Dale County AlArchives Photo place.....Clopton 1st P.O. July 1 2004 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Christine Thacker http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00033.html#0008100 July 5, 2004, 4:26 pm Source: Unavailable Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/dale/photos/gph506clopton1.jpg Image file size: 68.6 Kb The Photo is of the Old Post Office in Clopton as of July 1, 2004 CLOPTON POST OFFICE CELEBRATES 150 YEARS A Customer Appreciation Day was held at the Clopton, Alabama Post Office on August 22, 2003. The day celebrated the 150th Birthday of the Clopton Post Office, which was established on August 22, 1853. It remains today as the center piece of the Colpton Community. A Brief History Clopton, Alabama lies in the northeast corner of Dale County. The Post Office is located only one mile from the Barbour and Henry County lines. Thus, our community covers three counties! Clopton is referred to by its residents as "The Garden Spot of the World." Residents have deep roots in the History of this small rural community. They have endeavored to keep the past alive with their folklore, stories and Southern hospitality. Clopton had its origins as a stopping place for wagons on their journey from Ozark to Abbeville. An overnight campground was established on the wagon trail, which grew into a prosperous trade center of the day (Most everyone has ancestors that came to Clopton to trade and/or spen the night on a long journey.) During the mid 1800s, the Clopton Post Office was established along with three stores, two doctor's offices,, a drug store and two blacksmiths. A tanning yard, used to dry animal pelts, was the principle industry of the day along with an annual mule auction and trade day that brought many people from surrounding areas. An Elementary school with grades 1-8 was established, which remained open until the Depression forced its closing in the 1930s. In 1936, a cotton gin became Clopton's main business and remained so until its closure in 1970. The school house has since been restored ans serves as a community house and voting station. Iin the 1800s, Clopton was larger than Dothan and, had it not been for the railway going through Abbeville instead of Clopton, it might well be today. Clopton boasts of its many young who became doctors, lawyers, and educators. It claims as a favorite son the late Henry B. Stegal, a state senator. Clopton's greatest claim to fame is its people. It is still a place where fresh vegetables magically appear on your back porch; where the people share each other's joys and sorrows like a family. There is a sense of community spirit that binds the people together much like it did in the 1800s. They still gather together as a community twice a year with a Christmas party and on the Fourth of July to celebrate our nation's birth. The original site of the Clopton Post Office is still standing next to the present day post office. Sent by Sandra Czarnecki with permission to post, June 23, 2004. Christine Thacker File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/dale/photos/gph506clopton1.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 4.1 Kb