Much to see in the old Wainwright community near Lock & Dam

Old Masonic Hall at Wainwright.

Last Thursday afternoon, I got the itch to get out and do a little riding around. I pointed my pickup north on State Highway 41 and eventually cut west onto County Road 17. After a brief stop at Finchburg Grocery for a bottle of Coke and a bag of salted peanuts, I continued on to the Lock & Dam Road intersection, about 14 roads miles from Monroeville’s downtown square.

About six months ago, someone told me that there was an old survey benchmark at this intersection, so out of curiosity I pulled over and took a quick look around in the grass near the faded “River Heritage Museum” sign. I didn’t find the benchmark, but I did pick up a shiny quarter so scalding hot that it almost made me talk ugly. As I walked back to my truck, I took a long look down County Road 17, and it occurred to me that I was standing in what was once “downtown” Wainwright.

Wainwright is like many old Monroe County communities in that it was once a thriving place with stores, a school and its own post office. Postal records reflect that the Wainwright post office opened in 1899 and eventually closed in 1923. Today, the community’s most prominent landmark is the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, which is just a stone’s throw away from the main intersection.

Before heading back to town, I stopped for a closer look at the church and its cemetery. According to the church’s cornerstone, the church was established in 1885 by the Rev. D. Duke and was remodeled in 1912 by the Rev. J.A. Frye. Deacons in 1912 included S. Dubose, C. Dinish and T.S. Dubose.

I eventually made my way to the cemetery, and just eyeballing it, I’d say that it contains about 100 graves, maybe less. The oldest marked grave that I saw during my brief stroll around the cemetery belonged to a man named Seth Shoots. Shoots passed away at the age of 86, two days before Christmas in 1902.

Not far from the cemetery, on the other side of the church, is a two-story, concrete block building that looks like it once served as a Masonic Hall. As best that I could tell, the building has no cornerstone or printed signs that would shed light on its history. My feeling is that the building once housed an old Prince Hall lodge that closed at some point in the past.

Across the road from the church, you’ll also find a sign that marks the northern end of the Sgt. Charles Wayne Turberville Memorial Highway. Turberville, a native of Franklin, was a U.S. Marine Security Guard, who was killed in a Khmer Rouge rocket and mortar attack in 1971. A five-mile stretch of County Road 17 was designated the “Sgt. Charles Wayne Turberville Memorial Highway” in October 2014.

In the end, if you’re ever headed up County Road 17 on your way to the Claiborne Lock & Dam, just know that you’re passing through “downtown” Wainwright when you hook a left onto the Lock & Dam Road. Many of you have no doubt been through this area on many occasions and know that there is much to see there if you take a good look around.