The Era of Steamboats on the Alabama River
WHS Meeting – October 18 at 2 PM
Steamboats played an important part in the economic development of Alabama. Beginning in the 1830’s, Montgomery and Mobile became connected by a series of river packets that carried cotton, passengers and supplies ranging from hoop-skirts to whiskey.
Speaker for the afternoon will be Tom McGehee. He will discuss the rise of river traffic, the boats and their captains, as well as the decline in the early 20th century. Disasters ranging from deadly fires to a suicide will be covered and even a lingering ghost or two.
Since 1994, Tom McGehee has served as Museum Director of Bellingrath Gardens and Home. For more than thirty years he has written about the history of Mobile and the city’s lost architectural heritage. Tom serves on the boards of the Historic Mobile Preservation Society, the Rotary Club of Mobile and the Friends of the Governor’s Mansion. He is a past secretary of the Victorian Society in America and is currently president of the Friends of Magnolia Cemetery.
The Thursday, October 18th meeting will be held at RiverBend, the home of Chris Bailey and Ryan Dunagan on Bridgeport Road. This home, known to locals as the Moore-Welch-Yarbrough Home, has been recently restored with additional emphasis on the grounds. The address of RiverBend is 279 Bridgeport Road.
Due to expected interest and excitement to see this home, we are requesting that members only attend. Guests may accompany members but are highly encouraged to become members at the door. Dues are $15 a year for singles and $20 for a couple or $150 lifetime membership for singles and $200 for couples.
Please join us! ♦
AHA Fall Meeting in Camden!
The Alabama Historical Association will be holding its Fall Meeting and Pilgrimage in Camden on Saturday, October 27. The meeting will begin at 10:30 AM at the Camden United Methodist Church with a program by Camden native, Daniel Fate Brooks.
After lunch, tours of homes and other sites in Camden will begin. Some of the sites to see include the McIntosh-Hicks Home, the Liddell-Burford Home, the Matthews-Curry Home, the Sterrett-McWilliams Home, Old St. Mary’s-Hamilton Home, the Shoe Shop Museum and the Dale Lodge.
Friday, October 26 will be the pre-meeting tour in Furman. Some of the sites to see in Furman will be Wakefield, Bethsaida Baptist Church, Furman Methodist Church, the Moore-Burson-Rushing Home, the Palmer-Britt Home and the newly restored Deerfield – the Perdue-Estes-Suggs Home. Several special presentations are planned for the afternoon.
Please note this is NOT a Wilcox Historical Society tour of homes. Tickets will not be available on the day of the tour. Registration is not being handled locally.
Non-members of the Alabama Historical Association are welcome, but if you would like to attend this event, registration is $40 and should be received by October 17. Registration forms may be picked up at Black Belt Treasures.
Register online: www.alabamahistory.net/meetings ♦
In Memoriam
Historical Society Member, Gail Edith Prince Shorter (1937-2018), was a homemaker, beloved wife and mother. Gail was an avid musician and loved to play the piano and was the church organist at several Episcopal churches throughout her life. She was a native of Castleton-on-Hudson, NY and met her husband, William Wyatt Shorter while attending college at the University of Maine. She and Wyatt raised five children. In 1978, they moved to Camden where they lived the remaining years of their life together.
Historical Society Member, Edward Blake Field (1933-2018), was a native of Boston, MA. He spent his formative years in Camden in the care of his grandfather, the late Senator J. Miller Bonner. After graduating from Wilcox County High School, he attended the University of Alabama. He was employed for many years with the State of Alabama Highway Department. He married Bettie Albritton Falkenberry in 1983. In his retirement Blake enjoyed restoring several of the older homes on Camden’s Broad Street.♦
Mark your calendars! The WHS Spring Pilgrimage will be held March 23!
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
Hunter Appreciation Day Arts and Crafts Festival – November 24!
The Town of Pine Apple will sponsor the 22nd Hunter Appreciation Day Arts and Crafts Festival on Saturday, November 24. The event will be a family fun-filled day featuring various craft vendors, a big buck contest, antique car show and parade, children’s activities and live entertainment.
Proceeds from the event will be used to preserve and beautify the Town of Pine Apple.
For more information call (251) 746-2293 or (251) 746-2519 or email joycewall@yahoo.com or grsouthland@gmail.com. ♦
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
October 20 – Pine Hill Depot Day – Arts and Crafts and Entertainment! For more info: (334) 963-4351
October 28 at 2PM – Butler County Historical & Genealogical Society program – The World War I Service of the 167th Alabama Infantry Regiment – the famed unit that made history in France as part of the Rainbow Division. The speaker will be Dr. Ruth Truss. For more info: (334) 382-6959
November 7-10 – Alabama Frontier Days at Fort Toulouse – Fort Jackson Park near Wetumpka. Enjoy a living history event – see the south as it transitions from Creek Indian lands to military forts and civilian homesteads from 1700-1820’s
November 9-11 – Battles for the Armory in Tallassee. Tallassee Historic District and Gibson’s Plantation – Battle Reenactment of the Battles of Chehaw Station and Franklin. Interactive exhibits, period artillery, infantry, field hospital, blacksmith, carriage rides, tours of the Confederate Armory and more! For more info: (800) 923-4699
November 10 – West Dallas Antique Tractor, Car, Gas Engine and Craft Show in Orrville! Tractor parade, antique farm equipment demonstrations, entertainment and more! For more info: (334) 996-8970
November 11 at 3:30PM – Remembering WWI: An Armistice Centennial Concert on the Alabama Archives front terrace in Montgomery. Held on the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI the concert will feature a performance by the 151st Army Band of the Alabama National Guard with dramatic readings by Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Greta Lambert and Rodney Clark.
December 1 at 11AM – Happy Birthday Alabama Presentation at Old Cahawba. Celebrate Alabama’s birthday at the site of the first permanent state capital! For more info: (334) 872-8058
Do you have an event you would like to be included in the newsletter?
Let us know – email us at wilcoxhistoricalsociety@gmail.com. ♦
Thank you to our 2018 Lifetime Members!
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Bullock
Ms. Annie Crenshaw
Ms. Jane Shelton Dale
Mr. Ryan Dunagan & Mr. Chris Bailey
Ms. Lucy Hicks
Mr. & Mrs. Fleet Lane
Mr. & Mrs. Donald McLeod
Mr. & Mrs. Floyd Moore
Lifetime memberships are available
for $150 single and $200 couple.
The Old Jail Purchase
The old Wilcox County Jail building located on Water Street in downtown Camden behind the Courthouse has been purchased. The two buyers offered to purchase, renovate and re purpose the building to benefit the community to use as a welcome center and museum.
This jail was the county’s third jail and was constructed in 1889 by L.Y. Tarrant for $4,800. The features of this rare old two-story jail include superb brickwork and an ornate wooden porch.
This building is a contributing property to Camden’s Wilcox County Courthouse Historic District that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). ♦
WHS January Meeting
Stay tuned for more information about our January meeting! James Lamb from the University of West Alabama will be our guest speaker. The subject of the program will be Paleontology and Archaeology of Wilcox County. ♦
A Look Back…
Ads from The Camden Republic 19 July 1860
Price’s Classical and Mathematical School
Classes resume the first Monday in September
Two teachers and number limited to 40
T.W. Price
Rehoboth, Alabama
G.F. Spurlin and Company
Main Street, Camden
…Cotton stripes, plaids and osnaburgs .10 to .12 ½ per yard, black silk .85 to 1.50 per yard, ladies’ gaiters .74 to 1.25, ladies’ gaiters with heels 1.00 to 2.50, hoop skirts .60 to 1.25, Coats spool thread 5 cents per spool
New store, new goods in great variety at Mobile prices!
A.J. Saddler’s Excelsior Grist Mill
Allenton
Will grind 40-50 bushes of good meal a day
Nathaniel Ashely, “Mr. Saddler put me up a set of Gin gear and attaches it to one of his excelsior mills which performs at my entire satisfaction.”
Mark your calendars! The WHS Spring Pilgrimage will be held March 23!
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
Wilcox Historical Society 