Researchers say area north of McKenzie, Alabama was once site of prehistoric Indian trading post

Last Thursday morning found me and my friend Gerald Addicott standing in the South Butler Cemetery near McKenzie. This quiet, country cemetery is located a couple of miles north of the Conecuh-Butler County line, out near the end of McKenzie’s Elizabeth Street.

Old Baldwin House near McKenzie.

Gerald, who many will know by his nickname “Jericho,” and I are distant cousins, and we’re both direct descendants of Dr. John Augustus Baldwin, who is buried in this cemetery just outside of McKenzie. The last time that I’d been to visit Dr. Baldwin’s grave was several years ago, when I made the trip with my young son and father, who passed away not long after that. Since then, a relatively-new grave marker has been placed on Baldwin’s grave, and Gerald and I wanted to go check it out.

Baldwin was a remarkable man. Born in Stewart County, Georgia in 1836, he graduated from the Atlanta Medical College in 1860. In August 1862, he joined the 2^nd Alabama Cavalry Regiment, which had been organized in Montgomery about three months before. Baldwin was appointed acting assistant surgeon, and he held this position throughout the rest of the War Between the States.

After the war, Baldwin returned home and worked as a country doctor before passing away at the relatively young age of 48 (or 49) in 1885. Sources say that he went out on a late-night house call on a cold and rainy night and came home sick. His sickness worsened, and he died a short time later.

Beside Baldwin rests his wife Margaret, who was also born in Georgia. It is through Margaret that Gerald and I can claim to be direct descendants of Mayflower passenger, Stephen Hopkins. Hopkins was quiet the character, having been nearly hanged on the island of Bermuda for mutiny in 1610. But that is a story for another day.

After we left the graveyard, Gerald was kind enough to show me the old Baldwin family home place, which is just a little farther down the road. Historical maps would later tell me that we were in the vicinity of the old Urbanity, Lumber Mills and Rhodes Station communities. Over a century ago, all three of these communities were once large enough to have post offices, but now only a few scattered homes dot the landscape of this section of Butler County.

We eventually arrived at the old Baldwin home, an old-timey house that was built around 1900 to replace a much older residence on the property. Today, the house is a shadow of its former self and has suffered much at the hands of the elements. We explored the inside of the house for a few minutes, and it was easy to imagine what this home would have looked like in its heyday.

Back out in the yard, Gerald noted that many Indian artifacts have been found in this area over the years, everything from pottery and arrowheads to spearpoints and other relics. He said it was common for young children growing up in this area to amass impressive collections of arrowheads that they’d found while romping throughout the area. Gerald also noted that researchers from Auburn University once investigated this site and determined that it had once served as a trading post for prehistoric Indians.

As we stood there talking, something a short distance across the field to the east caught my eye. At first glance, I thought it was a deer, but when I got a better look, it was actually three large turkeys flitting around in the tall grass. No doubt the turkeys saw us before we saw them because they wasted no time disappearing into the dark woods to the east.

On the way back to Evergreen, I could not help but wonder what Dr. Baldwin and our other ancestors would have thought about our field trip to their old stomping grounds. They really lived in a very different world than the one that we live in today, and they would likely be bewildered by our modern way of life just as we would have been by theirs. In the end, big thanks to Gerald for letting me tag along with him on his trip to the South Butler Cemetery and the old Baldwin home place. It was time well spent, and I appreciate him taking the time to show me around.