Many of you may have seen on the top of last week’s front page that a new historical marker was recently erected on County Road 5, between the Burnt Corn and Bermuda communities. This Alabama Historical Association marker was erected Monday of last week and highlights the area’s history, especially in regard to the Creek Indian War of 1813-1814. Since the wording on the sign pictured in last week’s paper was probably too small for most people to read, I’ve copied it below for those of you curious about what the sign actually says. The entire text of the new sign reads as follows:
“BURNT CORN SPRING: The historical Burnt Corn Spring is located near this point on the Old Federal Road – the spring poured into the west branch of the creek that took its name. James Cornells had a residence at the spring before 1813. In the summer of 1813, a war party of 280 Creek Indians burned Cornells’ residence and corncribs while in route to obtain guns and ammunition from the Spanish governor in Pensacola. Some 20 miles from here, a part of one-third of the warriors returning from Pensacola encountered Col. James Caller and 180 Mississippi militiamen who were intent on intercepting them. Caller and his men camped at this site on July 26th, before turning south on the Wolf Trail to engage the Indians in a skirmish at a ford on Burnt Corn Creek. What had begun as a Creek civil war spilled over into this Battle of Burnt Corn Creek, the opening of hostilities between the warring Creeks and white settlers in the area. With the massacre at Mims’ stockade the next month – August 30, 1813 – the Creek Indian War of 1813-1814 was underway. A U.S. post office was established at this spring in October 1817, about the time Mississippi became a State and Alabama a Territory.”
If you’ve got the time, I’d encourage you to ride out and see the sign for yourself. It’s located about 2-1/2 miles north of Bermuda on County Road 5, which is the border between Monroe and Conecuh counties. As you travel north out of Bermuda, the marker is on the left (west) side of the road, which is the Monroe County side of the highway. While it’s true that this marker is technically in Monroe County, it’s just a few feet from Conecuh County and its subject matter has just as much to do with Conecuh County as it does Monroe County.
This new marker is just one of many in our area, and others include the marker at the Alabama Baptist Children’s Home Site on Main Street in Evergreen, the Ernest Stanley Crawford, M.D. marker on Front Street in downtown Evergreen, the “Emerald City” marker in front of the Old Depot in downtown Evergreen, the marker in front of the Evergreen Baptist Church on Park Street in Evergreen and the Rev. Hillary James Hawkins, D.D. marker on County Road 97 at Lime Hill. Others include the James Salter Monument at Pine Orchard and a number of Old Federal Road markers at Pine Orchard, Bermuda and at the John Peobles Toll Bridge.
According to Sherry Johnston, historian and archivist at the Evergreen-Conecuh County Public Library, other markers in the county include the Anderson Stallworth Family marker in Nichburg. She said there was also a marker about Richard Thomas Baggett on County Road 23. That marker has “disappeared,” Johnston said. She said there are also plans to erect a marker at the John Green Cemetery at Burnt Corn in the near future.
More than likely, there are a few more historical markers out there in the county that aren’t mentioned above. If you know of any, please let me know by calling The Courant at 578-1492 or by e-mailing me at courantsports@earthlink.net. You can also reach me by writing The Evergreen Courant, ATTN: Lee Peacock, P.O. Box 440, Evergreen, AL 36401.
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