Talladega County

Auburn University and Birmingham-Southern College Began in Talladega, 1854

By action of the Alabama Conference of The Methodist Episcopal Church, South in session at Talladega, December 13-18, 1854, Auburn University and Birmingham-Southern College were born. The delegation resolved to “have a college within the bounds of our Conference.” While the intent was to start a single college by and for the Methodist Church, intense rivalry between eastern and western sections of the state over the location of the school resulted in two institutions: the East Alabama Male College in Auburn and Southern University in Greensboro.
Both schools were chartered by the state legislature in 1856, and both struggled to survive during the Civil War. The College at Auburn was transferred from the Church to the state in 1872, and it became the land-grant Agricultural & Mechanical College of Alabama. In 1899, its name was changed to the Alabama Polytechnic Institute and, in 1960, to Auburn University.
Southern University at Greensboro merged with Birmingham College in 1918 to form Birmingham-Southern College, maintaining a church-related status from its beginning to the present.

Battle of Talladega

  Nov. 9, 1813. Here Andrew Jackson led Tennessee Volunteers and friendly Indians to victory over hostile "Red Sticks." This action rescued friendly Creeks besieged in Fort Leslie. Creek Indian War 1813-14.

Central Plank Road

  1850. Here was northern terminus of 60 miles of toll road operated from Wetumpka. Built of wooden boards. Prior to railroads this was an important artery of travel. Chartered to connect navigable parts of the Alabama, Coosa, and Tennessee Rivers.

Coosa

  Important Indian town for over 250 years and capital of Coosa province. Visited by DeSoto in 1540, and later by Spanish, French, British colonial explorers and traders. Early writers tell of abundant food crops, wild and cultivated, supporting a large population.

De Soto Caverns

  De Soto Caverns was named for the famous Spanish explorer who traveled through this area in 1540. Over its rich history it offered shelter for native Indians for centuries (a 2,000-year-old Woodland Period burial was excavated by archeologists in the mid-1960s), became the first officially recorded cave in the U.S. (1796), and served as a Confederate gunpowder mining site during the Civil War. One of the largest show caves in the southeastern U.S., the main room of the caverns stands 12-stories high and is as large as a football field. The caverns' onyx-marble stalagmites and stalactites are among the most concentrated accumulations to be found in America.

Fayetteville

  Here in 1814 Tennessee Troops joined Andrew Jackson's force which won the Creek Indian War. After Indian removal in 1836 these veterans brought their families here, named this community for their old home in Tennessee. Fayetteville Academy was built in 1850.

Federal Raids

  Led by Gen. Rousseau July 17, 1864. Led by Gen. Croxton April 22, 1865. These well equipped expeditions met no organized opposition. They destroyed furnaces, railroads, storehouses, provisions, and training camp located here.

Fort Williams

  12 miles west. Built by Andrew Jackson with U.S. Regulars, Tennessee Volunteers and friendly Cherokees and Creeks. Used as advance base during final phases of Creek Indian War, 1813-14. Military cemetery nearby.

Hernando De Soto

  June 1540. Spanish discoverer, explorer, led his well-equipped army of conquistadors southward through this area. He sought gold and lands for colonization in this populous Indian county.

Hightower Brothers Livery Stable

 Founded in 1896 by brothers John Judge and Milton Graham Hightower, this small-town livery stable served the community and surrounding countryside until its closing in 1955. Originally located nearby, the business moved to this “New Town” site in 1905. A new brick building was erected in 1914 after the original wood-frame structure was destroyed by fire.
 The Hightower Brothers furnished area farmers with agricultural resources, local businesses with vehicles, and the people of Sylacauga with recreational transportation. In addition to providing mules, horses, wagons, buggies, and farm implements locally, the stable was a major supplier of mules to Camp McClellan in Anniston during World War I.
 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, the building was donated by the John Milton Hightower family to Blue Bell Creameries in 2000.

Mardisville

  Originally called Jumper's Spring. Site of U. S. Land Office for sale of lands ceded by Creek Indians, 1832. Early courts held here after Talladega County was created. Named for Samuel W. Mardis, settled from Tennessee.

Maria Forge

  Built in 1842. Here Riddle Brothers operated first and largest forge in Talladega Creek Valley. They made bar iron to supply plows, horseshoes, nails, other wrought-iron products to early settlers of area. Indians had been forced from area in 1836.

Mumford Skirmish

  April 23, 1865. One of the last fights of the war. Here General B. J. Hill hastily gathered a force of boys, old men, and convalescents to resist Croxton's Union Cavalry raiders. The raiders were intent on destroying Confederate railroads, furnaces, and supplies.

Presbyterian Home for Children–Synod of Alabama–Presbyterian Church in the United States

  Originally conceived 1864 as a home for children of Confederate dead by Synod in session at Selma. Opened at Tuskegee 1868–relocated in Talladega 1891. A haven for dependent youth of Alabama providing training, education, and worship in a Christian atmosphere. (Located at Children's Home in Talladega)

Sylacauga

  Settled in 1748 by Shawnee Indians from Ohio. They joined Creek Confederacy, fought against U.S. in War of 1812, were moved west in 1836. Settled before 1836 by men who had fought in this area under Andrew Jackson. Indian name: Syllacogga or Chalakagay.

Talladega Furnace

  1889-1930. "The International Furnace." Built by British group in 1889. Run by Americans during Spanish-American War. Japan bought–World War I–and made iron until Armistice. First furnace to ship low phosphorous iron to North. Dismantled for scrap in 1930.

• 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