Dry Forks was once a thriving community in Wilcox County

Gulletts Bluff Baptist Church in Wilcox County, Alabama.

This past Friday was Good Friday, a day that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus. That morning, I found myself out riding around in the southwestern part of Wilcox County and drove past Gulletts Bluff Baptist Church. A display in the churchyard caught my eye, and I turned around for a closer look.

I parked in the parking lot and walked over to a tall wooden cross that was draped with a long black cloth. There was also a sign nailed to the top of the cross, written in three different languages – Hebrew, Greek and Latin. As best that I could remember from Sunday School, this was the sign nailed to the cross by Roman soldiers that stated, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

I’d driven by Gulletts Bluff Baptist Church many times before, but I’d never taken the time to stop prior to Friday morning. According to the brick church sign out by the highway, the church was founded in 1891. Another stone placard near the entrance to the church also said that the church was founded in 1891 and was rebuilt in 1988.

On the walk back to my truck, I paused for a moment and took a long look around. Gulletts Bluff Baptist Church is located at the intersection of State Highway 41 and Wilcox County Road 12. It was then that I remembered that I was standing in what was once “downtown” Dry Forks, a once thriving community from the county’s distant past.

According to “Place Names in Alabama” by Virginia O. Foscue, the Dry Forks community was probably named for the plantation home of John Asbury Tait that was built nearby in 1833. Other sources say that this house was built for James Asbury Tait by a pair of slaves named Elijah and Hezekiah. In either case, all sources agree that this antebellum house is one of the oldest existing structures in all of Wilcox County.

Back in my truck, I began to scout around, looking for any old buildings that might harken back to the days when Dry Forks was a much larger community. As best that I could tell, there are no remnants of any old buildings that might have once served as the community’s post office or perhaps as an old country store. I also noted that I didn’t see any old cemeteries, not even on the grounds of Gulletts Bluff Baptist Church.

However, when I cut east on County Road 12, I encountered the old Dry Forks Plantation a short distance from the main highway. As I drove by the property’s main gate, I couldn’t help but notice a large plaque that read: This Property Has Been Placed On The National Register of Historic Places By The United States Department Of The Interior – Dry Fork Plantation, c. 1832. (Later research at home revealed that this historic home was added to the National Register on Feb. 26, 1999.)

While in this area, I also encountered a large, orange highway sign that told me that there was a bridge out ahead, so I turned around and made my way back to Highway 41. As I sat there at the main intersection, I began to wonder what the Dry Forks community looked like in its heyday. Little remains to show modern visitors that this was once a thriving community, and one is left to wonder what those old Dry Forks residents would think of the area today.

In the end, I’d be interested to hear from anyone in the reading audience with more information about the Dry Forks community. What happened to the original church building? Where did Dry Forks residents bury their dead? Are there any ghost stories or spooky tales associated with the community or its old homes? If so, please let me hear from you because it would be a shame to let that information fade into the past like so much of our forgotten history.