Little remains of the old Hixon community in Monroe County

Old Hixon Cemetery in Monroe County, Alabama.

I got caught up enough at the newspaper office last Thursday afternoon that I decided to get out of the office for a little exploring. I struck off north of Monroeville on State Highway 41 and eventually rode down into Fountain. Taking the left-hand fork at the Fountain Church and crossing the railroad tracks, I continued on until I found myself in the old Hixon community.

Most historic maps of this area show “downtown” Hixon as being located near the modern-day intersection of Hixon Road and Wiggins Road. About 13 road miles from Monroeville’s courthouse square, there is little to see in this community today aside from a scattering of comfortable homes. Little remains from the time when this community was large enough to support its own post office and country schoolhouse.

Today the most significant landmark from the community’s heyday is the Hixon Cemetery, a small roadside cemetery that’s about three-tenths of a mile from the Wiggins Road intersection. Just eyeballing it, I would say this cemetery contains about 30 graves, many of which date back to the 1800s. As you would imagine, many of the headstones carry the Irish family name of Hixon, but other names you’ll find include Bivin, Boley, Gardner, Moore and Wiggins.

The oldest marked grave there that I could find was that of Allen Hixon, who passed away at the age of 54 three days before Christmas in 1868. The inscription on his headstone reads as follows: As a husband and father, he was gentle and devoted; true and confiding as a friend; and as a Christian, humble and submissive. Family and friends mourn their loss and fondly cherish his loved memory.

Just up the road from this cemetery sits the Carry Mount Missionary Baptist Church, where, according to the sign out front, “Everybody Is Somebody & Jesus Is Lord.” A sizeable cemetery can be found behind the church, and I would say that it contains about 100 graves, including a score or more that are unmarked. The oldest grave that could find there belonged to an infant named Charlie Banks, who was born and died on April 10, 1897.

Back at the office, I delved into old issues of The Monroe Journal, which contain hundreds of references to the Hixon family and individuals with the Hixon last name. However, the earliest reference that I could find to the Hixon community was in a Nov. 22, 1900 legal notice in which “settler” James A. Wiggins made a homestead claim. As witnesses to his claim, he named Solomon Bivin, Alex Roberts Nick Busey and Daniel McConnell, “all of Hixon, Ala.”

In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading audience who has more information about the old Hixon community. I’m especially interested in any old ghost stories, local legends or Indian lore from that part of the county. If you’d like to share anything along those lines, please let me know.