Today in History for Feb. 13, 2019

Feb. 13, 1818 – Conecuh County, Ala. was established, formed out of what was Monroe County by an act of the legislature. Conecuh County originally included all of south Alabama east of its present Western boundary line and south of the line of Lowndes and as far east as the Chattahoochee River.

Feb. 13, 1818 – In the Alabama territorial capital of St. Stephens, a commission was formed to select a site for the future state capital.

Feb. 13, 1818 - Fort Early was built by General Blackshear during the war of 1812. General Andrew Jackson and his army arrived at the fort on this day and used it in the campaign against the Seminole of Florida and the Creek of Georgia.

Feb. 13, 1842 – Confederate soldier Hugh Ellis Courtney was born in Mississippi. He enlisted at Pineville in Monroe County, Ala. on March 15, 1861 and re-enlisted on May 13, 1861. He was listed as sick at Hugunot Springs on July 15, 1861 and was wounded at Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. He was admitted to the 2nd Div. Ala. General Hospital at Richmond on June 6, 1863 and was listed as a prisoner of war at the Wilderness on May 5, 1864 before being forwarded to Point Lookout, Md. on May 18, 1864 and to Elmira Prison, N.Y. on Aug. 15, 1864. He took the Oath of Allegiance on April 30, 1865 and stated that he desired to “return to Bells Landing, where his relatives resides.” He was paroled on June 14, 1865. He was almost 5-8 with a fair complexion, auburn hair and blue eyes. Courtney died in Montgomery on Feb. 22, 1939 and was buried in Pine Crest Cemetery in Mobile.

Feb. 13, 1854 – The Belleville Male and Female Academy in Conecuh County, Ala. was incorporated by the Alabama legislature. The original trustees were John L. Shaw, President; J.P. Robbins, J.R. Hawthorne, T.W. Simpson and William Simpson.

Feb. 13, 1864 – 59^TH ALABAMA: General Longstreet ordered the regiment to march into Knoxville on a full-scale foraging party.

Feb. 13, 1865 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Station Four near Pensacola, Fla.

  

Feb. 13, 1866 - On Fat Tuesday, Confederate veteran Joe Cain paraded through the streets of federal-occupied Mobile dressed as a Chickasaw Indian chief he dubbed "Slackabamorinico." The antics of "Chief Slac" marked the first public celebration of Mardi Gras in Mobile since the start of the Civil War, and led to larger, more formalized festivities the next year. Joe Cain Day is observed annually in Mobile on the Sunday before Mardi Gras.

Feb. 13, 1885 – Brewton, Ala. was officially incorporated as a municipality.

Feb. 13, 1895 – Former University of Alabama President Landon Garland passed away at the age of 84 on Feb. 13, 1895 in Nashville, Tenn. and was buried in the Vanderbilt University Divinity Cemetery. A native of Nelson County, he served as the University’s president from 1855 to 1865.

Feb. 13, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that the Masonic fraternity had purchased a suitable lot in Montgomery and planned to begin the erection of a handsome Masonic temple and state home for Masons.

Feb. 13, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that heavy rains during the previous week washed up the railroad bridge across Murder Creek, and trains were discontinued for 48 hours.

Feb. 13, 1915 – At Canoe, Ala., Escambia County Sheriffs captured Andrew Simmons, a Conecuh County convict who’d escaped off a county road crew. Also arrested for helping Simmons escape were Bestor Lewis, Tom White and Laura Smith. Lewis and White helped steal a horse and buggy from R.M. Rabon in Castleberry, and Smith gave Simmons clothes to replace his “striped convict garb.”

Feb. 13, 1917 - Riley Kelly of Excel transacted business in Monroeville on this Tuesday.

Feb. 13, 1918 – Mrs. Jessie Stanford, the wife of J.M. Stanford, died on this morning at Pineapple. She was born and raised at Pine Apple, and was a faithful member of the Baptist Church, Sunday School, Ladies Aid and Missionary Society. The previous few years she had been in failing health but she bore it with Christian fortitude, according to The Wilcox Progressive Era.

Feb. 13, 1928 - A movie version of Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen's book “The Prince and the Papa” was released.

Feb. 13, 1930 – The Monroe Journal reported that the foundation was being laid for the steel tower and water tank to be erected by the local water company, some 20 men being employed on the project. The large water mains were to be laid from the plant around the square and six-inch mains were to be used on the street lines. Approximately three cars of sand and gravel were used in the foundation piers for the tank which would be 100 feet above the ground with a capacity of 100,000 gallons.

Feb. 13, 1930 – The Monroe Journal reported, under the headline “MOTHER AND SON BURIED SAME DAY,” that Mr. A.B. Mason died at the family home at Uriah on Thursday morning, Feb. 6, following an illness of only a few days. As preparations were being made for the funeral on Friday morning, Feb. 7, his mother, Mrs. Thomas Mason died. They were laid to rest in the cemetery at Uriah on Saturday morning, Feb. 8.

Feb. 13, 1930 – The Monroe Journal reported that Miss Jennie Faulk had “returned from a successful market season at Atlanta.”

Feb. 13, 1930 – The Monroe Journal reported that Lucian Jones was a business visitor to Pensacola during the previous week.

Feb. 13, 1947 – A fire of unknown origin broke out in the rear of the A&P Store on East Front Street in Evergreen, Ala. about 3 a.m. and did considerable damage to the building and virtually destroyed the large stock of groceries.

Feb. 13, 1961 – The missing Air Force T-28 training plane flown by Ecuardorian pilot Carlos R. Jalil was found by a helicopter from Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga. Jalil, a foreign pilot receiving Air Force flight training, was killed in the crash, and Civil Air Patrol units from Alabama (including Evergreen), Georgia and Florida took part in the search for Jalil’s plane. This search was the Evergreen CAP unit’s first opportunity to use its newly assigned plane, which was piloted by 2nd Lt. G.D. McKenzie. McKenzie was accompanied by observers Capt. Lee F. Smith, 1st Lt. David E. McKenzie and 2nd Lt. R.V. McClendon.

Feb. 13, 1969 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Marine Corps Pfc. Joseph S. Ward was in Okinawa en route to Vietnam. He entered the Marine Corps on July 2, 1968 and left for California in January 1969. Ward was the son of Richard Ward of Evergreen, Ala. and Mrs. James V. Hawsey of McKenzie. He attended Lyeffion High School.

Feb. 13, 1970 – Lyeffion High School held its annual football banquet at the school, and Coach Baccum of Mississippi State was the guest speaker.

Feb. 13, 1975 - James E. Nettles Sr., 78, died on this Thursday in a Monroeville, Ala. nursing home after a long illness. Nettles was a longtime resident of Repton and represented Conecuh County in the State House of Representatives in the 1940s. Born on Jan. 18, 1897, he was buried in Excel Cemetery.

Feb. 13, 1976 – In their regular season finale, Sparta Academy’s varsity boys basketball team “pulled the upset of the year” by beating previously unbeaten Wilcox Academy, 46-45, in overtime in Camden. Ronnie Pugh led Sparta with 18 points, and Sparta finished the regular season with an 18-6 overall record.

Feb. 13, 1978 - Gladys Mae Jones, 68, well-known resident of the Fairview community, was killed in a two-car collision in Evergreen on this Monday afternoon. Jones, who worked with the Conecuh County Pensions & Security Dept., was driving alone in her car when it was involved in a collision with a car driven by Huly Davis, also alone, a teacher at Nichburg School. The accident occurred on Rural Street at the intersection of the then new bypass from Highway 31 South to Highway 83 North. Jones was killed instantly. Jones was a native of Belleville and a member of a prominent, pioneer county family. She was well known and enjoyed the love and esteem of her family and a wide circle of friends, according to The Evergreen Courant.

Feb. 13, 1984 - Monroe Academy’s boys varsity basketball team rallied from an 11-point deficit to upend Jackson Academy, 72-69, on this Monday in the first round of the Alabama Private School Athletic Association state basketball tournament. Individual efforts of juniors Michael McCrory and Hudson Hines keyed the District 3 runners-up’s upset win over the 19-3 District 2 champs in Jackson. McCrory scored 25 points and pulled down six rebounds. Hines came through with a clutch performance, scoring 23 points.

Feb. 13, 1989 - Alabama author Everette Maddox died in New Orleans, La.

Feb. 13, 2001 – The Sarasota County, Fla. Sheriff’s office released two remarkable photos of a mysterious creature that had been taken by an elderly woman who sighted an apelike entity in her back yard. For two nights, the large hairy monster had made strange noises, emitted a strong odor and snitched apples from her back porch. On the third night, she managed to take two photographs of the creature that her husband thought looked something like an orangutan.

  

Feb. 13-14, 2003 - Sparta Academy’s boys and girls basketball teams won the West Region 1 Area 1 Tournament held on this Thursday and Friday at Sparta. Named to the all-tournament team were Ashton Garner, Perry Castleberry, Callie Ezell and Chris Garner. Katie Etheridge and Wiley Cobb were named Tournament MVP.

Feb. 13, 2003 - Bill O’Conner told those present for the annual Chamber Banquet on this Thursday night that Evergreen and Conecuh County had everything they needed to bring industry and growth to the area. He said he would not be surprised to see Evergreen explode with growth in the next few years.