Today in History for Jan. 20, 2019

Richard Nixon takes oath of office in 1973.

Jan. 20, 1702 - French colonists, led by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, established Fort Louis de la Mobile on a bluff 27 miles up the Mobile River from Mobile Bay. The settlement, soon known simply as "Mobile," moved to its permanent site at the mouth of the Mobile River in 1711. It served as the capital of the colony of Louisiana from its founding to 1718.

Jan. 20, 1818 – The City of Mobile, Ala. was officially incorporated as a municipality.

Jan. 20, 1820 – John Dudley Cary was born in Sumter District, S.C. He would eventually move to Conecuh County, where he served as Conecuh County Clerk and as a state legislator.

Jan. 20, 1830 - Lowndes County was established by an act of the Alabama General Assembly. The county was named in honor of William Lowndes, a U.S. congressman from South Carolina. The earliest settlers came to the area from Georgia and Tennessee.

Jan. 20, 1858 - On this night, the USCS Robert J. Walker was at Pensacola, Fla. when a major fire broke out at Fort Pickens. The ship's men and boats, along with the hydrographic party of the U.S. Coast Survey steamboat USCS Varina, rallied to fight the fire. The next day, the commanding officer of the Robert J. Walker received a communication from Captain John Newton of the Army Corps of Engineers, who commanded the harbor of Pensacola, acknowledging the important firefighting service rendered by the Robert J. Walker.

Jan. 20, 1864 – During the Civil War, naval reconnaissance began of Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan, at the mouth of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Ala. Skirmishes were also fought at Island Number 76 on the Mississippi River and a Tracy City, Tenn. An eight-day Federal operation also began in the District of North Carolina.

Jan. 20, 1874 – Hugh T. Fountain was named postmaster at Burnt Corn, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1885 – Monroe Journal editor Horace Hood left Monroeville, Ala. for Montgomery to be present at the opening of the state legislature on Jan. 21.

Jan. 20, 1896 - Capt. W.B. Kemp, State Senator from the 21^st District, was in Monroeville, Ala. on this Monday and reported to The Journal that “everything (was) quiet in political circles in his neighborhood.”

Jan. 20, 1906 – J.W. Wilkinson of Manistee, Ala. attended the Masonic lodge at Blacksher on this Saturday, according to The Monroe Journal.

Jan. 20, 1911 – Around 6 p.m., the Dunn Hardware Co. garage and warehouse in Evergreen, Ala. was totally destroyed by fire. Caused by an oil explosion, the fire resulted in a “mass of flames” and several employees barely escaped. The next door building, which belonged to Jas. F. Jones, was almost totally destroyed and several other buildings were threatened.

Jan. 20, 1914 – The school for naval air training opened on this day in Pensacola, Florida.

Jan. 20, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Capt. J.C. Cheney had made a donation of “several volumes of very valuable reference books” to the Evergreen City School Library.

Jan. 20, 1915 - Author John Craig Stewart was born in Selma, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that Monroeville, Ala. had “experienced this week the first real breath of winter during the season. Following the rain on Sunday, the temperature dropped with marked suddenness and sleet and ice were in evidence for three days.”

Jan. 20, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that The Peoples Bank of Roy (present-day Frisco City, Ala.) had held its annual meeting of stockholders a few days before and had elected the following officers and directors: W.M. Newton, President; J.F. Busey, Vice President; D.M. Maxwell, Cashier; W.H. Tucker, W.H. Pearce, C.P. Deming, W.R. Blackwell, W.M. Newton, J.F. Busey and D.M. Maxwell.

Jan. 20, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that thermometers in Evergreen, Ala. dipped down to 20 degrees during a recent cold snap.

Jan. 20, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that an inmate died a “few nights ago” in the county jail.

Jan. 20, 1931 - Frisco City High School’s faculty was scheduled to host a “book tea” on this Tuesday afternoon from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the benefit of the school library. The school could not be accredited until it has a fully equipped library, so the faculty was hosting the event as a means of replacing the old library which was destroyed by fire.

Jan. 20, 1937 – Lawrence Wheeler Locklin II, the second son of Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Locklin of Monroeville, Ala., and the grandson of the late L.W. Locklin, whose name he bore, passed away shortly after 5 a.m. on this Wednesday morning in a Mobile hospital. He was stricken on Jan. 13 and was rushed to Mobile for an operation for appendicitis. Complications followed and throughout his illness his condition was critical. “Monroeville was stunned… at the news of the death of this popular child,” The Monroe Journal reported. Born on May 17, 1923, he was buried in the Baptist Cemetery in Monroeville, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1938 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Deputy Sheriff J. Greely Moore, who was also a former county sheriff, had qualified as a candidate for Sheriff in the upcoming primary election.

Jan. 20, 1947 – James “Big Jim” Folsom began his first term as Alabama governor on this date after being elected in 1946. His first term ended on Jan. 22, 1951 when he was succeeded by Gordon Persons.

Jan. 20, 1947 – Lloyd G. Hart began his term as Conecuh County (Ala.) Probate Judge. Roy L. Moorer was his chief clerk. Assisting clerks included Mrs. Robbye A. Hart and Miss Perry Mae Darby.

Jan. 20, 1948 – Millry, Ala. was officially incorporated as a municipality.

Jan. 20, 1952 - The second annual Camellia Show in Monroeville, Ala., sponsored by the Monroe Men’s Camellia Club, was scheduled to be held at the local regional livestock coliseum on this Sunday, when camellia blooms were to be on display from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. This was to be the second show of this kind to be staged by the local group which was organized approximately three years before.

Jan. 20, 1956 – Evergreen High School’s varsity boys basketball team beat McGill of Mobile, 63-44, in Evergreen, Ala. Randy White led Evergreen with 32 points. Other standout Evergreen players in that game included Kelly, King, Pugh, Boykin, Carrier and Joyner.

Jan. 20, 1959 – Greenville High School’s varsity boys basketball team beat Evergreen High School, 74-35, in Greenville. Billy Melton led Evergreen with 11 points.

Jan. 20, 1959 – Alabama Recording Secretary Mabel Amos of Conecuh County, Ala. administered the oaths of office to the cabinet of new, incoming Alabama governor, John Malcolm Patterson.

Jan. 20, 1959 – Alabama Gov. John Patterson, who took office the day before, announced that Mabel Amos of Brooklyn, Ala. would remain in the governor’s office during the new administration. Amos, who had served in the office for 20 years, began work there in 1939 under Gov. Frank M. Dixon. She went on to serve under governors Chauncey Sparks, Jim Folsom and Gordon Persons.

Jan. 20, 1961 - The inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th President of the United States was held on this Friday at the eastern portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This 44th presidential inauguration marked the commencement of the term of John F. Kennedy as President and Lyndon B. Johnson as Vice President. According to the Jan. 12, 1961 edition of The Monroe Journal, Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Garrett of Uriah planned to be included in the delegation of Alabamians to attend the inauguration.

  

Jan. 20, 1965 - The period of unemployment for former Conecuh County (Ala.) Probate Judge Lloyd G. Hart was very brief. The veteran judge of probate of Conecuh County ended his 18^th year in office at midnight on Mon., Jan. 18, and he went to work in a position with the Alabama Public Service Commission at eight o’clock on this Wednesday morning.

Jan. 20, 1973 – Army Sgt. Spencer E. Taylor, a 1964 graduate of Marshall High School in Evergreen, Ala., was among a group of handpicked soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg to provide a cordon along Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington D.C. for the inauguration of President Richard M. Nixon.

Jan. 20, 1973 – Fred David McClammy of “Mystery Stone” fame passed away at the age of 33. He is buried in the Lone Star Cemetery at Pine Orchard.

Jan. 20, 1974 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported. 4.6 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1974 – Around 4:25 p.m. on this Sunday afternoon, Evergreen (Ala.) Assistant Police Chief Talmadge Hampton (Tal) Smith, age 65, was killed in the line of duty when he was struck by a car while crossing U.S. Highway 31 South on foot. Smith, an eight-year veteran of the police force, had just checked the doors of Taylor Auto parts and was returning to his patrol car, which was parked in front of Barlow’s Paint & Body. The car that struck Smith was driven by R.C. Trawick of Flomaton, and witnesses said the accident was unavoidable. Born on March 7, 1908, he was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1976 - The Evergreen City Council had a rather uneventful second meeting of the year on this Tuesday night, according to City Clerk Miller T. Sellers. Approval was given to the painting of the fireplugs in the downtown area ‘Red, White and Blue’ in the “Spirit of 1776.” The Council also voted to appropriate $500 to the city’s Bicentennial Committee. The committee had planned a number of activities during the year to mark the nation’s 200th birthday.

Jan. 20, 1979 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported 1.87 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1979 – John Coburn, 71, of Evergreen, Ala. passed away after a long illness. Coburn was a retired contractor who was associated with the group that built the houses in the first subdivision in Evergreen. He was also the contractor for many other homes, churches and buildings in Evergreen and the surrounding area. Born on Sept. 22, 1907, he was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1979 – Monroe Academy’s varsity boys basketball team remained undefeated by beating Sparta Academy, 62-44, in the Sparta Academy Invitational Tournament championship game in Evergreen, Ala. Terry Peacock led Sparta with 15 points. Peacock and Bobby Padgett were named to the all-tournament team.

Jan. 20, 1991 – The body of a Paul man who had been missing for almost five months was found on this Sunday morning at approximately 11:20 a.m. by some local hunters. Larry Ray Thomas, 37, had been missing since Aug. 28, 1990 when he was last seen on the Brooklyn Road. His body was found approximately 372 feet off County Road 42 (Brooklyn Road) next to a pine tree. Foul play was ruled out by the forensics lab in Mobile. Born on Aug. 23, 1953, he was buried in New Providence Cemetery in Conecuh County. His date of death on his headstone is Aug. 28, 1990.

Jan. 20-21, 1995 - Heather Watson, Conecuh County’s Junior Miss, participated in the Alabama State Junior Miss Finals in Montgomery.

Jan. 20-21, 2009 – Weather reporter Harry Ellis reported low temperatures of 19 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 2009 – Sparta Academy’s varsity girls basketball team, ranked No. 2 in the state, beat Warrior Academy, 57-17, in Eutaw, Ala.

Jan. 20, 2009 – Montgomery attorney James H. Anderson, who was representing Pete Wolff III in the ongoing lawsuit over Evergreen, Alabama’s disputed mayoral election, filed a brief in Conecuh County Circuit Court, giving his position on a number of legal points in the case. Anderson’s brief, a six-page document, made the argument that the outcome of past lawsuits and state law support Wolff’s side of the case. Wolff ran for mayor against incumbent Larry Fluker only to lose by two votes in the Oct. 7 runoff election.