Calhoun County

Cane Creek Furnace

  Erected 1840, 8 mi. north. Second producer of pig iron built in Alabama. Iron made here was shipped to Mobile for Mexican War ordnance; later to Selma and Rome for Confederate Arsenals. 1864 Furnaces destroyed by Federal Cavalry raiders under General Rousseau. (Calhoun County, U.S. Highway 78)

10th Alabama Volunteers–Army of Northern Virginia, C.S.A.

  This regiment took part for four years in major battles of the Virginia theater. It served with distinction for dash and courage, suffering heavy casualties. Officers regiment's organization June 4, 1861, at Montgomery, Alabama: Colonel John H. Forney, Jacksonville; Lieutenant Colonel James B. Martin, Jacksonville; Major Taul Bradford, Talladega. Company A: Captain John H. Caldwell, Saint Clair County. Company B: Captain Alburto Martin, Jefferson County. Company C: Captain Rufus W. Cobb, Shelby County. Company D: Captain Franklin Woodruff, Calhoun County. Company E: Captain John T. Woodward, Talladega County. Company F: Captain James D. Truse, Saint Clair County. Company G: Captain William Henry Forney, Calhoun County. Company. H: Captain Woodford R. Hanna, Calhoun County. Company I: Captain Abner A. Huges, DeKalb County. Company K: Captain J. C. McKenzie, Talladega County. Among officers of regiment killed in action: Colonel John J. Woodward, Lieutenant Colonels James B. Martin and James E. Shelley, Captains Pickens and W. Black, George P. Brown, Henry N. Coleman, Walter Cook, Robert W. Cowan, William Lee, Richard C. Ragan, George C. Whatley. Disbanded at Appomattox, Va., April, 1865, by order of General Robert E. Lee. (Located in Jacksonville)

Freedom Riders

On May 14, 1961, a Greyhound bus left Atlanta, GA carrying among its passengers seven members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a.k.a. the “Freedom Riders,” on a journey to test interstate bus segregation. The bus was met by an angry mob at the bus station in Anniston, AL where tires were slashed and windows broken. Upon leaving Anniston, the bus was followed by the mob to this site where the driver stopped to change the tire. The crowd set the bus on fire and attacked passengers as they departed. The incident served to strengthen the resolve for the civil rights movement.

 Outstanding local industrialist as President, Kilby Steel Company; Chairman, Board of Directors, Alabama Pipe Company; President, City National and Anniston National Banks. Served as Mayor of Anniston (1905-09); state Senator (1911-15); Lieutenant Governor (1915-19); Governor of Alabama (1919-23).
 His administration as Governor of Alabama notable for sound business principles, for prison reform, for advancement and expansion of charitable institutions, and for constitutional amendments which provided state bond issues for highway and bridge development and for building the State Docks in Mobile.
 Governor Kilby was a member of Grace Episcopal Church and a member of the vestry. His interment is on the hill, near fence, at Highland Cemetery.

Grace Episcopal Church

  Called "A poem of cedar and stone," its history is intimately related to that of Anniston. Town Founders, Daniel Tyler and Samuel Noble, inspired its conception, funded its construction and caused the Woodstock Iron Company to donate the land on which it was built. George Upjohn, Architect, and Master Stonemason, William Jewell, used native pink sandstone and Tennessee knotty cedar to emulate Solomon's Temple. The Gothic Revival edifice, the oldest church in town, was organized on April 8, 1881, built in 1882-5, and consecrated by Bishop Richard H. Wilmer on May 19, 1886. Its first service was conducted on Christmas Eve, 1885.

Jacksonville–First County Seat

  1833-99. Town first called Drayton. Renamed in 1834 to honor President Andrew Jackson. Seat moved to Anniston in 1899. Calhoun County originally was Benton County, named for Colonel T. H. Benton, Creek War officer, later U.S. Senator from Missouri. Renamed in 1858 for John C. Calhoun, Champion of South in U.S. Senate. Benton's views by then unpopular in South.

John Horace Forney

  1829-1902. Major General, C.S.A. A graduate of West Point, he resigned from U.S. Army to volunteer services to the State of Alabama. Ably lead Confederate forces at Manassas, Pensacola, Vicksburg, Mobile, and Texas.

John Tyler Morgan

  1824-1907. Lawyer, Soldier, Senator. Lived here in 1838. 1862-65: Colonel of 51st Alabama Cavalry, which was raised by him in this county. 1863-65: Brigadier General C.S.A. with Wheeler's Cavalry. 1876-1907: United States Senator. Distinguished Statesman of Alabama. (Located in Jacksonville)

Joseph William Burke

  1835-1900. Lawyer, Industrialist, Patriot. Brigadier General, U.S.A., General Burke helped rebuild Alabama's mining and manufacturing interests after the Civil War. He helped establish the Catholic Church at Jacksonville. His home, "Bellevue," occupied the present site of Jacksonville State College. (Located in Jacksonville)

Ladiga Cavalry Skirmish

  October 28, 1864. Last fighting between armies of Hood and Sherman. Here Ferguson turned back Kilpatrick's larger force. These two armies fought all summer from Chattanooga to Atlanta, west to here. To split the South, Sherman turned and led Union forces in March to Sea. Hood withdrew to reoccupy Tennessee, fighting the battles of Franklin and Nashville.

Major John Pelham

  Born here September 7, 1838. Commanded Horse Artillery of Northern Virginia, C.S.A. Killed at Kelly's Fort, Virginia, March 17, 1863. Styled "The Gallant Pelham" by Robert E. Lee. (Located in Anniston)

Major John Pelham

  1838-1863. "The Gallant Pelham" as called by Robert E. Lee. Commanded Artillery, Army of Northern Virginia. Cited for conspicuous valor many times. Killed in action in Virginia.

Parker Memorial Baptist Church

  On July 3, 1887, a congregation of 45 people met at the Opera House on Noble Street to organize a new church. Originally called Second Baptist Church, the name soon was changed to Twelfth Street Baptist Church.
  In 1889, it became Parker Memorial Baptist Church in memory of Mrs. Cornelia A. Parker, whose husband gave the money for a new building that was dedicated in March of 1891.
  The mission was and continues to be "Ministering to the World . . . Beginning at Our Own Front Door."

Site of Oxford College

  1867-1900. Important in latter 19th century by educating boys and girls of area. Land and two-story brick building provided by sponsoring citizens. Headed by John H. Dodson from founding until 1900, when he became state superintendent of education. Among its noted graduates were state superintendents of education J. W. Abercrombie and H. C. Gunnels. (Located in Oxford)

Tallasseehatchee

  Creek Indian War 1813-14, November 3, 1813. General John Coffee, commanding 900 Tennessee Volunteers, surrounded the Indians nearby and killed some 200 warriors. This was the first American victory of the war. It avenged the earlier massacre of 517 at Ft. Mims by Indians.

Thomas C. Hindman

  1828-1868. The Arkansas Congressman and General had lived here (1833-1844). Veteran of the War with Mexico. Elected to U.S. Congress in 1858 and 1860. Served in Trans-Mississippi Department C.S.A. as Brigadier General from 1861-1862. Served with the Army of Tennessee as Major General from 1862-65. (Located in Jacksonville)

• Newspapers on microfilm at ADAH
• Probate records on microfilm at ADAH
• Vital records on microfilm at ADAH
• County historical and genealogical societies
• Current county highway map from Department of Geography, The University of Alabama