London community grew up around once-thriving turpentine mill

Frank Pate's Old Store in London, Alabama.

I love to get out and ride the backroads of Conecuh County, and last Thursday afternoon I found myself in the London community, which is about three and a half miles west of Castleberry on County Road 6.

I’d been through London many times before, but I’d never taken the time to stop and explore the large cemetery at the London Baptist Church, which was established in 1912. When I stepped out of my truck last Thursday afternoon, it was misting rain and there was a slight chill in the air. First thing I noticed was the three American flags flying in the area – one in front of the church, one in the large cemetery next door and another across County Road 6, where there are a few more graves.

Something near the base of the flagpole in front of the church caught my eye and when I approached it for a closer look, I realized that it was a small metal plaque. At first it was hard to read, but after I rubbed it with my thumb a few times, I could barely make out what it said: Dedicated to London Baptist Church by Bobby Edgar, In Loving Memory of his Daughter, Lisa Renee Edgar, Oct. 8, 1969 – Aug. 10, 1989.

From there, I walked over to the big cemetery on the east side of the church property, where I noted a number of old graves. The oldest that I spotted was the weathered, old grave of John R. Whitehead, who died in 1862. I also found the grave of Lisa Renee Edgar, beside the grave of her father, Bobby, who passed away in 2004.

I also spotted a number of plump, overfed squirrels, who eyed me with suspicion as I made my way through the cemetery. Several ran across the top of a nearby wooden fence, watching me warily as I walked between the rows of graves. One squirrel actually ran up to me, but it never got too close, which made me wonder if someone had been feeding it by hand.

Eventually, I made my way back towards my truck, and it was around this time that a big pickup zipped by, tooting his horn, headed west on County Road 6. About the time I got back in my truck, this pickup truck pulled into the parking lot, and I saw that it was my grinning, old friend Austin Weaver, who used to work with me on the ambulance in Monroeville. Austin told me that he was on his way to kill a big buck, but had a few minutes to shoot the breeze with me.

A little while later, we parted ways, and I eased a little farther west on County Road 6, past the RV campground, before turning around at Frank Pate’s old store. This old community store has been closed for about 25 years as evidenced by the price of gas still displayed on the old pumps outside - $1.39 for a gallon of regular unleaded. Many in the reading audience will remember Mr. Frank Pate, who served on the county commission for a number of years.

On my way back to Castleberry, I took a few minutes to ease down London Circle, which put me back out onto County Road 6 a few miles later. While traveling down this dirt road, I remembered reading that a post office was established in London in 1895 and a school was established there in 1926. During my visit there last Thursday, I didn’t see hide nor hair of either of those institutions.

Later, Mr. Glen Lanier told me that there was once a large turpentine mill in this area, and the story goes that this mill had a lot to do with how the community got its name. He said that so many people began to move into the area that a boy standing outside the mill remarked to a group of adults that “if this place keeps growing, it’ll be as big as London, England.” The name apparently stuck, or so the story goes.

Lanier also told me that if I’d taken Geaton Road down past the RV campground, I would have come to a bridge, where I would have been able to see in the woods the pilings from an old railroad that once ran through the area. Looking at the area on a map, I noted that there’s a number of sizeable creeks and streams in this area, which would have made it prime real estate for Indians in ancient times. No doubt there are old Indian village sites and perhaps burial mounds in this area.

In the end, the London community is one of the loveliest communities in all of Conecuh County. If you ever find yourself traveling down County Road 6 between Castleberry and Sandcut, take the time to slow down and take in the sights. It may not be as big as London, England, but it’s still big on rural charm.