Singleton writes of 'Indian Rock' atop a hill in south Monroe County

George Buster Singleton

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Indian Rock” was originally published in the April 22, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

Standing for centuries atop a hill in south Monroe County, this rock has offered protection from the elements many times for the early Indians of this area. Bordered on three sides by deep ravines, it was easy to defend from hostiles, both human and animal.

The inclosure or main room, was probably able to accommodate about 12 sleeping people, give or take a few. Around both sides are smaller crevices which could protect one or two sleeping warriors from the rain and cold wind. The ceiling is stained from the smoke of a thousand cookfires. As one looks about, it is evident that this natural shelter was a popular resting place for many a raiding or hunting party.

As I leaned against this huge volcanic structure, which nature had formed many hundreds of years ago, I let my thoughts wander for awhile, imagining the time when one might have heard laughter or the chanting of Indian folksongs as the squaws prepared the evening meal, or heard a tall story from the old ones of the tribe.

I went on to imagine that maybe some Indian mother had leaned her papoose in the shade, near the very place where I sat as she gathered firewood for the night to come. I wondered how many warriors had passed this way on a raid, never to return and rest here again. And I could imagine; the tribal medicine man applying herbs to the wounds of the ones crippled in battle.

And then I thought of the words of that great religious hymn:

Rock of Ages

Cleft for me

Let me hide

Myself in thee.

Had there been an Indian folk song such as this, I’m sure that singing it here, at this rock, would have been appropriate.

(This column was also accompanied by a photo that carried the following caption: Indian Rock – a natural resting place for a raiding or hunting party.)

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born during a late-night thunderstorm on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from 1964 to 1987. For years, Singleton’s column “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. Some of his earlier columns also appeared under the heading of “Monroe County History: Did You Know?” He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)