Alabama Historical Association Markers, 2019

Abstract

Alabama Historical Association Markers, 2019 Scotty E. Kirkland (bio) From 1961 to 2003, thealabama review routinely published the texts of historical markers placed by the Association at sites of interest and significance across the state. Beginning in 2009, publication moved to the Association’s biannual newsletter. During the past two years, the number of new markers proved too lengthy for the newsletter, thanks in part to an increased interest in marking historic sites during the commemoration of Alabama’s bicentennial. The texts of the markers placed by the Association in 2019 are included below. CHILTON COUNTY CHILTON COUNTY HISTORY Established by the Alabama Legislature on December 30, 1868, from land obtained from Autauga, Bibb, Perry, and Shelby counties. Originally designated Baker County for Alfred Baker, postmaster, justice of the peace, state legislator, and founder of the city of Clanton. First county seat was Grantville, named for President Ulysses S. Grant, located one mile northeast of present courthouse site. Following a public referendum held in April 1871, the county seat [End Page 149] relocated to Clanton along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. A two-story wood-frame courthouse, constructed at the intersection of Second Avenue North and Sixth Street, served as the new seat of county government. In response to a petition by residents, the name of the county was changed on December 17, 1874, to honor former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court William Parish Chilton. An all-brick courthouse was constructed in 1896 but was damaged by fire in 1918. Rebuilt in 1919, the building served the people of the county until February 1962 when a new courthouse facility was dedicated. Known as the “Peach Capital of Alabama,” local orchards produce more than two-thirds of the total yield of Alabama’s leading commercial fruit. In celebration of this agricultural export, the inaugural Chilton County Peach Festival was held in July 1947 at the Thorsby Institute. Organizers had a prize-winning basket of Hale Haven peaches delivered to President Harry Truman in Washington, D.C. The Coosa River on the eastern border of the county became the site of the first Alabama Power Company hydro-electric project in the state. Completed in 1914, Lay Dam was constructed on the Army Corps of Engineers Lock 12 site and named for William Patrick Lay, founder of the Alabama Power Company. Mitchell Dam, erected at Dunkin’s Riffle and completed in 1923, is named for former Alabama Power Company President James Mitchell. The establishment of rail systems, the Dixie Bee-Line Highway, and the interstate highway system significantly affected the growth and development of communities within the county. [500 2nd Avenue North, Clanton] EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH On July 31, 1819, Ebenezer Baptist Church was constituted by Isaac Suttle, Lewis C. Davis (“Old Club Axe”), and William Harrod. The first house of worship was a large log house located one mile south of this site, near Bogle’s Creek. After fire destroyed the log [End Page 150] structure, a second building was constructed here on this site in the 1830s, on the hill where the pastorium now stands. On April 1, 1865, this property dedicated to God became a Civil War battleground. Known as the “Battle of Ebenezer Church,” the brief but fierce engagement pitted more than 1,500 Confederate cavalrymen under the command of Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest against a larger Union force led by Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson, en route to Selma. Forrest was wounded during the fighting here. Union forces captured 300 Confederates and seized three artillery pieces. The Union dead from the battle were buried in the church cemetery on the hill. The following day, Wilson’s forces captured and destroyed the Selma Ordinance and Naval Foundry, one of the Confederacy’s last remaining industrial and manufacturing centers. The Civil War-era church burned in 1917. A new edifice was built around 1919. Dedicated on the occasion of the church’s 200th anniversary. [5349 AL-22, Stanton] COLBERT COUNTY FIRST SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH Near the turn of the twentieth century, residents of Houston Crossroads became concerned that their community had no church or school. In 1895, John Schluttenhofer deeded an acre of...