Historical marker describes Monroe County's Buena Vista community

Buena Vista, Ala. historical marker

This week’s featured historical marker is the “BUENA VISTA” marker that’s located in the small community of Buena Vista in the northern part of Monroe County, Alabama. This marker looks relatively new, but it doesn’t indicate who erected the marker or when.

This marker is located on the north side of Monroe County Road 56, a few miles north of the intersection of that road and State Highway 265, north of the Town of Beatrice. There’s text on both sides of this marker, but both sides are identical. What follows is the complete text from the marker.

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“BUENA VISTA: Buena Vista was not always known by this name. The village was named Germany by the first settler in the area, Andrew Rikard, who arrived here in 1818 with his family from South Carolina. Mr. Rikard was of German descent. His son, Jake, established Rikard’s Mill, which is still operating today approximately two miles east on Flat Creek. In 1846 the name was changed by J.W. Perrin who had fought in the Battle of Buena Vista (Beautiful View) in the Mexican-American War. In 1847, Mr. Perrin became the first permanent postmaster of Buena Vista and served until 1861. Other early families in the area were Middletons, Kearleys, Nettles, Lindseys, Dukes and Laceys. Also, at that time, the James Finklea family migrated to the area.

“During the Civil War, John James ‘Jack’ Finklea, James Finklea’s son, kept store for Capt. Malcolm Patterson, who was killed in service. After the war, with $140.00 his father had left him, Jack rented the Patterson store, married and eventually became Postmaster. The post office was operated between 1846 and 1976. Jack Finklea descendants are active in restoration of many of the dwellings in the town. “In 1977, Buena Vista was placed on the Alabama Historical Register.”

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This marker is interesting for a number of reasons, especially the bit about Rikard’s Mill. If you ever visit Buena Vista, be sure to check out the old mill. It’s currently managed by the Monroe County Heritage Museums, which operates it as a working history site. A few years ago around Halloween, two friends and I actually spent the night there as part of a ghost hunt. It’s pretty creepy.

I was also especially interested in the tidbit about the Battle of Buena Vista, which occurred in February 1847. In this battle, the U.S. Army, under the command of future U.S. President Zachary Taylor, took on a larger Mexican Army force in northern Mexico and won thanks to the use of heavy artillery. Over 3,700 Mexicans died in the battle against 746 Americans who lost their lives. It was said to have been Taylor’s greatest victory of the war, which ended a year later in February 1848.

In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.