History of Shell Banks Cemetery, Baldwin, Alabama http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/baldwin/history/shellbanks.txt ==================================================================== USGENWEB PROJECT NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Project Archives to store this file permanently for free access. This file is copyrighted and contributed by: Patricia Brown Merrill ==================================================================== January 2002 A Brief History of Shell Banks Cemetery ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Directions: Proceed South on Highway 59 to Gulf Shores. Turn right on Fort Morgan Road. Shell Banks Cemetery is located about eight miles from Hwy 59 on Ft. Morgan Road, directly behind Shell Banks Baptist Church, on the north side of the road. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An unsuspecting visitor to the Fort Morgan Peninsula of the Alabama Gulf Coast would hardly guess at the violent and colorful events that have taken place here over the past five centuries. Shell Banks Cemetery is a small cemetery with only 270 visible graves remaining. The earliest burial with a remaining tombstone is dated 1864. There are three graves of Confederate soldiers that are marked with headstones. According to the locals, vandalism and looting was a problem in this cemetery before it was fenced and came under the care of the Baptist Church. It is located on Fort Morgan Road, eight miles west of Highway 59, behind Shell Banks Baptist Church. Shellbanks Cemetery was created when the Old Spanish Cemetery also known as Persimmon Swamp Cemetery became full. Shellbanks Cemetery is located in Gasque, which is about one mile from the old cemetery. This area has an amazing history peopled with pirates, Indians, soldiers and settlers who were lost long ago in battle, hurricanes, disease and greed. At Shell Banks, a historical marker proclaims that in 1539 the Indian village of Achuse was visited by an expedition from the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto. This is reputed to be the first Indian village in America visited by a white man. According to newspaper reports, shell banks consisting of scattered shells, pottery shards and Indian mounds were still visible around the 1940's. These coastlines had been previously charted by the Portuguese, but this was the beginning of the white man's exploration and settlement. In the past five hundred years, Portuguese, Spanish, French and British explorers traveled this land. A bloody and violent episode in the history of the Civil War was fought at Fort Morgan, just a few miles away. In the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, pirates were sailing the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay. With heavy Spanish galleons abundant, the area was ripe for their picking. They hid away in the many inlets and coves of this area, and restocked supplies. There are stories of the hanging tree, an old, large Magnolia, where pirates meted out their form of justice by flogging and hanging men. Sometimes the bodies were thrown into the Gulf waters. Other times, they would come ashore during the night to hastily bury their dead (1). In 1983, a petition was presented to the Courts requesting help in preserving Persimmon Swamp Cemetery. Local residents gave affidavits of their accounts of the history of Persimmon Swamp Cemetery. These are an incredible testament to the events at the turn of the past century (2): In 1976, Louis A. Maygarden stated (born 1891): "When I lived in Shellbanks I knew about the Old Spanish Cemetery, walked by it on the way to school each day. I saw mounded graves covered with shells and marked with wooden cypress stakes. On one occasion on the way to school, a group of us saw the feet of two bodies near the waters edge of the cemetery, later they were covered up. During the Spanish days, they would bring the dead into the Bayou by small boat and bury them not too far from the water. As a young boy, I used to follow the Spanish markers of snakes on trees that led to a certain grave in the cemetery. The last time I visited the cemetery was in 1939, when I took my son-in-law there to show him the graves, etc. There was a huge hole in the cemetery and it was said a treasure was recovered from one of the Spanish graves." In 1975, Violet Eugenia Nelson (1888 - 1976) stated: "I have known of the existence of the 'Persimmon Swamp Cemetery' for many years. It was originally a Spanish Burial Ground; pirates brought their dead to bury them there." In 1983, Myrtice Flirt West (b. 1923) stated: "In the year of 1939, when I was 16 years old...my mother (Mary Eleanor Smith Flirt 1883 -1971) and I walked across the road from our house to the Old Spanish Cemetery, called Persimmon Swamp Cemetery by the local residents. She pointed out to me the only Indian buried in the cemetery. He was called Indian Joe. Aunt Fannie was the only Negro buried there...One of the most interesting things I do remember about the afternoon was the manner in which the graves were marked. All the men's graves were marked with heavy clam shells in an oval shape and were marked around the edges two shells [horizontally] deep. At the head of each grave of the men was a cypress board marker without names. The women's graves were covered with a different type of clam shell, but not as thick. The graves were in oval shape and completely covered in shells. All the female head markers were shaped with a circle on top. [Drawings indicate the different shapes for male and females] ... The Indian and Negro graves were all covered in oyster shells in the usual oval pattern. I noticed some children's graves outlined in conch shells with plain dirt on top. There were no cypress markers at the children's graves, but you could distinguish them by their size. Mother also showed me the hole where a pirate treasure was reputed to have been dug up. We spent about two hours in the cemetery and had to leave when the cattle got too close with their grazing, as this was before the stock law was enacted and cattle roamed the woods everywhere." Death was a common visitor to residents in this sub-tropical village. Special procedures and customs existed for the funeral process. When someone died, a casket and box (caskets were enclosed in boxes because of the extreme humidity) were made out of cypress or pine. These were constructed by local carpenters. The coffin was lined in white material and covered with black fabric. The mortician's duties were carried out by the ladies. They would bathe and dress the body, and if it was hot, they would lay it out on a cooling board that was supported by chairs on each end. A block of ice would be placed underneath the board to keep the body cool. Blocks of ice would have to be brought from Mobile. Ice was brought to Mobile from the Great Lakes area. Further preparation would include placing coins on the eyes. The deceased person's arms were then folded. The coffin was constructed in a kite shape to accommodate this shape and was described as pinched-toed (3). It was a custom in the area to decorate graves with seashells and glass. In Shell Banks, two headstones still remain that were decorated with colorful marbles pressed into the concrete around the edges of the tombstones. Shell Banks, contrary to logic, was a thriving resort community around the turn of the century. It wasn't logical because there was no way to get there except by bad sand roads or by boat. Regardless, around 1917, there were about fifteen hundred inhabitants. There were two schools, several stores, two churches and a post office. The popularity of Shellbanks was due to the Henrietta Hotel which was built in 1906. It was a precursor to the high rise condos that line much of the Gulf shoreline today. It was extremely modern in all respects. It had running water, electric lights, modern bathroom facilities and beautiful walks. It was considered ahead of its time. It had twenty five double rooms and private baths. There were eleven rooms for servants. There were two large verandas across the front of the hotel, upstairs and downstairs. From the photographs, it appears to have been a two story, frame building. There was a pier described as extending three quarters of a mile into deep water where passengers and freight were exchanged from converted barges. These bay boats made stops at nearby cities of Daphne and Montrose. There was also a concrete promenade along the front of the bay for strolling guests to see and be seen. There was even a horse and surrey for the beach crowd that made regular trips from the hotel to the beach. Unfortunately, this lovely resort community began to decline after the Hurricane of 1916 and the advent of World War I. The final blow came when the hotel burned about 1926. All that remains today is a Fire Department, Shell Banks Baptist Church, Shell Banks Cemetery, and a few private residences (4). Today, after five centuries of change and turmoil, only gentle sea breezes stir the Spanish moss that hangs from live Oaks while waves of aquamarine and foam roll onto the white, sandy shores. Magnolias, Palmettos, and Saw grass still grow in the sandy swamps and bogs. The wildest creatures roaming the island now are alligators, snakes, bobcats, and coyotes. But in twilight and after the sun has set on the bay, it is easy to imagine a glimpse or a sigh, of restless spirits drifting through the dunes and shadows. Footnotes: (1) Nuzum, Kay. A History of Baldwin County. The Baldwin Times, Bay Minette, AL, 1971. (2) Petition and affidavits: Judge Harry D'Olive, Judge of Probate, Baldwin County, AL., 1983. (3) Fullbright, Day; Bonkemeyer, Patricia H. Once Upon An Island, Gulf Shores Women's Club, Underwood Printing Co., Foley, AL, 1984. (4) Mobile Press Register, The. Mobile, AL