Drive through Cohassett community is like a trip back through time

Remnants of old steel bridge over Pigeon Creek at Cohassett.

Last Thursday afternoon was nice and quiet in downtown Evergreen, so I decided to hop in my truck and do a little riding around. Half an hour or so later, I found myself on U.S. Highway 84 in southeastern Conecuh County and knew that I’d soon be entering Covington County. Just shy of the county line, I cut south on Long Branch Church Road, which took me on one of the most pleasant drives in all of Conecuh County.

For those of you unfamiliar with this part of the county, Long Branch Church Road will take you down into the heart of one of the county’s most historic communities, Cohassett. Over the years, I’ve had several people ask me about where this community got its name, and the best explanation I’ve come across is in a book called “Place Names in Alabama” by Virginia O. Foscue. According to Foscue, a post office was established at Cohassett in 1880 and the name was possibly borrowed from the town in Massachusetts whose name in Algonquin means “high place or promontory.”

No doubt Cohassett is one of Conecuh County’s most historic communities, and you’ll be hard pressed not to see remnants of the community’s past almost at every turn. On Long Branch Church Road, just off U.S. Highway 84, you’ll find the Rosehill Plantation home, which was built around 1861 and is now a private residence. A little further down the road, you’ll encounter the old Cohassett Universalist Church, which now sits empty, but reminds passersby of a time when there were enough people in the vicinity to support a full congregation.

If you continue on down Long Branch Church Road, you’ll eventually come to the church that gives the road its name. Last Thursday, I parked at the church and took a few moments to explore its large cemetery. Among the many graves there, you’ll find the names of many pioneer families, including Barrow, Caton, Foshee, Hugghins and others.

Eventually, I climbed back in the truck and headed back up Long Branch Church Road to Cohassett Road, where I turned east at the old Cohassett School house. This old one-room school house still stands today at the intersection of these two roads, where it has stood for more than a century as a landmark to travelers in this part of the world. Records reflect that this old school served students as far back as 1877 before closing in 1938.

If you stay on Cohassett Road, you’ll find that it eventually dead ends at Pigeon Creek, a wide body of fast-flowing water that marks the boundary between Conecuh and Covington counties. On the way to the creek, you’ll pass an artesian well and the old Cohassett post office, two rarities in our fast-paced, modern world of indoor plumbing and overnight cross-country mail delivery.

Where Cohassett Road dead ends at Pigeon Creek, you’ll encounter one of the county’s most singular landmarks, the remains of the old steel bridge that once took travelers into Covington County in the days before the construction of U.S. Highway 84. Today, all that remains of the rotted-out bridge is its old metal frame and a few moss-covered timbers that mark its approach. Many times have I seen photos of this old bridge, but there is no substitute for seeing it up close and in person.

In the end, I got back in my truck and eased back towards Evergreen. If you’ve never been to Cohassett, it is indeed like taking a trip back in time. However, if you do venture down into this quaint corner of Conecuh County, be mindful that many of these sights are on private property, so take care to enjoy them from the vantage point of the public road.