Perdue Hill, Alabama takes its name from the 'two Perdue brothers, prominent citizens of Claiborne'

Masonic Hall located at Perdue Hill, Alabama.

I got out of the office for a little exploring on Friday morning and eventually found myself at Perdue Hill. Many readers, no doubt, have been through Perdue Hill because of its prominent location on U.S. Highway 84 between Monroeville and Grove Hill. Perdue Hill is one of the oldest communities in Monroe County, and if you like local history, there is a lot to see there.

According to “Place Names in Alabama” by Virginia O. Foscue, Perdue Hill traces its roots to a man named Thomas Gaillard, who moved his family away from Claiborne in 1855 to escape a malaria epidemic. He built a house on a hill – what we now call Perdue Hill – and this later became a resort. Gaillard named the resort after “the two Perdue brothers, prominent citizens of Claiborne.”

Many members of the old Gaillard family are buried in the McConnico Cemetery, which is off County Road 1, about a mile and a half from “downtown” Perdue Hill. I hadn’t been to this historic cemetery in a long time, so I eased down to it on Friday for a brief look around. All was quiet as I studied the old tombstones, and I could not help but think about some of the old ghost stories that I’d heard about this place.

Perhaps the best known of these stories is the story of the “Silent Riders of McConnico,” which famous ghost-story writer Kathryn Tucker Windham wrote about in her 1982 book, “Jeffrey’s Latest 13: More Alabama Ghosts.” Many witnesses over the years – including late Monroe Journal columnist George Singleton – claimed to have seen these “ghost riders,” and many other “ghost hunters” have tried to see them late at night. But that is a tale for another day.

From there, I motored back up the road for a closer look at the Masonic Hall, a stately white edifice that sits in the forks of Highway 84 and County Road 1. According to the historical marker out front, the Masonic Hall is the oldest existing building in Monroe County, dating all the way back to 1824. It was originally located at Claiborne, but was moved to Perdue Hill in 1884.

A short walk west of this building will take you to the William B. Travis House, which is almost as old as the Masonic Hall. This small house served as Travis’ home before he left Claiborne in the 1830s for Texas, where he attained legendary status as the ill-fated commander of the Alamo. Like the Masonic Hall, this old house was also originally located at Claiborne before being moved to Perdue Hill.

From here, I walked over to Broughton’s Store for a pack of Frito-Lay salted peanuts and a 20-ounce bottle of Coke, what my old grandfather called a “poor man’s lunchbox.” As I stood there chatting with the nice ladies at the counter, I noted that this store also doubles as the community’s federal post office – Zip Code 36470. Records reflect that the first post office at Perdue Hill was established in 1876.

In the end, there are few communities in Monroe County that can boast of so many historic buildings, as I have only named a few. If anyone in the reading audience knows any additional details about the history of the Perdue Hill area, please let me know. I’m especially interested in any old ghost stories, local legends or Indian lore from this part of the county, so if you know of anything along these lines, please let me hear it.