Deans community once thrived in northeastern Conecuh County

First Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Conecuh County is riddled with old communities that were once heavily populated but are now shadows of their former selves. One such community is the Deans community, sometimes called Deans Crossroads, due north of Evergreen.

According to historical maps available at the Evergreen library, the Deans community first appeared on the 1965 edition of the county highway map, but other sources say it is much older than that. Those of you who are familiar with the Deans community will know that “downtown” Deans is located at the intersection of Mixonville Road and County Road 33, in the northeastern corner of the county, not far from the Monroe and Butler county lines.

Last Thursday afternoon, as dark clouds began to gather in the west, I rode up to the Deans community with an eye toward seeing it for myself. I took my time easing up the Mixonville Road from Owassa, crossed the Sepulga River, and finally arrived at the Deans intersection to find several houses, but not much else to indicate that this community used to be a bustling crossroads. After snapping a few pictures, I got back in the truck and continued north of Mixonville Road.

A short distance from the Deans intersection, about half a mile down the road, I came upon the First Mount Zion Baptist Church, where, according to the sign out front, the Rev. Willie Rudolph is the pastor. According to the church’s cornerstone, the original First Mount Zion Baptist Church was built in the early 1800s and was remodeled in 1992. Deacons at the time of the remodeling were Cleve Carter, Arthur Maye, Terry Mixon and Joe Mixon. The Rev. Johnny F. Atkins was pastor, and Katherine Parrish was the church’s clerk.

Back in my truck, I continued north on Mixonville Road a short distance, before cutting left onto First Mount Zion Road, a dirt road that will take you south on a roundabout way back to Mixonville Road. Not far from the turnoff, I encountered the First Mount Zion Cemetery, a large graveyard that, as the crow flies, isn’t far from the church of the same name on Mixonville Road. Through the woods, I’d guess that they’re less than half a mile apart.

I spent a few minutes walking around this isolated, old cemetery, which is located on a gentle slope just off the side of the road. As best that I could tell, the oldest marked grave that I could find was a stone marker belonging to Arthur Lee Carter, who died at the age of 20 in 1839. Eventually, as thunder boomed in the distance, I returned to my truck and continued on down the road.

Those of you who are familiar with this cemetery will know that there is a tall brick and iron gate near the road. As I pulled away, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe at one time, the original First Mount Zion Church was located on this road and adjacent to the cemetery. Perhaps at some point, church members agreed to build a more modern church building on the paved road a short distance away through the woods.

As I eased back to the Mixonville Road, I took note of how sparsely populated this area seems to be. Aside from a few homes and hunting camps, there’s not much else to see before you cross a wooden bridge over an unnamed tributary that flows into Duck Creek, which makes up a good portion of the boundary between Conecuh and Butler counties.

King snake on First Mount Zion Road.

Not far beyond the bridge, I encountered a large king snake that was making his lazy way across the road. I stopped, rolled down my window and snapped his picture before asking him where he was headed. Seeming to have important business elsewhere, he reversed himself and disappeared into the roadside grass without comment.

In the end, I made it back to Evergreen just before the bottom fell out. As chance would have it, on my police scanner I could hear county road crews going out to tend to downed trees on County Road 33, not far from the Deans crossroads. No doubt many storms over the years have changed the landscape of this old community, and one is left to wonder what it will look like many years from now after the passage of the storms to come.