Brother of the 'Hero of the Alamo' buried in the old Herbert community in Conecuh County, Alabama

The old Herbert Community Center building.

I was out riding around the other day and found myself in the old Herbert community. For those of you unfamiliar with Herbert, it’s located east of Evergreen on U.S. Highway 84, between Old Town and the Sepulga River. It’s about 9-1/2 road miles from downtown Evergreen.

Sources say that Herbert was named after Congressman Hilary A. Herbert, who established a post office in the community in 1879. Herbert, who lived most of his life in Greenville, was appointed Secretary of the U.S. Navy by President Grover Cleveland in 1893. Herbert died in 1919, and the post office that bore his name closed in 1957.

According to the 2002 book, “The Heritage of Conecuh County, Alabama,” the Herbert community was once a bustling place. In the late 1800s, Herbert had two doctors, a dentist, two general stores, a Methodist church, a barber shop, a gin, a garage, a two-story school and Masonic lodge. The community’s post office was located in the Shaver Brothers Store.

Today when you go to Herbert, the most prominent landmarks you’ll see are the old store building at the County Road 43 intersection, the Herbert Volunteer Fire Station, the old community center building and the Herbert Cemetery. While there the other day, I took a few minutes to visit the cemetery, which contains a number of old graves. Just eye-balling it, I’d say this cemetery contains about 140 graves, including many from the 1800s.

While walking among the headstones, the oldest grave that I was able to find was that of Saphronia Travis, who passed away at the age of 44 in 1875. She is buried alongside her husband, James Calloway Travis, who passed away at the age of 88 in 1918. Travis, an old Confederate veteran, was the younger brother of William Barrett Travis, the “Hero of the Alamo.”

Also in this cemetery you will find the grave of William Benjamin Shaver, who was one of the earliest settlers and merchants in the Herbert community. Born in Georgia in 1834, he served four years during the Civil War, fighting in many battles before being taken prisoner at Kennesaw Mountain in 1864. After the war, he worked as a doctor in the Herbert community for many, many years.

Many who have passed this old cemetery have no doubt noticed the white building that sits beside it. For many years, I thought this was an old church building, but I was informed by many that this was actually the old two-story school building and Masonic hall. At some point, the second story was removed and the building continued to serve as a community center.

Many that I talked to have fond memories of community singings at this old building. According to former Sepulga Baptist Church minister Cleveland Brown, singings were held there on a regular basis in the 1960s and 1970s, back when Bertie Bolton played the piano while Red Harden and Lamar Wilson played guitar. Cleveland also remembers a time when old-timey shaped-note singing classes were held there.

My old buddy Gilbert Harden, who works down at the Evergreen post office, told me that some of his fondest memories are tied to this old building at Herbert. When he was a lad, gospel singings were held there every Saturday night, beginning at seven o’clock and sometimes ending well after midnight. He said the Herbert community center was “the place to be” on a Saturday night and that he’d often seen “that little building packed to the back door many times.”

As I headed back to Evergreen, I thought about my old King and Peacock family ancestors, who also lived in the area around Herbert and Old Town. One is left to wonder what they and others would think about what the community looks like today. No doubt they would be surprised by how much has changed since this old community’s heyday before the Great Depression.

In the end, let me hear from you if you know anything more about the history of the old Herbert community. I’m especially interested in any old ghost stories, local legends or Indian lore associated with this community. If you know of anything along these lines, please let me know so that we can document it for the generations yet to come.