Where exactly was 'Turner B. Long's bridge' located in Conecuh County?

A few months ago, back in late January, I wrote a column in this space about a book called “The History of Conecuh County, Alabama” by Benjamin Franklin Riley. This book was originally published in 1881 and is arguably the greatest book ever written about the county’s early history. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in local history.

I say all that to say that during the past week I finished reading two other outstanding local history books, “The Early History of What is Known as the Evergreen Beat” by Young M. Rabb and “People and Places of Conecuh County, Alabama: 1816-1860.”

The contents of Rabb’s book were originally published in 13 installments in 1879 and 1880 editions of the Conecuh-Escambia Star newspaper. These articles “may very well be the first history compiled about this area of the state,” according to David L. Sanders and Frank Alex Luttrell III. Sanders and Luttrell published Rabb’s articles in book form in 1981 in conjunction with Conecuh County’s Heritage Year.

Rabb’s book is interesting because it goes into great detail about early homes, businesses, cemeteries and schools in the Evergreen area. He also discusses the establishment of the railroad through Evergreen and he also talks a great deal about local office holders and churches.

To me, the most interesting thing in his book is his telling of how Murder Creek got its name. According to Rabb, the creek takes its name from a robbery and murder that occurred along its banks in 1788. The crime is said to have occurred near what Rabb called “Turner B. Long’s bridge,” which was 3-1/2 miles west of Evergreen. If anyone out there knows where this bridge was located, please call me at The Courant at 578-1492 to let me know.

“People and Places of Conecuh County, Alabama: 1816-1860” was published years ago by the Conecuh County Historical Society and it contains detailed information about hundreds of early county residents, schools, churches and many other locations. Maybe best of all, this book comes with a special, historical map of the county that shows you exactly where many of these places were located. This book also contains detailed chapters on the history of Belleville, Bermuda, Brooklyn, Burnt Corn, Castleberry, Hampden Ridge and Sparta.

One item in the book that caught my eye was the entry for William Simpson, one of the original trustees of the old Belleville Academy, which was established in 1854. According to the book, the world famous Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote a poem to Simpson. The poem they’re referring to is called “Epistle to William Simpson of Ochiltree,” and there is some degree of controversy over its authorship, but that is a column for another day. Again, if anyone has more information about this item, please call me at The Courant to fill me in.

In the end, if you’re interested in reading these books for yourself, you can purchase copies of each from the Evergreen-Conecuh County Public Library. For more information, contact Sherry Johnston at the library at 578-2670.