Little remains of the old Knowles Settlement in Monroe County, Ala.

Woodlawn Methodist Church

Not far from the intersection of Reed Road and Dottelle Road, you’ll find a dim trail that will lead you to a small, almost forgotten cemetery that traces its roots back to the bygone community known as the Knowles Settlement.

One of my nephews first told me about this cemetery over a year ago, and I had to admit that I’d never heard of it. I was in the area last Thursday afternoon with a few minutes to spare and decided to check it out. I parked out of the way in the ditch, got out of the truck and set off up the trail.

After about fifty yards, I came upon a single, old-timey headstone that proved very hard to read. As best that I could tell it said, “In Loving Memory, Father & Mother, Andrew Manning, died Dec. 15, 1898, aged 85 years – Nancy, wife of A. Manning, died 1853, aged 30 years – In heaven they part no more.” Although this was the only headstone that I saw, my feeling was that there were other unmarked graves nearby.

Back at the office, a little research revealed that this cemetery is known as the Knowles-Dottelle Cemetery. Interestingly, Nancy Manning is said to have been the daughter of John and Sarah Knowles. Sources that the Knowles-Dottelle Cemetery was likely created when John Knowles died at the age of 59 in 1853.

I then turned to back issues of The Journal, but despite my best efforts, I found no references to the Knowles Settlement. However, sources available through the University of Alabama Geography Department say that the area was known as the Knowles Settlement until around 1896 when people started calling the community Woodlawn. Later, when the Manistee & Repton Railroad was set down through this area, people began calling it Dottelle.

Today when you pass through this area along U.S. Highway 84, the most prominent landmark you will see is the Woodlawn Methodist Church, which is on the west side of the patch of woods that contains the cemetery. The sign in front of this church says it was established in 1895.

The oldest reference that I could find to this church in old Monroe Journals was in the June 11, 1903 edition of the newspaper. In that week’s paper, under the headline “Ice Cream Supper,” readers learned that there would be an ice cream supper at the home of Mrs. S.R. Kelly on Friday evening, June 12, for the benefit of Woodlawn Methodist Church. The public was cordially invited.

I believe S.R. Kelly to have been Confederate veteran Samuel Riley Kelly, and his wife was Annie Elizabeth Kelly. Sources describe them as “early settlers of the Dottelle Community.” They are both buried in the almost forgotten Methodist Cemetery on Sumter Avenue in Monroeville.

In the end, it would be interesting to know if any readers in the audience have any information about this community from when it was known as the Knowles Settlement. Also, if there is anyone out there with additional information about the Knowles-Dottelle Cemetery, please let me know. You can reach me by email at news@monroejournal.com.