Post office misunderstanding leads to unusual name for Alabama town

The former Driscoll's Store building in Awin, Alabama.

My ramblings took me this week to Awin, a crossroads community in southeastern Wilcox County that sits smackdab in the middle of the intersection of State Highway 10 and State Highway 47, just north of the Monroe County line and a few miles west of Butler County.

Folks have been living in the Awin area for more than a century, and the community even had a post office as far back as 1881. In fact, the U.S. Postal Service is said to have played a major role in how the community got its name.

According to the book “Place Names in Alabama” by Virginia O. Foscue, the “local explanation for the name (Awin) is that the first postmaster, Jack M. Williams, after asking for suggestions for a name for the post office, wrote ‘A win’ beside the one the majority of residents had favored, and post office officials took his comment to be the chosen name.” The rest, as they say, is history.

I’ve been through Awin many times, but on Friday I took the time to scout around slowly with an eye toward taking in all the things that make this community remarkable and unique. One thing that jumped out at me right away is that there’s a church in just about every direction from the central crossroads. On State Highway 10, you’ve got the Awin Church of Christ to the west and Awin Baptist Church to the east. To the north, on Wilcox County Road 61, you’ll find Macedonia Baptist Church.

Another interesting feature of “downtown” Awin are the remnants of two old, abandoned country stores that sit just a stone’s throw apart at the main intersection. In the wedge of land at the intersection of Highways 10 and 47, you’ll find what used to be Driscoll’s Grocery. If you’re standing in front of that store and look north, just a handful of steps away you’ll find a squat, cinderblock building that was once Jones Grocery.

On Friday, I pulled off the road to snap a few pictures of these buildings and had the unexpected pleasure of meeting Mr. Daniel Driscoll Jr., the retired, former proprietor of Driscoll’s Grocery. Driscoll now lives in a cozy dwelling behind his old store and was kind enough to invite me up on his porch to shoot the breeze. As he rocked comfortably in his porch swing, he told me of how he closed his store in the early 1980s, a few years after Johnny Jones closed his store across the road.

Driscoll noted that at one time the heavy traffic through the intersection was enough to support both stores, but that changed over time. He also noted that even though he and Jones had competing businesses right across the road from each other, the two men got along well and were friends. Jones passed away a number of years ago, but Driscoll remains friendly to this day with his son, Henry Jones.

While sitting on Driscoll’s porch, I noticed what looked like a tombstone in a patch of tall, green grass, a few steps from the main door to his old store. I asked him about this lone grave in the middle of this busy crossroads, and he proceeded to tell me about what may be one of the most remarkable and unusual graves in all of Wilcox County. But that is a story for another day.

In the end, I thanked Driscoll for his time and eased on down the road. As I headed home, I could not help but think about all the people who have lived in Awin over the years. No doubt, even though many years have passed, they would agree that Awin is still a nice place to call home.