Elba historical marker tells of outlaws who burned old courthouse in 1863

Marker can be seen to the left of black vehicle in photo.

This week’s featured historical marker is the “HISTORIC COURT SQUARE” marker in Coffee County, Alabama. This marker is located in downtown Elba, just east of the corner of U.S. Highway 84 and Court Street.

This marker was erected in 1974 by the Alabama Historical Association. There’s text on both sides of this marker, but both sides are the same. What follows is the complete text from the marker.

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“HISTORIC COURT SQUARE: The first Coffee County Courthouse was at Wellborn and burned in 1851. This site given by John B. Simmons when Elba was selected the county seat polling 58 more votes than Indigo Head (Clintonville) in a county election on Oct. 5, 1852. The first building erected on this site was a two story frame structure burned by Ward’s Raiders, Sept. 3, 1863. A new courthouse was completed in 1867. This building served Coffee County until 1881 and was sold at auction. A third building complete in 1882 was enlarged in 1899. Failing to meet the needs of Coffee County, it was replaced by the present courthouse in 1903. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.”

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I encountered this historical marker several months ago while passing through Elba on my way to a basketball tournament in Dothan. This marker is one of several in downtown Elba, and I’ll be featuring those in the coming weeks. This marker is also a short walk from the Pea River, which is somewhat infamous for the number of times it’s flooded over the years, so it’s no telling how many times this marker has found itself underwater since 1974.

I was especially interested in the portion of the marker that talked about Ward’s Raiders. Apparently, Ward’s Raiders were among a number of outlaw groups that operated throughout the south during the Civil Ward. Headed by outlaw Jim Ward, a Confederate deserter, they raided areas near the Choctawhatchee Swamp in Florida and all along the Pea River. They were accused of more than four murders, numerous thefts, horse thievery and the burning of the Coffee County Courthouse.

Because the gang was made up mostly of deserters, it’s believed that Ward’s Raiders burned the courthouse to destroy draft and conscription records. They attempted to burn them in early 1863, but failed, but made another attempt later that year. By that time, however, the records had been moved to other locations in the city.

Attempts were made to track down members of this outlaw band and some of them were killed or captured and hanged. However, I was unable to find out what happened to Jim Ward, so if anyone out there knows, please let me know. He may have just disappeared into history, but, then again, much may be know of his eventual fate.

In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.