniversary of the Oak Grove Baptist Church in 1933. The years had gently passed Oak Grove. The church provided a semblance of security as the grandchildren of charter members began to accept responsibility within the church. The flame had been tossed and blown, but nothing would snuff it out.
The peace which had brought balm to a troubled land was sharply destroyed that Sunday morning when the Japanese bombe Pearl Harbor. Once again the members of the church were to sacrifice for the war effort. Men of the church and relatives went to fight at faraway places such as the shores of Normandy and the isle of Iwo Jima.
Many of these men would never return. Some of these families would again see their men fight valiantly in Korea and Viet Nam- some of our heroes returning, others to be only memories in the coming years. In all of these conflicts the support of the church was constant Daily prayers ascended to heaven.
Once more Oak Grove was to rind itself in peace time and mew matters of concern were pressing. The members recognized the need for a parsonage. In 1954 Mr. Fred Broughton, grandson of John Wesley Broughton, generously gave the church and acre of land for a new pastorium. The site was to be practically the same site as that of the first church building. It was completed and paid for in le than a year. The years 1954-1955 marked some of the greatest progress in the church’s history. There were 86 additions to the church, 46 by baptism. The Sunday School enrollment climbed from 78 to 189 and the Training Union enrollment climbed from 51 to 136.This growth was accomplished under the leadership of Rev. W.Q. Howe. Oak Grove rendered assistance to the Indian Mission in 1957, a time when many had forgotten the struggling Indians of Alabama.
In the summer of 1958, the church after a considerable effort which included the buying of bonds had a new sanctuary. The sanctuary had been built after the completion of he educational building. A dedication ceremony complete with the laying of a cornerstone, marked the event. The gleaming white walls were replaced by a new look of solid, stately red brick, crowned with an inspiring steeple which lifts eyes upwards toward heaven. The “old church” was gone, but the new building with its modern appearance promised a new, progressive era. It conveyed to the county a message- the message that although Oak Grove Baptist Church displays a reverence for its cherished heritage, its chief concern lay in serving the Lord today and in the future. The “new church” made a statement that the church would not remain stagnant while the country changed, but would meet the needs of a fast changing society.
For over 120 years the members of the church has displayed a constant devotion to our Lord, our Southern Baptist beliefs and our county. No adversity—not war, depression or apathy—has snuffed the flame which burned so brightly in 1883. May Oak Grove’s light always shine brightly for the Lord.
One only knows of the greatness of our historical churches today if he or she is willing to research what great things they have done or what hard times and sufferings that they have endured and still came through to endure.
Traveling through our beautiful Southlands there are so many sights to behold and so many things to learn. At every crook in the road there is history. Sadly, so much of it is fading away. While traveling through the dirt roads of Eastern Monroe County one encounters a road called Puryearville Road. Following that road there is a cemetery.
Over the years I have traveled that road numerous times. As I and other friends who research and ask questions have stated many times, we pass these things but really do not know much about them.
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On a recent trip through I started to ponder on this cemetery and the history of it.
Immediately I wanted to know more. So, I started to ask questions and seek out the rest of the story. That is where it got interesting.
Little did I know that this well kept beautiful cemetery way back on a red dirt road held a mystery that I wanted to learn. As with most things in history that we search out there is always more to the story.
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In my searches I found that there was once a Methodist Church over that way by that same name. Further research showed that it actually stood beside where the cemetery is. They had removed that church and relocated it to a spot in Conecuh County and given it a new name.
The old Puryearville Methodist Church had become the Centenary Church. As I read more and asked more I found some history on it.
According to a document that is on the Facebook Group Burnt Corn Alabama:
Lazenby’s History of Methodism in Alabama and West Florida that is sourced by :
Reverend F.S. Moseley- — Eutaw, Alabama
Mr. John Cunningham—Evergreen, Alabama
Mrs. Eugene Riley—Monroeville, Alabama
This is excerpts of the account given in that document:
PURYEARVILLE METHODIST CHURCH MONROE COUNTY
The Purvearville Methodist Church started as a Society near Burnt Corn in 1820.
Among its earliest members were Isaac Betts, George Watson, and a Mrs. Puryear.
Another member there from 1820 until 1834 was James King, North Carolinian, licensed to preach in 1806 and moved to Alabama in 1819. It was while he was a member of Puryearville that he was ordained an elder by Bishop George in Sardis (Bellville) Church in 1822. King died at Allenton, Alabama and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Wilcox County.
His wife is buried at Old Sardis.
Thomas Clinton was the first pastor appointed to the Conecuh Circuit, and he probably served this Society.
After some years this Society was moved to the community known as Puryearville and the church became known as the Puryearville Methodist Church.
Some sources say the first church was built in 1830. The property was deeded
to the trustees in 1843..
The deed to the Puryearville Church property is recorded in Monroe County Court House. This deed is dated March 25, 1843 and shows that Richard C. Puryear deeded 2 acres of land to Isaac Betts, George Watson, William Black, Joel B. Walden, and Thomas Pritchett
as trustees. R. H. Puryear and Richard R. Mosley witnessed the deed to which Hickman Fowler acted as Justice of Peace. James McCall was county clerk at the time.
It has been said that the upstairs of this, church was reserved for the use of the Washington-Monroe Academy and was also used for Masonic Meetings. This old building also had a slave gallery.
A new building replaced this old one about 1880 or 1890. The compiler first saw this building in 1912 and it seemed to have been twenty or thirty years old at that time.
The second building did not have an upstairs but was a neat small church in a beautiful location surrounded by trees.
All the trees have been cut and the church services were discontinued between 1928-30. The building was moved between 1941-43 when Reverend Sam E Hudgens was pastor of the Burnt Corn Methodist Church.
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The old church was moved and rebuilt on property donated by Mr. Sam W. Salter.
It was renamed The Centenary Methodist Church and was located about six miles east of Burnt Corn near the community known as Breckenridge.
Oddly enough the Centenary Methodist Church was located diagonally across the road from the home of my Great grandparents the Dewberry’s. Finding all of this information on this church brought more meaning to me on it because of the fact that I am sure that they attended it some if not regularly. Little did I know any of this till I started to research Puryearvile Methodist Church.
Finding out all of this rich history of this cemetery and then going once again to the Centenary Church that is still standing brought a fulfillment to me and I hope it does to many others. I for one had been past the Centenary Church many times in my life. I had no clue of the connection that it has with the Puryearville Cemetery nor the community around it. This is one more reason that those of us who dig daily to learn thrive because there are so many stories that will be forever lost if they are not shared in media for the generations to come.
Anybody can make a post on social media about Franklin, Al and immediately there will be dozens of others that will respond. Franklin, is a place that holds a lot of memories for a lot of people. In fact, it is amazing to me how many people from all walks of life are touched in some way by the quaint little village in North Monroe County Al. There are rich, poor, black, white, and other demographics of people that all hold fond memories of Franklin.
I was born in 1957 and from my youngest memories my father drove a truck for Franklin Gin Company, for Mr. Paul Hybart, and farmed. During the time of the year when the gin was not running, he hauled various other things beside those associated with the gin, Lumber from Vredenburgh Sawmill being one. When the gin was running, from the best of my recollection anyway, he was either hauling or at the gin helping with the running of the gin.
As a very little boy in the early 1960’s I can remember going to the gin and watching the gin work. I remember the wagons pulling in under the shed where there was this big pipe that would suction the cotton up out of the wagons. There were wagons that would be pulled by pickups to the gin. There were even some that was hauled in with mule drawn wagons also. How many and so forth I do not remember but I do remember them being there.
There would at times be a long line sitting there waiting. I remember that there were even pickup trucks that people would have side bodies on them, and they would be loaded with cotton as well. Many would be sitting in line waiting their turn to unload. I can remember us going to the gin at night even and there a line of trucks and wagons waiting. I do not know how late it ran.
One thing I remember distinctly was that many of the wagons and side bodies on the pickups had a board that stuck out the back that was securely fastened to the side. I remember being in the fields where people were picking cotton and they would use long heavy sacks. They would have this wooden board sticking out the back and it would be high enough off the ground that they would hang the scales on it and weigh the cotton as the people who picked cotton came in. The sacks were weighted, and records were kept in a ledger book. That is how the workers were paid. They were paid by the pound. I was too little to pick but I remember it like it was yesterday in many ways.
The workers would come in and weigh up at the end of the row and get water out of a keg that had a dipper that hung beside it. Then they would go on another row. It seems like in the fields I was with them picking that, the person weighing the cotton would move to the other end of the field. By doing that once the pickers had weighted their cotton they would not have to drag as much weight to make a round trip.
When the gin was running my father hauled cotton seed to Montgomery, I think I remember. As I stated earlier. When he was not hauling, he would be at the gin working. He was good at many skills and would be involved with the record keeping and taking samples of bales and so forth. Of course, when the seed house filled he would be hauling. On occasion I had the opportunity to watch the folks bring their cotton. Then the gin would suck it in. After that a bale would be made. Then the person would come up and get a ticket for the bale. I have seen men that could take two cotton hooks and back up to a bale and hook it and pick it up and walk off with it. A bale weighted 500 pounds. Quite a feat.
The bales were stored to the side. Then there was a black man named Tookie or something similar that would drive a big flatbed truck somewhere, Selma I think, and haul the bales.
Tookie only had one arm. I will never forget that. He could drive a truck and do about anything anybody else could do but had only one arm. My dad always said that the only thing Tookie could not do with his one arm that anybody else could was push a loaded wheelbarrow. I know that me being a small kid he always fascinated me.
When the seed house filled at the gin, my dad would load the truck he drove which was a B61 Mack with a trailer. On several occasions I have ridden with him in the truck. Although I did not get to go to Montgomery or wherever he was taking the load, I did on many occasions get to ride back to the house.
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Our house was six miles north of the gin right on the highway. As a little kid, I was in Hog Heaven riding in that truck with my dad. To this day I can be driving North on hwy 41 and when I start off the mountain North of Franklin I can still picture in my mind my dad. I can still see him driving that two stick Mack. I can still in my mind’s eye see that left arm down through the steering wheel on one shift lever and the right hand on the other one making that shift where both levers had to be shifted. I can still hear the sound of that old Mack engine. I can still smell the smell of diesel burning and everything associated with that ride. At times it is like I am still doing it 60 years later.
At the top of the hill going north out of Franklin I remember there was a house on the right. It was a lady named Minnie Bayles. I remember our family would visit them from time to time. She had a son named Charles that was about the age of my father and my uncle. They had a telephone. In fact theirs was the closest phone to our house. They would allow my family to use the phone if they needed to make a call. Their yard was always manicured from the best I can remember. Minnie Bayles loved flowers and my grandmother did too so they always had something to talk about and cuttings to share.
I also remember that right beside Minnie Bayles driveway there was what appeared to be a small store that had long since been closed. There was a man that lived there who was named Frank. He was, from what I remember being told, from Czechoslovakia, or some country in Europe. He spoke with a very strong accent of some kind anyway. I was always fascinated by him as well. As a child I have never experienced anybody that talked different from the local people.
I also remember going into Mr. John Rutherford’s Store. I will never forget that one either. So many things in that store. It seems like there was a ladder in there that ran on a track or something that could be pushed so that it was moved to be climbed to take stock off the shelves or put it back on.
I remember looking upstairs from the inside and seeing caskets sitting up there. That always amazed me that they had them. I never got to go up there and examine one up-close, but I always wanted to.
One other thing about that store was there was a drink box that always had water standing in it. That was when the canned drinks had to be opened with a can opener. My dad called it “a church key”. There were also some cans about that time that had a pull top but it was the one that the whole piece pulled out.
I remember one time going to Mr. Rutherford’s store with my Grandfather House who was a pulpwooder. He stopped by the house one afternoon and picked me up and took me to get a cold drink. He and Mr. John were sitting on the porch of the store. There was an air hose on the porch. I was playing with the air hose, and it started blowing air and I could not get it to stop. He and Mr. John laughed at me and rapped it on the edge of the porch, and it stopped.
I remember also down the road from the store was a man named Ellie Deer or something like that. I can in my minds eye as they say still see him in his old Chevy pickup coming by the house going to Camden to check on his cows.
There were many, many others that I remembered. I know that some of the fondest childhood memories I have hinge around Franklin and the surrounding area. It is still a special place for me to go through and bring back memories of my childhood.
As with countless others I have come in contact with over the decades I was blessed to have the experiences of being a child associated with Franklin, Alabama.
On a recent trip out in the areas on the West side of the Alabama River where the counties of Monroe, Wilcox, and Clarke all run together I went into an area that is almost like a no man’s land so to speak. The reason I say that is part of it belongs to Monroe County and is cut off by the river with no way to access it but, to come around through Clarke County, or go up and cross the river and come through Wilcox County. The areas of Clarke are remote and distant, and the areas in Wilcox are the same way.
On this trip I wound up in Lower Peach Tree. Basically, Lower Peach Tree is an intersection of Wilcox County roads 35 and 1, with a convenience store most noticeably on the corner. I approached from the West coming into the intersection. Turning left and traveling North for only a short distance I found an old white church standing tall and stately beside a cemetery.
This was yet one more historic old Methodist Church with a strong long history in the Southland. Upon closer examination I found a small sign on the side of the church sign stating that it was listed as one of the Blackbelt Treasures. There was a number to call to get a recording on the history of the church.
Below is MY INTERPETATION of what was given on that recording.
Peachtree Methodist Church and Cemetery.
The earliest church building was a log hewn building dating to their early 1820s. This was shortly after lower Peachtree was settled and Alabama became a state.
Around 1825 the Asbury Chapel or Church was built in the vicinity of Asbury Cemetery. Asbury Cemetery is now known by most as lower Peachtree Cemetery. Both the church and cemetery were named in honor of Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury.
In 1832 the Alabama conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church was formed. Preaching places within the bounds of the Mobile district included lower Peachtree.
The circuit preachers were John Laney and Gerald Whittington and the church continued in that circuit until 1846.
The church continued to be called Asbury Church by the local congregation. The first preacher appointed full time to the lower Peachtree circuit was Reverend Andrew J Hill in 1846.
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The new site for the Lower Peachtree Methodist Church South occurred in 1873. At this time the Northrup family donated the land on which the present church is located. Construction of the current building was completed in 1874. The church remained active through the 1900s. This was in spite of the terrible tornado that hit lower Peachtree in 1913. That tornado left 28 dead and many others injured and much of the buildings in town demolished. Most of the persons killed by the storm are buried in the lower Peachtree cemetery.
In February 1986 a meeting was held, the closing of the church was considered. The result of the meeting was continuous service on each 5th Sunday.
There were less than 20 members on role. After that it was stated that services usually have over 20 persons present counting active members and visitors. The annual homecoming is celebrated on the 4th Sunday in May.
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I am not sure of the date of that recording. I am not sure when or if they have any kind of service at this church anymore. From the unkept appearance it is no longer in use but that is just an assumption. At any rate it is in need of sprucing back up.
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As I stood and looked at this beautiful old building and the surrounding property, I could only imagine the good times that had been experienced there by those in generations past. I could imagine the folks in the beginning coming on horseback and on wagons. In later years in buggies and finer carriages possibly. Then in times after that cars coming with some horses and mules still tied to the side. Finally just cars and pickups.
I could picture in my mind young people laughing and running. I could picture diners on the ground with piles of food. Ha ha I could almost smell the fried chicken and I got hungry and had to leave.
It saddens me every time I see one of these old churches that sits empty and no appearance of every being rejuvenated. Sitting out in a very rural area with no viable population close by. As sad as it sounds it appears that this one will not last for another generation to enjoy.
Out this week rambling we went into Wilcox County, Alabama. We spent three nights at Miller’s Ferry Campground. Miller’s Ferry Campground is located on the Alabama River. It is on the East Bank off Highway 28. It is about 15 miles from downtown Camden.
This was my first time to stay at that campground in probably a decade of more. Miller’s Ferry Campground is a beautiful campground that boasts approximately 66 camp spots. It has numerous sites that are handicap accessible. There is a large bathhouse located in the campground. It also has a boat ramp located inside the campground.
Again, this is a beautiful campground. The hosts are friendly and things were quiet for the three nights we were there.
It is a Corp of Engineers campground and as with most of their campgrounds we run into the Corp of Engineers needs to have somebody come in and do some serious work on things like trimming limbs over the roads to keep from damaging the tops of campers and motorhomes. and so forth but overall, it is a gem.
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One of my passions is beautiful sunsets and this trip was definitely not a disappointer. The Sunsets all three evenings were stunning. As with so many beautiful things no two sunsets are identical. There is always something different about the shape of the clouds, or timing of the movement of the clouds, or a host of other different things that constitute a beautiful sunset.
We rode into Camden and toured the town. It was definitely a positive eye-opening experience for me. I have not been into Camden in years to actually look around and I was amazed at what I found. So many small towns throughout our beautiful land are nothing more than empty decaying places. Too often, I have found small towns like Camden that have rows of empty falling down buildings. Normally they are not usable and apparently are just forgotten relics of a by gone era. They in so many cases appear to never be usable again, and in all probability the cost of cleaning them up is too great for the owners. So those buildings just sit and rot.
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This definitely is not, the case with Camden. For me anyway it has a WOW factor to it. Yes there are some that could still use some touch up but even some of those look like they are in the process of having some renovation done to them. I give Camden a rating of 10 for the effort and town pride that seems to be happing there. Good job folks.
As I walked the pretty much empty streets on a Sunday afternoon, (I went on Sunday so I could photo some buildings without too many cars present) I started to reminisce.
When I was a little kid 55 to 60 years ago Camden was one of the primary towns we went to for groceries and supplies. I remembered going into the Barber Shop. A man called Mr. Caton ran it. It was one of the first Barber Shops I ever knew of that have vacuum cleaner hoses hooked to the clippers so that you did not have hair all over you when you got a haircut. My grandfather loved it for that reason.
Then there was the building where the Ratcliff Hardware used to be. I remembered going in there and seeing all of the interesting things that they had to offer.
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At the South end of the square where the Western Auto used to be, the entire end is now in use. A very wide selection of various things from furniture on is here. Beautiful clean and crowded but well kept. I saw the Old Mathews Hardware building. I remembered going in there as well. Seems like I vaguely remember some kind of elevator being in that building but I was to small to remember exactly what or how it worked. I was proud to see it filled to capacity with what appeared to be an incredible assortment of things to buy. Good job. I remembered two grocery stores there but could not place exactly where either one of them was. Apparently they were both gone and there is now a Piggly Wiggly out on the bypass. There are numerous other stores out on the bypass. Dollar Stores I saw, and a drug store or two and various other things. I mainly stayed in the downtown part though walking and looking and reminiscing. The old Jail has been refurbished. Looks so nice. The other various other buildings several of which had the placards on the front where you can call a number and listen to a recording talking about that particular place and the history of it.
We rode through various areas on the West Side of the river in Wilcox County. We did ride through communities that had businesses long gone. Catherine for instance is one. There we found some buildings that were long abandoned. There were other communities as well that have suffered because of people moving away, and economic losses, and various other things, that bring blight to our rural communities.
One neat community we went into was Gastonburg. It is located up on Highway 5. There is a display with numerous pieces of antique farm equipment sitting there that is neat to see. Seeing how I am fascinated by that sort of stuff I had to take a closer look there.
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There are also two beautiful old historic churches located there. Of course I had to check them out. I ran into an older gentleman there and we struck up a conversation. Lo and behold when we got to talking, I found out his brother had been married to my grandmother’s niece. Small world ain’t it? He had actually known one of my great uncles who I admired when I was small. That great uncle was a sawmill mechanic, and knife maker. I still have a knife that he made for me when I was about 14 years old. It is made from a saw blade with deer horn for the handle.
The two churches were the Presbyterian, and the Methodist, churches.
PresbyterianMethodistClick pictures to enlarge
We rode up to Gee’s Bend. We were hoping to catch the ferry back across into Camden from that side of the river. Sadly it was out of commission because of something having to be done to the ferry. We ran by the Gee’s Bend Ferry Terminal and took a look around. Sitting out beside the parking lot is the Old Ferry Boat that ran across the Alabama River at Haynes Island, or as the locals call it Davis’s Ferry, in Monroe County for many years. I had crossed that ferry many times when it was there.
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This ferry had been built by the State of Alabama back in the early 1960’s. It was built according to several sources at the landing and put into the water there. It was a cable ferry. It ran across the Alabama River there from Ellis’s Landing on the East side of the river to Gee’s Bend on the West Side of the river for several years.
When the Dam was constructed in the mid 1960’s the distance was too wide to run a cable ferry and it was discontinued. The ferry was then moved down to Holly’s Ferry in the vicinity of Pine Hill and was used there while construction of the paper mill was going on. When the Highway 10 bridge was completed, it was then moved down to Davis’s Ferry where it ran for many more years.
We had a great time visiting Wilcox County. It is a place rich in history and an integral part of our beautiful Southland that I definitely wish to ramble again in the not-too-distant future. I highly recommend you doing so as well.
I was recently traveling through the area where Monroe, Wilcox, and Clarke, counties join. This is a very remote area West of the Alabama River. 31.911855, -87.611717
I was able to see this beautiful old church standing beside the road. I was excited to see that it was listed as one of the Black Belt Treasures. Above I shared the tag that you can call the number and get the information on it from.
Upon closer examination I found it to be an old Methodist Church. As with so many of the old churches I see in my travels it had the trademark single doors one on each side. I mention it often when I comment on these old churches. This appears to be a very common way to date many of these old churches as mid to late 1800’s builds. Although not all inclusive it seems to be a common thread of many. It was not a particular of any one denomination.
On more than one occasion I have been told that the single doors one on each side were for a reason. The men and older boys would enter and sit on the right-hand side of the church through the right door. The women girls and small children would enter through the left door, and they would sit on the left side of the church. Walking through the grounds of this beautiful old church one could only wonder at the numbers of families that this church had served in the years it was in active service.
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Click picture to enlarge
Standing on the property it is like one can feel a sense of unity, joy and peace that it has brought to hundreds, if not thousands over the century that it has stood.
Liberty Methodist Church is located in Southwestern Wilcox County, Alabama. It is located on County Road 1 about three miles South of the community of Sunny South. You see it on your right as you head South towards Lower Peachtree.
Liberty Methodist was built in the mid 1800’s and was active through the mid 1900’s. At the time of this update, I have not heard a date that it closed for regular services. The church is now under private ownership.
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There is now an annual homecoming event held each year the first Sunday in October. The church stands adjoining to a well-kept cemetery that contains the graves of many of the early settlers of the area around where it stands.
This is yet one more reminder of a great beautiful old church that was in all probability the glue that held a community together until the numbers of people in the community dwindled until there was not enough left to keep the doors open.
Now I don’t know about you but I am one who wants to know everything that there is to know about anything that I am presented with that is of interest.
I like fire towers, historic churches, historic anything basically. I like railroads, trains, and about any kind of equipment you can name as well. It doesn’t matter if it is running, siting on display or just in a picture. I guess I am just made that way.
Recently I saw a picture of the coaling tower at Flomaton, Al. that a friend of mine tagged me in on social media. According to the post it was going to be torn down. My friend asked me if I had any drone shots of it.
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Click image to enlarge.
Oh, I forgot to say above I love drones also. I love to take photos with them and make videos with them and anything else that can be done with them.
Then he said they are going to tear it down next week. Now understand something. Up till that moment I did not even know that it existed. Also, I was not even certain what it was nor what it did. However, if it was something that big, and it stood at the railroad, I was interested.
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I immediately started researching. What I found out was that this was a large concrete bin so to speak that they put coal into, and a steam engine would come underneath it and stop. Then when the coal car that was used to carry the coal to power the locomotive was in the right position a gate underneath the big concrete thing would open and coal would pour out into the coal car.
Also, as I researched I found that the proper name for this concrete thing was a Coaling Tower. I also learned that that normally where one was there was a source of water to fill the water tanks on the steam engine. You know coal makes heat; water heated makes steam. Gotta have water for steam and gotta have coal to heat the water. Then I read somewhere that normally there was a way to put sand on a locomotive also. Sand is put on the tracks so the wheels will grip. I knew that from watching trains as a kid. So they did all three normally at that one place.
Upon further reading I found that normally one of these “Coaling Towers” would be placed in a train yard or area where they serviced engines.
Now I found out what it was and all I had left to find out was where it was, when it was.
This particular one was built in 1943. It was in the train yard at Flomaton, Alabama. Flomaton Alabama is a small town located on the Alabama, Florida line. In fact, as you pass over the bridge that goes over the railroad at the other end of the rail yard from the coaling tower you cross into Florida.
Now with all of that information and hearing that this one was about to come down, I had to go see it.
Driving up to it, for me anyway it was a sight to behold. I had never seen one of those. Big equipment, coal handling equipment, conveyors, and the like. I had seen this stuff, worked on this stuff, been there done that.
Two things about this thing though jumped out at me. First off it was over the railroad. Did I say I was fascinated with railroads? If I did, I will say it again. I am fascinated with anything associated with railroads. Secondly It had engraved on the cement up high the numbers 1943 and it had L&N engraved on it.
Now with that it had my full 100% attention. I had read much about the history of the L&N Railroad. I knew from my lifetime of living in Rural Southwest Alabama a lot about the L&N Railroad. I had on countless occasions witnessed the L&N Trains traveling the line from Flomaton to Selma back in the 1960’s and 70’s. I had actually been told one time that an old man I knew as a little kid worked on the construction of the L&N Tunnel at Tunnel Springs, Al.
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Click image to enlarge.
Any way when I saw this thing, I knew that I had to take some drone pictures of it. So I found a place to park my Jeep and got my drone out and sent it up. Flew it into various positions and shot some photos of it. Now I have those photos some of which I am sharing with you in this article. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.
If the information I have is correct, it is torn down now and there will never be any more photos taken of this beautiful old piece of American Railroad History. With that in mind I am thankful to have found out and get there before it was too late to take a few shots of it before it was gone. If that information is not true then you know about it now and you an go see it and take some pictures of it.
Recently my wife and I got up on a Saturday morning and after coffee, and breakfast, we decided to set out on another adventure. It was one of those days that we leave home with no destination in mind. Just a wherever the road takes you kind of day. Heading East we wound up in Conecuh County.
As we came around a curve in the road and looked up we saw this beautiful old church sitting there and immediately knew that we had to stop and take a photo or two and read the signs out front.
We were at Brooklyn Baptist Church. From the very first look it appeared to be a building of the mid 1800’s by the front doors one on each side. Somewhere in time it had been remodeled and those two doors sealed up and double doors installed in the middle of the front.
Common practice for churches built in the mid 1800’s were the two separate doors. In most of the ones I have heard it mentioned in the right door was where the men and boys entered, and they sat on the right side. The women, girls, and small children, normally entered through the left door and sat on the left side of the church.
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Click picture to enlarge
A spacious well-kept cemetery joined the church with on the right side facing the church while tables out back covered by an open shed sat behind the church holding the strong appearance and beauty of the mid 1800’s churches.
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Walking up to the front I saw a marker standing in front of the chruch.
As I walked up and started reading, I found a marker that stated a brief history of this beautiful church:
“Brooklyn Baptist Church was organized by Elder Alexander Travis in 1821 in a log building used as a school and house of worship in mid Brooklyn next to the Methodist Cemetery. Elder Travis served many years as preacher of Brooklyn Missionary Baptist Church.
Interesting note here: Alexander Travis was an uncle to William Travis who died at the Alamo, and also organized Bellville Baptist Church in 1821 and was pastor there also.
In 1860 Eli Hirchfeilder conveyed title to three acres of land up the hill adjoining Brooklyn Academy to the Trustees and Deacons of Missionary Baptist Church Congregation: Charles Floyd, Zachariah Williams, Charles W. Snowden, and Andrew J. Robinson.
On this land called Academy Hill he current church sanctuary was completed in October 1861. The Floyd Family gave the land for the cemetery to the church in 1862.
Brooklyn Baptist church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage Committee in 1983 and continues to provide a place where God’s word is proclaimed some 200 years later”.
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This incredibly beautiful mid 1800’s church sits today holding much of the original appearance but apparently remodeled to be comfortable in today’s modern times. This appears to be a church that will hold prominence for many years in the future.
This appears to be a church that has withstood the test of time and has blessed many generations of people of the community around where it stands.
It was truly a blessing to see and hopefully in the future see again. One can only imagine what other history this beautiful church and the generations of congregations who have attended hold.
If you have further information on this church you would like to share please comment in the comments section of this blog.
There are many old churches in South Alabama that I visit and have written about or I am researching to write about. Of all that there are out there though Reaves Chapel in Southern Wilcox County holds more prominence for me than any other I can name. It does so for several reasons. First off, my Father, Grandparents, Great Grandparents, and Great Great Grandparents, are all buried there. Not only them but numerous other people who have influenced or been a part of my life in some way.
From my earliest childhood I remember visiting the cemetery there and going through it with my Great Aunt who is also buried there. One of my greatest regrets I have in life right now is that I cannot remember the stories that she told me about the people that she knew that are buried there. Unfortunately, I was too young and there were too many to get.
As always, I am searching for information and history on things of old. Recently I was able to get my hands on some information on Reaves Chapel Church and Cemetery. There is a pamphlet compiled by a lady by the name of Florence Lambrecht Swanson that I was able to read some information from that she had compiled. I was immediately enthralled by this particular piece of information because as I was reading through it I saw two names that immediately jumped out at me. The name of Minnie Knight Jordan, and Will Knight. Minnie Jordan being my Great Aunt that I had stayed with as a preschooler, whom I had walked the cemetery with many times hearing the stories of the folks that were buried there. Will Knight was of course my grandfather. I had also heard many stories from him along the way over my lifetime.
One story that jumped out at me from this little publication was the story of the Mystery Grave. I had heard the story numerous times as a child. My great aunt and my grandfather had both walked me to the exact spots in the cemetery where the shoes had hung on the fence and the grave was. When I saw the story in her booklet I was totally enthralled because she was quoting my grandfather and credited him for telling the story. Below I will share the story word from word from her booklet and the illustration used in her booklet:
Taken from the Booklet on Reaves Chapel by Florence Lambrecht Swanson
Reaves Chapel Mystery, or Ghost Grave
Grave 1, Section A (not marked)
Each cemetery has its mystery or ghost grave, and Reaves Chapel is no exception. The following story was told by W.J. “Bill” Knight who was a student of Reaves Chapel School when the event took place in about 1917-1918. According to Bill:
“We left school at the end of classes one afternoon, and all was quiet and peaceful on Reaves Chapel Hill. It was a dreary Fall afternoon, with a slow misty rain falling and a heavy fog hanging low over the hill and surrounding hollows.
The next morning, in the playing about the school yard and cemetery area as usual before the bell, we discovered a new grave. In the far-left corner of the cemetery where none had been the afternoon before. The red clay soil was carefully mounded over the grave and hanging on the fence at the head of the grave was a pair of mud-spattered, cracked brogan shoes with run down heels tied together by the laces. We ran to the teacher in great excitement, all talking at once about what we had found. Not much schoolwork was done that day.
This discovery caused great concern and much speculation in the community, and several opinions were expressed concerning the grave. One was that the grave could contain the body of a member of an outlaw gang which was reported to have passed through the community sometime that same period. Another was that a convict had been killed, whether by fair or foul means it was not said, as the sawmill camp located nearby which used white convict labor and buried there during the night.
To this date, no one knows “Who’s There.”
More history in her booklet is as follows as closely word for word as I can decipher and type it. Again I give all credit to Florence Lambrecht Swanson who researched and wrote the publication.
The History of Reaves Chapel Church and Cemetery
Reaves(Reeves) Chapel Church and Cemetery are located approximately 15 miles southeast of Camden, Alabama on Reaves Chapel Road, new Wilcox County Road No. 16 on 2.41 acres of land in the NE ¼ of NE ¼ of Section 2 Township 10, Range 7E. This land was included in the U.S. Patent Certificate No. 40,863 received by James L. Reeves (Reaves) on December 1, 1852.
The first documentary evidence of Reaves Chapel Church and Cemetery is the land deed executed Feb 19, 1901 by Jesse Thomas and Elizabeth F. Reaves transferring the property “known as Reaves Chapel Church and Graveyard” to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, through trustees R. A. Smith, J.W. Boroughs, A. Holloman, and E.S. Farish Jr. Jesse Thomas and John W. Reaves were sons of James L. Reaves.
James L. Reaves, a pioneer settler of the community was born in Kentucky in 1800 and came to the area while it was still part of the Mississippi Territory. He married Sarah S. Vinson, daughter of John W Vinson (Vincent) in Monroe County December 25, 1833. His first homestead was on 40.27 ½ acres of land in Wilcox County in the NE ¼ of the SE ¼ of Section 1, Township 10, Range 7, which he received August 1, 1837 under U.S. Land Patent No. 25,703. He sold this area to Joshua Peavy, Methodist Minister, on October 20, 1841 for $350.00 (Wilcox County Land Records, Book G, page 195), and built his home in Section 35 where part of the log and frame house still stands. The “Location Map,” page 1, shows the location of this home site, of Reaves Chapel Church and Cemetery, and the “Original Reeves-Farish-Mallard) Cemetery.”
The exact date that the Reaves Chapel Church was established is in question. The property was deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1901. The phrase in the deed, “known as Reaves Chapel Church and Graveyard,” seems to indicate that it was already in use as a house of worship before 1901. Also, the certification affixed to the deed, “this is to certify that we release all claims we hold against the lands ‘known as the Reaves Chapel Church and Graveyard land’ this February 19, 1901,” and signed by T.B. Farish & Company, has the same meaning.
It is thought that the 1901, date of the first deed, is the date Reaves Chapel affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Reaves Chapel either operated as an independent church before 1901. Or under one of the several different Methodist Conferences in Alabama during the 1800’s. Dr. M.E. Lazenby, in his “History of Methodism in Alabama and West Florida, page 163 gives an interesting account of Methodist Protestant Church, which eventually joined with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to form the Methodist Church.
It is believed and supported by facts listed below that the Reaves (Reeves) Chapel church was founded around 1859-1869 and is in use as a house of worship by the mid 1870’s. Information given by a former member, 1870’s as the date of the first burial in an unmarked grave, 1872, 1874, and the baptismal date of a former member all support the fact that it was in use before 1901.
Mrs. Samuel Ross (Harriett Issie Reaves) Thompson, Jr age 93 years at the time she gave the information in 1977, a former member whose family were members or Reaves Chapel since its beginning, related that her father Willian McDaniel Reaves, was born November 15, 1844.
She said, “Papa often told me that when he was about 15 years old, in about 1859-1860, he accompanied his father, James L. Reeves, and several neighbors about the community to collect funds to build the church which had been planned. Some interested parties gave money, others pledged materials for the building, and others offered their help in the construction. Building of the church was a slow process as the men only worked on the building when they were not busy with their crops, and more than one trip around the neighborhood for funds was necessary before it was completed and ready for use.
“He said,” she continued , “that the original church was constructed of logs, cut by the men, and finished with wide plank flooring, ceiling and walls. It as used as a church and school until it was destroyed by fire sometime during the period 1890-1895. It was replaced by the present white frame church which was built in about 1896-1900.”
Reeves Chapel Church
The present church was built with two front entrances with steps leading to each. As was customary in many of he early churches, the men and boys entered the church through the right doorway and sat on the right side, and the ladies, girls, and very small children entered through the left doorway and sat in benches on the left side of the church, “ she added.
This beautiful old church still sits in the same location that it has for so many years. Meeting once a year family of those buried here and those wanting to learn of this rich history join to have a meal and meet concerning the business needed to keep the memorial going. Hopefully this beautiful place can continue to be maintained far into the decades and possibly even centuries to come.
If you have ties or other additions to this article please comment in the comments section.
History is a boundless thing in the Southlands of the United States. At every turn in the road there is something historical and beautiful to look at. Being a native of Monroe County Alabama and a wanderer I am always confronted with something to see and investigate and learn more about.
Although I have lived here all my life there are so many things that I have seen countless times and yet I still know so little about. I am sure that this is true for so many people as they go about their daily lives.
Recently I was out exploring and taking photos because that is what I do and I rode in to Vredenburgh, Alabama.
For those that do not know Vredenburgh is in the very Northern most part of Monroe County. It was a sawmill town in the early 1900’s that employed many people. There were streets lined with houses that were company houses that the employees lived in with their families and at one time was a modern town for its time.
The object of my search on this trip was the Vredenburgh Baptist Church. It is located on the Eastern part of town right off the main drag.
Upon taking a few photos and leaving I did what I always do and went home, sorted through the bounty of pictures I had taken that day. I then shared some to the various sites on social media and uploaded a few to my web site where I load pictures for all of the churches I photograph. Discussion is aways interesting on the photos. Being this one is a very historical one immediately conversation got to getting more info on it. Reason being that is what I do. Pastor Dorsey McDonald said “Hey, I can get you some history on this one.” So here it is.
According to history given to me by members of the church on a document written by Margret McIntosh.
Quoting as follows:
The History of Vredenburgh Baptist Church
1912-2012
The history of Vredenburgh Baptist Church cannot be told without telling the beginning of the town of Vredenburgh.
Peter Vredenburgh Jr owned a sawmill in Pine Hill, Alabama. This mil had a limited number of resources, so he started to scout around for more timberland. He found large tracts in Monroe and Wilcox counties that could be purchased for a very good price. He purchased approximately 80,000 acres and built a sawmill in a place he called Vredenburgh. Construction on the mill was begin in 1910 and completed in 1912. At that time houses were built, along with a large commissary, doctors office, and two churches. The Vredenburgh Baptist Church was one of those churches.
The Vredenburgh Family donated pew furniture and had pews made for each church. Mrs. Peter Vredenburgh Jr. bought a baby grand piano for what is not the Vredenburgh Baptist Church. The piano is still used. In 1969 it was refinished by J.Y, McIntosh Jr., and Barney Crouch.
At the time the church was built it was used by Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Assembly of God members. There was a Union Sunday School using David C. Cook Publishing Company Literature. This literature was used till the church was reorganized in 1966.
The church building was used for a school until a building could be built across the street. The right and left wings were added to the building several years after the original building was built.
At a meting held March 17, 1912, presided over by Rev. G. N. Kimbrough, Vredenburgh Baptist Church was organized.
The minutes of that meeting read, That the Baptist People of Vredenburgh did then and there organize a Baptist Church termed the First Baptist Church of Vredenburgh.
There were twelve charter members:
Mr./Mrs. O.L. Landrum Mr./Mrs. C.C. Curry
Mr./Mrs. J.T. Stevens Mr./Mrs. T.J. Maroney
Mrs. S.L. Hall Mrs. J.B. Trawick
Dr. L.W. Chapman Mr. M.P. Bettis
The church elected O.L. Landrum and J.T. Stevens to serve as deacons. Dr. L.W. Chapman was named Treasurer and M.P. Bettis , Church Clerk.
The minutes of this first meeting further stated that Rev. G.N. Kimbrough was elected as pastor for a salary of $250.00 annually for two services per month conducted on the third Sunday of the month. The offerings taken at each service would be used to pay Rev. Kimbrough his salary and expenses when in Vredenburgh.
The minutes recorded August 18,1912 state that preparation for membership in the Pine Barren Association was the purpose of the meeting was the purpose of the meeting. Membership was granted when the Pine Barren Association’s annual meeting was held in Beatrice September 4, 1912.
The conference held December 15, 1912, established the serving of the Lord’s supper semi-annually in January an July. The meeting time was changed by request of Rev. Kimbrough to the first Sunday instead of the third Sunday that was established in the church organization.
The first “protracted meeting” was held October 26, through November 3, 1913. Four professions of faith were recorded. Baptismal services were performed at Concord Baptist Church in Buena Vista, Al.
On June 30, 1954, the Vredenburgh Family sold their holdings to International Paper Company Hollingsworth-Whitney (Scott Paper Company), and a group of investors who called themselves “The Wilmon Group.” In 1963 these corporations divided the properties and Wilmon Timberlands remains in Vredenburgh today.
In 1959 under the leadership of Rev. Robert E. (Mac) McCullough, the church went to a full time Baptist church. The other denominations had discontinued their services.
During the pastorate of Rev. Frank Schmidt (1960-1962) the church was given a house for the pastorium and the school building across the street. The school building was used for Sunday School rooms, fellowship, and youth activities.
The Saturday before Easter 1962 was a tragic one for Vredenburgh. The sawmill, operated by E.L. Bruce Cp. of Memphis, TN, burned and the owners would not replace it. The town was almost emptied as people moved away to find jobs. Frank Schmidt was pastor of the church. He left during the summer to go to another church.
Ben Jones of Columbus, GA rebuilt the sawmill and began operation in January ,1965. Several of the former residents moved back.
Sunday School continued under the leadership of Henry McIntosh. In 1966 Members of the church met in the home of Mr./Mrs. Clearance Fuller to discuss the possibility of renewing the worship service. It was voted to find a pastor for full-time services. The minutes of the church state that the church voted to call Gerald W. Kline as pastor. The vote was unanimous.
In 1968, Albert Huckaby became the pastor. He was there until 1971. He led the church to do many thigs and the congregation grew.
During 1969, Bathrooms were installed in the front halls, and pews were donated by individual families were added to the sanctuary. An extension was built on the back of the church to house five Sunday School rooms and a pastor’s study. Mr. Ben Jones donated the lumber and labor for this construction.
Also, during this hear the first Homecoming was set for March 16. Dinner was scheduled to be served outside, but rain prohibited this. Center pews were removed from the sanctuary and a table was set up on workhorses that extended from the church entrance to the altar. A record crowd of over 100 enjoyed this fellowship. The four-foot-wide table was filled to capacity with wonderful food brought by those attending.
The partition between the two rooms in the right wing of the church was removed and a fellowship hall was made. This took place in 1970.
New pulpit furniture and Remembrance Table were purchased in 1971.
The left wing of the church contains a library, storage closets, and a nursery.
Ben Jones (Longleaf Industries, Inc) sold the mill to Bendix Corporation in February 1976. He deeded the church property and the parsonage to Vredenburgh Baptist Church and dedication of this deed was held March 7, 1976. Rev. L. R. Brown was pastor. Dr. Billy Nutt came from the Alabama Baptist Convention to assist in this event.
Central air conditioning was installed in the educational wing in 1976. Central heat and air were installed in the sanctuary and fellowship hall in 1990, and heat strips were added in the system in the education wing.
The minutes recorded on January 10, 1982, state that the Lord’s Supper is to be served every fifth Sunday. This is still the practice of Vredenburgh Baptist Church.
On October 12, 1952, the church granted a license to preach to Cleveland Stabler. He is the pastor of Awin Baptist Church.
There were several periods in which no minute were recorded. It is assumed that business meetings were not always part of the church.
The church finances have been good and the minutes record a never ending generosity in the use of the abundance the Lord has provided.
Rev. Walter E. Sheffield has served as pastor since September 1983. He has turned in his resignation effective October 3, 1999. The church membership and activities have all been increased during his tenure as pastor.
Vredenburgh Baptist Church is still very active with 37 resident members. Sunday School, Discipleship Training, WMU, and Wednesday night prayer meeting are the services offered. There is a nursery provided for all services. Bible School has been very successful. ON fifth Sunday night a fellowship is enjoyed. Homecoming is an annual event on the last Sunday in September.
Addendum
There have been changes in the church since 1999. Three pastors have served. Randy Davis, Mitchell Murphy, and Gus Jones. Paul Kirchharr is now serving as interim.
In March 2006, a down draft wind destroyed the fellowship wing. Earnest Halbrook , George Pugh, Sam Bender, and Joanne M. McGraw were elected to the building committee. Work began in May to rebuild and was finished enough that Homecoming in September 2006 was held in it. Work was completed in October. This has been a real blessing to the church.
This year marks the 100th year for Vredenburgh Baptist Church. The only services are Sunday School and morning worship. We presently have 4 classes. We have an active WMU that meets once a month. Every Sumer we have Bible School.
Thanks to all who were involved in getting this document to me to share on this site. May God bless Vredenburgh Baptist to be as productive the next hundred years as the last one has been.
To all that read this post I hope you enjoyed learning about this beautiful old church that has withstood the test of time.
Located in the Red Hills of Northern Monroe County Al
Located in the Red Hills of Northern Monroe County Alabama, beside a remote red dirt road sits a crumbling old church. It has been a curiosity for many people for many years.
No one seems to be able to find out anything about this church. Many have asked on social media forums and other places. However for some reason nobody seems to have had any information on it. Nobody even seemed to know the proper name of it.
It has been dubbed names like Old Red Hills Church because it is in the Old Red Hills. Other places it has been called Locke Hill church because of the famous Locke Hill that is in the area of the old church. I am sure that there are other names attributed to it by various other people as well.This old church has been the subject of many photographs over the years of wanders who saw it and were enthralled with it. It is just sitting there.
Wooden Floors
Pastor’s Study
Being from Monroe County and a natural wander I have passed it many times over the years and I have asked many times if anybody knew anything about it. Always I came up with nothing.
In May of 2020 I shot a drone video of it and it drew attention from several people who started to aske more questions. Shortly afterwards I learned from a relative at Beatrice, Al. that there was a guy that came in his place of business that had actually attended church there.
Covid hit. Everything was locked down. Nobody was visiting. I put it all on a back burner and started pursuing other interests.
Two years later I finally got back on track on this old church and was able to find the guy who knew.
The following is the information he was able to share with me. The Proper name for the church to start with is Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. The man’s name is Irving Long. Irving agreed to meet me at the old church and share with me memories of this old and for most of civilization forgotten church.
He said that originally the congregation had a church over beside the Red Hills Cemetery. This was long before he was born. The original church burned and the congregation moved over to the present location and built the existing church.
He said he was not totally sure of dates and records had been lost over the years but in September 1927 there was an incident where the Sherriff came to arrest a man and they got into a fight. There was another man at the church that tried to break the fight up and the Sheriff shot him and he died as a result of the gun shot. The man shot was named Will Riley. His wife’s name was Fannie. He went on to say that Will’s wife sewed the hole in Will’s shirt up with a needle and thread and they buried him in the same shirt.
Ladies Restroom
Inside from behind pulpit
He showed me the out house that still stands on the right hand side and laughed and said that was the ladies restroom. The men’s was on the other side.
He motioned over to the other side and said that one time there was another building there that served as a school and also a Masonic Lodge.
As we stood and talked he told me many things that resonated with me giving me a feeling of how it was back in the day.
He said that his father had told him that back in the hey days of the church that there was a community there as large as the town of Beatrice.
Pilgrim Rest at Church Time
One thing he shared was that for many years there was a revival there starting the 4th Sunday in September of every year. He went on to say that the crowds would be incredibly huge for the size of the building. People would come from all over and many from out of town that had moved away would return. There would even be folks that had moved up north to places like Chicago that would come back.
He laughed and said that his grand gather always called the place “The Holy Ghost Headquarters”.
We walked around to the back of the church and went in through a side door. As we walked in Irving shared that the back room we were in was where they always had food on that 4th Sunday. He said the food would be incredible. The women would stay at times up all night that Saturday night preparing food for the Sunday meal. There were long tables around the walls and then across the back outside there are still posts against the building that held another long table where people ate.
Fellowship hall where people ate.
Inside facing pulpit
There was a very small room on the side right behind the pulpit that was the pastor’s study.
Over to the side of the wall is nails in the wall that the men would hang their coats and hats on.
Standing on the platform where the pulpit facing the back Irving said the men sat on the right and the women sat on the left.
Then as we walked across the wooden floor. My guide stopped and smiled again. He said this old floor was incredible. Never heard anything like it in my life. All of the people would be singing and they would be tapping on the floor with their feet and the sound would be in time with the music.
As we went back outside and stood and I listed as he shared he told of how hard it was to have a church out there in the middle of nowhere in the latter days. Vandals and thieves were incredible. It got to a point that they could not keep anything. The stole the heaters out of the church and even the propane tank. He said that it got so bad that they had to take the heaters home after church and bring them back early the next time they were to have church early the morning of the service to keep them from being stolen. He did say that for some reason nobody ever took the bell. It was in one of the towers on the front of the church for many years. Now it has been taken out and placed in a safe undisclosed location.
Irving Long Standing in front
Inside auditorium.
The church used Flat Creek to do baptisms, and burials were in the cemetery at Red Hills Cemetery.
Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church held services till sometime in the early 1990’s.
During the 1970’s and 80’s the congregation got down to the point that that there would be 18 to 20 people in attendance and then it dwindled to nothing and they closed the doors.
The last pastor to preach at Pilgrim Rest was Rev. Jessie Andrews.
Some of the long time members were Woodrow Nettles, Amos Nobles, Charlie Johnson, Ollie Nettles, and Lorenzo Nettles.
As for the future. Irving says that slowly but surely he is cleaning up there and hopes to one day have something back on the property once again. Possibly a shed or something for people to gather from time to time and use the property for future generations.
I would like to personally thank Irving one more time for taking his time to meet me out in those woods and share with me about this grand old place that has been the focus of wonder for so many years by so many people.
The Old Scotland Presbyterian Church was built in 1837 according to the National Historic Registry.
The community of Old Scotland in Monroe County was settled by families from Georgia and the Carolinas among other areas, many of whose families were immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. Historians say that the Old Scotland community got its name because of the area’s close resemblance to the native country of those that settled there.
The Old Scotland Presbyterian Church was originally made of logs. That structure was replaced in 1837 by the wooden frame building is now standing.
As early as the 1920s, most of the residents had moved to Franklin, Monroeville, and other communities in the local area. Because of this fact the church to discontinued regular services.
At the time of this writing the 200th anniversary service will be held April 23, 2023.
The church’s cemetery has graves of several Civil War soldiers. This church is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
The church is located approximately 2.25 miles from County Rd 42 (Ridge Road) not far from the community of Tunnel Springs Alabama. Coordinates 31.66772, -87.27354
The cemetery holds the graves of those with the last names of Mcmillan, Davison, Dennis, Dunn, English, Falkenberry, Fountain, Jackson, McCorvey, Nettles, Rumbley, Simmons, Smith, Stevens, and Wiggins.
A decaying reminder of the remnants of one of the last standing Alabama Black Church/ Schools in Monroe County Al. There were at one time three of these School/Churches located in North Monroe County Al. This one, One North of Vredenburgh which could have actually been in the very Southern edge of Wilcox County and one North of Buena vista on th road from Buena Vista to Chestnut. At the beginning of the School year 1966 a New Church/School was built on the South Side of Vredenburgh, Al and all three were combined into one school there.
I do not know the source of this photo. It appears to be taken in the 1940’s.
