Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Historical marker describes man who reestablished train service in Brewton, Ala.

'Hart Station' historical marker in Brewton, Ala.
This week’s featured historical marker is the “HART STATION” marker in Escambia County, Ala. This marker is located in Brewton on the east side of the railroad tracks downtown near the gazebo at intersection of St. Joseph Avenue and Deer Street.

Unlike most historical markers of this type, it gives no indication of when it was erected. There’s text on both sides of the marker, but both sides are the same. What follows in the complete text from the marker:

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“HART STATION: Erected by his friends and the Escambia County Bar Association in memor of James Edward Hart Jr. (1942-1992), who contributed much to his community, his church and his profession. He loved trains. Due to his efforts, passenger service was reestablished in Brewton.”

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While researching information about this historical marker, I encountered something very odd. When I searched for James Edward Hart Jr. on Find a Grave’s Web site and discovered that he has grave markers in two cemeteries in two different towns in Escambia County. (For the record, Hart was born on March 26, 1942 and passed away at the age of 50 on June 24, 1992.)

The search results showed that he has monuments in the Union Cemetery in Brewton and in the Flomaton Cemetery in Flomaton. Both results showed photos of his grave markers, and the one in Brewton is a simple marker that simply gives his name, date of birth and date of death.

The marker in Flomaton appears newer and larger. It also indicated that Hart’s nickname was “Jim” and, more importantly, says that he is “Buried in Union Cemetery, Brewton, AL.” No explanation is given as to why he has two markers in two different cemeteries.


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. 

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