The "Devil's Soup Bowl" in 2013. |
(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator
George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere
in Time.” The column below, which was titled “The Devil’s Bowl” was originally published
in the April 15, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)
What’s in a name? Could this really be what the name
implies? Approximately 80 feet in diameter, this pool has been the topic of
conversation by the people of the Goodway and Megargel communities for many,
many years.
Located about three miles off Highway 84 [sic], this is
truly one of Monroe County’s strangest sights. As one examines the immediate area,
one will notice that lilies and water grass grows in abundance for about 10
feet around the water’s edge. The center of the pool then becomes dark as
though of great depth.
The water is fresh and one can see many minnows on the
surface. The fact that life exists there is no mystery, but where does the
fresh water come from? Where does it go? To have fresh water such as this one
it must have a source from which it comes. Also there must be a stream or an
overflow. Here, none exists.
Although I have not had the opportunity to measure or try
and find the bottom, the rumor that has circulated over the years say that
there is none. Perhaps the depth is so great that the bottom has never been
reached.
One has but to look at the lay of the land to imagine that
at some time in the past, when the world was young, a great meteor fell upon
this area with such impact that it buried itself to a great depth; or could it
be the core of a small volcano which has been sleeping through the centuries.
What is the explanation of the mystery behind the Devil’s Soup Bowl? Who gave
it its name?
As I stood there near the pool’s edge and looked into the
dark, deep water, I could feel that somewhere beneath the cool clear surface
the secret has lain for a thousand years, and I felt reasonably sure it would
lay for a thousand more.
(This column was also accompanied by a photo of the “Devil’s
Soup Bowl” and the caption beneath that photo read as follows: The Devil’s Soup
Bowl – one of Monroe County’s strangest sights.)
(Singleton, the author
of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of
79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born during a late-night
thunderstorm on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water
High School in 1946, served in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived
for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and
served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from 1964 to
1987. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you
know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a
lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life
magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971
edition of The Monroe Journal. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in
Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are
available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County
Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week
for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work
and memory alive.)
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