Historic Calhoun County Preview

Calhoun County Historical Tour

LISTEN AS YOU TRAVELWhile you are traveling through Calhoun County, our audio tour will provide commentary on the historical highlights just as you arrive at each site. These include local legends, historical sites, buildings and markers. You will need to make sure that your Auto Lock settings on your device are set to "Never" turn off. This can be done in Settings, Display & Brightness, Auto-Lock.COMMUNITY As you drive, we will tell you about the history of each community that you come upon.DIFFERENT HISTORICAL TIMELINESWe will tell you about the Creek Indians and Andrew Jackson all the way up to the Civil Rights Era and the Freedom Riders. You will learn about Calhoun County men who fought and died during the Civil War, WW I, WW II, all the way up to the Vietnam War.FAMOUS PEOPLEDid you know that Ty Cobb lived in Calhoun County as a teen ager? Did you know that Andrew Jackson adopted a Creek Indian child after the Battle of Tallasseehatchee?CHURCHESYou will learn about the role that our local churches played in the history of Calhoun County.

Archaic

The Archaic period covers a vast expanse of time (8,250 years). Many changes occurred during the Archaic period. For example, the climate and vegetation that Early Archaic people saw was much different than the climate and vegetation that Late Archaic people experienced. The population in the Choccolocco Valley grew during this time. Although people still moved about the landscape, movement was more restricted than during the Paleoindian period and groups moved seasonally within familiar territorial limits. New technologies such as the cooking containers below were introduced.

Anniston Museums and Gardens

Anniston Museums and Gardens (AM&G) transforms lives through history and nature. We have something for everyone! Home to the Anniston Museum of Natural History, Berman Museum, and Longleaf Botanical Gardens, a wide array of worldly artifacts and wild creatures awaits. Visiting AM&G allows you to Explore Your World without needing a passport!Upon arrival, take a walk around the grounds, for the gardens are all around you. With native plants, tropical palms, and fruitful trees, you’ll soon forget you’re just three miles from Downtown Anniston. AM&G resides on 125 acres nestled among our Treasure Forest, perfect for native wildlife to flourish. At the Anniston Museum of Natural History, come face-to-face with prehistoric predators, go spelunking in a replica Alabama cave, stroll the African savanna, and visit Ptolemaic-era mummies. The Berman Museum invites you to take a walk through history, honor our veterans, admire the arts of Asia, and discover the danger of espionage. Discover your green thumb at the Longleaf Botanical Gardens and become one with nature as you test your senses in the Rotary Sensory Garden, relax by the Tropical Cascading Garden, and trek the Longleaf Nature Trail.

Better Understandings, New Friendships

In 2007, the City of Oxford began planning what is today known as Choccolocco Park. Discoveries at the site identified the presence of the humans inhabiting this land as early as 10,000 years ago. Oxford undertook an archaeological investigation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Alabama Historical Commission, and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, whose ancestors once lived here. As those consultations and conversations unfolded, Oxford's appreciation for its shared history with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation grew more profound. This led to Oxford's decision to develop the interpretive trail you are enjoying today. The City and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's shared hope is that the park's visitors will likewise come to appreciate the many people who once called this valley home.

Choccolocco Creek Archaeological Complex

Centered around Boiling Spring, the Choccolocco Creek Archaeological Complex once consisted of at least three earthen mounds, a large stone mound, and a large snake effigy (representation) also made of stone. The largest earthen mound once stood high above the Choccolocco Creek floodplain. The earliest mound construction began during the Middle Woodland period (ca. 100 BC to AD 250) when the site became a regionally important ritual center associated with peoples from the Gulf Coast to the Tennessee Valley. Mound construction appears to have resumed around AD 1100 when the inhabitants of this area were closely connected with the people of the Etowah site near Cartersville, Georgia.Prior to the 1830s, this site was the location of the ceremonial ground of the Abihkas, one of the most ancient tribal towns within the modern Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Ethnographic research conducted by the Smithsonian Institution indicates that the stone constructions are associated with oral histories that tell of a town "lost in the water." The large stone mound is thought to be the result of "burden" stones carried by the Abihka in remembrance of those lost in a great flood.This site is very important to numerous Southeastern indigenous tribes who assert an ancestral connection with those who built and occupied Alabama's ancient mounds. The earthwork landscapes and the objects and information recovered from them reveal a rich cultural tradition that still thrives today among these tribes. Our indigenous mound sites represent a heritage for all Alabamians to cherish, and it is important that we protect and preserve them for future generations.How do you celebrate your ancestors?

Mississippian Agriculture AD 1000 to AD 1625

The Mississippian inhabitants of Choccolocco were skilled agriculturalists who grew corn, squash and beans in addition to the many wild plants that they harvested. Archaeologists working here have found the remains of many of these plants in the pits that the Mississippian people used to discard waste materials. Hickory and chestnuts were also important staples in the Mississippian diet. The inhabitants hunted a variety of wild game as well and evidence of their skill in fishing can be seen in the bone fish hooks that were recovered here by archaeologists.

Mississippi Earthen Mounds AD 1000 to AD 1625

During the Mississippi period earthen mound construction resumed at Choccolocco. Mound building was a community effort and these earthen constructions served as the center of community life for large towns like the one depicted at right. This scene would have been very similar to the view from the top of the mound looking to the south. The earthen mound here was largely destroyed in the 1950s by the previous land owner and has been reconstructed based on information obtained by archaeologists. The archaeologists used ground-penetrating radar and a tool called a flux-gate gradiometer that detects subtle variations in earth's magnetic field in order to look into the subsurface to "see" what remained of the mound and how it was oriented. This was followed by excavations that produced cross-sections of the different soil layers that remained from the original mound construction.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation AD 1730 to AD 1832

During the Mississippi period earthen mound construction resumed at Choccolocco. Mound building was a community effort and these earthen constructions served as the center of community life for large towns like the one depicted at right. This scene would have been very similar to the view from the top of the mound looking to the south. The earthen mound here was largely destroyed in the 1950s by the previous land owner and has been reconstructed based on information obtained by archaeologists. The archaeologists used ground-penetrating radar and a tool called a flux-gate gradiometer that detects subtle variations in earth's magnetic field in order to look into the subsurface to "see" what remained of the mound and how it was oriented. This was followed by excavations that produced cross-sections of the different soil layers that remained from the original mound construction.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation Arbeka (Abihka) Ceremonial Ground

Welcome! We are the Arbeka (Abihka). This is the ceremonial ground of our ancestors who once called this valley their home. When the Arbeka (Abihka) were forced to remove to Oklahoma they carried the sacred fire from this place to their new home. This place is known to us from the stories handed down through the ages by our ancient ones. Although the sacred fire no longer burns at this ceremonial ground, the spirits of our ancestors rest here. The voices of the ancient ones can still be heard in the name of this place and other places in this valley that are still called by the names our ancestors gave them.We hope you enjoy the beauty of this powerful place as our ancestors did and that you will carry the memory of it with of it with you as the Arbeka (Abihka) have for so many years.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation "Little Brother of War"

The ancestral traditions of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation are still practiced today. Among these is a game called “Little Brother of War" or "stickball”. The game is used to settle disagreements, to toughen warriors and sometimes for recreation. Traditionally, these games could last several days with as many as 1,000 warriors participating in the match. The modern-day game of lacrosse is similar; however, the “Little Brother of War” originated in the Southeast during ancient times. The object of the game is to throw a ball between two goal posts at either end of the field. Players may not touch the ball with their hands but must use "sticks” crafted of wood and leather. Rules are decided on before the match and players must undergo a purification ritual before the game is played.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation Today

Today, the people who once inhabited this region of Alabama are recognized by the federal government as belonging to several tribes: the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Kialegee Tribal Town, and Thlopthlocco Tribal Town of Oklahoma; the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; and the Poarch Band of Creeks in Alabama. Among the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's 80,000 enrolled citizens today, one can find the descendants of the people who once called the Choccolocco Valley home. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is headquartered in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, and is the fourth largest tribe in the United States. Led by an elected Principal Chief and a National Council, the tribe operates a nearly $300 million budget, employs over 4,000 people, and provides vital services to its citizens such as health care, housing, education, and social services. It also provides a political and administrative voice to the various ceremonial grounds, ancestral towns, and peoples, such as the Arbeka (Abihka), within the federally recognized tribe.

Paleoindian 12,750 BC to 9,500 BC

The people living during the Paleoindian period experienced a world very different from that we know today. These people lived during the last ice age when large mammals still roamed North America. Archaeologists sometimes refer to these people as the “Clovis Culture” after the distinctive fluted spear points they crafted. No Clovis Culture remains have yet been found in the Choccolocco Valley, although they are often found to the northwest and southeast.

Reconstructing the Cultural Landscape

The stone mound here once sat on nearby Signal Mountain and is now understood to be part of a much larger cultural landscape. Working with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the people of the Arbeka (Abihka) Ceremonial Ground, archaeologist Robert E. Perry has linked the Signal Mountain Stone Mound and the Skeleton Mountain Stone Snake Effigy with oral histories of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and historical accounts of early French and American explorers that tell the story of a town lost in water.Within this interpretation, the Skeleton Mountain Stone Snake Effigy is a physical representation of the “Water Tiger” found in Muskogean histories. The Signal Mountain Stone Mound represents “burden” stones carried by the Arbeka (Abihka) people in remembrance of those who were lost in a great flood. As illustrated to the right, water falling on the “Water Tiger” drains directly to the Choccolocco (Ceremonial Ground) of the Arbeka (Abihka) people. Archaeological investigations at the ceremonial ground have documented that its prehistoric residents experienced several significant flood events and periodically witnessed sinkholes that opened up in the valley floor at this location.

"Shattering" of the Mississippian World

The arrival of European explorers and colonists in North America disrupted the Mississippian world in ways that researchers are still working to understand. Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived in the interior in AD 1540. He traveled through the Coosa chiefdom, which at that time extended from present-day eastern Tennessee to present-day Childersburg, Alabama. Some archaeologists believe he may have traveled down the Choccolocco Valley but no definitive evidence has yet been discovered. After de Soto's expedition, the people of the southeast experienced several waves of epidemics and populations began to move around the landscape. At the beginning of the 18th century, the people inhabiting scores of Native American towns in the Coosa, Tallapoosa, and Chattahoochee Valleys formed an alliance that became known as the “Creek Confederacy.” These groups later became the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Woodland

Woodland period people established permanent communities within a climate and forest that was very similar to that experienced by today's residents of the Choccolocco Valley. By AD 100, the residents had started constructing the earthen mound located here. Around AD 500, the people living here constructed a stone mound on nearby Signal Mountain in what was perhaps an act of remembrance for their ancestors. These "burden stone” piles have been found on many of the surrounding mountains. Archaeologists distinguish between different groups of people living during this time primarily from the pottery they left behind such as the container illustrated below and recovered from here during archaeological excavations.

Aderholt's Mill

Well into the twentieth century, scores of water-powered mills could be found along Alabama’s numerous creeks and streams, and they were often meeting places for locals in an overwhelmingly rural state. Typically, Alabama mills were rudimentary affairs of frame or rough log construction —a far cry from the sturdy brick and stone mills found in the Upper South and across the Middle Atlantic states. Aderholdt’s Mill, three miles south of the town of Jacksonville, is a marked exception. It is solidly built of dark-red brick, embellished by a wide corbelled cornice, and rises two-and-a-half stories from a foundation of rough-hewn local granite. The structure is a testament not only to a pool of exceptionally skilled craftsmen in the area, but also to the mid-nineteenth-century prosperity of this fertile upland piedmont region, with its corn, grain, and cotton crops, nestled below the final spurs of the Appalachians. The area was also blessed with an abundance of swift-flowing waterways conducive to mill construction.Tradition holds that grist-milling operations began here, on a tributary of the Coosa River known as Little Tallasseehatchee Creek, not long after the native Creek Indians were removed from the surrounding lands in 1832. After the first mill was destroyed by fire, Thomas R. Williams, a settler recently arrived from Georgia, is said to have contracted with Thomas Crutchfield to build the present mill in the late 1830s. Little changed over the ensuing decades, but it became known as Aderholdt’s Mill after 1921, when acquired by James E. Aderholdt and his son. Milling operations continued until 1976.In January 1935, the Historic American Buildings Survey documented the mill in a series of photographs taken shortly before the great wooden overshot waterwheel was replaced by an undershot turbine, fed by a race from the adjoining pond. At this time, an auxiliary gasoline engine was also installed for occasions when the turbine was inoperative. Motive power was transmitted from the lower level of the mill by an intricate system of wheels and pulleys to the corn and wheat-grinding machinery on the floor above.Built into a steeply rising hillside, the mill can be entered at either level. A broad, paneled Dutch door opens from the second floor directly onto the outside staging area where sacks of corn and wheat would have been loaded. Though now a private residence, the mill preserves much of its early equipment. In the 1990s, an overshot wheel—manufactured of steel instead of the original wood—was reinstalled at the south gable end of the building.REFERENCESShell, Mary Mason, “Aderholdt’s Mill,” Calhoun County, Alabama. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, 1988. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.WRITING CREDITSAuthor: Robert GambleCoordinator: Robert Gamble

Alexandria

Caver-Christian-Davis Farm AD 1832 to AD 1865

Choccolocco Park is located on land that was farmed by the Caver, Christian and Davis families from 1840 until the late twentieth century. During the Great Depression, the farm was documented by the Historic American Building Survey. The subjects of these photographs, taken by W. N. Manning in 1935, are the people that lived at the main house and two of the tenant houses on the farm. None of the buildings remain standing today.

Chief Ladiga Trail - Jacksonville

The Chief Ladiga Trail was named for a Creek Indian leader who signed the Cusseta Treaty in 1832. Under the terms of that agreement, the Creeks gave up claim to their remaining lands in northeast Alabama. Because he had signed the treaty, Ladiga was allowed to select some land in Benton County for his wife and himself. A year after the treaty, he sold part of his holdings for $2,000 to a group of speculators headed by Charles White Peters. That land later became Jacksonville. After selling the land, Ladiga and his wife moved to the Cherokee Nation and settled near what is now Piedmont. His cabin stood until about 1900, and he is buried in a grave near his homeplace.Jacksonville, first called Drayton, was established in the early 1800’s on the site of Creek Indian Chief Ladiga’s trading post. In 1834 the town was renamed in honor of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States.As first county seat of Calhoun County, Jacksonville remained the center of local government until 1899 when the county seat moved to Anniston.The Jacksonville Section of the Chief Ladiga Trail extends eight (8) miles for Warren Drive, south to intersection of the CSX Railroad in Maxwellborn, north. The property was acquired by the City of Jacksonville from the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1996.

Coldwater Creek Covered Bridge

Creek Indian Campaign Memorial

A Memorial to Gen. Andrew Jackson, the Tennessee Patriots, the Alabama Patriots, and pioneers who by their courage and fortitude in 1813 - 1814, won five successful battles in the Creek Indian Campaign.We desire to inspire patriotism. We believe it is our duty to our country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag and to defend it against all enemies.

Crook Cemetery

James Crook established this cemetery in 1837 on land he purchased from Creek Indians. In 1834, he and his family moved to this area from South Carolina. In Nov. 1837, Samuel M. Crook, grandson of James Crook, was the first person buried here. Although Crook Cemetery was established as a family burying ground, it was later opened for community burials. In the mid-1900s, W. L. McCullars donated additional land for the cemetery. State officials acknowledged the historical significance of Crook Cemetery by adding it to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register on Nov. 12, 2008.Listed in the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register Marker erected in 2009 by Crook Cemetery, Inc.

Jacksonville

Jacksonville, Alabama “Gem of the Hills”

Life here has long centered on education beginning in 1834 when a one-acre plot of land was reserved for a schoolhouse. Through the years, various institutions of higher learning developed that culminated into present-day Jacksonville State University. Land that was to become Jacksonville was purchased from Creek Indian Chief Ladiga in 1833. Originally called Drayton, its name was changed to Jacksonville in 1836. Jacksonville experienced a rich heritage as the county seat of Calhoun County. Its tranquility attracted new residents, and businesses prospered, however, the prosperity was broken by the War Between the States. In 1899, the county seat was moved to Anniston. A majority of Jacksonville’s male population, including four generals and the “Gallant Pelham,” fought for the Confederacy. At various times, the town was headquarters for Generals Beauregard, Wheeler, Polk and B. M. Hill before occupation by Federal troops. Many Confederate heroes are buried in the City Cemetery.

John Tyler Morgan 1824-1907

Lawyer, Soldier, Senator← Lived here in 18381862-63 Colonel of51st Alabama CavalryRaised by him in this county1863-65 Brigadier General C.S.A.with Wheeler’s Cavalry1876-1907 United States SenatorDistinguished Statesman of Alabama.

Lincoyer

At this site, on Nov. 3, 1813, after the Battle of Tallasehatchee, known then as Talluschatches, during the Creek Indian War, Gen. Andrew Jackson found a dead Creek Indian woman embracing her living infant son. Gen. Jackson, upon hearing that the other Creek Indian women were planning to kill the infant, as was their custom when all relations were dead, became himself the protector and guardian of the child.Because of his compassion, Gen. Jackson took the infant to Fort Struther, in present day Ohatchee, where he nursed him back to health. Gen. Jackson then took the baby to his family home, the Hermitage, in Nashville, Tenn., where he and his wife Rachel named the child Lincoyer and adopted, raised, loved and educated him as their son.Lincoyer fell ill and died of Tuberculosis at home with his family, when he was 16 years old. The General and his wife mourned the loss of their son for the rest of their lives.Dedicated August 2000This memorial marks the site where Lincoyer was found and saved by Gen. Andrew Jackson after the Battle of Talluschatches, during the Creek Indian War.Through the special efforts of and by Commissioner Eli Henderson and the Calhoun County Commission, to preserve, save and commemorate the History of Calhoun County, this monument was erected.Calhoun County CommissionJames Eli Henderson - ChairmanJames A. “Pappy” DunnRobert W. DowningRandy WoodLea Fite

Piedmont

Site of Indian Trading Post

There is an historical marker at the intersection of Public Square West and Ladiga Street Southwest, on the right when traveling south on Public Square West. It is titled, "Site of Indian Trading Post". The marker reads as follows, This is the place where one of the original Creek Indian Trading Posts stood in 18 30. Ladiga was Chief of the tribe.

Tallasseehatchee

Gen. John Coffee, commanding 900 Tennessee Volunteers, surrounded Indians nearby; killed some 200 warriors. This was the first American victory. It avenged an earlier massacre of 517 at Ft. Mims by Indians.

10th Alabama Volunteers

This regiment took part for four years in major battles of Virginia theater. It served with distinction for dash and courage, suffering heavy casualties.Officers at regiment’s organization June 4, 1861 at Montgomery, Alabama;Colonel John H. Forney JacksonvilleLt. Col. James B. Martin JacksonvilleMajor Taul Bradford TalladegaCo. Captain CountyA John H. Caldwell St. ClairB Alburto Martin JeffersonC Rufus W. Cobb ShelbyD Franklin Woodruff CalhounE John J. Woodward TalladegaF James D. Truss St. ClairG William Henry Forney CalhounH Woodford R. Hanna CalhounI Abner A. Hughes DeKalbK J. C. McKenzie TalladegaAmong officers of regiment killed in action: Col. John J. Woodward; Lt. Cols. James B. Martin and James E. Shelly, Captains Pickens W. Black, George P. Brown, Henry N. Coleman, Walter Cook, Robert W. Cowan, William Lee, Richard C. Ragan, George C. Whatley.Disbanded at Appomattox, Va., April, 1865, by order of General Robert E. Lee.

Alexander Woods House

Anniston

Anniston Inn Kitchen

Bank of Anniston

Beauregard's Headquarters

This house, "Ten Oaks", was headquarters for Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, Oct. 15-23, 1864, when he coordinated the movement of Gen. J.B. Hood's army, then marching across northeast Alabama enroute to Nashville. He and his retinue, including Gov. I.G. Harris of Tenn. and Gen. M.L. Smith, were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. James Crook who erected "Ten Oaks" in 1850, the largest house in Calhoun County. Beauregard stood on the front balcony to be serenaded by the townspeople who were assembled in the yard to honor him on his appointment as Commander, Military Division of the West, C.S.A., by Jefferson Davis.

Charcoal Production at Caver-Christian-Davis Farm

When workers began excavating the lake for Choccolocco Park, they uncovered several large charcoal-filled ditches that formed circles. Archaeologists investigated these features and determined that these were the remains of 19th century charcoal production for the nearby Woodstock Iron and Steel Company in present-day Anniston and the Jenifer Furnace near present-day Munford. Both of these iron furnaces were fueled by charcoal and from 1873 until the end of the 19th century, they required vast amounts to produce iron. Charcoal was produced using the pit method (illustrated below) in which workers piled earth on circular stacks of wood in order to prevent the wood from burning during the production process.

Confederate Hospital

This Church was used for a Confederate Hospital During the War Between The StatesErected byGeneral John H. ForneyChapter U.D.C. Sept 27, 1937

Cross Plains - Piedmont

Cross Plains citizens voted for incorporation March 10, 1871. A second vote was cast for reincorporation May 15, 1882. By the acts of the Alabama Legislature of 1888, Cross Plains became Piedmont September 30, 1888. Mayors for both Cross Plains and Piedmont are Listed.J. F. Dailey 1871-1874J. N. Hood 1874-1882J. A Woolf 1882-1883John H. Hall 1883-1884J. A Woolf 1884-1885S. D. McClelen 1885-1887J. W. Harris 1887-1888J. N. Hood 1888-1890A. D. McCollister 1890-1891A. F. Tomlin 1891-1893W. J. Brock 1893-1894E. D. McClelen 1894-1899J. J. Eubanks 1899-1903E. C. Harris 1903-1905E. D McClelen 1905-1907E. C. Harris 1907-1910P. W. Roberts 1910-1912S. D. Savage 1912-1914P. W. Roberts 1914-1916O. L. Stewart 1916-1922E. C. Harris 1922-1926Zack Scogin 1926-1928George P. Haslam 1928-1940Zack Scogin 1940-1944Austin Johnson 1944-1948W. Y. West 1948-1956J. O Chaffin 1956-1960W. W. Howell 1960-1964L. H. Gunter 1964-1968J. F. Howell 1968-1971Sam Weems 1971-1972

Doctor Francis' Office

This general practitioner's office is the only remaining structure of its type in northeast Alabama. It was built on the court-house square about 1850 by Dr. J. C. Francis, a beloved family doctor who served Jacksonville for more than 50 years. He provided an apothecary in the front portion of his office. Associated with him in this office was Dr. C. J. Clark, a well known Confederate army surgeon and director of the Alabama Hospital in Richmond. John M. Francis, a grandson of Dr. Francis, also served here before he became chief chemist for the pharmaceutical firm of Parke, Davis and Company. Other highly esteemed doctors who used this building were Forney M. Lawrence (dentist) and James Williams (medical). Deeded by the First National Bank of Jacksonville to the Alabama Historical Commission on December 4, 1970.This marker erected by the General John H. Forney Historical Society on March 1, 1973.

Forney’s Corner

Jacob Forney III lived and operated a thriving mercantile establishment at Jacksonville from 1835-56 on the south-east corner of the square. He and his wife Sabina Swope Hoke were the parents of nine children.1. Daniel Peter - b. Feb. 24, 1819, d. Sept. 10, 1880.2. Joseph Bartlett - b. Feb. 19, 1821, d. Aug. 14, 1881.3. William Henry - b. Nov. 9, 1823, d. Jan. 18, 1894.4. Barbara Ann - b. Dec. 11, 1826, d. Dec. 26, 1907.5. John Horace - b. Aug. 12, 1829, d. Sept. 13, 1902.6. Emma Eliza - b. July 6, 1832, d. North Carolina.7. George Hoke - b. April 24, 1835, d. Battle of the Wilderness.8. Catherine Amelia - b. April 10, 1838, d. April 26, 1914.9. Maria Eloisa - b. May 15, 1841, d. Mobile.The five sons became Confederate officers of high rank, two becoming Generals, as did four cousins - Generals Hoke, Brevard, Ramseur and Johnston - a record equaled only by the Lees of Virginia. .Of French Huguenot extraction, Jacob Forney was born Oct. 10, 1787, Lincolnton, N.C., the son of General Peter Forney and Nancy Abernathy. The Forneys of North Carolina were iron makers and planters and signed the 1775 Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Their home Mount Welcome was seized and used by General Cornwallis during the Revolutionary War. Jacob Forney’s family was closely associated with the religious, economic and civic life of Jacksonville.

Grace Episcopal Church

Called “A poem in cedar & stone,” its history is intimately related to that of Anniston: Town Founders, Daniel Tyler & Samuel Noble, inspired its conception, funded its construction & caused Woodstock Iron Co. to donate the land on which it was built. Geo. Upjohn, Architect, and Master Stonemason, Wm. Jewell, used native pink sandstone and Tennessee knotty cedar to emulate Solomon’s Temple. The Gothic Revival edifice, the oldest church in town, was organized on April 8, 1881, built in 1882-5, and consecrated by Bishop Richard H. Wilmer on May 19, 1886. Its first service was conducted on Christmas Eve, 1885.

Downtown Jacksonville Historic District

Selected as a landmark contributing to a deeper understanding of our American Heritage.Entered on The National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior May 13, 1986Centered around Jacksonville’s historic Public Square, the district is bounded by Thomas Avenue, Vann Street, Spring Avenue, and College Street.

John Horace Forney

Graduate of West Point,resigned from U.S. Armyto volunteer servicesto State of Alabama.Ably led Confederate forcesat Manassas, Pensacola,Vicksburg, Mobile, Texas.

Janney Furnace

The furnace was constructed by Montgomery businessman Alfred A. Janney, reportedly using slaves brought from Tennessee by a "Dr. Smith." The furnace was completed and ready to produce pig iron when, on July 14, 1864, a Union cavalry raiding force of 2,300 men, led by Major General Louvell H. Rousseau, crossed the Coosa River at Ten Islands Ford in route to destroying the railroad between Montgomery and West Point, Georgia. Learning of the location of the furnace, Rousseau dispatched his Engineer Officer, Captain Ed Ruger, and a detachment to destroy the chimney of the furnace, leaving the stone structure in place. They also burned all wooden buildings intended to support operation of the furnace.

Joseph William Burke 1835-1900

McKleroy-Wilson-Kirby House

Night in the Museum Hotel

John Pelham's Birthplace

Commanded Horse Artillery ofArmy of Northern Virginia, C.S.A.Killed at Kelly’s Ford, Va.March 17, 1863Styled “The Gallant Pelham”By Robert E. Lee

Pelham

Front:Maj. John Pelhamborn inAlexandria, Alabamakilled at the battle of Kelly's FordMarch 17, 1863Front base:PelhamNorth side:Erected by the General John H. Forney Chapter U.D.C.Jacksonville, Alabama 1905.East side:How shall we rank thee upon glory's page than more than soldier

Major John Pelham

"The Gallant Pelham"as called by Robert E. LeeCommanded Artillery, Army ofNorthern Virginia. Cited forconspicuous valor many times.Killed in action in Virginia. Erected 1963 by Alabama Historical Association.

Historic Oxford

First incorporated as a town, February 7, 1852, in Benton County, Oxford's second incorporation was approved February 21, 1860 in Calhoun County. Long before this territory was “settled”, it was inhabited by Creek Indians. In the time that the Creek Indians were leaving, Sylvanus Simmons and Dudley Snow came and settled north and south of present-day Choccolocco Street. The first post office, located in the home of Dudley Snow, served the town known as “Lick Skillet." Oxford's valuable contribution to the Confederacy in the War Between the States was a cavalry company, the Dudley Snow Rangers, organized here in 1862 and mustered into service by Col. John Tyler Morgan. The Alabama-Tennessee River Railroad was the first to lay its tracks in Oxford sometime between 1859 and 1862. The Oxford Iron Company, organized November 1862, mined iron ore and manufactured pig iron. Its furnace was burned by Federal troops April 23, 1865. Through the years, Oxford has grown, creating memories for its citizens, adopting the slogan “Crossroads of the Future.”

Hobson City

Hobson City is Alabama's first incorporated black city. The area was first known as Mooree Quarter, a black settlement that was part of Oxford, Alabama. After a black man was elected Justice of the Peace in Oxford, one mayor promised, if elected, he would stop blacks from participating in elections. After his election, he went to the State Capitol in Montgomery and had the corporate boundaries of Oxford redrawn to exclude Mooree Quarter. With the help of Ross Black, an Anniston attorney, the colored citizens filed a petition on July 20, 1899 with the Calhoun County Probate Judge to become a separate municipality. After proper legal proceedings, the town was incorporated August 16, 1899. The municipality was called "Hobson City," after the Spanish American war hero Richard P. Hobson. Thus, Hobson City became the second municipality in the South controlled and governed entirely by colored people. At the time of incorporation, its population was 135 people consisting of 12 families.Education was priority for the early leaders of Hobson City. In 1905 Professor C. E. Hanna organized the first school known as the Hobson City and Oxford Academy. A fire destroyed the school building in 1923. Hobson City led the way to build a new school named Calhoun County Training School, the first school in the county for African American students. This school has many distinguished alumni, including Dr. David Satcher, the 16th Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Bobby Wright, Dr. Alfonzo Atkinson, Col. Ret. Franklin Todd, Major Ret. Benny Boyd, Col. Ret. Ronald Andrews, and Yvonne Grixsby, Ret. Army; mayors: Willie Maude Snow, Robert Pyles, Ralph Woods and Alberta McCrory; and educators: Jessie E. Bowens, Willie, Bailey, Charles McRath, William Hutchins, Aileen Howard, Georgia Calhoun, Mary Ransaw, and Betty Mason.

Parker Memorial Church

On July 3, 1887, a congregation of 45 people met at the Opera House on Noble Street to organize a new church. Originally called Second Baptist Church, the name soon was changed to Twelfth Street Baptist Church.In 1889, it became Parker Memorial Baptist Church in memory of Mrs. Cornelia A. Parker, whose husband gave the money for a new building that was dedicated in March of 1891.The mission was and continues to be “Ministering to the World…Beginning at Our Own Front Door.”

Piedmont First United Methodist Church

Beginning as a Methodist mission in the 1850's, the Piedmont First United Methodist Church was organized in 1867 as the Cross Plains Methodist Episcopal Church, South, by Wilson Johnson and a small band of local Methodists. In 1868 a small church was built on North Church Street. Neill Ferguson, W. P. Harbor, and Wilson Johnson were trustees. The Rev. Theophilus Moody was appointed the pastor in 1868. In 1898 a more commodious church was erected on the same site, and the Rev. I. Q. Melton was the pastor.The present sanctuary was built in 1916, the Rev. William Raines Battles serving as pastor. The T. Ben Kerr Memorial Building was added in 1950-51 and the J. Clifton Draper Memorial Building in 1968.This marker was erected on September 18, 1988, In memory of those who founded the Cross Plains Methodist Church, South, and in Tribute to those who have sustained its mission.

Profile Cotton Mill Historic District

In 1905, local businessman Henry P. Ide joined with out-of-state investors and built the Ide-Profile Cotton Mill. Along with the mill, the company established the Profile Mill Village, which originally began as 40 homes for workers. The company expanded the mill in 1908 and built 90 homes to house additional workers. Becoming a city within a city, the mill complex included its own power plant, store, and managed its own school from 1911 to 1942. The mill steadily operated until it was sold in 1954. With the change in ownership, village homes became available to purchase outright when before workers had been required to pay rent each month. Many families opted to purchase their homes, thus gaining financial independence from the mill. Slow and steady change came to the village until 2001 when the owners decided to close the mill. In 2006, the Profile Mill Complex and Profile Mill Village were added to the National Register of Historic Places due to their importance in the role of industrial development and history of Jacksonville.Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in May 31, 2006

Saint Luke's Episcopal Church

John D. and Anna Maria Hoke founded the parish on June 30, 1844. Members of the Hoke, Forney, and Abernathy families joined over the years. The church design was based on Richard Upjohn's 1852 pattern book, Upjohn's Rural Architecture. Upjohn was the architect of Trinity Church in New York City and Founder of the American Institute of Architects. Elbert Green constructed the church from 1855-1856 at a cost of $2200 using enslaved African-American laborers. The Rt. Rev. Nicholas Hamner Cobbs, Bishop of Alabama, consecrated the building on January 4, 1857.The church was constructed in the Carpenter Gothic Revival style and built using heart pine and board-and-batten. The church was fully furnished according to Upjohn's plan. Sharp and Steel of New York made the altar windows, and they remain as fine examples of stained glass from the antebellum period in Alabama. The elaborate central chandelier was a gift believed to be from the Roosevelt family, and it originally burned whale oil. Saint Luke's is the oldest church building in Jacksonville and second oldest in Calhoun County. The parish house was constructed in 1992.

Samuel Noble Home

According to a 2014 Anniston Star Article written by Lisa Davis, The Samuel Noble home is located near here on Booger Hollow road and is now a bed and breakfast called the Springwood Inn.The article tells us that George Noble started construction of the grand house around 1882, and quickly sold it to his brother, Samuel. The house was originally built on a small hill overlooking the new city — where Anniston High School now stands.Downstairs, the home’s grand foyer looks much as it did when Noble greeted prominent visitors, fellow businessmen working to build a post-Civil War New South.Preserved in an upstairs bedroom is an unusual fireplace made of cast iron. It likely burned the same coke fuel that powered the furnace at the Woodstock Iron Company, owned by the Noble and Tyler families and the very reason for building a model company town.After Samuel Noble’s death in 1888, the house passed to his daughter, Josephine Noble Keith. The house changed hands over the next few decades and eventually purchased In 1947, by Gerald Woodruff Senior, then passed to his son, Gerald Woodruff Junior, in the 1960s. The younger Woodruff and his wife, Harriet, began extensive renovations on the house, but were interrupted when the Anniston School Board took possession of the property to build a new high school.Instead of letting the historic house be destroyed, the Woodruffs decided to take it apart and move it to a hill overlooking Coleman Drive, in the woods of Booger Hollow.As the house was being pieced back together, the family added new layers of history. Woodruff rescued columns from the old Carnegie Library. He salvaged pine floorboards from a Baptist church in Friendship and a girl’s school in Munford, as well as massive timbers from an old theater at Fort McClellan. As a colorful finishing touch, the Woodruffs added a stained glass window from the old Noble Opera House.Bob and Carolyn Orchid moved into the house in 2014. They spent the next two years refurbishing the rooms and clearing the overgrown gardens and the 23 acres of woods surrounding the house.They named it Springwood, after a spring that flows down the mountain through the woods outside the house.Samuel Noble’s house was moved from a very public location to a very private one, but Carolyn Orchid wants people to be able to see it again.A thank you goes out to the Anniston Star and Lisa Davis for the article.

Samuel Noble Statue

Let me tell you about a man named Samuel Noble who is credited for creating the town of Anniston.Samuel Noble, and his financial partner, General Daniel Tyler, organized the Woodstock Iron Company and built it at a place called Pine Ankle at that time. The iron furnace was up and running in 1873, and for the next ten years Samuel Noble helped develop what he called a “model city”. In 1883, Samuel Noble opened his town to the public. He named it “Annie’s Town”, after his business partner’s daughter-in-law, Annie Tyler. Eventually, the name was called Anniston.There is a statue of Samuel Noble on the 11th block of quintard avenue. If you ride around Anniston, you may cross Woodstock Avenue or Noble street, and you will have a better understanding of where those names came from. In 1888, Samuel Noble died at the age of 54.

Temple Beth El

Temple Beth El is the oldest building continuously used for Jewish worship in Alabama. Anniston’s Reform Jewish congregation was established in 1888. Its women’s organization, the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society, directed the construction of the building in 1893. They raised the money, purchased the lot, organized the building committee of men in the congregation, and named the house of worship Beth El or House of God. Sales of handiwork enabled the women to purchase the stained glass windows. A trio of arched windows, emphasized by decorative brickwork and the domed tower, suggest the influence of ancient Byzantine architecture on the temple, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

William Henry Forney

The Church of St. Michael & All Angels

The Depot

The Depot was constructed in 1860 by the Selma, Rome and Dalton (GA) Railroad. It was used as a transfer and storage point for Confederate troops and materials during the War Between the States.

Temple Beth El Section Hillside Cemetery

In April 1888, the founder of a newly established Reform Jewish congregation purchased twenty-three lots in Hillside Cemetery to bury their deceased members. In 1987, the City of Anniston vacated right-of-way that allowed the Temple to expand the Jewish section. Among those interred here are the first Jewish citizens to settle in Anniston as well as the congregation's Holocaust survivors.The Temple Beth El section of Hillside Cemetery has been placed in the Alabama Historical Cemetery Register by the Alabama Historical Commission on December 15, 2008.

27th. Division Veterans Memorial

Anniston Army Ordnance Depot

You are not far from the Anniston Army Ordnance Depot that the Army constructed on 15,000 acres during World War 2. Over time, the depot evolved into the region's largest employer. The economic and community development impact of the military on Anniston and Calhoun County has been profound. Parades, ceremonies and patriotic events continue to mark the legacy of the military and its influence on the area. An historical marker located in Centennial Park, on Quintard Avenue, honors the Legacy of the Military.

Boiling Springs Road

Boiling Springs Road once provided a vital transportation link across Choccolocco Creek for residents of the valley. The road received its name from the Boiling Spring (pictured below and to the right) located across the creek at this location. The existing bridge across Choccolocco Creek (pictured second below) was constructed in 1930.

Calhoun County Courthouse

Centennial Park - George W Ingram, The Legacy of the Military, and Anniston's Military Heritage

Seaman Second Class, United States Navy, George Washington Ingram was killed in action in the defense of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.For Seaman Ingram's bravery, an American destroyer was built and named in his honor. The U.S.S. George W. Ingram DE-62 was christened and launched on May 8, 1943.Seaman Ingram was commended by the Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet, in the following citation: "For prompt and efficient action and utter disregard of personal danger in the effort to repel the attack on the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941, which was made in conjunction with the attack on the fleet in Pearl Harbor on that date."Seaman Ingram received the following medals and ribbons: Purple Heart, Navy Commendation Medal for Heroism, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Good Conduct, American Defense, American Theater of Operations Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, Victory Medal of World War II.

Davis C. Cooper House

First National Bank of Jacksonville

First Presbyterian Church

FIRST PUBLIC LIBRARY IN CALHOUN COUNTY

Fort McClellan

Even though northern industrialists founded the city of Anniston and left their mark with railroads, foundries, and mills, its military presence has also had a significant impact on the area. In 1898 during the Spanish-American War, the War Department selected a site northeast of Anniston for artillery training, thus beginning a unique partnership between Anniston's citizens and the military community. By 1917, the site was designated Camp McClellan and became a major World war one training camp. Made a permanent post in 1929, it has been the military home to hundreds of thousands of men and women for more than a century, including the 92nd Division (the famed Buffalo Soldiers), which was activated at Fort McClellan in 1942. Other diverse units have included Infantry Basic Training, Women's Army Corps, Military Police Corps, Chemical Corps, National Guard, Reserve and ROTC organizations. During 1943 to 1946, approximately 3,500 German and Italian POW’s were interned at Camp McClellan. Fort McClellan formally closed in 19 99, however, it continued to serve as a training site maintained by the Alabama National Guard. There is an historical marker located at Centennial Park with all of this information in remembrance of Anniston’s Military Heritage.

Fort McClellan Historic District

George W. Ingram

George Washington Ingram was born in Rockmart, Polk County, Georgia and was raised in the area of Eastaboga, Alabama. He was the son of James Edgar Ingram and Mary Alene Hiett. His mother had died in 1921 when George was just three years old. His father later re-married and George grew up with several full and half-siblings. He enlisted in the US Navy on March 18, 1941.He was stationed at Kaneohe Bay during the attack on Pearl Harbor. They were by several waves of enemy planes which bombed and strafed the grounded aircraft, hangers, and men. As the first attacked occurred, Seaman 2nd Class Ingram was among the first to rush to action. In utter disregard of personal danger, he fought to repel the enemy and died during the attack. He was commended by Admiral Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, for his heroism in the defense of Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station.In 1943 the destroyer escort USS George Washington Ingram (DE-62) was named in his honor.

Governor Thomas E. Kilby 1865-1943

Outstanding local industrialist as President, Kilby Steel Company; Chairman, Board of Directors, Alabama Pipe Company; President, City National and Anniston National Banks. Served as Mayor of Anniston (1905-09); State Senator (1911-15); Lieutenant Governor (1915-19); Governor of Alabama (1919-23).His administration as Governor of Alabama notable for sound business principles, for prison reform, for advancement and expansion of charitable institutions, and for constitutional amendments which provided state bond issues for highway and bridge development and for building the State Docks in Mobile.Governor Kilby was a member of Grace Episcopal Church and a member of the vestry. His interment is on the hill near fence at Highland Cemetery.

The Kilby House

Ty Cobb

In 1904, 18 year old Tyrus Raymond Cobb lived in a boarding house on this site while playing minor league baseball for the Anniston Steelers. From nearby Scarbrough Drug Store on Noble Street he wrote letters, using fictitious names, to sports writer Grantland Rice, describing what a great baseball player Cobb was in Anniston. These letters resulted in a scout from the Detroit Tiger organization coming to Anniston and discovering Ty Cobb, who became the greatest baseball player of all time.

World War I Memorial on Quintard

In the median of Quintard Avenue, near 10th street, is an iron statue of a bald eagle with its wings spread open. The statue was erected in 1921. Below the eagle, are two plaques with the names of 60 men who died in World War One, which took place in Europe from 1917 to 1919.

Anniston Memorial Hospital May 14, 1961

When seven injured "Freedom Riders" arrived at the Hospital on this date, the mob that had attacked them earlier in the day followed. The Riders were testing desegregation of public transportation in the South by riding buses. The bus they had been riding was attacked at the Anniston Greyhound bus station and again six miles outside the city.When asked by Hospital staff to separate into black and white waiting rooms, the Riders refused. The staff proceeded to treat the Riders, defying the demands of the extremists gathered outside. Meanwhile, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth organized parishioners in Birmingham to retrieve the Riders from Anniston.

Anniston Public Library

Desegregation of the Library began when two African American pastors, Reverends William B. McClain and Nimrod Q. Reynolds, peacefully attempted to enter the building on September 15, 1963. Their actions were endorsed by the city of Anniston Human Relations Council, which was pursuing desegregation of public institutions in Anniston. As the men approached the Library, several white men attacked them, and both men were injured, Reynolds seriously. The next day, Reverends J. Phillips Noble and George Smitherman, City Commissioner Miller Sproull, and Library board members Charlie Doster and Carelton Lentz accompanied McClain as he entered the Library without incident and checked out a book.

Anniston Trailways Station

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, race relations in the South were dominated by local "Jim Crow" laws. Although in 1960 the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation violated the Interstate Commerce Act, local laws persisted.When a desegregated bus carrying black and white "Freedom Riders" arrived at the Trailways Bus Station in Anniston on this date, a group of young white men came aboard to enforce segregated seating: whites in front, blacks in back. The men beat the Riders, forcing them to segregate. After police intervened, the bus continued to Birmingham with the badly injured Freedom Riders kept separated by their attackers.

Freedom Riders

On May 14, 1961, a Greyhound bus left Atlanta, GA carrying among its passengers seven members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a.k.a. the “Freedom Riders,” on a journey to test interstate bus segregation. The bus was met by an angry mob at the bus station in Anniston, AL where tires were slashed and windows broken. Upon leaving Anniston, the bus was followed by the mob to this site where the driver stopped to change the tire. The crowd set the bus on fire and attacked passengers as they departed. The incident served to strengthen the resolve for the civil rights movement.

Greyhound Bus Station and Mural

Saint John United Methodist Church

Saint John, founded at the turn of the 19th century, is the first African-American Methodist Episcopal Church in South Anniston. The original structure was built in 1922. The current building was erected in 1951 on the corner of D Street and Christine Ave. Saint John was the site of mass meetings during the Civil Rights Movement. The Ku Klux Klan, who violently opposed civil rights progress in Anniston and other Southern Cities, fired shots into the Church on Mother's Day, May 12, 1963.In 1967, Saint John merged with West Florida and the North Alabama United Methodist Conference and became known as Saint John United Methodist Church.The Church is a testament to the community's faith, strength, and commitment to equality.The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage added Saint John U.M.C. on December 1, 2016

Simmons Park

Simmons ParkThe town of Oxford was first incorporated by the Alabama legislature in 1852. The original boundaries included a one square mile area enlarged in 1860. Oxford became active as a cotton and trading center but during the Civil War growth slowed, and in 1865 Union soldiers burned almost all of the downtown buildings. Twelve buildings built before 1855 remain. The Simmons Park, given to the city in 1870, was a wagon yard for farmers selling cotton in 1860.Historic OxfordFirst incorporated as a town, February 7, 1852, in Benton County, Oxford's second incorporation was approved February 21, 1860 in Calhoun County. Long before this territory was “settled”, it was inhabited by Creek Indians. In the time that the Creek Indians were leaving, Sylvanus Simmons and Dudley Snow came and settled north and south of present-day Choccolocco Street. The first post office, located in the home of Dudley Snow, served the town known as “Lick Skillet." Oxford's valuable contribution to the Confederacy in the War Between the States was a cavalry company, the Dudley Snow Rangers, organized here in 1862 and mustered into service by Col. John Tyler Morgan. The Alabama-Tennessee River Railroad was the first to lay its tracks in Oxford sometime between 1859 and 1862. The Oxford Iron Company, organized November 1862, mined iron ore and manufactured pig iron. Its furnace was burned by Federal troops April 23, 1865. Through the years, Oxford has grown, creating memories for its citizens, adopting the slogan “Crossroads of the Future.”Creek Indian Campaign MemorialA Memorial to Gen. Andrew Jackson, the Tennessee Patriots, the Alabama Patriots, and pioneers who by their courage and fortitude in 1813 - 1814, won five successful battles in the Creek IndianCampaign.Side inscriptionWe desire to inspire patriotism. We believe it is our duty to our country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag and to defend it against all enemies.

Spirit of the American Doughboy and the Calhoun County World War I Memorial

“Spirit of the American Doughboy”Erected by the Anniston Post American Legion to the Calhoun County Men who served in the World WarCalhoun County World War I MemorialSouth sideThis tablet iserected in honorof theSoldiers andSailors fromCalhoun CountyAlabamawho served in theGreat World War1917 - 1919North sideCalhoun County's Honor Roll"Better the shot, the blade, the bowl,than crucifiction of the soul."{41 names listed}Lower plaqueIn 1921, Calhoun County memorialized its casualities of World War Iwith this monument, unveiled on Armistice Day, as a proud testamentto the bravery of these men.Nearly a hundred years later, in 2014, military research conducted byThe Anniston Star's editorial board discovered at least nineteenadditional U.S. military personnel whose names, for reasons unknown,were not included on the original plaque.In 2016, the City of Anniston erected this memorial, providing these nineteenCalhoun County casualties of the Great War their deserved place of honor.Ragland Bergwall · Henry L. Dahls · Oliver Hawkins · Milton Henry · Lee Kennedy · Bert Lackey · Marcus Morgan · Corn Moten · Howard Parris · Edgar Peacock · Charlie Prahl · Paul Roe · Lewis Scott · Senal Self · Oscar Sims · Willie Steadom · Melvin Verden · Jefferson Walker · Grover Waters

Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church

Seventeenth Street Missionary Baptist Church served as the home of "mass meetings" for black Annistonians who planned and executed Anniston's part of the Civil Rights Movement. Reverends D.C. Washington (1937-1960) and Nimrod Q. Reynolds (1960-2008) hosted a succession of Civil Rights leaders at the Church including Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, Fred Shuttlesworth, Benjamin Mays, Walter White, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr.

Southern Railway Station Attack

Local "Jim Crow" laws in the first half of the 20th century enforced racial segregation in public transportation facilities throughout the South. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Boynton v. Virginia (1960) upheld that segregation in these facilities was illegal, yet African American Talladega College student Art Bacon encountered hostility when he arrived by train at this station. As he left the station, he was beaten by five white men for sitting in the formerly "whites-only" waiting room.Four days later, Talladega College students and faculty marched peacefully along Gurnee Avenue, at one point circling the police station, in protest of the assault.

Human Relations Council

The Anniston City Commission, on May 16, 1963, established by resolution the Human Relations Council, consisting of five white men and four black men. The Council's purpose was to "make recommendations concerning human relations," and its members were to be "without outside influence." United States President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) praised the council's formation as on that should "serve as a model" for other American cities. Council Members:Rev. J. Phillips Noble, ChairRaleigh Byrd, Harold Edward Cosper, Wilfred Galbraith,Marcus A. Howze, Rev. William B. McClain, Grant Oden,Rev. Nimrod Q. Reynolds, Leonard Roberts

Murder of Willie Brewster

Willie Brewster became the target of white extremists after words spoken at a National States Rights Party encouraged them to commit acts of violence against blacks. As Brewster drove home with co-workers from the night shift at Union Foundry, he was shot in the neck.Upon his death three days later, The Anniston Star published a full-page advertisement offering a $20,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of his killer. It was endorsed by 268 black and white Annistonians.Hubert Damon Strange was convicted for killing Brewster on December 2, 1965. It was the first instance in Alabama history when a white jury penalized a white person for racial murder."We, as a community, are determined that those who advocate and commit secret acts of violence will not control this country. We are determined to fight with the weapons of law to retain the dignity of this community and to punish those who struck down a respectable and industrious citizen."——The Anniston Star, Sunday, July 18, 1965, Page 5-A

West 15th Street Historic District

This district was once the economic and social hub of Anniston's African American community. In its heyday (1940-1950), the District was a "city within a city," with businesses that catered to the black community. Grocery stores, restaurants, doctors' offices, barber and beauty shops, a hotel, and other businesses thrived. The Gem Theater showed movies and hosted celebrity entertainers such as Cab Calloway and Lewis Jordan. At the Blair Hotel, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. held strategy sessions with Rev. Nimrod Q. Reynolds and Dr. Gordon Rodgers. The District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Zinn Park

1977 Ohatchee Indians

Let me tell you about the 1977 Ohatchee football team. That season, the Indians won the 1A Football State Championship. They had 13 straight wins, with only one loss at the very beginning of the season against Heflin. Their defense never gave up more than two touchdowns in any game. 6 teams never scored against them, including Notasulga in the championship game. The Indians scored 422 points and only gave up 72 points across the 14 games played.

Rudy Abbott

The Baseball Field at JSU is named after Rudy Abbott. Long before he coached baseball at Jacksonville State, Rudy Abbott began a long history of athletic accomplishments at Walter Wellborn High School where he lettered in baseball, basketball, football and track before graduating in 1959. After two years at Jones Junior College in Mississippi, Abbott returned to Alabama as a pitcher at Jacksonville State. In 1962, his first season at JSU, Abbott threw two no-hitters and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 19 64, Abbott came back to Jacksonville State as the sports information director.In 1970, Abbott became the Head Baseball Coach at JSU. Heagreed to take the position on a temporary basis. When he retired in 2001, after 32 seasons, his career record was 1,003 wins and only 467 losses.His 1990 and 1991 Jacksonville State baseball teams were NCAA Division 2 national champions, and Abbott was named Division 2 coach of the year both seasons. Seven of his Jacksonville State baseball teams advanced to the NCAA Division 2 World Series.After retiring from JSU, Rudy became a three-term Calhoun County Commissioner. His best memories as a commissioner were helping his local schools and community. Rudy improved many youth sports programs by building and maintaining little league baseball fields and he offered numerous free baseball clinics where he taught young kids to hit and throw. He was instrumental in passing a one-cent sales tax which continues today to provide additional funding for all Calhoun County schools. Rudy passed away on February 9th, 2022, after a long battle with covid-pneumonia.

Boyce Callahan

In high school Callahan starred as a running back for Saks. As a junior in 1968, he scored a then-modern era Calhoun County record 22 touchdowns as the Wildcats finished the regular season 9- 0-0 and were one of four teams to advance to the Class 3A playoffs. Callahan led Saks to its first football victory over Alexandria as he rushed for 172 yards and all three Wildcat touchdowns in a 19-13 win. Against Oxford, Callahan ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-18 win that propelled Saks into the state playoffs for the first time. In the semifinal game against Fairfield he carried 40 times for 177 yards and one score as the Wildcats won 31-0.During his senior season Callahan‘ s two touchdowns in Saks’ 28-0 win over Oxford gave him 17 touchdowns and 102 points for the season, making him the first Calhoun County player to surpass the 100-point plateau twice. As a junior and a senior he was a unanimous All-County selection.As a freshman at Jacksonville State in 1970 Callahan rushed for 201 yards against Tennessee- Martin, the first time a Gamecock player had gained 200 yards in a game. Five weeks later he ran for a career-best 275 yards in JSU’s 55-28 homecoming win over in-state rival Florence State. Callahan closed his freshman year by gaining 224 yards against Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic win that completed the Gamecocks’ 10-0-0 season. No other Jacksonville State player has rushed for more than 200 yards in a game more than once. Callahan ended the 1970 season with a team high 1,293 rushing yards.In 1971 (905 yards), 1972 (1,087 yards) and 1973 (952 yards) Callahan led the Gulf South Conference in rushing and was All-Gulf South Conference each year. As a senior he served Jacksonville State as one of three permanent captains. Following the 1973 season he was a Little All- American selection by both the Associated Press and the NAIA. Callahan is one of only two Gamecocks to have his uniform number (33) retired.Callahan averaged over 100 yards rushing per game for four years at Jacksonville State. When he left JSU his 240 career points scored was a school record. Callahan still holds the Gamecocks’ career rushing record with 4,237 yards.He also holds the Jacksonville State single game records for yards per carry with an average of 13.2 yards against Northeast Louisiana in 1973 and most carries with 39 against Livingston State in 1972.

James "Pappy" Dunn

Since you are near the Hobson City area, let me tell you about James Pappy Dunn. He graduated from Alabama State Teachers College, now known as Alabama State University, where he was an outstanding student and excelled in both basketball and football. In the fall of 1939, Calhoun County Training School principal C. E. Hanna hired Dunn to teach science and coach all sports. Except for military service during World War II, Dunn remained at the Hobson City school as a teacher, coach and administrator until his retirement at the close of the 1986 school year.Dunn coached girls and boys basketball and enjoyed success with both. Before the Alabama Interscholastic Athletic Association began its state tournament for girls in 1949, Dunn’s Calhoun County Training girls teams won more than thirty consecutive games. Dunn coached the Calhoun County Training girls to District tournament championships in 1952 and 1954 and a second place District finish in 1955. The 1954 team reached the elite eight in the state playoffs. Dunn’s 1960 boys basketball team won the Northeast District tournament . His Tigers finished second in the District tournament in 1950, 1956 and 19 58. In 1952 and 1954, Calhoun County Training won the Cobb Avenue Invitational. The Tigers won the 1960 Maroon and Gold Classic hosted by Carver of Gadsden after finishing second in that tournament in 1957.Dunn coached Calhoun County Training football teams and was equally successful. Although records are incomplete, Dunn’s teams won approximately one hundred games. Two of his biggest wins were Model City Classic upset victories over Cobb Avenue in 1958, with a final score of 21 to 19, and in 1962 with a final score of 7 to 6. In 1968, Dunn became principal at Calhoun County Training, a position he held for 18 years until he retired.

Larry Ginn

Larry Ginn was an outstanding basketball and football player at Alexandria after arriving as a sophomore from Weaver Junior High. In the 1965 66 basketball season, his sophomore year, Ginn started at point guard as the Valley Cubs reached the Class 3A basketball championship game.As a senior in 1967, Ginn quarterbacked Alexandria to an 8 and 2 season, its best win total in 15 years. He completed 23 touchdown passes, which at that time was a Calhoun County record, and amassed 2,300 yards of total offense. He was one of five Alabama high school players named to the annual Orlando Sentinel All-Southern team.Ginn was a basketball starter at Montevallo as a freshman, then transferred to Gadsden State, where he averaged 18 points per game as a sophomore. Ginn played his final two years at Jacksonville State. At JSU, he averaged 11.8 points per game as a junior. In the 1972 73 season, as a college senior, Ginn was team captain and averaged 17.4 points as the Gamecocks finished 17-9. He was an All-Gulf South Conference selection after netting over 78 percent of his free throws.After graduating from JSU, Ginn returned to Alexandria to teach and coach. He became the varsity basketball coach in the 1978 79 season. Ginn led Alexandria to state basketball championships in 1992, 1993 and 1997, second place finishes in 1987 and 1988 and a record eight Calhoun County tournament titles. In 29 seasons, Ginn’s varsity teams accumulated more than 600 wins, averaging more than 21 wins and fewer than five losses a season. Nineteen Ginn-coached teams won at least 20 games and 22 teams lost five or fewer games.In 1986, Ginn became Alexandria’s head football coach. In 21 football seasons under Ginn’s direction, the Valley Cubs accumulated 195 wins and only 54 losses. Alexandria won eight Class 4A area championships, three region championships and were state champions in 1995 and 1997.The then-new Alexandria gymnasium was named in Ginn’s honor in 1995. In 2002, he was inducted into the Alabama Community College Conference Hall of Fame. Larry Ginn was inducted into both “the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame”, and “the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame” in 2005. Larry Ginn passed away on July 10th, 2009.

Eli Henderson

Eli was a graduate of the Walter Wellborn High School Class of 1957. He was part of the first graduating class from Walter Wellborn High School and was the first class president. He scored Walter Wellborn High School's first touchdown. Eli was elected six terms as the Calhoun County Commissioner and served as the Circuit Clerk of Calhoun County. He served 4 years in the U.S. Marine Corp and retired from the Anniston Army Depot. Eli was the Vietnam Veterans of America's Alabama Citizen of the Year in 1997 and 1998, and the East Alabama Shriner Club's Shriner of the Year in 2004. He received the Distinguished Service Medal from the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal from the United Daughters of Confederacy in 2006.Eli had several civil and fraternal affiliations and accomplishments. He was a past Commandant of the Marine Corps League, was a multiple-time recipient of the Marine of the Year Award, and created the Calhoun County Marine Corps League. He created the Toys for Tots program and the Special Kids Fishing event that includes over 30 schools at Oxford Lake each year. Eli was a past Commandant of the Masonic Lodge, a member of the Elks Lodge number 189, a member of the A.R.C. of Calhoun County, past President of the East Alabama Shrine Club, and a member of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.Eli was an advocate for Alabama history and preserving our local history. He served as the Chairman of the Confederate Memorial Wall Committee, Chairman of the Centennial Memorial Wall Committee, built Historic Janney Furnace Park, utilizing county inmate labor and donations, secured all the artifacts in the Janney Furnace Park Museum through donations, and established the Annual Robert E. Lee Birthday Party at Janney Furnace (complete with a Civil War reenactment). Eli served as the past Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Ten Islands Camp 2678, built the largest memorial in the State of Alabama to Confederate Veterans with donations, and advocated to save all Confederate monuments.Eli took pride in restoring and serving the community. He built Wellborn Park Baseball and Softball Complex utilizing county inmate labor and volunteers, built a park at Coldwater Creek utilizing county inmate labor, built a park, and procured the docks at the reservoir in Ohatchee, and deeded it to the City for its citizens, and created the "Free Dump and Dog Day" for county residents to use the landfill for free and receive a free hot dog. He also unfailingly donated to county schools for numerous programs, including athletics, nutrition and education. Eli appeared before Congress and secured ten million dollars for the incinerator at the Anniston Army Depot. The incinerator did not burn until he gave his approval. He also created signs throughout the area to "Tell three people that you love them today!".

Terry Henley

Henley was outstanding in both football and track at Oxford High School. In football he was All- County and All-Conference for three seasons (1966, 1967, 1968). Henley led Oxford in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons. He scored seven touchdowns in 1967. As a senior Henley scored twenty-one touchdowns, establishing a school record, and led the Yellow Jackets to an 8-2-0 finish. In 1968, Henley was at his best against Oxford’s biggest rivals. He scored all three Yellow Jacket touchdowns in a win over Anniston (19-0) and a loss to Saks (27-18) and also scored three times in a win over Walter Wellborn (37-19). The Anniston Quarterback Club named Henley the outstanding back in Calhoun County as a senior. He was also a high school All-American selection his senior year.In track, Henley was All-County in 1967, 1968 and 1969 and All-State as a junior and a senior. At the 1969 Calhoun County track Henley won both the triple jump and the 120-yard high hurdles. His performances established meet records in both events.From Oxford, Henley took his football talents to Auburn University. A tailback, he lettered as a sophomore (1970), junior (1971) and senior (1972). In 1972, Auburn finished 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the Southeastern Conference, losing only to LSU at Baton Rouge. As a senior, Henley was an All-SEC selection as he led the Southeastern Conference in rushing with 843 yards in nine games. His eleven touchdowns led Auburn in scoring that year. Even though he did not return punts, Henley also led the Tigers with 934 all-purposes yards. Henley ended his three-year career at Auburn with 1,534 rushing yards on 343 carries.Henley was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. He played professionally for the Atlanta Falcons, Birmingham Americans, Washington Redskins, and New England Patriots.

Norwood Hodges

Since you are close to the Norwood Hodges Community Center and Park, I want to tell you he was. Hodges was born December 7, 1926. When he was a junior in high school, he earned the attention of both Auburn and Alabama football coaches as an All State Fullback. Neither Alabama nor Auburn had fielded a football team in 1943 and each school was actively recruiting high school underclassmen, promising to allow them to earn the credits needed for a high school diploma while in college. Hodges initially leaned toward Auburn but chose to accept the Alabama Crimson Tide.At Alabama, Hodges lettered in football as a fullback and linebacker for four years from 1944 to 1947. In 1944, Hodges played his first season at Alabama in what should have been his senior year in high school. Alabama played in the 1945 Sugar Bowl where Hodges scored Alabama’s first two touchdowns in the 1st quarter. In the 1946 Rose Bowl, Hodges scored a touchdown as Alabama beat Southern California 34 -14. A few years after college, Hodges began a career in the automobile business in Selma and moved his family to Anniston. He became a Volkswagen dealer in 1961 and 25 years later, Time magazine named his business one of the top 25 auto dealerships in the United States. During his 10 years on the Anniston City board of education and two terms as mayor of Anniston he was an ardent supporter of high school sports and youth sports programs.Norwood Hodges died November 27th ,1999.

Sandy Hunter

Since you are near the Pleasant Valley Community, let me tell you about Sandy Hunter. She ran track at Weaver High School for two years before graduating second in her class in 1973. At Jacksonville State, she played volleyball, basketball and tennis then graduated with honors in 1977. After one year as softball coach at Ohatchee, Hunter returned to Weaver where her girls’ track teams were AHSAA Class 3A state champion in 1981 and Calhoun County champions in 1981 and 1982.In the 1982-83 school year Hunter moved to the newly opened Pleasant Valley School and remained for 20 years. In 1984 the Raiders captured the first of the five AHSAA state volleyball championships won under Hunter’s tutelage. Other state volleyball titles followed in 1987, 1988, 1996 and 1997.Hunter was instrumental in helping establish the AHSAA state softball tournament. That work came to fruition when the first state softball tournament was played in 1986. That year Pleasant Valley won the Class 1A-2A-3A tournament, the first of seven state titles in softball. The Raiders were also state champions in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1996.At the state level, teams coached by Hunter finished second six times in volleyball and once in softball.Hunter coached Pleasant Valley to 10 Calhoun County volleyball tournament championships and 10 Calhoun County softball tournament titles. She was Calhoun County Coach of the Year nine times in softball and five times in volleyball.Hunter’s teams finished second in Calhoun County competition seven times in volleyball, three times in softball and once in track.Her Pleasant Valley teams were 798-160 overall in volleyball and 546-93 in softball.The 13 state championships claimed by Hunter’s teams constitute an unprecedented record of success. More than 40 of her players received athletic scholarships.In 1998 Jacksonville State named Hunter the school’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation Outstanding Alumni. Hunter was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

W. H. Kimbrough

Kimbrough played basketball at the University of Alabama, where he was the leading scorer on the Crimson Tide team that won the 1934 Southeastern Conference basketball tournament. He was leading the SEC in scoring in 1934 until a broken jaw suffered in practice ended his season prematurely.Kimbrough arrived in Piedmont in the fall of 1934, following his graduation from Alabama. At Piedmont he was head basketball coach for three years and assisted Clair Strickland with the football team.His first Piedmont basketball team was Sixth District tournament runner-up to Calhoun County High of Oxford and advanced to the Alabama High School Athletic Association state tournament, then one tournament for all schools, before losing to powerful Tuscaloosa. In the 1935-36 season, Piedmont was again Sixth District runner-up. In their second trip to the state tournament, Kimbrough’s Bulldogs fi nished second, losing in the championship game to Sardis, the Sixth District champions.In the fall of 1937 Kimbrough became head coach in football and basketball at Sylacauga. Kimbrough returned to Piedmont in 1942 as superintendent of the Piedmont city schools and high school principal. In 1945, with no one else available to serve as coach, he coached the Bulldogs to an 8-0-0 record in football.As an administrator Kimbrough helped establish the Calhoun County basketball tournament.

Coach Louise Marbut

Let me tell you about Coach Louise Marbut. She began her teaching career at Anniston High School in 1963. In 1975, she took a teaching and coaching job at The Donoho School. She is best known for the success of her girls’ athletic teams from 1975 through 1992. While at Donoho, Marbut coached basketball, cheering, gymnastics, tennis and track but achieved her greatest success in volley-ball. Marbut made an immediate impact on volley-ball in Calhoun County, winning the County turnament in 1975. Donoho was also the County turnament champion for Marbut in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1987 and 1991. The Falcons finished as the "Calhoun County turnament runner-up" under Marbut on five occasions. Her teams were State Champions five times, and state runners-up six times, with an overall record of 600 wins and only 195 losses.Thirty-three of Marbut’s players were awarded all-state honors. Twice, Coach Marbut was selected state volley ball coach of the year. She was the founding president of the Alabama Volley ball Coaches Association. In 1995, Marbut was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. That same year, she received a distinguished service award from Jacksonville State. She received a lifetime achievement award from the Alabama Women’s Sports Foundation in 1998 and was named alumna of the year by Jacksonville State in 2000.

John Adcock

A Georgia native, Adcock began his high school basketball career at East Coweta where he played with the varsity as a freshman and sophomore. As a high school junior and senior, Adcock attended Young Harris Academy but played basketball with the Young Harris Junior College team. After graduating from high school, he spent two more seasons playing with Young Harris Junior College. He was an All-State performer each of his four seasons at Young Harris.In the fall of 1957, Adcock entered the University of Alabama on a basketball scholarship. He played one season then spent three years in military service where he got his first coaching experience. Adcock returned to Alabama for his senior season in 1961-62. That year he served as a team captain, earning a letter as one of the team’s rebounding leaders.From Alabama, Adcock came to Walter Wellborn High School in 1963 and never left. He served as varsity basketball coach for 15 years, from 1963-64 through 1977-78. During that time, Adcock was chosen as Calhoun County Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches three times. He won the award in 1971, the second year it was presented, in 1972 and in 1974. Under Adcock’s tutelage, the Panthers reached the Calhoun County tournament championship game once and played in the semifinals seven additional times.During his first 15 years at Wellborn, Adcock also served as an assistant varsity football coach, junior high football coach, varsity baseball coach and varsity track coach. He then coached varsity ‘B’ team and junior high basketball from 1978-79 through 1995-96 and again for two more years from 1998 through 2000, a total of 20 years. Overall, Adcock’s basketball teams won 408 games and lost 218.Adcock formally retired as a teacher in 1996 but has continued to work at Wellborn as a substitute teacher and as a volunteer on a daily basis. In 2003, he was a member of the inaugural class of the Coweta (Georgia) Sports Hall of Fame. In 2005, Walter Wellborn’s original gymnasium, the gym in which his teams played, was named for Adcock. His love for Walter Wellborn High School and its students, former and current, has earned him the title “Mr. Wellborn.”

Randy Law

Law started his coaching career in the fall of 1979 at Trinity Christian in Oxford, coaching boys varsity basketball. In two seasons under Law, Trinity went 41-13. Law then gave up coaching for five years before becoming varsity volleyball coach at Saks High School in the fall of 1986. Saks went 48-10 in 1995 and finished as Class 5A state champions. After the 1997 season, Law stepped aside as volleyball coach to spend more time with his family. In 2002, he returned as volleyball coach for one more season. His Wildcats went 55-7 and claimed both the Calhoun County tournament championship and the Class 4A state volleyball championship. He did not coach volleyball again until 2012 when he returned to guide the Wildcats for six more seasons. In 19 years as head volleyball coach at Saks, Law’s teams were 576-204.Law also coached softball at Saks. His teams won Calhoun County tournament championships in 1988 and 1992. He was named Calhoun County softball coach of the year in 1988, 1992, 1995 and 1998. He elected to give up his position as softball coach after the 1998 season but returned for six seasons from 2006 through 2011 and for one final season in 2018. His career record in 18 softball seasons, all at Saks, was 555-287.

Sargent Prickett

A Calhoun County native, Prickett was a backfield star at both quarterback and halfback and a devastating linebacker on coach Lou Scales’ Alexandria teams of 1949 and 1950 that returned the Valley Cubs to football prominence.As a junior, Prickett was at his best when his team needed him most. Alexandria was 1-2-1 after its first four games and trailed Munford 6-0 before Prickett scored on a 40-yard run in the third quarter and the game ended in a 6-6 deadlock. The following week, Prickett started Alexandria on a five-game winning streak when he scored three touchdowns and one extra point, accounting for all of the Valley Cubs’ points, in a 19-7 win at Childersburg.For his play on both offense and defense, Prickett was voted to the coaches’ All-Calhoun County team as a first-team selection. He was also named third team All-State by the Birmingham News/Birmingham Age-Herald. The team included all schools regardless of size and just 11 players made each of the three teams.Alexandria played its “home” games at Anniston’s Memorial Stadium in 1950. The Cubs opened the season with a 61-0 win over Ranburne. Reserves saw most of the action. Despite playing sparingly, Prickett scored when he took a cross buck 40 yards. After the Valley Cubs upped their record to 2-0-0 with a 30-13 win at Ohatchee, Pricket scored on runs for 95 yards and 40 yards as Alexandria downed Munford for a 47-19 road win. Alexandria improved to 4-0-0 with at 34-18 win over Childersburg as Prickett scored on runs of 35, 46 and 23 yards.In a 26-19 win over Cleburne County, Prickett’s 100-yard kick return gave Alexandria a 13-12 lead and his 21-yard touchdown pass completion provided needed insurance. The Cubs followed with a 45-0 win over Jacksonville in which Prickett ran 44 yards for one touchdown and completed a 50-yard touchdown pass.In his final high school game, Alexandria upset Anniston 20-12 and Prickett rushed for all three touchdowns. It was the first time a Calhoun County team had defeated Anniston since the 1920 season. The Valley Cubs finished 8-0-0, Alexandria’s first undefeated and untied team.Prickett was first team All-County in 1950 and the only unanimous pick. He was named first team All-State after his senior season. In 1950, Prickett was named to the National High School All-America football team selected by the Wigwam Wisemen of America, that era’s equivalent of today’s Parade All-America status. He was also a member of the North squad for the annual AHSAA North-South all-star game in Tuscaloosa’s Denny Stadium in August.He accepted a football scholarship to Georgia Tech but stayed just two quarters before returning to Alexandria and joining the military.Prickett died August 7, 1965, at age 32

Gene Taylor

A native of Georgia, Taylor completed his undergraduate degree at Jacksonville State University in 1974 and earned a master’s degree from Jacksonville State in 1981. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he immediately began a teaching and coaching career that lasted 30 years. Taylor was a successful assistant coach in football, most often as a defensive coordinator. As a head baseball coach, his teams were 201-130 and he was Calhoun County’s baseball coach of the year in 1996.Taylor had his greatest coaching successes as wrestling coach. At Wellborn, he coached two teams to Calhoun County wrestling championships.Taylor then became head wrestling coach at Weaver. His Weaver teams were state champions nine times, winning Class 1A-4A titles in 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. Three other Bearcat teams finished as state runner-up. Taylor’s Weaver teams were Calhoun County champions 10 consecutive years.During Taylor’s tenure at Weaver, his teams had dual match winning streaks of 221 matches and 111 matches. Taylor was named Alabama’s 1A-4A wrestling coach of the year nine times. In 1996 and again in 2004, USA Wrestling named Taylor coach of the year in Alabama. In 1996, he was USA Wrestling’s coach of the year for the southeastern United States.Fifty-five of Taylor’s wrestlers won individual state championships and eight were named high school All-Americans. His career record as a head wrestling coach was 500-34. At Weaver, Taylor’s teams were 385-11 in dual meets.In 2010, Taylor was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame.

Kathy McMinn

Since you are close to the city of Weaver, let me tell you about Kathy McMinn. While at Weaver High School, where she graduated in 1980, McMinn excelled in track and field. She ran as a hurdler and in relays and competed in the high jump and long jump. As a senior, McMinn established an "Alabama High School Athletic Association indoor record" in the 60-yard low hurdles. At the Calhoun County track meet that spring, McMinn was first in the 100-yard dash, 110-yard low hurdles and long jump, and tied for first in the high jump. At the 1980 A H S A A state outdoor meet, she placed second or third in four events, leading Weaver to a third place finish in Class 3 A.McMinn’s true sports passion was gymnastics. She began her career as a gymnast while in junior high school. McMinn competed with the Anniston Y M C A’s Saltos club, coached by Noma Gant, until she completed high school. In 1980, McMinn was Number 1 All-Around in the state championship meet, leading Saltos to the state championship.McMinn’s abilities as a gymnast earned her a scholarship to the University of Georgia. At Georgia, McMinn was All-S E C, All-Region, All-American and Academic All-American each of her four years. As a college senior in 1984, she was Southeastern Conference All-Around champion.When McMinn completed undergraduate school in 1984, she received an N C A A postgraduate scholarship. McMinn completed her medical degree at the "University of Alabama School of Medicine". She is now a “Critical Care and Pulmonary Medicine doctor” in Atlanta.

Harold Warren

Warren was a three-sport athlete at Alexandria High School from the fall of 1957 until his graduation in the spring of 1960.In football, he started at linebacker as a sophomore and starred in Alexandria’s 14-13 win over Jacksonville in the Turkey Bowl. As a junior, Warren was voted first team all-county as an end by Calhoun County’s coaches. The Birmingham News selected him first team Class AA all-state, the only junior to make the 11-player first team. The Anniston Quarterback Club named him the outstanding lineman among county schools and he was honorable mention on the Orlando Sentinel’s All-Southern team.During the 1959 football season, Warren served Alexandria as a co-captain while playing halfback on offense and middle guard on defense. He was a unanimous choice for the 1959 all-county team as a guard. Warren was named first team Class AA all-state by both the Birmingham Post-Herald as a tackle and the Birmingham News at guard. For the second year, the Anniston Quarterback Club chose Warren as the outstanding lineman among players from Calhoun County schools. The Wigwam Wisemen named Warren a high school All-America and he received a football scholarship to Auburn University. He was invited to play in both the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s North-South all-star football game and the East-West All-America game in Memphis but his coaches at Auburn persuaded him not to play in either game.In both 1959 and 1960, Warren was picked for the all-tournament team at the Calhoun County basketball tournament. As a senior, Warren scored 23 points as No. 4 Alexandria upset Oxford 46-39 in the Calhoun County tournament championship game. He had nine points in the fourth quarter despite playing with four fouls. At the 1960 Sixth District basketball tournament, Warren was named to the all-tournament team as Alexandria finished second and advanced to the AHSAA state tournament for large schools.As a sophomore during the 1958 track season, Warren set an Alabama Relays record of 15.3 seconds in the 120-yard high hurdles. Later that year, in the Sixth District track meet, he ran 15.2 seconds in the high hurdles and established a state record in the 180-yard low hurdles with a time of 21 seconds flat. At the Class A state track meet, Warren won both the 120-yard and 180-yard hurdles. As a junior, he was second at the state meet at 120 yards and third at 180 yards.

George Smith

Smith graduated from Ohatchee High School in 1952. After attending Jacksonville State for several semesters, he was hired by the Anniston Star to work in its advertising department. He sold advertising during the day and on weekends began covering high school football games.Smith spent parts of three decades writing sports for the Anniston Star, most of that time while serving as sports editor from 1958 through 1977. He was a one-man sports department when he became sports editor in November 1958. He covered high school, college and professional sports and wrote four columns a week. Smith was a familiar figure at high school sports venues across Calhoun County throughout the school year. He also made a point of visiting each school in his paper’s five-county coverage area at least once a year. As a result, high school coverage in the Anniston Star was second to none.During Smith’s time as sports editor he won several state writing awards from the Associated Press and was named Alabama’s sports writer of the year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. The one-man department became a five-person operation. In 1974-75, Smith was the first president of the reorganized Alabama Sports Writers Association.Smith became a charter member of the Alabama sports Hall of Fame’s selection committee in 1969 and has served continuously in that capacity.In 1977, Smith’s official connection to the Anniston Star’s sports department ended when he became the paper’s general columnist, a position he held for more than 30 years. He continued to follow sports and write about sports figures periodically in his general columns.In 2010, Smith received the Auburn Journalism Honors award for Distinguished Alabama Community Sports Journalist. That same year, National Society of Newspaper Columnists named him the recipient of its Ernie Pyle Legacy Award. Each award recognizes lifetime achievement.

Van Deerman

Van Deerman graduated from Jacksonville State University – then Jacksonville State Teachers College – before beginning his career as an educator. Deerman coached junior high and high school basketball for 33 years. He began coaching at Locust Fork and returned to Calhoun County in 1953 as coach at Roy Webb Junior High. After four years at Roy Webb, Deerman coached junior high basketball at Walter Wellborn for two seasons. Then, for 25 years, Deerman was varsity basketball coach at Jacksonville High School before retiring after the 1983-84 season.Five times – 1967, 1968, 1975, 1976 and 1978 – Deerman’s Jacksonville teams were Calhoun County tournament champions, the most by any coach at the time of his retirement. Five other times a Deerman coached Jacksonville team was Calhoun County tournament runner-up.The Golden Eagles were Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A Area tournament champions in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1983. The 1978 team was Deerman’s most successful. That team lost its second game then won 28 consecutive games, including a Region championship that earned Jacksonville one of eight berths in the 3A state tournament. The Eagles lost to Eufaula 51-47 in their opening tournament game and ended the season 29-2.Deerman was Calhoun County coach of the year in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1983. His 33-year career win-loss record was 545-283. Twenty times his teams won at least 20 games. In addition to his basketball responsibilities, Deerman also coached other sports including football and track. In 1995 he was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. Deerman died August 12, 2000.

Greg Robinson

Robinson was a standout in both football and basketball at Alexandria High School, graduating in 1976.In his senior season of football, 1975, Robinson was first team all-county at quarterback. In his senior basketball season, he played both guard and forward and was one of twelve players chosen for the all-tournament team for the annual Calhoun County tournament. After basketball season concluded, Robinson was one of five players named first team all-county. He averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior.His high school accomplishments earned a football scholarship to Jacksonville State University. At JSU, he was a four-year letterman. Robinson lettered at defensive end in his first two seasons at Jacksonville State. As a sophomore, he started every game at end as the Gamecocks captured the Gulf South Conference championship and finished second in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Lack of depth at linebacker led his coaches to move Robinson to that position for his junior and senior years. The Gamecocks were also Gulf South champions in his junior year.In 1979, his senior season of football for the Gamecocks, Robinson was a team captain and voted JSU’s most valuable defensive player. He was chosen All-Gulf South Conference at linebacker and the Gulf South Conference defensive player of the year. Robinson was also named honorable mention All-American by United Press International.Robinson pursued graduate school in Chemistry at The University of Alabama, where he studied synthetic inorganic chemistry under the guidance of Professor Jerry L. Atwood (now Curators’ Professor of Chemistry at the University of Missouri). Upon receiving his Ph.D. in Chemistry (1984) Dr. Robinson joined the faculty of Clemson University (1985) and developed a productive research program emphasizing the organometallic chemistry of the group 13 metals. A decade later Professor Robinson joined the faculty of The University of Georgia (1995), and now holds the title Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemistry.Professor Robinson has received numerous awards including the Southern Chemist Award (1998), the Herty Medal (2008), the Humboldt Research Prize (2012), the F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry (2013), and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Faculty Achievement Award (2014). In 2017, Professor Robinson was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). Professor Robinson is also a recipient of the Lamar Dodd Creative Research Award (2010)—the highest research award of The University of Georgia. In 2021, Professor Robinson has received the prestigious honor of being elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Ragan Clark

I want to tell you about a man named Ragan Clark. As a sophomore at Alexandria in 1957, Clark was named honorable mention All-Calhoun County in football as a guard. In his junior year, he grew to be a 145-pound guard and earned first-team All-Calhoun County honors. As a senior, Clark was second-team All-Calhoun County as a guard. Clark graduated from Alexandria in 19 60, then spent four years at the University of Alabama, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education with a minor in biology. While at Alabama, Clark worked as a football manager for a short time. Then assistant basketball coach, Wimp Sanderson encouraged him to become a basketball manager and he did that for his final two years in Tuscaloosa. Returning to Alexandria to teach and coach, Clark became head basketball coach after one year as an assistant. His first Alexandria team, the 1965-66 Valley Cubs, featured returning starters Danny Whited and Ray Kelley and a sophomore guard from Weaver Junior High School named Larry Ginn. That team reached the Class 3-A-state-tournament championship game before losing to Pisgah in overtime. The Cubs ended up 23 and 6. Alexandria returned to the 3-A-state-tournament in 19 67 and reached the semifinals before losing to Scottsboro. A loss to Lauderdale County in the consolation game finished Alexandria’s season at 19 and 11. Clark coached in the State all-star basketball game in 1966. Clark left Alexandria to become head football coach at Randolph County in the fall of 1967. A year later he became the fourth head football coach at Ohatchee in four years. The Indians had been 1-8 and 1-8 in the previous two seasons. After two rebuilding seasons of 3 and 6 and 3 6 and 1, the Indians were 11 and 2 in 1970 and finished as Class 1A, runner-up. Clark was voted Calhoun County’s coach of the year. Coach Clark coached in the state all-star football game in 1971.Clark’s final six teams at Ohatchee earned 53 wins, 12 loses and two ties. His last two teams, the 1974 and 1975 seasons, were a combined 20 and 3. After several years away from Ohatchee, Clark returned to Ohatchee in 1991. The Indians missed the playoffs in 1991, but made five consecutive playoff appearances under Clark thereafter. Coach Clark passed away at the age of 79 on March 6th, 2022.

Mike Tucker

Let me tell you about Mike Tucker. He was a four-sport athlete at Alexandria from the fall of 1970 through the spring of 1973. As a senior in the 1972 football season, he moved from halfback to quarterback and helped the Valley Cubs to a 9-1 and 0, regular season record. Alexandria was one of eight teams to qualify for the Class 2A, playoffs that year. The underdog Valley Cubs defeated Lauderdale County in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinal round. Tucker was first-team All-County at quarterback for small schools as a senior.In basketball, Tucker was All-Calhoun County tournament in the small-school division in 1973. He was also all-area, and played in the basketball all-star game in Tuscaloosa that summer. Tucker also lettered three years in both baseball and track, while at Alexandria.After graduating from Alexandria in 1973, Tucker spent one year at Marion Military Institute where he lettered in football, basketball and track. In the fall of 1974, he transferred to the University of Alabama and red-shirted for one year.At Alabama, Tucker lettered in 1975, 1976 and 1977 at cornerback. He led the team in interceptions in both 1976 and 1977. In 1977, his senior season, he was second-team All-Southeastern Conference and Academic All-SEC. That season, Tucker led Alabama in passes broken up and was the leading tackler among players in the secondary.He played on SEC championship teams in 1975 and 1977. In Tucker’s years at Alabama, the Crimson Tide won three bowl games. In 1975, the team was 11-1 including a 13-6 win over Penn State on December 31, 1975, in the Sugar Bowl. In 1976, Alabama was 9-3. The wins included a 36-6 victory over UCLA in the Liberty Bowl on December 20, 1976. The 1977 team was 11-1 and defeated Ohio State 35-6 in the Sugar Bowl on January 2, 1978.Tucker and Ozzie Newsome were the permanent captains for the 1977 team, Tucker for the defense and Newsome for the offense.

Ed Duepree

Deupree graduated from Talladega High School where he earned recognition as an end on the Birmingham-News-Birmingham Age-Herald All-State football teams in 1948, his senior season, and received a scholarship from Auburn. He was a starter in the second annual Alabama High School Athletic Association North-South All-Star game in August 1949 then started at end for Auburn’s freshman team. He transferred to Austin Peay and started for the Governors in 1950 then spent two years in military service.Following his graduation from Jacksonville State, Deupree served as assistant football coach at LaFayette for one year and at Austell, Georgia, for three years before coming to Walter Wellborn in 1960 as assistant to Frank Hackney in football and head basketball coach. When Hackney resigned as head football coach after the 1960 season, Deupree was named head coach.Deupree served as head football coach at Walter Wellborn for 12 seasons from 1961 through 1972. The Panthers were 77-33-5 during his tenure and won or shared five Calhoun County championships. Wellborn won the county championship in 1962, defeating No. 2 seed Alexandria 27-0 in the semifinal game and No. 1 Oxford 12-0 in the championship game. The Panthers won the county champion game again in 1965, defeating Piedmont 7-0. In 1966, Wellborn shared the title with Oxford after the championship game ended in a 7-7 deadlock. In 1963 and again in 1967, Wellborn was named county champion as no championship game was played. The 1963 Panthers were 4-0-2 against other Calhoun County teams and 6-2-2 overall. The 1967 team defeated Alexandria, Piedmont, Oxford, Saks, Jacksonville and Anniston in order to finish the regular season 6-0-0 against county competition.In 1966, Wellborn was named Class 3A state champion over 88 other 3A schools by the Birmingham News based on a points system created by the AHSAA. The Panthers finished 9-0-1.In 1963, Deupree served as an assistant coach in the North-South All-Star game. Deupree’s 1964 team defeated Anniston 27-6, Wellborn’s first football win over Anniston. It was the first of five consecutive wins over the Bulldogs. Deupree was chosen by his peers as Calhoun County coach of the year in 1966 and named Alabama’s 3A coach of the year by the Birmingham News. In 1970, Deupree led Wellborn to its first football playoff appearance. One of only eight teams in the 3A playoffs, the Panthers were 1-1 in the postseason.In 2010, Wellborn honored Deupree when it named the field house after him.

Bill Burgess

Burgess, a graduate of Jones Valley High School, lettered in football at Auburn then began his coaching career as a football assistant at Banks High School in Birmingham. He became head football coach at Birmingham’s Woodlawn High School in 1967.In 1971, Burgess began a 14-year tenure as head football coach at Oxford High School. His Oxford teams were 107-41-4 and reached the AHSAA playoffs eight times.Burgess became head football coach at Jacksonville State University in 1985, a position he held through the 1996 season. In 12 seasons, his career record at Jacksonville State was 84-49-4. The 1992 Gamecocks were NCAA Division II national champion. Burgess won four Gulf South Conference crowns and five straight invitations to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Jacksonville State advanced to the Division II title game in three of those five seasons.Burgess was a three-time Gulf South Conference coach-of-the-year selection and was named the 1992 NCAA Division II national coach-of-the-year.With Burgess at the helm, Jacksonville State won the Gulf South Conference in 1988 with a 7-1 record. The Gamecocks won the 1989 GSC title with a perfect 8-0 record and finished as NCAA runner-up. Jax State then finished 6-0 in 1991 and 5-0-1 in 1992 to win back-to-back GSC titles, capped with the 1992 national championship in JSU’s final game as a Division II member. Burgess coached the Gamecocks from 1985 until 1996.He was inducted into the Jacksonville State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

Richard Madden

In high school, Madden played basketball and baseball at Water Valley, Mississippi, before graduating in 1952. He continued his basketball and baseball career at Northwest Mississippi Junior College for two years (1952-54) and William Carey (1954-56). Madden became head basketball coach at White Plains High School during the 1958-59 school year and coached at White Plains continuously through the 1975-76 season.During the years Madden coached at White Plains, White Plains was the smallest high school in Calhoun County but regularly competed effectively with larger schools. Madden’s 1962-63 White Plains team was 27-5, including three wins over Saks and three wins over Jacksonville. In the 1973-74 season, the Wildcats reached the AHSAA Class 1A semifinals before losing to eventual state champion East Perry and ending 24-4. That team defeated Alexandria three times, Saks twice, Piedmont twice and Jacksonville once. Losses came to Munford, Piedmont and Jacksonville.Madden’s teams also enjoyed success in the Calhoun County basketball tournament. White Plains was third in the county tournament in 1963, defeating Jacksonville in the consolation game. The Wildcats finished second in 1964, falling to Oxford in the championship game. White Plains reached the semifinals in 1971 and was “Little Six” county tournament runner-up in 1974. The Wildcats finished fourth in 1962 and 1976.In 1962, Madden’s team was Sixth District South tournament champion. The Wildcats finished the Sixth District South tournament as runner-up in 1963. The following year the Alabama High School Athletic Association abandoned the district tournament format and moved to area tournament play. Under Madden, White Plains won area tournament titles in 1964, 1974 and 1976. The Wildcats were area runners-up four seasons.Overall, Madden’s varsity teams at White Plains were 338-151, including seven 20-win seasons and only two losing seasons. After retiring from coaching following the 1975-76 season, Madden served as a basketball official for more than ten years.

Mike Deerman

Deerman was a starter as a sophomore, junior and senior in basketball for Jacksonville High School where he was coached by his father, the late Van Deerman. In seven Calhoun County tournament games over three years, he averaged 15.3 points and was named to the all-tournament team. Deerman was an all-district basketball player at Jacksonville in 1964 and 1965.When he graduated from Jacksonville State University in 1970, Deerman had decided on a career as a teacher and a coach. His first teaching position was at Weaver High School and he remained there for his entire 30-year career.Deerman was head varsity basketball coach for 25 years, starting in the 1973-74 season and retiring after the 1997-98 campaign. Before he became head coach at Weaver, the new high school had fielded just three varsity basketball teams. Statistically, Deerman’s final five seasons at Weaver were the best of any five-year period while he was there.The Bearcats were area champions in 1975, 1987 and 1988 for Deerman. In 1978, Weaver enjoyed its first 20-win season, finishing 20-9, but lost to Jacksonville in the area tournament championship game after having defeated Alexandria and then Oxford to reach the finals. At the time, only the area champion advanced to the postseason.The Bearcats made the playoffs as area runner-up in 1985, 1990, 1994 and 1996.The 1990 team’s 21-6 record was the best of any Weaver team coached by Deerman. The 1996 team was 20-6, closing the season with a narrow loss to Litchfield on the road.Deerman was named a Calhoun County basketball coach of the year by his peers four times. He also coached junior varsity and junior high basketball teams for many years. Overall, his teams won more than 450 games, almost 300 of those in varsity competition.

Bill Miller

Let me tell you about Bill Miller. He began his athletic career at Mechanicsville Junior High School where he played basketball and softball. As an eighth-grader in the spring of 1951, he led the small West Anniston school to a second place finish behind Oxford, in the Calhoun County junior high basketball tournament. His size and athletic ability attracted the attention of Bill Farrell, then coaching football and basketball at Ohatchee, and Farrell persuaded Miller to enter Ohatchee as a freshman.Miller made honorable mention All-County as a freshman tight end, in the fall of 1951. By his sophomore season Miller stood 6-foot-2 and weighed over 200 pounds, and new Ohatchee coach Charles Patty, often employed him on end around plays. He scored three touchdowns on long runs in a 47-7 win over Ranburne and repeated the feat against Cedar Bluff the next week in a game the Indians won 45-0. Miller was named first team All-County as a sophomore. As a sophomore in 1952, Miller was second team on the small school All-State team named by the Birmingham News.In 1953, Miller’s junior year, he served as a co-captain. Ohatchee completed the regular season 8-0-1, earning the Calhoun County championship and a berth in the annual Turkey Bowl game against Anniston on Thanksgiving Day. Southeastern Conference schools were already beginning to court him, but Miller’s left knee was severely injured during the Anniston game. Despite an attempt to repair the ligaments in his knee surgically, Miller was unable to play again. As a junior, he was second team All-County. Miller was also named first team All-State at tight end on two All-State teams, the Birmingham News and the Birmingham Post-Herald.In basketball, Miller routinely scored over 20 points at a time when many games ended with fewer than 40 points scored by an entire team. As a freshman, he was a member of the all-tournament team for the first Calhoun County basketball tournament. He had scored 19 points against Alexandria despite fouling out with more than 10 minutes left in the game. Later that season in the Sixth District tournament, Miller was a member of the all-tournament team. His football injury prevented him from playing basketball after his sophomore season.Since we are on the road between Alexandria and Ohatchee, I should mention that Ohatchee has always been a much smaller community and school, than Alexandria. So Ohatchee cherishes the hand full of times, that their football team would defeat Alexandria. Bill Miller was on the 19 53 team that defeated the cubs 12 to 6. It would be 20 years later before Ohatchee would defeat Alexandria again, when his son, Bill junior was quarterback on the 73 team that beat the valley cubs, 22 to 15. Bill's second son, Allan, played on the 19 77 state championship team. I will talk more about the 77 season as we get closer to the High School.Bill Miller is known across the quad state area as a very generous and honest business man who always showed his gratitude and support for schools and the education system. He died at the age of 73, on August 21st, 2008.

Lou Scales

The football stadium in Alexandria is named Lou Scales Stadium. In 1939, Lou Scales joined more than one hundred other players on the University of Alabama freshman football team. In 1941 and 1942, Scales lettered at fullback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Military service during World War II interrupted his Alabama football career. Scales returned to football in 1945 and lettered again.Scales began his coaching career at Thompson High School in 1946. After one year, Unsure that he wanted to continue coaching, Scales spent a year in business. He came to Alexandria High School in the fall of 1948 and remained until his retirement after the 1986 school year.Valley Cub fans were impressed when the Cubs went 8-0-0 in 1950, playing every game on the road. Alexandria capped its undefeated season with a 20 to 12 win over Anniston, the first time a Calhoun County team had beaten the Bulldogs in twenty years.Scales’ interest in improving athletic facilities at Alexandria led to the formation of the Alexandria Sportsmen’s Club. By 1952 a new, lighted football field was ready for use. The first game produced a 33 to 13 win over John Carroll of Birmingham. That 1952 team finished 9 and 1. In 1957 the Valley Cubs were undefeated. The 1972 team completed regular season play 9 and 1, then went 1 and 1 in the playoffs. The 1974 Cubs ended the regular season undefeated before finishing 12 and 1 overall. Lou Scales’ 38 Alexandria football teams accumulated 218 and only 14, but the 198 5team, his last, was his most successful. After going 8 and 2 in the regular season, the 1985 Valley Cubs ran off five consecutive playoff wins to claim the 4 A state championship. In the championship game, Alexandria defeated Elba 35 to 0.Coach Lou Scales was also an excellent basketball coach. He coached eight seasons at Alexandria in the 50’s and 60’s, where they won the county tournament three times. Lou Scales died July 18th, 2003.

Lott Mosby Memorial Stadium

Since we are near the Lott Mosby Memorial stadium, Let me tell you how it got its name. Chink Lott graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 1929 and immediately began a coaching career. After one year at Valley Head, he moved to Anniston High School. In his first season at Anniston, during the 1930 school year, Lott agreed to revive a series with arch-rival Gadsden that had been dormant since 1925. Gadsden defeated Anniston 49-6 that year and Lott vowed that no Anniston team coached by him would ever lose to Gadsden again. And None ever did. Over the next 13 years, Anniston defeated Gadsden six times and seven games ended in ties. No Gadsden team scored more than one touchdown over those 13 games.Lott teams were 6, oh and 1, against Talladega, which was Anniston’s other major rival of the time. Against Calhoun County High, as Oxford was then known, Lott’s record was 11, oh, and 1. Lott remained at Anniston for 14 years. His Anniston football teams earned 91 wins, 22 losses and 11 ties. Lott took four Anniston basketball teams to the state tournament. In 1932 and 1937, Anniston advanced as the Sixth district runner-up. In 1939 and 1942 the Bulldogs were Sixth District champions. The 1939 team reached the semifinals before losing to Mc-Gill Institute of Mobile.Following World War 2, Lott coached 11 years at Damoppolis where his football teams earned 84 wins, 18 losses and 7 ties. Lott died on May 8th, 1970. He is a charter member of the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Birmingham-Southern College Sports Hall of Fame.Beginning in 1955, Robert Mosby became the head football coach at Cobb Avenue High in Anniston, a position he held for 18 seasons. His teams tied for the Alabama Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 3 A state championship in 1965 and 1967, going 8, 2 and 1 in 1965 and 9 oh and 1 in 1967.Mosby’s first Cobb Avenue team was the Northeast District champion, the first such title for Cobb Avenue in school history. In addition to the 1955 team, Mosby’s 1959, 1960 and 1961 teams were also district champions. In the final game of the 1969 season, the Anniston Quarterback Club’s Crippled Children’s Charity Bowl, Cobb Avenue defeated Anniston 34-21 for Mosby’s 100th career win at Cobb Avenue. In 1970, Cobb Avenue earned 9 wins and one loss in regular season play. The Panthers were ranked Number 7 among big schools in the Alabama High School Athletic Association points system and one of eight teams to make the big school playoffs before losing to Number 2, Minor in the opening round.At Cobb Avenue, Mosby‘s football record was 121 wins, 50 losses and 10 ties. His overall football record was 144 wins, 62 losses, and 11 ties in 22 seasons. Seven times he was named coach of the year.Following the 1972-73 school year, Cobb Avenue became a junior high school and Mosby remained at Cobb Avenue as assistant principal. He was later an administrator at Anniston Middle School until he retired in 1992. In 1995 he was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Robert Mosby died on October the 11th, 2004.

Jack Stewart

Let me tell you about Coach Jack Stewart. He is revered in Saks, for leading the school’s infant football program, into the state playoffs. Prior to the 1966 football season, when Stewart arrived at Saks as head football coach, the Wildcats had only one winning record in their six years of varsity football competition. That soon changed.In 1968, Stewart’s third Saks team was undefeated in the regular season with 9 wins, no losses and no ties, and was one of four, Class 3A teams to qualify for the state playoffs. Saks then defeated Fairfield in the semifinals before finishing as Class 3A, runner-up. Stewart was voted Calhoun County Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches following the 19 68 season. The 1968 Wildcats gave Saks its first undefeated regular season, its first playoff appearance and its first 10-win season. In 1968, Stewart’s third Saks team was undefeated in the regular season with 9 wins, no losses and no ties, and was one of four, Class 3A teams to qualify for the state playoffs. Saks then defeated Fairfield in the semifinals before finishing as Class 3A, runner-up. Stewart was voted Calhoun County Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches following the 1968 season. The 1968 Wildcats gave Saks its first undefeated regular season, its first playoff appearance and its first 10-win season. The 1971 Wildcats earned 8 wins, no losses and one tie, in the regular season, and was only one of eight 3A teams to qualify for the playoffs. Saks made it to the semifinals that year.In 1974, Saks earned 8 wins, one loss and no ties in the regular season, and won its first area championship in football. The Wildcats then finished, 1 and 1 in the playoffs. In 1974, Stewart shared the Calhoun County “Big Five Coach of the Year" recognition. Overall, Stewart’s 12 Saks teams racked up 70 wins, 40 losses, and 4 ties. On October 1st, 1993, Saks High School named its football field in his honor. In 1995, Coach Stewart was elected to the “Alabama High School Athletic Association’s, Hall of Fame". Jack Stewart passed away on September 11th, 1998.

Courthouse and Willie Brewster Audio

Centennial Park - George W Ingram, The Legacy of the Military, and Anniston's Military Heritage

Seaman Second Class, United States Navy, George Washington Ingram was killed in action in the defense of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.For Seaman Ingram's bravery, an American destroyer was built and named in his honor. The U.S.S. George W. Ingram DE-62 was christened and launched on May 8, 1943.Seaman Ingram was commended by the Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet, in the following citation: "For prompt and efficient action and utter disregard of personal danger in the effort to repel the attack on the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941, which was made in conjunction with the attack on the fleet in Pearl Harbor on that date."Seaman Ingram received the following medals and ribbons: Purple Heart, Navy Commendation Medal for Heroism, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Good Conduct, American Defense, American Theater of Operations Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, Victory Medal of World War II.

Church of St. Michael & All Angels

Two On Pelham Rd

Two On Pelham Rd

Two churches on Quintard

On July 3, 1887, a congregation of 45 people met at the Opera House on Noble Street to organize a new church. Originally called Second Baptist Church, the name soon was changed to Twelfth Street Baptist Church.In 1889, it became Parker Memorial Baptist Church in memory of Mrs. Cornelia A. Parker, whose husband gave the money for a new building that was dedicated in March of 1891.The mission was and continues to be “Ministering to the World…Beginning at Our Own Front Door.”

Two On Pelham Rd

5 on Quintard S

Turn Left to see Lincoyer Monument

Turn Right to see Lincoyer Monument

Turn onto McCullars Lane

Turn right onto McCullars Lane

Turn into the Alexandria Community Center

Turn into the Alexandria Community Center

Approaching Aderholt Mill Road

Approaching Aderholt Mill Road

Jacksonville Square

Approaching Historic Markers at Choccolocco

Historic Markers at Choccolocco

Approaching Downtown Jacksonville

Approaching Historic Markers at Choccolocco

Approaching the Depot

Quintard

13th and Quintard

13th and Quintard

13th and Quintard

Three markers at the Depot

Van Deerman

Van Deerman graduated from Jacksonville State University – then Jacksonville State Teachers College – before beginning his career as an educator. Deerman coached junior high and high school basketball for 33 years. He began coaching at Locust Fork and returned to Calhoun County in 1953 as coach at Roy Webb Junior High. After four years at Roy Webb, Deerman coached junior high basketball at Walter Wellborn for two seasons. Then, for 25 years, Deerman was varsity basketball coach at Jacksonville High School before retiring after the 1983-84 season.Five times – 1967, 1968, 1975, 1976 and 1978 – Deerman’s Jacksonville teams were Calhoun County tournament champions, the most by any coach at the time of his retirement. Five other times a Deerman coached Jacksonville team was Calhoun County tournament runner-up.The Golden Eagles were Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A Area tournament champions in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1983. The 1978 team was Deerman’s most successful. That team lost its second game then won 28 consecutive games, including a Region championship that earned Jacksonville one of eight berths in the 3A state tournament. The Eagles lost to Eufaula 51-47 in their opening tournament game and ended the season 29-2.Deerman was Calhoun County coach of the year in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1983. His 33-year career win-loss record was 545-283. Twenty times his teams won at least 20 games. In addition to his basketball responsibilities, Deerman also coached other sports including football and track. In 1995 he was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. Deerman died August 12, 2000.

Van Deerman

Van Deerman graduated from Jacksonville State University – then Jacksonville State Teachers College – before beginning his career as an educator. Deerman coached junior high and high school basketball for 33 years. He began coaching at Locust Fork and returned to Calhoun County in 1953 as coach at Roy Webb Junior High. After four years at Roy Webb, Deerman coached junior high basketball at Walter Wellborn for two seasons. Then, for 25 years, Deerman was varsity basketball coach at Jacksonville High School before retiring after the 1983-84 season.Five times – 1967, 1968, 1975, 1976 and 1978 – Deerman’s Jacksonville teams were Calhoun County tournament champions, the most by any coach at the time of his retirement. Five other times a Deerman coached Jacksonville team was Calhoun County tournament runner-up.The Golden Eagles were Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A Area tournament champions in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1983. The 1978 team was Deerman’s most successful. That team lost its second game then won 28 consecutive games, including a Region championship that earned Jacksonville one of eight berths in the 3A state tournament. The Eagles lost to Eufaula 51-47 in their opening tournament game and ended the season 29-2.Deerman was Calhoun County coach of the year in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1983. His 33-year career win-loss record was 545-283. Twenty times his teams won at least 20 games. In addition to his basketball responsibilities, Deerman also coached other sports including football and track. In 1995 he was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. Deerman died August 12, 2000.

Van Deerman

Van Deerman graduated from Jacksonville State University – then Jacksonville State Teachers College – before beginning his career as an educator. Deerman coached junior high and high school basketball for 33 years. He began coaching at Locust Fork and returned to Calhoun County in 1953 as coach at Roy Webb Junior High. After four years at Roy Webb, Deerman coached junior high basketball at Walter Wellborn for two seasons. Then, for 25 years, Deerman was varsity basketball coach at Jacksonville High School before retiring after the 1983-84 season.Five times – 1967, 1968, 1975, 1976 and 1978 – Deerman’s Jacksonville teams were Calhoun County tournament champions, the most by any coach at the time of his retirement. Five other times a Deerman coached Jacksonville team was Calhoun County tournament runner-up.The Golden Eagles were Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A Area tournament champions in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1983. The 1978 team was Deerman’s most successful. That team lost its second game then won 28 consecutive games, including a Region championship that earned Jacksonville one of eight berths in the 3A state tournament. The Eagles lost to Eufaula 51-47 in their opening tournament game and ended the season 29-2.Deerman was Calhoun County coach of the year in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1983. His 33-year career win-loss record was 545-283. Twenty times his teams won at least 20 games. In addition to his basketball responsibilities, Deerman also coached other sports including football and track. In 1995 he was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. Deerman died August 12, 2000.

Waffle House next to the Hotel Finial

Waffle House next to the Hotel Finial

Waffle House next to the Hotel Finial

Scales and Ginn

You’re close to Alexandria High School. I have 6 minutes of commentary about two legendary coaches at Alexandria. You will need to find a parking spot near the gym or stadium to hear all that I have to share. Otherwise, you will begin approaching other historical sites nearby and I will stop talking about these two coaches and begin telling you about the site you’re heading toward.The football stadium in Alexandria is named Lou Scales Stadium. In 1939, Lou Scales joined more than one hundred other players on the University of Alabama freshman football team. In 1941 and 1942, Scales lettered at fullback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Military service during World War II interrupted his Alabama football career. Scales returned to football in 1945, and lettered again.Scales began his coaching career at Thompson High School in 1946. After one year, Unsure that he wanted to continue coaching, Scales spent a year in business. He came to Alexandria High School in the fall of 1948 and remained until his retirement after the 1986 school year.Valley Cub fans were impressed when the Cubs went 8 oh and oh in 1950, playing every game on the road. Alexandria capped its undefeated season with a 20 to 12 win over Anniston, the first time a Calhoun County team had beaten the Bulldogs in twenty years.Scales’ interest in improving athletic facilities at Alexandria led to the formation of the Alexandria Sportsmen’s Club. By 1952 a new, football field with stadium lights was ready for use. The first game produced a 33 to 13 win over John Carroll of Birmingham. That 1952 team finished 9 and 1. In 1957 the Valley Cubs were undefeated. The 1972 team completed regular season play 9 and 1, then went 1 and 1 in the playoffs. The 1974 Cubs ended the regular season undefeated before finishing 12 and 1 overall. Lou Scales’ 38 Alexandria football teams accumulated 218 victories, 114 losses, and 14 ties, but the 1985 team, his last, was his most successful. After going 8 and 2 in the regular season, the 1985 Valley Cubs ran off five consecutive playoff wins to claim the state championship. In the championship game, Alexandria defeated Elba, 35 to nothing.Coach Lou Scales was also an excellent basketball coach. He coached eight seasons at Alexandria in the 50’s and 60’s, where they won the county tournament three times. Lou Scales died July 18th, 2003.Larry Ginn was an outstanding basketball and football player at Alexandria after arriving as a sophomore from Weaver Junior High. In the 1965 66 basketball season, his sophomore year, Ginn started at point guard as the Valley Cubs reached the state basketball championship game.As a senior in 1967, Ginn quarterbacked Alexandria to an 8 and 2 season, its best win total in 15 years. He completed 23 touchdown passes, which at that time was a Calhoun County record, and amassed 2,300 yards of total off fense. He was one of five Alabama high school players named to the annual Orlando Sentinel All-Southern team.Ginn was a basketball starter at Montevallo as a freshman, then transferred to Gadsden State, where he averaged 18 points per game as a sophomore. Ginn played his final two years at Jacksonville State. At JSU, he averaged 11.8 points per game as a junior. In the 1972 73 season, as a college senior, Ginn was team captain and averaged 17.4 points as the Gamecocks finished 17-9. He was an All-Gulf South Conference selection after netting over 78 percent of his free throws.After graduating from JSU, Ginn returned to Alexandria, to teach and coach. He became the varsity basketball coach in the 1978 79 season. Ginn led Alexandria to state basketball championships in 1992, 1993, and 1997, second-place finishes in 1987 and 1988 and a school record eight County tournament titles. In 29 seasons, Ginn’s varsity teams accumulated more than 600 wins, averaging more than 21 wins and fewer than five losses a season. Nineteen Ginn-coached teams won at least 20 games, and 22 teams lost five or fewer games.In 1986, Ginn became Alexandria’s head football coach. In 21 football seasons under Ginn’s direction, the Valley Cubs accumulated 195 wins and only 54 losses. Alexandria won eight area championships, and three region championships and was state champions in 1995 and 1997.The then-new Alexandria gymnasium was named in Ginn’s honor in 1995. In 2002, he was inducted into the Alabama Community College Conference Hall of Fame. Larry Ginn was inducted into both “the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame”, and “the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame” in 2005. Larry Ginn passed away on July 10th, 2009.

Samuel Noble Statue

Sam Noble immigrated with his family to the United States from England. The family-owned a weaponry foundry in Georgia during the American Civil War, supplying armaments to the Confederate States Army. Their foundry was subsequently destroyed by the U.S. Army in 1864. At the war's end, they began rebuilding their business in Georgia and purchased land in Calhoun County, Alabama as an expansion. They went into partnership with former Union general Daniel Tyler and formed the Woodstock Iron Company in 1872, with the budding community being referred to by the same name as the company. The small town was renamed Anniston, after Tyler's daughter-in-law, to avoid confusion over another Woodstock located between Bibb and Tuscaloosa counties. Noble and Tyler personally designed the layout of their town that housed only company employees. The Woodstock Company constructed the buildings and installed the infrastructure.Several years after Noble's 1888 death, $5,400 was raised for a memorial, and Anniston accepted a design of a granite and white marble statue from Durham and Company in Charlotte, North Carolina. The actual sculpting was done by unknown persons in Italy under contract to Morris Brothers in Memphis, Tennessee. The public unveiling of the statue by Noble's granddaughter Elizabeth Roberts, was preceded by a parade through Anniston.

Saks High