Conecuh County AlArchives History .....History of Conecuh County, Alabama 1881
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CHAPTER VIII.

Centres of Population (Continued),-Old Town-Fork Sepulga-Burnt Corn-Evergreen.

OLD TOWN.

   The settlement of this point by the whites was made about 1820 or 1822. 
Within this period there were residing here Richard Curry, who had settled 
first near Brooklyn; Joel Brown, Matthew Ray, William Rabb, Sr., Levi T. 
Mobley, Capt. Wilson Ashley, Adam McCreary, John Scoggin, and ______ Cravey. 
This point seems to have been a favorite one with the original resident 
tribes. It appears to have been a chosen halting place on the great trail that 
ran from some prominent point on the Chattahoochee to Pensacola. It is 
supposed, from its original size and apparent importance, to have been the 
headquarters of some of the tribes. Here was an extensive community, with all 
the evidences of having been for a long period occupied. The huts, the patches 
of ground, the extensive play-grounds and the order in which they were kept, 
the marks on the trees, the neighboring streams, and the cool, perennial 
spring, which bursts from amid the hills near the old camp-ground -all these 
would indicate that it was a point of unusual importance with the native 
inhabitants. But the chief object of attraction, to the early white settlers, 
was a memorable tree, which still stands as a source of wonder to the passer-
by, and is known by the familiar name of the "Old Flag Tree." Its name is 
derived from the banner-like shape of its branches at the top. For six or 
eight feet the trunk is utterly bare of branches, when they assume the shape 
of a flag by growing in a single direction. There was a tradition among the 
early white settlers to the effect that this towering tree was a signal to the 
Indian traders passing from the Chattahoochee to Pensacola, as it was to all 
the bands prowling through the country. The first white settlers who occupied 
this point were an enterprising colony. Improvements were begun at once. With 
characteristic energy, William Rabb, Sr., erected a grist and saw mill on Old 
Town creek. Joel Brown soon followed with the construction of a water-gin, the 
first built in this portion of the county; while Thomas Lord proceeded to open 
a small stock of goods-the chief commodity of which was cheap whiskey! But 
four or five miles beyond Mr. Lord's store, William Rabb, Sr., began 
merchandising upon a more respectable scale, having ample supplies of 
groceries and dry goods .to meet the demands of the growing community. 
Scoggins' Meeting House was the first place of public worship in this section. 
And the devotion of the people was manifested by a ready disposition to walk 
to church, on occasions of worship, the distance of seven or eight miles. 
Others, more favored, would come on horseback, or in carts and wagons. The 
families of William Rabb, Sr., and Adam McCreary were classed elite, because 
the former owned an old time gig, and the latter an ordinary Jersey wagon. At 
this period, postal facilities in the county were exceedingly meagre. The 
nearest post-office to this community was at Sparta-thirteen miles away. An 
occasional newspaper would stray into the community of Old Town, and it was 
sacredly preserved, by the fortunate possessor, until the first general 
gathering of the people, when, by common consent, some one was appointed to 
read the marvelous harbinger aloud-and this was done to the infinite delight 
of the eager crowd circling round.

FORK SEPULGA.

   The stream, between which and Duck creek this settlement was formed, 
derived its name from a compound Indian term, Sucka Pulga-which means Hog's 
Creek. A tradition, derived from the Indians, is to the following effect: The 
Indians lost a large herd of swine from drowning in the stream where Sowell's 
Bridge now spans the creek. The native tribes were accustomed to drive hogs, 
fattened on the luxuriant mast in the oak and hickory swamps of Lowndes and 
Montgomery counties, to Pensacola. A drove of these hogs having been drowned 
at the above mentioned point, the name Sucka (hog) and Pulga (creek) was given 
it; and for convenience, the Anglo-Saxons have corrupted the name into Sepulga.

   The inhabitant who first settled in this region is said to have- been 
Richard Sermons, who came here in 1818. He was soon followed by Ely Stroud, 
John Houston, Harrison Harris and Billy Thompson. Later still, we find the 
homes of Drury Dean, Jesse Cone, Thomas Pigot, Joshua Calloway (a Methodist 
minister), and Jacob Page-the father of Allen Page (who was murdered near this 
region), and grandfather to the late P. D. Page, Esq., of Texas, and Haskew 
Page, now of Sparta. Among the earliest residents here, too, were Abraham 
Baggett, the grandfather of Rev. Dr. Hawthorne, and William Wetherington. As 
in all other new settlements, the first improvements here were those born of 
the absolute necessities of the inhabitants. And almost invariably, if not 
strictly so, a grist mill was the first public enterprise. Thomas Pigot was 
the first to meet the public demand in this particular. He constructed a mill 
upon one of the branches of Duck creek. He subsequently added to his original 
enterprise a cotton gin. A mercantile establishment had its existence under 
the auspices of Messrs. Gallagher & Farley. They commenced business, with a 
substantial stock of staple goods, about 1823. They were succeeded by T. M. 
Riley, Sr., now of Pineville, Monroe county, who purchased their entire stock 
in 1826. This point of trade was the same as that which has been long known, 
by the later inhabitants of the county, as Jackson's Store-the name having 
been derived from that of two brothers, Wiley and Andrew Jackson, who 
succeeded Mr. Riley as merchants at this point.

   At an early day a church, each, of the Methodist and Baptist denominations, 
was built within the circuit of this community. The first Methodist minister 
who served in this region was Rev. Joshua Calloway; the first Baptist pastor's 
name was Rev. Keidar Hawthorne-the father of Rev. J. Boardman Hawthorne, D. D. 
The settlers in this part of the county were the subjects of much annoyance 
from the Seminoles for some time after they located in this inviting region. 
These depredations were summarily checked, however, in 1818, by General 
Pushmattahoy-familiarly known as "General Push "-coming to the relief of the 
settlers with a band of ninety warriors. General Pushmattahoy was a native 
Choctaw, and friendly to the whites. Placing himself at the head of his chosen 
warriors, and a few white men, he attacked the Seminoles, who retreated toward 
the Conecuh river, but were overtaken and captured somewhere in eastern 
Conecuh, and brought back, via Midway, to Fork Sepulga. These Seminoles were 
sent forward to the Indian Reservation, west of the Mississippi.

BURNT CORN.

   At quite an early period in the history of Conecuh, James Grace removed 
from Jackson county, Georgia, and commenced the improvement of a home very 
near the present village of Burnt Corn. He was the first settler in Conecuh, 
upon its northern border. Two years later he was followed by the families of 
Joshua Betts, Thomas P. Jones, George Kyser, John Greene, Sr., Samuel Salter, 
Richard Warren, Joel Lee, Garrett Longmire and Harry Waldrom. These settled, 
within a circuit of a few miles, during the years 1816 and 1818. There was an 
unsteadiness in the population for several years together-a constant shifting 
of location on the part of the settlers. This was due to a disposition to test 
the lands in all directions before a permanent settlement was made. Nor did 
this restless spirit cease until the lands were permanently bought at Cahaba, 
in 1819. With advancing time the population of Burnt Corn continued steadily 
to increase. Among the most enterprising and public spirited of the emigrants 
was Captain Hayes. He was a man of wealth and influence. He built the first 
frame house erected in Conecuh, which still stands, a monument to his taste 
and enterprise, and is now occupied by William Betts. Near the residence of 
Captain Hayes a store-house was erected by Mr. Walker in 1822. He is said to 
have had a substantial stock of dry goods and groceries.

   Near Burnt Corn, Captain Hayes purchased an extensive tract of land, of 
eleven hundred acres-all of which he enclosed in a single fence, and would 
continue to clear and improve as it was needed. In 1822 he is said to have 
erected the first gin-house built in Conecuh. He also established a good mill 
near Burnt Corn.

   As much, perhaps, as any other this community was harassed by the Indians. 
The inhabitants shared in the consternation produced in all parts of the 
county; and in Monroe, in 1818. So intense did the excitement become, that 
some of the residents of this portion of the county joined others leaving 
Monroe, and fled into Clarke county, where they remained until the restoration 
of peace. In order to provide against the attacks of the Indians, Major 
Richard Warren, an old chivalric South Carolinian, erected a rude stockade, 
into which he invited the terror stricken inhabitants to take refuge every 
night. This kind offer many accepted, and during the intervening day they 
would resume their accustomed pursuits. But this state of feverish excitement 
and alarm so paralyzed the energies of the inhabitants that they were unable 
to cultivate their little fields. Every distant sound was construed into a 
danger signal, and so much time was thereby lost, that the result was an 
almost total failure of the crop. John Greene, Sr., bravely refused to enter 
the stockade, but remained at his home and continued to cultivate his crop, 
and the consequence was he reaped a full harvest in autumn. With the 
restoration of tranquility, the fugitive emigrants returned from beyond the 
Alabama river, and resumed the improvement of their homes. There came together 
with them into Conecuh, many who had fled from other portions of the country. 
Among these I may mention David Jay, the father of Rev. Andrew Jay, who, 
sharing in the stampede, had gone from the region of Pine Orchard, in Monroe 
county, to Bassett's creek, in Clarke. Together with Nicholas Stallworth, 
whose overseer he subsequently became, he returned from Clarke county in 1820, 
and located about four miles southeast of Evergreen, on what is still called 
the Stallworth Plantation. After spending about three years here, Mr. Jay 
removed to the community of Old Town.

DERIVATION OF BURNT CORN.

   Many inquiries have been raised, and conjectures made, relative to the 
origin of the peculiar name-Burnt Corn. Rev. David Lee, whose father was a 
prominent citizen in this section during its earliest settlement, states that 
near the large spring, which bursts from beneath the hill below the village, 
there was the residence of a friendly Indian, whose name was Jim Curnells, and 
that this Indian gave the following as the real origin of Burnt Corn: Two 
Indians were returning from Pensacola and stopped at this famous spring to 
camp. During their stay here, one became sick and was unable to prosecute his 
journey. His companion grew impatient and resolved to leave him to his fate, 
not, however, without first having supplied him with a quantity of corn, which 
he poured in a heap on the dry leaves near the suffering man. Recovering from 
his sickness, the Indian found himself without a sack into which he could put 
his corn, and left it heaped upon the dry leaves, which caught from the camp 
fire, and the corn was partially burned. Travelers, stopping here to camp, 
found the pile of charred corn, and called the spring Burnt Corn Spring. As 
trivial as the occurrence was, the foregoing statement deserves great credence 
as coming from Jim Curnells. During the war of 1812, this friendly Indian was 
quite serviceable to the American army, and frequently served as courier, 
carrying important messages from one point to another. In consideration of his 
invaluable services, the Federal Government donated him 640 acres of land, 
including Burnt Corn Spring.

EVERGREEN,

now the thriftiest village, perhaps, in South Alabama, received its first 
installment of emigrants in 1819 and 1820, though the village itself did not 
find a name until years afterward. When James Cosey, George Andrews and the 
Messrs. Cluff; first reached this section, the present site of Evergreen was a 
tangled wild-wood, revelling in dense thickets of briar and cane, with the 
jungles infested by the native deer, wolf, bear and wildcat. The tiny streams, 
that still wind their way through different portions of the village, were then 
strongly barricaded on either side, with impenetrable brakes of cane. And such 
was the nature of the soil, which skirted the streams, that it was peril to 
man or beast to tread upon it. Upon the arrival of the emigrants already 
mentioned, Mr. Cosey and the Messrs. Cluff located within the limits of the 
present village, while Mr. Andrews pitched his tent upon the hill beyond the 
small branch, west of Evergreen. Mr. Cosey was an old Revolutionary soldier, 
and bore the mark of a severe wound in his bosom. Additions were soon made to 
this diminutive population, for during the years already named there came 
several other families, among which were those of William Jones, Sr., and 
George Foote. Of the entire population, Messrs. Andrews and Foote had removed 
from South Carolina, the others from Georgia. Living contiguous to the vast 
swamps which border Murder creek, this settlement was peculiarly exposed to 
the inroads of the bear, the wildcat, the deer and turkey. The bear and 
wildcat preying upon the pigs, and the less offensive deer and turkey 
riotously assailing the ripening grain of autumn. Benjamin Hart erected, at an 
early day, a good mill, which is now known as the E. C. Smith mill. While 
subjecting the natural barriers, and wrestling with the grave disadvantages, 
whose name was legion, these early fathers were not forgetful of the 
intellectual improvement of their children. About 1820 or 1821, George Andrews 
opened a small school, about three-quarters of a mile east of the present 
location of the court house. This gentleman was the father of H. M. Andrews, 
of Bellville, James W. Andrews, of Allenton, Wilcox county, and of the late 
George R. Andrews, of Monroeville. In its early history, Evergreen gave but 
little promise of becoming the important point which it is to-day. Located 
considerably in the interior, it was regarded as being remote from most of the 
points first settled. For more than an entire decade it was the most 
insignificant of all the centres of population in the county. But the gradual 
settlement of the adjoining regions, the rapid improvement of the fertile 
lands, in the midst of which it is fortunately located, the early educational 
advantages which it afforded, the importance given it by the Mobile & 
Montgomery Railway, and the location of the court house at this point, have 
helped to render Evergreen conspicuous alike as a mart of trade, an 
educational centre, and a village unequalled in the State for the moral tone 
of its population.



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Chapter VIII

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