Dear WHS Members,

We are less than a month from our tour! This, our busiest time of year, is also our most exciting. Our tour brings hundreds of people to our county, raising tens of thousands of dollars while leaving our guests with an incredibly positive impression of Wilcox County.

We have already sold over four hundred tickets to the Tour, raising over $70,000 between ticket sales and the generosity of our sponsors. With nearly a month left, we are sure to see those numbers grow significantly. Please continue to help us spread the word both in the community and by sharing our social media posts.

Our wonderful guest speakers, Luke and Julie Montagu, are now the 12th Earl and Countess of Sandwich after his father’s passing earlier this month. We are looking forward to welcoming them to Alabama for the first time. Their presentation on the Great Houses of England is sure to be incredible. There are still tickets available for the luncheon on Friday and Friday night’s Welcome Reception at Wakefield. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite.com.

I need your help! We need 40 volunteers to assist at the homes throughout the day during the Tour. Each volunteer will have a 2-hour shift, which leaves plenty of time to see the other homes on the tour. To volunteer, please email me at thebrittanyhouse@yahoo.com or text me at 256-975-7616. We need your help to make our Tour successful. Please volunteer!

I would be remiss if I did not thank our homeowners for graciously opening their homes for the Tour. We would not be able to host the Tour without each of you. It is a huge undertaking, to say the least, and we appreciate it. Thank you all for your generosity.

In other news, Mary Glen Grant has agreed to serve as our 2nd Vice President. In this new role, she will serve as our curator and oversee the general upkeep of our buildings. Thank you, Mary Glen, for joining the Board in this important role.

Thanks to Martha Grimes Lampkin for creating this amazing newsletter and managing our social media accounts. Her hard work and dedication have greatly impacted the Tour of Homes and our organization. The amazing research she does to produce these newsletters is truly remarkable. Thank you, Martha!

Finally, I am thrilled to announce that Hannah Cope Johnson, Principal Harpist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City, is returning to Camden. On Saturday night, April 26th, Hannah will perform a solo concert to benefit the WHS at the ARP Church in Camden. We are so blessed she is willing to take time off her busy performance schedule in New York to return to Wilcox County. Tickets will be available on Eventbrite.com on March 15. Don’t miss it.

As we prepare for our Tour, I encourage you to get involved by volunteering to help. We need you to make our Tour a positive experience for our homeowners and guests. We cannot do it without you!

Thank you all for your continued support of the WHS.

See you at Tour!
Lance Britt, WHS President

WELCOME to new members from Alabama: George Lance Jenkins from
Birmingham, Tanya Dunnam and
Roberta Jordan from Camden, Josephine Blackwell from Linden, Todd and Kecia
Kelso from Montgomery; from Florida: Bob and Meg
Jones from McDavid, Rick and Monica Jochum from
Stuart; Jamie Jordan from Rome Georgia, Cheryl
Zimmer from Hinsdale Illinois, Sally Trufan from
Charlotte North Carolina, Dave and Laura Laclede from
Parma Ohio; Sally and Steve Richardson from Plano Texas; from Virginia: Laura and David Nichols from Stafford, Christina R. Stortz from Reston.

WHS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Julia Ann and Dudly Handly
– Keepers of Liberty Hall

Eight years ago, Julia Ann and Dudly Handly, lifelong residents of Wilcox County, embarked on an unexpected new chapter. After retiring from their careers as a postmaster and a maintenance supervisor, they took on new roles as caretakers, hosts, and proud inheritors of Liberty Hall Bed and Breakfast.

Their dedication to preserving the charm and history of Liberty Hall, a Greek Revival antebellum home built circa 1850, has made it a cherished destination. Located in Possum Bend, Wilcox County, Alabama, Liberty Hall has remained in Julia Ann’s family for generations and is considered one of the South’s most unaltered historic homes, with many original furnishings still in place.

Julia Ann’s aunt, Lt. Col. Sara N. Harris, a distinguished veteran of WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam, inherited the home in the 1960s and led efforts to preserve its legacy. Under her stewardship, Liberty Hall became the first home in Wilcox County to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. She was also a founding member of the Wilcox Historical Society, a tradition of stewardship and service that Julia Ann and Dudly proudly continue today.

Dudly and Julia Ann grew up as childhood friends and were married in the parlor of Liberty Hall in 1995. They have three children and nine grandsons, all of whom love spending time at this historic family home.

Together, the Handlys offer guests a true taste of Southern hospitality, providing lodgings, tours, breakfast, private dinners, wedding venues, bridal and baby shower venues, and their famous cheese straws—along with a newly built outdoor event space complete with a kitchen and restrooms.

Active members of Camden Baptist Church, the Handlys were the first couple to become Lifetime Members of the Wilcox Historical Society. Julia also served as WHS Treasurer for several years. Their love for Wilcox County shines through their tireless efforts to preserve and promote the region’s history and beauty. As they often say, every day at Liberty Hall is a gift from Almighty God.

To learn more about Liberty Hall Bed and Breakfast, visit their website:
www.LibertyHallBnB.com . See Liberty Hall on our 2025 Tour of Homes!

2025 Tour of Homes

Camden Area

March 21-22, 2025

The 12th Earl and Countess of Sandwich, Luke and Julie Montagu, will be the Guest Speakers at our Tour of Homes, March 21 – 22, 2025. The Montagues will share stories of England’s great houses, including their own home, Mapperton, considered the finest Manor House in England. Join the Wilcox Historical Society in March as we welcome English Aristocracy to Alabama once again! Tickets are limited and available on Eventbrite.com.

Historic Camden, Alabama, is the site of the Wilcox Historical Society’s Tour of Homes on Saturday, March 22, 2025. This year’s tour includes seven beautiful homes, Canton Bend Methodist Church, c. 1912, the Beck Miller-Bonner law office, aka Governor Miller’s Law Office, c. 1840, and more. Registration will be at the Wilcox Female Institute, located at 301 Broad Street in Camden, on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The homes showcased on this year’s tour are: Yaupon, the Mathews-Tait-
Rutherford Home, c. 1840, the Sterrett-McWilliams Home, c. 1851, House on the Hill, the Goode-Morgan-Liddell-Phillippi Home, c. 1834, the Boykin-Jones-Liddell-Sessions Home, c. 1840, the Cook-JonesHarper Home, c. 1839, Pleasant Ridge, the Bethea-Strother-Myers Home, c. 1839, and Liberty Hall, the McDowell-Harris Home, c. 1850.

All proceeds from the WHS Tour of Homes go to preserve historic buildings throughout Wilcox County, Alabama.

Excitement for the Upcoming Tour of Homes!

As we eagerly anticipate this year’s Tour of Homes, we love hearing from past attendees and those excited to join us for the first time. Here are just a few of the wonderful comments we have received:

“They sure know how to do things at Wilcox Historical Society for sure!” – M.S.

“I’m excited about this! Richard Ervin McWilliams was my 3rd greatgrandfather, and I’ve never had the chance to come to Wilcox County and learn more.” – Visitor from Macon, GA

“We highly recommend this Tour of Homes… always so well done, and there are so many beautiful historic homes in this county!” – J.C.

“Great work, Wilcox County. Outstanding historic preservation and restoration efforts.” – R.N.

“We always enjoy this event very much! Attending again this year.” 🥰

“This is always an awesome event! The homes are magnificent and furnished with exquisite antiques.” – A.T.

“I already have my tickets and Hotel Reservation ❣️❣️❣️❣️ Recruited two couples last year, they loved it!” – S.T.

With such enthusiasm from our community and beyond, we know this year’s tour will be another unforgettable experience.

WHS Meetings

AGAINST ALL ODDS: THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES

THAT BUILT JAMESTOWN AND SHAPED A NATION

On Sunday, November 17th, WHS members and guests enjoyed a wonderful program by John Hunter on the foundational principles that led Jamestown to success despite seemingly insurmountable odds. He explored what made these principles so compelling, their impact on the first permanent British settlement, and the valuable lessons we can draw from this pivotal chapter in history.

John is a native of Alabama, born and raised in Dothan. His father was a career officer in the U.S. Army, from whom John inherited a love for this country and a respect for the military. His mother was an Alabama history teacher and instilled in him
a thirst for historical knowledge and love for all American history, especially the birth of our nation. John and his wife, Zoe, live in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

A FESTIVE GATHERING AT MAGNOLIA GLEN

Members of the Wilcox Historical Society and their guests enjoyed a delightful afternoon on Sunday, December 8, at the annual Christmas Open House at Magnolia Glen, the Palmer Barlow-Britt Home in Furman.

The beautifully decorated historic home provided the perfect setting for an afternoon of fellowship and holiday cheer. Guests from Grove Hill, Marion, Monroeville, Prattville, Pine Apple, Furman, and Camden gathered to celebrate the season while enjoying refreshments and warm hospitality.

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make this cherished tradition so special!

A MAGICAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT IN CAMDEN

The Wilcox Historical Society was delighted to sponsor a special Christmas concert by the Harvest Arts Quintet on Saturday, December 21, at the ARP Church in Camden. The evening’s performance, titled Behold the King, brought the beauty of classical Christmas music to life, followed by a festive reception at the Wilcox Female Institute.

Based in Nashville, TN, the Harvest Arts Quintet is dedicated to creating artistic experiences that inspire and uplift communities for the glory of God. The ensemble featured talented musicians performing on flute, violin, cello, viola, and harp, led by founder and flutist Madeline Cawley, who arranges all the music.

This marks the Quintet’s 10th visit to Wilcox County as part of their multi-state, three-week tour. Their performance of world-class Christmas music was the perfect way to unite our community in the spirit of the season. We were thrilled to see a wonderful crowd at the church, enjoying an evening filled with music, fellowship, and holiday cheer.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special event!

NINE DAYS OF TRAVELING:
LAFAYETTE’S 1825 ALABAMA TOUR

The Wilcox Historical Society’s meeting on Sunday, February 9, featured a captivating presentation by Dr. Lawrence Krumenaker, author of Nine Days Traveling: Lafayette’s 1825 Alabama Tour.

Dr. Krumenaker took attendees on a fascinating journey through Lafayette’s travels in Alabama—where he went, where he did not, and why he came in the first place. His engaging talk provided insights into the historic sites and routes the Revolutionary War hero visited nearly 200 years ago and revealed how these locations appear today.

With a unique astronomy and historical journalism background, Dr. Krumenaker blended science, storytelling, and on-site exploration to bring history to life. He shared his extensive research from books on historical tourism, including Nine Days Traveling and From River to River, and highlighted his career in science writing, education, and planetary cartography.

Members and guests enjoyed an afternoon of discovery and gained a deeper appreciation for Lafayette’s legacy in Alabama.

For the WHS members who could not attend Dr. Krumenaker’s talk on Lafayette, you can purchase the book Nine Days Traveling online with an e-coupon — Code: 9DT2nd — on the publisher’s website, https://www.hermograph.com/store . The book is $26.95, but shipping and handling will be free (approximately $7 off the cart total) for this item.

Nine Days Traveling takes you through Lafayette’s journey through the state of Alabama, from Fort Mitchell on the Chattahoochee to Montgomery and down the Alabama River to Mobile and Mobile Point. The book leads you to every site where he ate, slept, gave a speech, heard one, witnessed an event, or took part in one. It is documented with photographs, maps, and driving directions and offers walking tours at several sites.

This coupon is good until March 30th.

Don’t miss Dr. Krumenaker’s article about Lafayette’s Tour in the Winter 2025 issue of Alabama Heritage magazine!

Coming Soon!
WHS BENEFIT CONCERT
APRIL 26, 7:00 PM
ARP Church – Camden

Hannah Cope Johnson, Principal Harp of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City has agreed to perform a solo concert to benefit the Wilcox Historical Society. This will be a rare opportunity to hear one of our country’s finest musicians in Wilcox County. Tickets will be available on Eventbrite.com in March and will be limited.

Please plan on attending this very special concert. https://harpfreak.com/listen

Barbara Perdue Middleton July 29, 1938 – December 21, 2024 An avid local historian, she served as president of the Butler County Historical and Genealogical Society for 22 years. She initiated and accomplished many important history and preservation projects for Greenville and Butler County. She was also a historian for the Butler County Baptist Association and the Director of Missions and Church Historian for her church – Spring Creek Baptist Church in Honoraville, Alabama. She was a faithful member of Spring Creek for 73 of her 86 years.

She was president of the Steiner Store Homemakers Club. She was awarded the 2023 Spirit of Greenville Award from the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce for her civic work, volunteer service, and lifelong contributions to the community.

Barbara worked 33 years as a bookkeeper at Greenville Cash & Carry and for Norman Trading in Fort Deposit for many years prior to that.

Barbara loved to travel and had been to Australia, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Switzerland, and numerous places in the United States. She was especially fond of the scenic beauty of our national parks. Her favorite places to travel were to Orange Beach, Alabama, or Panama City, Florida, with her sisters and their families.

She also had a passion for camellias. She was a longtime member of the Greenville Camellia Society and tirelessly promoted the beauty and significance of these flowers.

She devotedly advocated for Greenville’s camellia plants and heritage as “The Camellia City.” She was an accomplished camellia grower and a camellia photographer and had painted many watercolors of her favorite flower.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Clady Payton Perdue and Freddie Kennedy Perdue, her sister Linda Bargainer, her first husband, Erving Maddox, Jr., and her second husband, Willie Gene Middleton.

She is survived by her son Johnny Ray Maddox of Montgomery, two grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and sisters Sylvia Edgar, Charlotte Spann, Sandra Larisch, and Peytie Bowen.

Celebrate Special Occasions with a Gift Membership!
Looking for the perfect gift for a birthday, anniversary, or just because? Consider a gift membership to the Wilcox Historical Society! Not only will you be giving a unique present, but you will also be helping us preserve and celebrate the rich history of Wilcox County.
A membership offers access to exclusive events, educational resources, and a deeper connection to our county’s heritage. It is a thoughtful way to honor a loved one while supporting our mission.
When you gift a membership, we will send a beautiful gift certificate directly to your friend or family, along with our latest newsletter. It is a great surprise that keeps on giving!
If you are interested in making a meaningful contribution to someone’s special day, please email us at wilcoxhistoricalsociety@gmail.com for more information.
Together, let’s celebrate the past and support the future of Wilcox County!

Rev. Columbus Franklin Sturgis –
A Lifetime of Ministry and Leadership

Honoring His Service at Friendship Baptist Church and Beyond

as We Celebrate 200 Years of Faith in Pine Apple

By Martha Grimes Lampkin

In 1825, the pioneer families of this eastern section of Wilcox County organized Friendship Baptist Church. Until 1851, when the post office was established, the area was known as the Friendship community. The name was changed to Pine Apple, designating both the pine and apple trees, as both were adapted to the soil here and grew abundantly.

The first book of minutes of the church, dating from 1825-1862, was destroyed when the pastorium burned in the fall of 1940, so there are no actual records of those earliest years.

The first meeting of the Pine Barren Baptist Association was held at Friendship Baptist Church in 1850. Associational records indicate that Rev. Kedar Hawthorne moderated the meeting.

As Friendship Baptist Church celebrates its 200th anniversary, this article highlights the life and legacy of Rev. Columbus Franklin Sturgis and his dedicated service to churches across Alabama and Georgia.

Rev. Sturgis was the pastor of the Friendship Baptist Church in Pine Apple, Wilcox County, Alabama, from 1862 to 1865.

He was born in 1809 in Augusta, Georgia, to William Goodwin Sturgis and Ann Campbell. He was raised in Augusta, clerked in a drugstore, and studied medicine. After the required two-year curriculum, he received his diploma from the Medical Academy of Georgia.

At the age of 18, he joined the Baptist Church. He felt called to the ministry and entered Mercer Institute, which opened in 1833 as the forerunner of Mercer University. Founded in Penfield, Georgia, Mercer is the oldest institution established by the Georgia Baptist Convention and has long served as a leading source of Baptist ministerial and lay leadership.

After graduating, Sturgis was sent as a missionary to the Native Americans in North Georgia, East Tennessee, and North Carolina. He served until they were moved to the Indian Territory. A 1939 article from The Macon Telegraph titled “Gospel of Matthew in Indian Language Is on Display at University” mentions Sturgis. Dr. Wilbur Stout wrote that the Mercer Museum had added several items “on the missionary efforts in the North Georgia forest a hundred years ago, and turned out seven million pages of reading matter in the Cherokee language.” One item in the museum was a Cherokee Gospel of Matthew, published in 1832. This book contained scriptures and several Cherokee hymns and was formerly owned by Sturgis when he was employed as a missionary and agent.

Sturgis later taught school in Augusta and married Alice Myra “Almyra” Plumb in 1837. While teaching, he organized the Green Street Baptist Church. In 1845, the first session of the Southern Baptist Convention was held at Green Street Church.

The funeral sermon for Jesse Mercer, D.D. (1788-1841) was preached in Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia, by Elder C.F. Sturgis, who had, for a time, been associated with him in the pastoral charge of the church. The first Georgia Baptist Association meeting was held in 1786 at the Phillips Mill Baptist Church in Washington, which Jesse Mercer’s father, Silas Mercer, had organized. Jesse was ordained to the church ministry in 1789, and upon his father’s death in 1796, he assumed the duties of pastor and would serve in that capacity for 37 years. Mercer University was named in his honor.

Sturgis moved to Forsyth, Georgia, in about 1844. In 1849, he helped obtain a charter for the Forsyth Female Institute, later Monroe College. In 1907, the name changed to Bessie Tift College. Tift College merged with Mercer University in 1986.

The family moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in about 1848, and he became President of the Alabama Female Athenaeum. At the same time, he was the principal of the Greensboro Female Institute in Hale County. Sturgis was called “a competent and experienced teacher and a gentleman of great moral worth.” He was also said to have given “great attention to the moral and religious culture of his pupils.” 

In 1849, he spoke at the Greensboro Division of the Sons of Temperance, where a copy of his address was published in the Alabama Beacon. Also, that year, he entered a Southern Baptist essay contest. The Baptist State Convention of Alabama offered a premium of $200 for the best essay on the Duties of Christian Masters to their Servants; “and assigned the duty of making the award to a committee selected from religious denominations of the southern and southwestern states.” Three essays were selected for publication: “The Rev. H.N. McTyeire, of New Orleans, is the author of the essay signed ‘Crescent;’ the Rev. C.F. Sturgis, of Greensborough, Ala. is the author of the Melville letters; and the Rev. A.T. Holmes, of Hayneville, Houston County, Ga., is the author of the essay signed ‘Ryland Fuller.’” 

          The Sturgis family is found in the December 1850 U.S. Federal census in Greene County, Alabama, with Rev. Sturgis’ occupation shown as a teacher.  

            Also, in December 1850, he was the commencement speaker at Oglethorpe University in Georgia and was given the honorary degree of A.M., Master of Arts.

          In March 1851, Rev. Sturgis wrote a letter to the Alabama Beacon praising Captain Kinney of the Steamer Monarch and Captain Kirk of the Steamer Express, thanking them for the “gratuitous tender of the hospitalities of your truly elegant boats, whilst passing to and from Mobile, engaged in the great work of Christian benevolence.” Signed, C.F. Sturgis, Agent of the Southern Baptist Board of Domestic Missions.

          Furniture For Sale was the headline of an ad placed by Sturgis in July 1851: “The subscriber offers for sale his Household and Kitchen Furniture, Crockery and Glassware, and Carpets. Among the articles is a good second-hand piano, which will be offered cheap.”

          Rev. Sturgis and his family moved to Carlowville in Dallas County, Alabama, and he was pastor of Centre Ridge Church from November 1851 to November 1859. In March 1857, he applied for a patent for “the improvement in the manufacture of paper pulp.” He described the process of manufacturing paper pulp from the bark of the root and the bark of the stalk of the cotton plant. Carlowville neighbors P.E. Youngblood and J.A. Lee were witnesses to his patent application. The patent was approved and given the number 16949.

          A fire consumed the dwelling house and kitchen of the Sturgis family located in Richmond, north of Carlowville in Dallas County. The news was published in the November 1862 edition of the South Western Baptist newspaper in Marion, Alabama, that the fire consumed “well nigh everything he had.” They offered praise, saying, “Bro. S. has been, for more than twenty years, one of the most useful, successful, and able pastors we have in the State.”

          Rev. Sturgis preached at Friendship Baptist in Pine Apple from 1862-1865. He followed the ministry of Rev. Kedar Hawthorne’s son, James Boardman Hawthorne, who was ordained at Friendship on September 22, 1859. During this time, Hawthorne preached at Mt. Moriah Fellowship Baptist Church, Friendship, and Snow Hill churches. After a year, Hawthorne became pastor of the Broad Street Church in Mobile.

          In 1862, Friendship Baptist Church had 107 white and 106 black members. In 1863, there were 90 white members and 105 black members. In 1864, there were 95 white members and 109 black members. A total of 17 were baptized in the years 1862-1865.

          According to Friendship Baptist Church minutes from September 1863, a special collection of $29.00 was taken up “…for soldiers” – a large sum considering the preacher’s salary of about $100 a year.     

          Below are the minutes from Sturgis’ time as pastor at Friendship Baptist Church, transcribed exactly as written.

Nov 1st 1862

Church met in conference after preaching by Brother C. F. Sterges, our regular supper. The doors of the church were open in the usual form none received the minutes of the preceding conference read, there is no reference.  On motion J. Kyser was instructed to purchase a church book and present the account to the church for payment.  Charge brought against Sister Nancy Eddins and Sister Frances Bedgood for joining a church of another faith and order on motion Bros. D. G. Beard and Brother B. W. Matthews was appointed as a committee to wait upon them and report to our next conference.

Brother F. Richardson reported himself as having had a difficulty with one of his neighbors and ask the church and neighbor to forgive him which was accordingly done then adjourned.

                                                            Brother C. F. Sturges MD

September 1863

          Saturday before the first Lord’s day in Sept 1863  Church met in conference after preaching by Brother C. F. Sturges. The doors of the church was open in form none received the minutes of the preceeding confereance read the case of Bro

J. K. Hawthorne Stand over until our next conference.  Order of the church that Bro J. Kyser take up a collection to send up to the association for minutes 

          Collected for minutes               $  5.00

          Collected for soldiers               $29.00

          Then closed                     Brother C. F. Sturges MD

          J. Kyser Ch Clk

March 1864

Saturday before the first Lord’s day in March 1864 Church met in conference after preaching by Bro C. F. Sturges the doors of the church was open in form none received  The minutes of the conference of Dec last was read A charge brought against some of the Sisters of our church for dancing a committee appointed to see them and report at our next conference The committee consist of the deacons of the church then closed

          J Kyser Ch Clk                Bro C. F. Sturges MD

April 1864

Saturday before the first Lord’s day in April 1864.  Church met in conference after preaching by Bro C. F. Sturges the doors of the church was open in form.  None received. The minutes of the preceding conference read.

The committee appointed to see the Sisters reported.  Said report being satisfactory to the church, the case was dismissed.  Order of the church that Brother Henry T. Crumpton have a letter of dismission in full fellowship.  Then closed.

          J Kyser Ch Clk                Bro C. F. Sturges MD

September 1864

The Baptist Church of Christ at Friendship met on the third Lord’s day in Sept 1864 for the purpose of holding a protracted meeting which continued until the fourth Lord’s day of said month.  The doors of the Church was open several times during the meeting for the exception of members.  Recd Miss Frances Bloxom Mrs. Emaline L. Eddins Miss Margarett Blankingship and Miss Mary Ann Richardson. 

Also Summer a colored boy belonging to Henry Bloxom Jinney a girl of Mr. A Gorden Elsey a girl of Mr. J. H. Montgomery Emaline of J. R. Hawthorne Nancy of Sister Bloxom, Henry of Bro Wm Langhams, Water and Nancy of J. H. Montgomery all of whom was baptized at the close of the meeting then closed until the next Saturday which is our regular monthly meeting.

          J Kyser Ch Clk                Bro. C. F. Sturges MD           

Before the War Between the States, whites and blacks worshiped together.  Following the War, the black members withdrew their membership but were allowed to use the church building one Sunday each month with a licensed freedman as pastor. In 1869, the members of Friendship Baptist Church voted to build a new church building. The old church was torn down and moved to a oneacre lot given by Mr. J. R. Hawthorne. There, it was reconstructed for use by the former black church members. This church, known as Arkadelphia Baptist Church, was organized in 1870.

The Friendship Baptist Church was completed in 1871. It boasted a beautiful steeple with a bell that called the people to worship each Sunday.   

In 1867, Rev. Sturgis moved to Buena Vista, Monroe County, Alabama, and was pastor of several churches in the area – Camden, Rock West, Buena Vista, Concord, and Pineville.

An ad in the December 15, 1868, Wilcox News and Pacificator for Franklin Academy in Buena Vista stated that the Legislature of Alabama incorporated the school and was an auxiliary to Dolbear’s Commercial College, New Orleans. Dolbear’s was a business school operating in the mid-to-late 19th century, known for training students in practical business skills such as bookkeeping, penmanship, and commercial law. 

Rev. Sturgis was the principal of Franklin Academy. For five months, tuition and board were one hundred dollars for males and females.

In March 1871, Sturgis, listing his address as Buena Vista, Alabama, again applied for a patent. This patent was for the improvement of sheet-metal fruit cans. His application included a drawing of two rectangular sections interlocked at their edges with a corner notched top and bottom. The witnesses to his patent application were J.J. Finklea and his son, H.H. Sturgis. The patent was approved and given the number 113111. 

Sturgis was once again at work in education, opening a school for young men and boys in Demopolis with testimonials in the ad from Dr. Manly, President of the University of Alabama, Governor Collier, Chief Justice Ormand, and others according to an ad in the September 12, 1874 newspaper, The Marengo News. 

According to newspaper articles, Sturgis preached at the Camden Baptist Church in May 1876 and at the Second Baptist Church on Adams Street in Montgomery in December 1876. C.F. and Almyra had twelve children: Alice Newell, Ella Augusta, Charles Mercer, Henry Howard, William Whitfield, Columbus Franklin Jr., Ella Augusta, Lucy, Ann Campbell, Almyra, David Boardman, and Henry M. 

Four of Sturgis’ sons, Henry Howard, Charles Mercer, Columbus Franklin Jr., and William Whitfield, enlisted in the CSA in Alabama. They served as privates in the 44th Alabama Regiment and the 3rd Alabama Regiment. C.F. Sturgis Jr. served as a government operative in Selma. 

Two sons, Henry Howard and Columbus Jr., were pastors. Daughter Lucy was a student at Judson in 1870. Son William Whitfield, daughter Ann Campbell Davidson, and husband William settled in Wharton, Texas. Henry Howard and his wife, Margaret Mason Sturgis, settled in St. Petersburg, Florida. Charles Mercer and his wife, Martha Thornton Sturgis, settled in Birmingham. Four Sturgis children did not live to adulthood – Alice Newell, Ella Augusta, David Boardman, and Henry. 

It is interesting to note that David Boardman Sturgis was most likely named after George Dana Boardman (1801–1831), an American missionary to the Karens. This naming tradition is also evident in his friend Rev. James Boardman Hawthorne, whose father, Rev. Kedar Hawthorne, named all his sons after Baptist preachers.

Columbus Franklin Sturgis passed away at the age of 68. Almyra Plumb Sturgis passed away in July 1895 in Alleyton, Colorado County, Texas.

A tribute written by P.E. Kieves was published in the South Western Baptist newspaper on May 5, 1877. It read as follows: “Elder C.F. Sturgis This aged servant of Christ died at the residence of his son-in-law, W. C. Davidson, Clarke County, on the 16^th. He had been declining in health for more than twelve months, with a complication of chronic affections. On the second Sabbath in March, he met me at my appointment at Forest Springs Church, and I was surprised to find him the mere shadow of his former self; though very feeble, he preached for us from the text “Search the Scriptures,” the last effort he ever made. A few days afterward, he grew much worse and declined rapidly until he died. I visited him several times during the last weeks of his life and had much profitable conversation with him. He seemed fully persuaded his work on earth was done, and often expressed himself anxious to depart and be with Christ, being only anxious that his wife (who was at Birmingham with her son) might reach him before his death, which she did a few days previous. This dear brother was extensively known throughout the State, having many important positions as preacher and teacher; was Principal of several Female High Schools and with the Atheneum at Tuscaloosa.

About the year 1849, I think, he became Pastor of the Center Ridge Church at Carlowville, for which he preached three Sabbaths in the month, and County Line Church, some eight miles distant one Sabbath in the month. It was here the writer became acquainted with him and was under his pastoral care for five years. He possessed some excellent qualifications as a Christian man and Minister. He was a devout man. It was my privilege to be frequently in his study, a place he seemed to love more than any other, and in this, his sanctum, he loved to receive his brethren, to council, comfort, and pray with them. He was not only a diligent student but certainly gave himself more continually to prayer than any man with whom I have ever been acquainted. He was a laborious worker, fertile in part for the accomplishment of good, though not always practical in their execution. As a preacher, he was lucid, logical, and most earnest, altogether original in his system of sermonizing and always instructive; after leaving Carlowville, he moved to Monroe County, where he served churches in Monroe and Wilcox, teaching school at the same time as a necessity; after leaving Monroe he changed his location several times, finally moving to Demopolis, and the last year of life was in the service of the American Bible Union, as agent, performing in connection much evangelical labor in which service he died, going and preaching as long as he was able to travel.

He sleeps in the Methodist Church at Tallahatta, to remain until the glorious resurrection morn.”

No known tombstone survives for Dr. Columbus Franklin Sturgis in Tallahatta Springs, near Thomasville in Clarke County, Alabama. Tallahatta is a Native American word meaning tali ‘rock’ and hata ‘white.’ At one time, Tallahatta Springs was called the “celebrated watering place,” believed to have once numbered seventeen. 

Rev. Charles Franklin Sturgis’s legacy is a testament to a life devoted to faith, cultural preservation, and transformative leadership. His pioneering work among Native American communities inspired scholars and spiritual leaders alike. Though the physical markers of his resting place have faded with time, the impact of his relentless missionary spirit and unwavering commitment to spreading the gospel remains a guiding light. In celebrating his remarkable journey, we are reminded that true leadership transcends mortality, leaving behind a legacy that nurtures hope and faith for future generations.

Bibliography
-Georgia Baptist Historical Society, Waldo Harris, Secretary-Treasurer*
-South Western Baptist Newspaper, May 5, 1877 https://library.samford.edu/digitallibrary/tab/
-All other newspaper articles and advertisements from Newspapers.com
-History of Friendship Baptist Church, Pine Apple, Alabama, as written by Frances Donald Dudley Grimes in 1975 and updated by Marsha Kennedy Shepard in 2000, submitted and published in the Alabama Genealogical Society
Magazine by Martha Grimes Lampkin in Volume 44 – Fall/Winter 2012
-Friendship Baptist Church Minutes October 1862-September 1893, transcribed and published by Martha Grimes Lampkin in 2010, 2011.
-Alabama Civil War Service Database, Alabama Department of Archives and History https://archives.alabama.gov/research/CivilWarService.aspx -USPTO Patent Public Search (PPUBS) System, oeip@uspto.gov -1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 US Census records, Ancestry.com
-images of the Sturgis from Ancestry.com
-image of Friendship Baptist from the collection of Frances Grimes

-https://historicaugusta.org/properties/2014-old-first-baptist-church/
-www.txgenweb6.org/txcolorado/cemeteries
-Clarke County Historical Society -https://www.clarkemuseum.com/html/historical_society.html
-Place Names in Alabama, by Virginia O. Foscue
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_College_of_Georgia
-https://discover.stqry.app/en/story/86178
-https://www.hrcga.org/church/philips-mill-baptist/
-https://www.georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/tift-college/
-http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/mercer.jesse.bio.annals.html
-http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/hawthorne.james.b.bio.html
-email correspondence (2025) with J. Paul Hawthorne, a descendant of Rev. Kedar Hawthorne’s son, Adoniram Judson Hawthorne
-email correspondence (2010) with Dorothy “Dotty” Toliver Brown, a descendant of Rev. Sturgis*

Busy as a (Quilting) Bee
By Marlee Jackson

Reprinted with permission from the Alabama Farmers Federation.

Patterned in patches of magenta, crimson, satsuma, royal blue and grassy green cloth, the quilts draped around Betty Gaines Kennedy’s home are almost as colorful as their creator.
“I like new things, but I’m very traditional,” said Kennedy, the rise and fall of her Southern accent punctuated with a smile and laugh. “I’m not way out. I have a little bit of a problem with modern quilts. After all, I’m 89 years old. I can afford to be like that if I want to.”

Chock-full of signature spunk, the Wilcox County dame is proof it’s never too late to learn a new skill.

Kennedy originally tried quilting in the 1970s. Admittedly thin on patience, she soon realized delicate hand stitches weren’t her cup of tea. She set aside the hobby until the early 2000s, when a TV show introduced her to quilting shortcuts.

“I saw this one quilt there, and I wanted it so badly,” she said. “I knew the only way I could have it was to make it myself. After that, the rest is history. I just couldn’t stop.”

Kennedy has stitched nearly 200 quilts since. The busy quilting bee’s Bernina sewing machine steadily hums while zipping through fabric in her porch-turned-sewing-sanctuary. There, natural light illuminates spools of thread, drawers of notions and
a closet brimming with her “stash.”

“Quilters have a dictionary of terms, and one of them is your ‘stash,’” she said. “That’s the leftover fabrics from other quilts or fabric you bought. My stash far exceeds my life expectancy.”
Kennedy’s home is tucked behind Gaines Ridge Dinner Club, the iconic restaurant she ran in her family’s antebellum home in Camden for three decades. She passed on the mantle of management to her son, Wes, and his family in 2019.

She’s spent the last five years crafting an increasingly impressive collection of cozy quilts. Those include designs such as Log Cabin; Window Pane; Double Wedding Ring; and the family’s favorite Cherry Basket. Her quilts fall into three color families — hues of brown, contemporary florals and “happy fabrics.”

“My work is a long way from perfect, but I use lots of loud fabric and different colors,” she said. “That helps people kind of zero in and not think too much about the actual sewing.”
One of her handiest shortcuts quickly turns strips of fabric into patchwork blocks. Those strip sets mean Kennedy never sews tiny patches directly onto each other. Instead, she stitches together long strips of varying fabrics. A rotary cutter on a self-healing mat slices through alternating fabrics to create patched strips that are then pieced together to form a design. A spatial ruler, and the adage to measure twice and cut once, keeps patches proportionate.
“If a mistake can be made, I’ve made it,” she said. “My best friend is my seam ripper.”
Kennedy is honest, prefacing statements about her work with “almost always” or “nearly never.” That’s true of handstitching, which she nearly never does, except when adding applique to fabric or sewing a quilt’s binding.

She credits some of her passion to quilt guilds. She’s part of three — one each in Camden, Greenville and Thomasville. At guild meetings, quilters demonstrate new techniques, offer advice and share stories while enjoying fellowship with new friends, Kennedy said.
“Quilters thrive on affirmation,” she said. “We love to show off our quilts.”
Alabama Farmers Federation sewing competitions offer quilters another chance to display handiwork. Kennedy has entered the machine-stitched quilt contest four times and walked away with three ribbons.

She’s a longtime Federation member whose late husband, Erskine, was a farmer and banker. They raised their three children in nearby Oak Hill, a close-knit community that’s also home to Federation Southwest Area Vice President Jake Harper. Harper said “Mrs. Betty” is a local institution. The community paid tribute to her craft during last year’s Tour of Homes, when her vast collection of quilts was displayed at the Oak Hill Schoolhouse.
“No one knew she had this many quilts,” said Harper, also the Wilcox County Farmers Federation president. “She’s very dedicated and committed to it. She’s a legend for quilting in Wilcox County.”

While none of Kennedy’s descendants have picked up her quilting gene, the matriarch said that’s OK. She credits her quality of life to quilting, whether she’s making a piece to keep, one for a family member or a quilt that will benefit charity.

Knowing that end owner is key, Kennedy said. “I have to know ahead of time because I just can’t part with (my quilts),” she said. “So much of me is in one. If I know it’s going to be for sale or given away, I’m OK. I know all along it’s not mine to keep.”

Here is a link to the YouTube video courtesy of the Alabama Farmers Federation: https://youtu.be/dGYL7suWQ2o?si=D01k49JcVeMFwE7M. Betty Kennedy, a WHS member, is a social media star—her Facebook video has racked up over 60,000 likes and more than 1,000 comments!

HISTORY OF CAMDEN

We are excited to announce that upcoming Wilcox Historical Society newsletter issues will feature a collection of 16 historical articles originally published in June and July 1910 in the Wilcox Progressive Era. Written by local contributors over a century ago, these articles offer a fascinating glimpse into our past.

The authors include: Ella Albritton, Lee Albritton, Addie Belle Alford, Katie Boykin,
Marcie Boykin, William Bryant Jr., Annie Matt Dunn, Vivian Fail, Judson Hawthorne, Lillian Hart, John P. Holmes, Julia Jones, J. P. Jones Jr., Lucy Kempton, and William McClurkin.
We look forward to sharing these historical writings with our members.

HISTORY OF CAMDEN, No. 1
by Ella Albritton
Camden the county seat of Wilcox County was formerly situated in Canton Bend on the River, but was afterwards moved to where it presently stands because the people wanted it to be in the central part of the County.
Among the first settlers that moved here was Mr. Dunn and Dr. Caldwell, when these men moved here Camden was then called Barboursville but Dr. Caldwell had it changed and called it Camden after his old home Camden South Carolina, this was in 1840.
Mr. Dunn owned nearly all the land, and he gave twelve acres to the town on which to build a Court House. The first Court House was made of wood, but when the town grew larger, they had it built of brick. It was a great improvement to the town.
After Mr. Dunn’s death Mrs. Dunn gave the town a lot on which to build a Methodist church, it was erected where the Baptist church now stands. It was the first church built in Camden.
Where Dr. Jones’ Drug store now stands used to be a female Institute for girls; this was before the new Institute was built. It was afterwards used as a hotel later it was changed into a store and was kept by McBryde McArthur & Co.
Where the Camden Bank now stands was once a store, about 1868 this store caught on fire and was burned. This fire caught the other side of the town and soon all the business part of Camden was almost entirely destroyed; this was a great ruin for the people but it was soon built up again.
About 1888 the new jailhouse was built where it presently stands.
The Male University of Camden was situated on the lot where Mr. H. Miller’s house now stands. It was a fine Institute but in 1858 it was burned this was a great loss to the town.
In 1849 the town purchased the cemetery lot where it now is; the first body that was placed in the Camden Cemetery was Wesley Dunn.
The first post office that was built in Camden was a little log cabin but gradually they began to improve it until it was a fine building.
But as early as 1900 the railroad was run through here, this was a convenience for the town and telephones soon came in use.
Several of Camden’s old descendants are living at the old homesteads: Mrs. Caldwell, the Becks, the Blochs, the Harts, Cochrans, and Boltz. Our county treasurer, Mr. Dexter, is the oldest man living here now who was born in Camden.
The last school house that was built is the same one of today this was the same school that our mothers went to before us, and many look to it with pride now, and think of the happiest portions of their lives that was spent in this old building.
Camden is increasing every year and has improved very much since the telephones, railway and telegraphs have been put here; it has a good many large brick buildings.
Camden has won for itself an enviable reputation; its long years of influence be multiplied and may it have many more buildings and may each one grow stronger as the years advance and be a pride to the town.

HISTORY OF CAMDEN, No. 2
by Addie Nelle Alford
Camden was called Barboursville before it was called Camden.
One of the first settlers here came from Camden, South Carolina, and called this town
Camden for his old home; Mr. Miller (no relation to the Millers here now) and Mr. James Fairley, father to the late M. Fairley, were among the first settlers here. Mr. Dunn gave the lot for the courthouse and other public buildings in Camden.
Where Dr. Jones drug store is now, used to be a large school building, and before the Institute was built; it was afterwards used as a boarding house then changed into a store which was kept by McBryde, McArthur & Co., then after that was kept by W.F. Spurlin.
Where the Camden Bank is used to be a store kept by C. & H. W. Love and afterwards by C.L. Clausell & Co. The business part of Camden was almost entirely destroyed by fire about 1868 or 69.
Where Mrs. Hart lives used to be the Methodist parsonage, only a few of the descendants of the old inhabitants of Camden are living at their old homesteads, and they are Mrs. Caldwell and son, and the Becks, Blochs, and Harts, Cochrans, and Boltz.
Our county treasurer, Mr. W.A. Dexter is the oldest man living here now that was born in Camden.
Camden is the county seat of Wilcox County, Ala.
Camden is situated 62 miles Southwest of Montgomery on the Louisville and Nashville Rail Road.
It is in the fertile black belts of Alabama, population in 1890 was 545 in 1900 was 478, in the old corporate limits but is has now a population of about 2,000 inhabitants.
The jail was first situated on the lot where Mrs. Mary Kaster’s home is now.
The court house was built of logs and situated in Canton Bend at first but was moved to the place where it is now situated. It was moved there in 1858.
The male university of Camden was situated on the lot where Mr. H. Miller’s home is now.
The first body placed in the Camden Cemetery was Mr. Dunn.
Mr. J.P. Fairley was the first Circuit Clerk of the Court of Camden.
The first Post Office was made of logs and was placed between the stable and Jones square.
The old court house was moved to the spot where Mr. Reg Jones and H. Miller stores are now and was made a hotel and kept by Mr. H. Holt.
The first school house of Camden was situated on the same spot that Mr. W.J. Bonner’s big gate is now.

May 1980 Concert Celebrated
Wilcox County Musicians and Honored Rev. John Miller

On May 16, 1980, a special concert was held in Camden to showcase Wilcox County’s rich musical heritage and honor Rev. John Miller’s contributions to the community. The event featured performances highlighting the talents of local musicians and composers, celebrating the county’s deep-rooted musical traditions.

This memorable concert honored an esteemed community leader and served as a tribute to the artistic contributions of Wilcox Countians.

The following article, published in the Wilcox Progressive Era prior to the May 1980 concert, provides insight into the excitement and anticipation surrounding the event.

We are pleased to share this historical article in the WHS newsletter, showing how this memorable event was promoted and celebrated.

“A concert of American music will be presented by Alabama Musica, Inc. Artists Beatrix Zak Thomas, Mezzo Soprano; Mildred Carter, pianist; Ben Carlton, Baritone; and Nancy Vincent, flutist will be performing.

The program is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, May 16. The setting for the evening’s performance will be the Camden Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church; the building was purchased by the ARP congregation in the early 1900s.

The concert, which is presented by the Wilcox Historical Society and sponsored by the Alabama Fine Arts Council and the W.M. Smith Foundation, will commemorate the 155th anniversary of the birth year of the Rev. John Miller, D.D. Rev. Miller served the Bethel ARP Church at Oak Hill as pastor for 31 years, was born July 24, 1825 in South Carolina. He was ordained an ARP Minister and moved to Oak Hill in 1846. He was also a well-known Wilcox County educator and served as headmaster of the Oak Hill Female Institute for many years. From 1865-1868 he owned and operated the Wilcox Female Institute in Camden.

Special recognition will be given Rev. Miller during the evening’s performance by Mrs. Taylor Jones Harper of Oak Hill.

The program of music by American composers will include “At the River”, a hymn arrangement and “Ching-A-Ring Chaw”, a minstrel song, both by Aaron Copeland; “Be of Good Cheer” by Dr. Jean Shaffer, who heads Huntington College’s music department and “Rest”, whose composer, Florence Foldson Bateman resides in Huntsville. The text of the song was written by Chaplain Abram Ryan, who also wrote the inscription found on Camden’s Confederate monument. The second half of the performance will be a presentation of music by Professor John Charles Andrews and his son, Henri Herz Andrews, both residents of Camden in the 1800s.

Professor Andrews and his wife, Jane Ann Lamb, migrated to Wilcox County from Troy, N.Y., about 1850 when the Wilcox Female Institute Board of Trustees requested that he come to the school as the Professor of Music. Professor Andrews and his wife, both natives of Hull, England, resided in Camden for the remainder of their lives. He composed many songs, which were widely circulated across the United States and other countries in national music publications. Professor Andrews also frequently presented concerts in the Dale Lodge during his lifetime. He died in 1858 and was buried in the Camden Cemetery. Henri Herz Andrews is also buried in the Camden Cemetery.

A number of Professor Andrews’ descendants continue to live in Camden as well as all across the country.

Among Professor Andrews’s compositions to be presented Friday evening, will be the following: A piano arrangement, “The Camden Grand Polka,” which was dedicated to the ladies of the Wilcox Female Institute, “Alabama, Sunny Clime,” dedicated to Miss Caroline Tait, daughter of James Asbury Tait, and “Magnolia Grand March” which was dedicated to Alabama Governor Arthur P. Bagby, then a Camden resident and builder of the home now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Will Liddell. “Ripples of the Alabama,” an early 1900 song by Henri Herz Andrews is also included on the program.

Donations are requested with proceeds from the concert to be used by the Wilcox Historical Society in the restoration of the Wilcox Female Institute.

All Wilcox Countians are urged to attend this musical trip down memory lane.”

WHS Digital Buzz: A Snapshot of Our Social Media & Website Success

Over the past few months, our social media channels have been abuzz with exciting activity and updates. While most of our posts have focused on the upcoming Tour of Homes, we also regularly highlight the rich history of Wilcox County.

Here’s a snapshot of our online presence:

• Website: Over 72.2k views with 42.2k visitors
• Facebook: 3.8k Likes, 4.7k Followers, and 133,524 views in the past 30 days
• Instagram: 1.8k Followers, 624 Posts, and 15.2k views in the past 30 days

Dive in to explore our content and reconnect with both current happenings and the storied past of Wilcox County!

Below, you will find a selection of posts we have shared recently, highlighting Wilcox County news from the past.

posted 8 January 2025
Waaaayback Wednesday to Miss Alabama 1962! 👑 Camden’s Patricia
Bonner “the 23-year old Camden beauty, whose charm and vocal won her the state’s highest beauty honor…arrived home behind a police escort and to the tempo of a brass band and some 1500 cheers,” according to the Selma Times-Journal, 29 July 1962 article titled, Entire Town Turns Out To Honor Miss Alabama. The reporter continues, “The pretty miss who began her singing career in the Camden Associate Reform Presbyterian Church as a curly-haired girl will utilize the $1000 scholarship she won to attend the New England Conservatory in Boston, Mass. this fall.” She attended Huntington College in Montgomery for two years before transferring to
Wesleyan College in Georgia, graduating cum laude. She received her Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and studied in France and Austria. 🎶

Pictured is Miss Bonner in an
AL.com press release with Miss
Polly Cain, fashion consultant at
Loveman’s department store in Birmingham. Miss Cain selected the wardrobe from Paris, Hong Kong, California, and New York for “the beauteous Miss Alabama who will carry the state’s banner into the beauty-talent competition.”

Miss Bonner is the daughter of the late Moffatt Grier Bonner and Laurie Marie Dale and the sister of the late Stanley Grier Bonner. She is the granddaughter of the
late Joseph Lee Bonner and Eula Portis Dale of Rosebud, Julius Alvin Dale, and Ethel Boroughs of Oak Hill. In 1970, she married Capt. Emory
Allen Burton of Washington, Georgia, where she currently lives. 🌹

Scott Mitchell shared the link to the video of the Miss American pageant – look for Miss Alabama Patricia Bonner at about 5:40! Thanks, Scott!
https://youtu.be/fZ22q9Jip0o?si=j4lbxfOVLEg_KWi5

Posted 19 December 2024

Thursday Throwback to December 1930 – AIR CIRCUS IN CAMDEN,
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20TH-21ST. 🪂

An air circus, also called a flying circus or barnstorming, was a group of daring pilots who traveled the country performing thrilling stunts and offering airplane rides. In the 1930s, a “high altitude jump” meant a parachute leap from around 10,000 feet or more—talk about guts and adventure! 🚁✈️

The exact members of the Air Circus in Camden remain a mystery, but it might have included some remarkable individuals: Pilot “Top” Douglas, a former Army Lieutenant and World War aviator, flying a Travelair plane; Pilot Warren North, a Chicago aviation instructor, piloting a Waco plane;
Barney Golosky, known as the “Cloudbuster” parachute jumper; and Jack
Cope, famously the only man in the world at the time to have survived a
10,000-foot parachute descent to share the tale. According to the Selma Times Journal, these members composed the Air Circus that would perform at Legion Field in December 1930. ✈️🪂

Ad from the Wilcox Progressive Era, December 18, 1930.

Posted 25 November 2024

It is not every day that you find a 1916 high school diploma in perfect condition—the diploma from Moore Academy in Pine Apple awarded to Harold Grimes.

An article in the Wilcox Progressive Era newspaper states that the commencement address was given by the Hon. N.D. Godbold of Camden, the future congressman from the 2nd District.

Posted 21 February 2025

Friday Flashback 〽️ with Lee Peacock! Taken from the Wilcox Progressive Era, Lee shared an incredible recap of Civil War veteran Richard Ervin McWilliams’ experiences—he was captured and held as a POW not once, not twice, but THREE times! His story is a powerful testament to resilience and sacrifice.

Mr. McWilliams (1842-1921) was responsible for having the Wilcox True Blues flag returned to Alabama after it had been captured early in the
War. It is now restored in the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery.

The home that he and his wife, Amelia Lindsay Coate McWilliams, lived in for many years is one of the historic homes featured on our upcoming Tour of Homes in Camden on March 22 – the Sterrett-McWilliams Home, c. 1851.
Lee Peacock writes a weekly column for the Wilcox Progressive Era titled “Exploring Wilcox,” in which he delves into our community’s unique stories and vibrant culture.

WE WANT YOU!

We need 40 volunteers to help with the Tour of Homes. You will guide people through the homes on tour. The shifts will be two hours, allowing you plenty of time to see the other houses on tour. To volunteer, please contact Lance at thebrittanyhouse@yahoo.com or text him at 256-975-7616.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Inquiries

We often receive genealogical and local history inquiries on the WHS Facebook page, Instagram page, and website. If you have any information to help with these inquiries, please let us know and we will be happy to pass it along or put you in contact with the interested party. Our email address is wilcoxhistoricalsociety@gmail.com or you can text or call Martha Lampkin at 334-296-1076. Here are a few inquiries received since our last newsletter:

I am writing to ask for your help. Back in the 1990s, I worked for the Selma Times Journal. For a while, I covered Wilcox County and went down there regularly. On several occasions, I made some photographs at a cemetery or cemeteries in Wilcox County where some of the gravestones had faces of the deceased. I would like to come back to make more pictures, but I have forgotten the location of the cemetery. Is that something that you have any knowledge of? Or would you be able to point me to anyone who might know something about that? D. Kohn, Baltimore, MD
(Editor’s note: After talking with Mr. Kohn, he decided the cemeteries may be in Dallas County. We suggested he contact the Selma-Dallas County Preservation Society for more information. But if any of our members know of the cemetery he wishes to visit, please let us know.)

I am researching several families from the Wilcox/Butler Co area that lived there in the 1830s,
40s, and 50s. Mary Jane Austin (daughter of Davis Austin) and her husband, William
Williams, lived near Pine Apple, as did most of their children. William died in 1847, and she was left to raise children alone, so she moved to the Navy Yard at Pensacola by 1850. Most of her siblings stayed in Wilcox and Butler Co. as her sister Caroline married Arthur Sims. They are all buried in the Shacklesville Cemetery. Anyone who has any information about these families as to where their home/land may be located or the burial of Davis Austin and his wife would be greatly appreciated. D. Wheat, Louisville, KY
(Editor’s note: It was suggested that Ms. Wheat also contact our friends at the Butler County Historical and Genealogical Society in Greenville.)

I am trying to get information on Taliaferro Travis, who supposedly died there in 1885. I know his father was Mark Butler Travis, and he was illegitimate. I am trying to see if I can find his mother’s name, possibly in an obituary or a book written about him and/or his family. I think his first name came from his mother’s maiden name. Mark raised him, and I descend from his sister, Nancy “Wincy” Travis. DNA proves that I descend from Mark B. Travis Sr. I just need to see if I can prove the mother of Nancy and Taliaferro. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated! M. Thompson, Comfort, TX
(Editor’s note: Info was passed along found in a review of the History of Conecuh County, Alabama. A mention of a Taliaferro family is mentioned, but since Taliaferro Travis was born in 1805 in South Carolina, this family in Conecuh County would be later descendants. But there was a relationship at that time between Mark Butler Travis (1827-1864) and Dr. Charles Taliaferro. The two men fought in the Civil War together. Rev. Alexander Travis was born in Edgefield, SC, 1790 and moved to Alabama in 1817; he died in 1852.)

Hello. I’m trying to find any information for my Mother-in-laws mother. We know she was born and died in Pine Apple, AL. She died in her 20’s. She had a daughter, Leila Pearl Fant born 12/07/1943 in Pine Apple, AL. Leila’s father was Hiram Bridges. I’m not finding anything online and since we are not local (we live in Ohio) we are not able to visit a library or local gov’t office. We appreciate any help you can give. Looking for info on Lee Ella Jackson of Pine Apple, AL. N. Fant, OH
(Editor’s note: I was able to find the answer on Ancestry.com — she was the daughter of Delia James. I found Lee Ella in the 1930 and 1940 census records, Delia Jackson in the 1950 census, and Hiram Bridges living next door. Information on Lea Ula Bridges was found in the Alabama, U.S. Deaths and
Burials Index, 1881-1974, stating her father’s name as Richard Jackson and her mother as Delia James. I sent Ms. Fant the images of these records)

DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR
• February 28, 2025, Say Their Names: Honoring Our Ancestors in Wilcox County, Alabama, Camden Shoe Shop and Quilt Museum
• March 14-15, 2025, Selma Tour of Homes, Selma
• March 21–22, 2025, WHS Tour of Homes, Camden
• April 3-6, 2025, Eufaula Pilgrimage, Eufaula
• April 5, 2025, Bicentennial of Lafayette’s Farewell, Cahaba
• April 5, 2025, Alabama Genealogical Society Spring Seminar,
Montgomery with speakers, Diana Elder and Terrie Morrow
• April 5-6, 2025, Farewell to Lafayette: a 200th Celebration of Lafayette’s Visit to Claiborne, Perdue Hill
• April 26, 2025, WHS Benefit Concert – Hannah Cope Johnson,
Principal Harpist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City
• April 2025 – WHS Trip to Natchez, Mississippi
• October 2025 – WHS Trip to Newport, Rhode Island
• November 2025 – WHS Trip to Charleston, South Carolina

A LOOK BACK…

(Note: articles are typed exactly as they were published.)
29 August 1894
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

ITEMS FROM TEXAS
Furman, Ala Aug 25
Editor Progress: One remarkable feature of the country lying along the lines of Rail Road between Montgomery, Ala., and Southern Texas via New Orleans and Houston, is that comparatively no cotton is cultivated from Evergreen to the Brazos Valley, Texas. The reason is probably found in the fact that other crops pay better on the rich soils and no crops at all pay better on the poor lands. Nothing more than a general idea can be had from a written description of a country. In a newspaper letter, many details of more or less interest are necessarily not mentioned, which though seemingly small, have their weigh-in decisions as to the merits or demerits of a country. That Texas is a great state is beyond question. It is great in actual achievements and still greater in possibilities. In order to obtain correct ideas of conditions which now prevail as well as future prospects the reader must go and see for himself. Mingle with and talk to the people; study the peculiarities of the different parts you may visit. Drink the water. Fight mosquitoes. Initiate a backward bronco into the mysteries of obedience. Chase mule-eared rabbits, which are found large in size and plentiful in numbers. To the novice, they remind one of a two month old kid splitting the prairie grass; they are shy and fleet of foot and outstrip everything save the grayhound. Be prudent, patient and discreet. Intensify your moments of reverie by some such sentiment as:
Backward, turn backward. Oh time in your flight, Make me a Texian, Just two fortnights.

At the end of which time you will get more information than to spend a lifetime in reading what others may write. In going among strangers there is some misgivings as to the disposition and bearing of the people toward us. Such feelings need keep no one from going to any portion of the State to which inclination may lead, kindness and consideration for strangers is proverbial with Texians. Imagine our surprise and delight to find former citizens of old Wilcox. We had been there but a few days when we met Mr. Geo. A. Evans who lived in Camden in 1880, with whom we took a trip through the country by private conveyance for a distance of fifty or sixty miles feasting our eyes on good crops and rich land. We met and enjoyed the hospitality also of Dr. Davidson formerly of Gee’s Bend who is doing a large and lucrative practice. We met Mrs. Harris, who not long since lived at Oak Hill, who has had the misfortune to loose all of her children. We met Dr. Longmire and sons from near Camden. We took Dr. Bythwood by surprise we grasped his hand and called him by name, his old army name “Wash.” He looked puzzled, stammered, scratched his head but finally let it out. Whatever else our old soldier forgets, he never fails to remember a comrade in arms. Our stay with him was short but most enjoyable. The tie which binds old soldiers to each other is peculiar and strong. Mr. Wm. Victor once a citizen of Wilcox has an extensive apiary and ships honey by the car load. He related to us some very interesting experience with a four hundred pound black bear. This species of quadruped had a well-known weakness for the product of bees. This giant specimen of his kind was in the habit of making nocturnal visits to Mr. Victor’s hives for his supply of nectar, by an ingenious arrangement of a set gun, bruin unaware of danger pulled the trigger and received a charge of bear shot in a vital part of his anatomy hence will need no more of the good things of life. Bear is right plentiful in the Counties of Wharton and Matagorda. These counties have dense forests of uncleared land which afford protection to these denizens of the swamps. We spent the night with a planter whose corn fields were being raided by these troublesome neighbors. The nimrods of that country make bacon of the meat which is said to be well flavored and greasy. The equestrian outfit of a typical Texian would look odd in Alabama. It consists of a roomy saddle with a high pommel and cantle. A pair of saddle wallets attached to the cantle, from which the hair of the ox on which they are grown has never been removed. A pair of girths fastened with draw straps in such a way as to almost squeeze the sap out of a pine log. A forty foot leather coiled and lashed to the pommel of the saddle. When the chivalrous spartan dons his best suit and sombreros whether he goes to town, church, or to bask in the charms of a Texas bell, this coil of rope is never found absent from its accustomed place. Such customs come from no whim or fancy but were born of the peculiar surroundings of early settlers, which conditions still obtain to a greater or lesser degree. The pecan is indigenous to southern Texas. These groves of stately, spreading, trees, possess special interest to those not accustomed to them. The product is quite a source of revenue to the country, though they are by no means a certain crop, even in that latitude. The trees have very few nuts on them this season. It is also the home of the live oak, which grows to a large size, clothed in a wealth of gray moss which hangs in flowing festoons from every limb. The insignificant looking muskeet, presents a trifling appearance, it nevertheless occupies an important place on economys roll. It is a very prolific bearer of a bean, somewhat like the ordinary snap bean, which serves as feed for all kinds of stock during the fall and winter months. These trees are of low growth which brings the product within reach of stock. They are also utilized for fence posts; though crooked and unsightly, they are very durable, fully as much as cedar or mulberry. In our next, we will have something to say about the soil, climate, topography as well as other matters which come under our observation. W.S. Purifoy

11 November 1896
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

GASTONBURG
is said to be one of the prettiest stations by natural location on the M & B R R. It is a growing town, and every house has an air of solid comfort. A very neat Cumberland Presbyterian church is here of which Rev L B Cross is pastor and Mr. A T Wilkerson Sunday school superintendent.

Gastonburg can pride itself on its spacious two story school house. The Academy this year is taught by Prof. Smith of Birmingham. Our own accomplished Miss Ada Beck of Camden has an art and music school. It were needless to relate her patrons and pupils are pleased with her efforts.

E H Cook Lodge No. 381 of Free and Accepted Masons is officered as follows: Lee McMillan, W M; J Q Dansby, S W; J W Gaston, J W; J C Cross, Sect’y; J H Malone, Treas.; Thos Dunn, S D; M C Weir, J D; P G Kimbrough, Tiler.

The Gastonburg Mill Co., and Col M C Weir have steam ginneries. The stores at are those of M C Weir, J W Gaston, McMillan & Co., T B Strother & Co., and Olim Bros. Mr. J W Gaston is postmaster and J W Murray is depot agent. The town ships about 2500 bales cotton annually. The mail facilities are those of the M & B railroad. Misses Strother have a boarding house and Dr. D F Gaston is the resident physician.

We thank our friend Mr. M C Weir for some nice home raised pecans and for other kindnesses. A new depot has recently been erected. A well informed party advised me that the crops are much better than they were last year. The people seem to be prosperous, contented and happy.

Our thanks are returned to Mr. W L Fluker for kind and sociable entertainment.

14 August 1902
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

Fatama Items
The firm of L.T. Watson & Co. has dissolved partnership and his father being the company has bought his interest in the store and the firm has resumed its original name, Watson & Son, Joseph Watson being salesman. Mr. L.F. Watson will go to Coy, Ala., next Thursday where he has bought Mr. R.A. Smith’s entire stock and expects to enter the mercantile business on his own hook.

Mrs. J.P. Morris, Mobile is visiting her father, Mr. J.S. Davis, at Neenah.
Those who went on the excursion from Neenah last Thursday were Messrs. J.S. Davis, J.W. Olensky and H.P. Dulaney.

We are proud to learn thro’ Shawnee Items that the people of that section of country are making so very much corn. Probably they will divide with us, who are gathering nothing but leaves (blades).

We are glad to note that Miss Mamie McNeil, who has been very sick of typhoid fever, is improving.

Mr. J.N. Dubose, of Franklin Ala., came last Saturday bringing his mother-in-law, Mrs. J.I. Davis and her little son Monette. He returned Sunday with his sister-in-law, Miss Fatie Davis.

Mr. Oll Sanders has returned to his home at Effie, Ala.

Rain is needed very badly in this section of country. Crops are beginning to let down.

26 February 1914
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

Millers Ferry
On Monday afternoon a party of five, consisting of Mrs. Minnie Bellingrath, Misses Kate and Virginia Matheson, Alma Dunnam and Hon. S. D. Bloch, visited the Millers Ferry colored school. Mr. Bloch having been invited many times by Rev. C.H. Johnson, its president.

The history of this industrial school dates from 1884. The first school consisted of twelve students and was taught in an old log church. From that small beginning the school has steadily grown in size and efficiency, and as a result of its influence, five similar schools have been established. The school now has an enrollment of over three hundred students.

The buildings consist of one main building, four dormitories, two for boys and two for girls, a laundry, carpentry shop, printing office, blacksmith shop, hospital, a sewing department and the teachers homes. The industries consist of plain sewing, dress making, domestic science, laundrying, printing, carpentry, blacksmithing, mattress making and nurse training.

The school is beautifully located 2 miles from the Alabama river. The school grounds and buildings are well kept by the students. We were shown through each department by the president and his wife, and all were astonished at finding everything in such a sanitary condition, and the work so systematically carried on. Rev. Johnson and wife have been in charge of the school for 22 years, and by their systematic training and efficient work, in teaching the negro youth to labor and serve. They are doing a good work that is beneficial to the colored pupils and for the community, for they are taught to work.

10 December 1931
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

ALABAMA DAY
An event in which Wilcox County should be interested and to which she is invited will be the Alabama Day observance sponsored by the Lt. Joseph M. Wilcox Chapter D.A.R. at the Camden Auditorium tomorrow (Friday) December 11th at 8:00 p.m.

The program follows:
Invocation-Rev. R.C. Kennedy
Salute to Flag and Alabama’s Creed
Song – “Alabama” by Gussen – Choral Club
Remarks on Mrs. Idy King Sarsby, founder of Alabama Day-Mrs. M. E. Curtis, Historian Selection-Choral Club
Address-History of Camden by Mr. Peter A. Brannon of the Department of Archives and History
Selection-Choral Club Benediction-Rev R.C. Kennedy The public is cordially invited.

26 September 1935
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

Recollections of Early Canton Bend
In recent years I have been asked by so many people about the brick house in Canton owned by my mother as being the old court house that once stood in Canton Bend. It was not the court house but was occupied by Dr. Miller who was Probate Judge of Wilcox County at the time the court house was located in Canton Bend, as you will see by the following letter of a sketch of old Canton Bend written by my aunt the late Miss Alice Vivian Strother as follows:
The first courthouse in our county was located in Canton Bend and was named for that bend in the Alabama River. It was located on a bluff, and on lands now owned by Henderson Brothers. At that time, Canton Bend was a large shipping point: Steamboats were numerous; there were no railroads hereabout, and freight was hauled up the bluff, by trucks attached to a rope, on a tramway which was carried up, by mules as propellers. The court house was a frame wooden building and its dimensions were 60×60 feet. The upper story was the court and jury rooms. Canton Bend then was a thriving town. An old cemetery near the river alone remains of what was for those days, a populous settlement. The court house was moved from Canton Bend to Camden, so that it should be, the exact geographical center of our county. The Pharrs, Johnsons, Mathews, who was the father of Mrs. Dr. A.C. Matheson, McGuires, Becks, Dr. A. Miller, Strothers, Pharrs, A.B. Cooper, and many others were among the early residents.
Several stores were located there. Among those were the business houses of Green Young, Peter McArthur. Several doctors resided here. Col. E.A. Pharr kept the hotel. He was the father of Ephraim and Geo. Pharr, and Mrs. Tom Beck, E.A. Pharr died in the Canton hotel building after the civil war. Mrs. Duncan Smith was the first person to be buried in Canton cemetery. The first church was the Cumberland Presbyterian, which was located near the present new Methodist church. Some of the plantations were those of Dr. A. Miller, Col. Pharr, the father of Mrs. A.B. Aldridge, John and George M. Pharr, and those of Claude Stuart Malcolm and Daniel Smith, McGuires, Satterwhites, and many more, which will be mentioned in future articles. In the first church one day, several girls were there, and found a dead peddler. Dr. Evans was a brother of Mrs. Battee of Mobile and raised here. It is said that he was engaged to marry Miss Alice Vivan of Mobile, a noted belle, and a sister of Col. Sid Prince also of Mobile. A steamboat was named for Miss Alice Vivian and Miss Alice Vivian Strother who kindly has given these and other remembrances, and a native born Canton Bendist, is named for Miss Vivian. The Dr. Evans referred to died of consumption before his marriage. George M. Pharr owned a beautiful two story home which was burned recently. A great deal of charity was bestowed in those days. The Bryant Marsh place, was near the present Mitchell mill. Mr. W.T. Mathews home was a beautiful three story building, now owned by Mr. F.S. Tait. The Chighton home was near Dr. Gaillard place, Frank Bones home was on Hones Hill. Rev. Beard as Episcopalian minister was born near here. He later resided in Birmingham, Montevallo and had other charges. The Flemings also lived near here. The Baptist Pool was fed by a spring, and was in front of the Baptist church which stood where the Canton school house now is. Dr. Boardman Hawthorne had his first charge here. The D. Hart home, Geo. and Jim Ratcliffe home, and the Billy Ratcliffe home, and plantation are now owned by Mr. Percy Smith, Mr. W.T. Alford, Sr., and Dr. Luck Jenkins had in 1868, a store house there and which now occupied by the Canton Mercantile Company.
J.H. Strother

3 April 1947
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

WILCOX 4-H AND FFA CALF SHOW

Fifteen calves were shown in the 4-H Beef show Tuesday a.m. April 1, in Camden. Herefords and shorthorns were the breeds exhibited.

Rod Frazier’s Hereford won first place with a $5.00 prize; Margaret Lambert placed second for $4.00 and Miller Perdue placed third for $3.00 with his shorthorn. All others received a $2.00 merit award, which includes Bob Lambert, Joe Lambert, and a calf owned jointly by Bob and Marguerite Lambert, Marion Perdue, and Robert Barlow. Furman, Jack Strother, Eddie Stone, Pine Apple, Harold Grimes, Pine Apple, Robert Rogers, Neenah, Roy Dailey, Neenah, Percy Smith, and a Calf owned by the FFA boys of Pine Apple School. The county Farm Bureau gave the prizes and were awarded by Mr. Will Liddell, president.

Each member not only gained information but enjoyed the training and caring for the animal during the year. The animals showed that a good job was accomplished. Spectators commented that the quality of the animals and showing stage was superior to last year’s show.

10 February 1949
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

Home Agents Notes
By Margaret Whatley
Home Demonstration Agent

BELLINGRATH GARDENS – The Home Demonstration Council has chartered a bus and is sponsoring a trip to Bellingrath Gardens, Mobile Alabama on February 24, for all interested members. The bus will leave Camden Bus Station at 7:30 a.m. and will return the same day. The tour will include parts of the Azalea trail in Mobile, gardens in the city, and Bellingrath Gardens.
LEADERSHIP SCHOOL – Miss Lavada Curtis, Food Preservation Specialist, will hold a leadership school in Pine Hill, Wednesday, Feb 16, at 9:30 a.m. at Mason’s Equipment Store. The demonstration on “Freezing Cooked Foods” will present the latest information on storing breads, cakes, pies, and meats for future use. Leaders from clubs on the west side of the county and all interested housewives are welcomed. WIRING LAMPS – The home demonstration club members of Wilcox County studied
“Making and Wiring Lamps” in January. Any old glass, Rayo, Aladdin, or china lamp can be converted into an electric lamp with a screwdriver and a few attachments. Vases and bottles also make attractive lamps. The Rock West and Neenah clubs had already carried the demonstration and thirty-four lamps were wired as a result. Thirty more lamps are reported wired, bringing the total to sixty-four.

11, August 1949
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

Albritton Approved as Camden Postmaster

The nomination of William L. Albritton as postmaster for Camden was approved by the United States Senate on August 5. Prior to that time Mr. Albritton had been serving as acting postmaster here, succeeding the late Hugh H. Dale, on his retirement in October of 1947.

Mr. Albritton began his postal work in Camden post office in 1922, when Mrs. Jennie Fister was postmaster. Later he served as chief clerk of the local office, and as rural mail carrier on a Camden route, in more recent years. His nomination to the postmastership here was sent by the President to the Senate last week.

22 May 1952
The Birmingham News, Birmingham, AL

Cadet pilot found alive but badly hurt

CAMDEN, Ala, May 22 – (AP)
Half-conscious all night in a dense woods, a flying cadet who bailed out of his crippled fighter plane was found alive but injured near here early today.

Camden Mayor Roland Cooper identified the flier as Paul B. Root from Craig Air Force Base at Selma. A farmer on horseback found him about 6 a.m. about two miles from his wrecked F-751.

Root told rescuers he parachuted from the airplane while it was in a spin. He suffered a neck injury.

Root was alone in the plane, which exploded when it hit the ground. A search party looked for the pilot until late last night, then gave up until morning.

17 August 1955
The Birmingham News, Birmingham, AL

Alabama Power Co. becomes owner of Liddell Power

Alabama Power Co. became owner today of electric properties formerly owned by Liddell Power Co.

Formal transfer of the ownership took place in the board room of the Camden National Bank at Camden.

Among those attending were Thomas W. Martin, board chairman of Alabama Power; E.C. Easter, company vice president; B.L. Huggins, local manager at Camden; G.D. Liddell, J.R. Liddell, R.H. Liddell, and W.L. Liddell.

The Liddell Power Co., Inc. was organized 30 years ago to supply service in Camden. The power supply came from a small generator.

Within a few years, service was extended to Pineapple, Oak Hill, Darlington, and Miller’s Ferry. Additional generators were installed.

By 1948, use of electricity again has surpassed the capacity of the generators and Liddell Power Co. arranged for Alabama Power to provide the entire power supply.

Alabama Power built a high-voltage substation at Catherine and extended a transmission line to Camden.

Liddell Power had about 1000 customers.

After formalities of the ownership transfer were completed today, a group of Camden citizens was host to Alabama Power’s representatives at a luncheon.

9 August 1962
Wilcox Progressive Era, Camden, AL

HONORED GUESTS
Boys’ State Representatives Speak To Legion Members

Elwood Oakley, Jr. of Pine Apple, Harold Speir of Pine Apple and Max Baggett of
Camden, the three boys who represented the three high schools of Wilcox County at Boys’ State in Tuscaloosa in June, gave their reports on the trip to the members of the American Legion at their meeting on Thursday night.

The boys were sponsored by the Irby-Savage-Sam McNeill Post 84 at the annual Boys’s State which was sponsored by the State Department of American Legion.

The boys and their fathers were honored guests at the August meeting of the local Post when the boys told of their week’s experience in learning about city, county, and state government and electing officials from their ranks for these various levels of government.

Reg Albritton of Camden, State Chairman of Boys’ State introduced the boys and as the boys expressed appreciation to the Post for giving them the opportunity, they commended Mr. Albritton and a former Wilcox Countian, Cliff Harper for the part they played in making Boys’ State such a wonderful experience.

Do not forget! We are proud to be the largest historical society in Alabama, and we want to keep that distinction strong! Please pay your annual membership dues so that we can continue our important work.

Annual dues are $30 for a couple, $25 for a single. Lifetime dues are $300 for a couple and $250 for a single. Dues are renewed in January. A membership form is available on our website: WilcoxHistoricalSociety.org. Or, if you prefer, please mail dues to P O Box 464, Camden, AL 36726, and be sure to include your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number. Payment may also be made with PayPal. Questions? Email us at wilcoxhistoricalsociety@gmail.com .

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