Old, historic Drewry community has deep roots in Monroe County history

Old Masonic Hall in the Drewry community.

If you drive southwest out of Monroeville for about six and three-tenths miles on the Drewry Road, you’ll soon find yourself in “downtown” Drewry, a community with deep roots in Monroe County history.

According to “Place Names in Alabama” by Virginia O. Foscue, Drewry, sometimes spelled “Drewery,” was first known as Wait, a name that probably referenced an early local family. Later, in 1898, a post office called Hatter’s Mill, named after a sawmill operated by D.J. Hatter, was established in the area with Hatter serving as postmaster.

The community was renamed Drewry a few years later in honor of John Drew McMillan, a pioneer born in 1807. McMillan built the first store in this community, where the Drewry post office was first established in 1901. Other records reflect that the Drewry post office was in operation from 1911 to 1974.

I rode out to the Drewry community a few days ago and noticed that the old Louisville and Nashville Railroad tracks there are in the process of being taken up. A trip north on the tracks would take you to Peterman and Beatrice and points behind. A southbound train would take you across the Conecuh County line to Repton, Range and on down into Escambia County.

Old maps of the Drewry area show that it was once a thriving community with a significant population. In addition to its own post office, Drewry also once had its own school, church, a blacksmith, several stores and was also the home of the Commercial Hotel. Prominent families who lived in that area included families with familiar names like McMillan, Curry, Dees, Henderson, Hatter and Hornady.

Old maps also show that the creek that runs under Drewry Road (also known as County Road 20) is predictably called Drewry Creek, which branches off of Brushy Creek. As they go north, the railroad tracks closely follow Drewry Creek and eventually pass close to the confluence of Brushy Creek and Limestone Creek. All of this fresh water would have made this attractive real estate for early settlers in the area.

The oldest reference to “Drewry” that I could find in old issues of The Monroe Journal was in the July 28, 1879 edition of the paper. In that paper, readers learned that 74-year-old Drewry McMillan had died four days before at his residence in Monroeville. He was an “honest man, a good citizen and his death is generally regretted,” the paper said.

The oldest reference to the Drewry community that I found was in the Jan. 30, 1901 edition of The Journal. That paper let readers know that “several changes in star mail routes will go into effect Feb. 4. The line from Perdue Hill to Bermuda will be discontinued, also the line from Monroeville to Kempville. A daily mail from this place to Manistee via Perdue Hill, will be established. Tincie and Axle will be served from Kempville; Wait will be served from Drewry by special messenger.” I think it’s interesting that this short paragraph makes a distinction between the Wait and Drewry communities, which seems to contradict the information in Foscue’s book.

Aside from a handful of old homes and modern residences at Drewry today, about the most prominent landmark you will encounter there is the Limestone Faulk AME Zion Church. Located about half a mile east of the railroad tracks, many people will be familiar with this church because it sits adjacent to an old, distinctive-looking Masonic Hall. Appearances suggest that this lodge has been out of use for some time.

In the end, let me hear from you if you have any additional information about the history of the Drewry community. I’m especially interested in any local legends, ghost stories or local legends associated with this part of the county. If you know of anything along these lines, please let me know so that it can be documented for the generations yet to come.

(Got a comment or question? E-mail Lee Peacock at leepeacock2002@hotmail.com.)