Where in the heck did the town of Repton get its name?

Gene from Repton writes this week with an interesting local history question: Where in the heck did the town of Repton get its name?

Well, Gene, that’s a good question, and I found it more than a little difficult to find you a good answer. The short answer, according to the sources I checked, is no one really knows. However, there are a couple of theories.

As you may have already guessed, one theory, according to “Heritage of Conecuh County, Alabama,” the name “Repton” was the possible surname, that is, the last name of a Louisville and Nashville Railroad official. Since Repton is located on the L&N Railroad, this makes sense.

According to a cool, little book called “Place Names in Alabama” by Virginia O. Foscue, the Town of Repton was incorporated in 1899, and its post office was established in 1881. The town was possibly named for a local family, according to that book.

While we’re on the subject of place names, I also made a note of the following information, all according to Foscue’s book, which is in the Evergreen-Conecuh County Library’s reserve book section.

Conecuh County was named after the Conecuh River. The word “Conecuh” may be a compound of the Creek word “koha” (canebrakes) and “anaka” (near) or the Creek words “kono” and “ika” (polecat’s head) or of the Choctaw words “kuni” (young canes) and “akka” (below).

Evergreen was first settled around 1820 in an area known as “Cosey’s Old Field,” which had once been part of a field cleared by the Revolutionary War veteran, John Cosey. The settlement’s name was changed to Evergreen at the suggestion of Alexander Travis because of the surrounding evergreen pine trees. Evergreen’s post office was established in 1840, and Evergreen officially incorporated in 1873.

The Town of Castleberry is located in an area first known as “Wilson’s Field,” which was named for an early landowner. Its name was later changed to Castleberry to honor the Castleberry family, whose house served as a relay stop on the stagecoach route from Pensacola to Montgomery. A post office was established there in 1869, and the town was incorporated in 1912.

The Belleville community was the first permanent white settlement in the Conecuh County area and dates all the way back to the latter part of 1815. It was originally called “The Ponds,” but was then given the pseudo-French compound name of “belle” plus “ville” in honor of an Irishman, a Mr. Bell, who drained the ponds. A post office was established there in 1828.

The Bermuda community was named for a kind of grass being tested in that area, and a post office was established there in 1877.

The name for the Lenox community is the same as that of a town in Massachusetts that honors one of the earls of Lenox, who was also the duke of Richmond. It’s a frequently occurring name throughout the United States because it is short and distinctive. A post office was established in Lenox in 1902.

Hampden Ridge, which no longer exists as a town, was located on a hill about 10 miles south of Belleville. It was founded and named by Alexander Autrey, probably for a town in the east and honoring the English member of Parliament, John Hampden. This community was Conecuh County’s first county seat, from 1818-1820. After the Indians living across Murder Creek from Hampden Ridge left the area, the inhabitants moved to the site of the Indian village and founded Sparta, the next county seat.

The Jay Villa community was named for the house owned by Andrew Jay, who was a Baptist minister and a state legislator. A post office was established there in 1870. As you might imagine, the London community was probably named for the city in England, and a post office was established there in 1895.

Well, I guess that’s all for this week. Got a question you want me to run down the answer to? E-mail it to me, and I’ll look into it.