Crider's new book is a must-read for fans of Alabama's unique history

I recently finished reading a great new book that I think many of you would enjoy, “Legends and Lore of Birmingham & Central Alabama” by Beverly Crider. This 189-page book was released on March 18 and contains a wide variety of stories about quirky characters, unusual events, mythical creatures and legendary places across Alabama.

As you might have guessed from the title, most of the book talks about the Birmingham area, but the book does discuss a few people and locations in Wilcox, Dallas, Marengo and Lowndes counties, which aren’t too far from Conecuh County as the crow flies.

The book talks about mummies, Selma prophet Edgar Cayce, the Hodges Meteorite incident, Birmingham’s Batman, the legend of John Henry and dozens of other off-the-wall subjects. Mythical creatures discussed in the book include Bigfoot, hoop snakes, skunk apes, the Alabama Booger, the Choccolocco Monster, the Wampus Cat and the “Alabama White Thang.” The book also contains an interesting discussion on black panther sightings in the state.

I think readers in Conecuh County will be especially interested in the book’s chapters about outlaw Rube Burrow and Charles “Chess” McCartney, aka, “The Goat Man.” During the 1880s, Burrow, a native of Sulligent, was a feared train robber and he single-handedly committed one of the South’s greatest train robberies in September 1890. During this daring robbery, Burrow, who was known as the “King of the Outlaws” and the “Alabama Robin Hood,” forced the engineer to stop the train on the trestle across Big Escambia Creek between Pollard and Flomaton.

After this robbery, Burrow became the subject of one of America’s most widespread manhunts, and detectives tracked him to a camp in Santa Rosa County, Fla. Burrow learned that the detectives were hot on his trail, so he fled the area. Burrow headed north, and his escape route took him through the Castleberry area, Repton, Monroe County and into Marengo County. A short time latter, Linden storeowner Jefferson Davis “Dixie” Carter shot and killed Burrow.

Another chapter in Crider’s book that will likely interest local readers is the chapter about McCartney, a traveling preacher. McCartney, who died in 1998 in a Georgia nursing home, was one of the South’s most famous wandering travelers and folk characters. He got his nickname because he used a goat cart to travel around the country with his family.

McCartney passed through Conecuh County more than once, according to old newspapers, and those who saw him will likely remember his large wagon. It had iron wheels, and it was covered with items he found along the road. It’s estimated that from 1930 to 1987, he walked 100,000 miles, preaching in 49 states and in Canada.

During all that time, lots of stories cropped up about “The Goat Man.” Some say he wrestled a bear, married a Spanish knife-thrower, was almost lynched by the KKK and got mugged in Los Angeles while trying to see actress Morgan Fairchild. No one knows for sure how many of those stories are actually true, except for the Goat Man.

In the end, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about Alabama history, unusual people and places and animals that may or may not exist. Copies of the book are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Cover price is $19.99.