Wilcox County, Alabama's history-rich Pebble Hill community was once known as the 'Capell' community

Cedar slab headstone at Capell Cemetery.

I read with great sadness that Richard Capell of Frisco City had passed away on Nov. 15 at the age of 81. He was a former Camden resident and had deep ancestral roots in Wilcox County. In fact, his ancestors were among the county’s early settlers.

I grew up in Frisco City and had known Richard Capell for as long as I can remember. His daughter, Laura, was a classmate of mine all the way through school, and his daughter, Kay, was a little ahead of us in school. Those who knew Richard Capell know that he was a good man.

One day last week, as chance would have it, I found myself passing through Pebble Hill, a small community between Dry Forks and Camden. The most prominent landmark at Pebble Hill is the old Capell House, a two-story plantation house that was built around 1850. Today, the house serves as a bed and breakfast.

The Capell family’s roots run so deep at Pebble Hill that this area was actually once known as the Capell community. In fact, there was a post office officially named the “Capell Post Office” in operation there from 1895 to 1915. Sources say that the area wasn’t called Pebble Hill until sometime around the Great Depression.

While in the area the other day, I cut down Pebble Hill Road and spent a few minutes exploring the old Capell Cemetery, which is a mile of so east of State Highway 41. This graveyard, which includes a section called the McDowell Cemetery, contains about 140 graves. Richard Capell was recently buried there, and I’ve been told that he worked hard for many years maintaining this beautiful, historic cemetery.

The oldest grave that I saw there the other day belonged to Samuel Kennedy, who was born in Darlington, S.C. in 1817. He passed away when he was either 22 or 23 years old in 1840. Kennedy’s grave is among over a dozen antebellum graves to be found in this cemetery.

Not far from Kennedy’s grave, visitors will also find a solid cedar slab headstone. Beside this distinctive headstone you will find a modern sign that bears the following words – “Pause ye stranger as you pass me by. As you are, now so once was I. As I am now, so you will be. Prepare yourself stranger to follow me.” According to Julia Handly, this quote was originally etched into the cedar headstone, and it was still legible when she was a young girl. A cousin of hers had the sign made so that the quote could be preserved for future generations.

Just behind this old cedar slab, you’ll find the McDowell Cemetery section of the graveyard. This is the original and oldest part of the cemetery, Handly said. The Capell Cemetery is the newer section of the graveyard, she noted.

In the end, my condolences go out to Richard Capell’s family. Richard possessed the finest qualities of his history-rich family, and he obviously took great pride in maintaining a portion of the place where his family roots ran so deep. He will be sorely missed by his family and many friends.