Alabama Historical Association Markers, 2020

from 1961 to 2003, the alabama review routinely published the text of historical markers placed by the Association at sites of interest and significance across the state. After publishing this information in the Association's biannual newsletter for a number of years, the traditional practice of including them in the journal resumed in 2017, due in part to renewed interest in the creation of historical markers during commemoration of Alabama's bicentennial. The texts and locations of the fourteen markers placed by the Association in 2020 are copied below. Several of these markers have not yet been installed. This is due primarily to the local sponsors' desire to delay public unveiling ceremonies until after the current health pandemic subsides.

COFFEE COUNTY

ELBA LODGE #170 AF & AM

150 yards south of this site, John B. Simmons built the first Masonic Hall in Coffee County. On December 17, 1851, the Grand Lodge of Alabama issued a dispensation to nine Coffee County men to form a lodge in the town of Bentonville to be known as Elba Lodge #170. At the first meeting, held on Friday, February 13, 1852, a committee was appointed to obtain property for the use of the lodge. The hall was a two-story building used for Masonic business. The first person to become a Master Mason in Elba Lodge #170 was William George Washington Harper on April 24, 1852. Elba's first public school used the lower floor beginning in 1855.

Thirteen members were present for the election and installation of officers on Friday, February 13, 1852. Those elected were:

• William W. Simmons, Worshipful Master

• Alfred McGee, Senior Warden

• William F. Beard, Junior Warden

• James Claxton, Secretary

• John Harper, Treasurer

• Paul Smith, Senior Deacon

• Pierre Darcy Costello, Junior Deacon

• Micajah Harper, Senior Steward

• Irwin Rogers, Junior Steward

• William J. Spurlin, Tiler.

Charter members in addition to those elected were James D. McLean, James M. Tullis, and John B. Simmons.

[Claxton Avenue, Elba]

COLBERT COUNTY

OLD BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH OLDER THAN THE STATE

The church was organized as Bethel Missionary Baptist Church on June 26, 1819, with Elder Theophilous Skinner serving as pastor. The church predates the creation of the state of Alabama by nearly six months. Bethel's original location was across County Line Road in neighboring Lawrence County, on land donated by the Kerby family. A boundary change in 1895 placed the church in Colbert County. For many years, preaching was held only once a month. Annual daylong sings and revivals once attracted large and expectant crowds to this site.

The church was a charter member of the Muscle Shoals Baptist Association. It later joined the Big Bear Creek Association before becoming independent. The congregation changed the name to Old Bethel Baptist Church in the 1930s.

Five church buildings have stood on or near this site during Bethel's long history, the most recent erected in 1950. The church survived devastating tornados in 1920 and 1942 with only minor damage while the nearby parsonage was destroyed. The antebellum-era Bethel Cemetery is owned and managed by the church. The oldest church in Colbert County, Old Bethel Baptist Church marked its 200^th anniversary on June 20, 2019.

Sponsored by the Old Bethel Baptist Church and the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation, Inc.

[7317 County Line Road, Leighton]

CONECUH COUNTY

MAGGIE TAYLOR RICHARDSON AUSBY, NYMPH POSTMASTER, 1903–1906

Born in Conecuh County on June 24, 1883, Maggie Taylor was a daughter of Daniel and Millie (Moye) Taylor. Her parents were among thirteen enslaved people brought to the rural community of Nymph by their owner, Stephen D. Miller. With little access to public education for African American children, members of Taylor's family taught her to read and write.

On May 11, 1903, upon the resignation of Nymph's postmaster, Maggie Taylor, who was not yet twenty years of age, was appointed to the position. She served in this capacity until November 1, 1906, and is among Alabama's earliest African American female postmasters. She inaugurated a long family history of postal service, which included her brothers Thomas and Herbert Taylor...