GRAVEDIGGIN’

I decided to go out today and fulfill a few photo requests. I headed west, somewhat southwest. My plan was to go toward Trinity and Moulton. I had not yet surveyed any cemeteries in this part of Lawrence county.

I visited Grange Hall cemetery, also know as Morris cemetery in west Morgan county.

Grange Hall

As soon as a saw it, I though of a recent post by LS Moore, about people putting fencing around burial plots. This one had more than I had ever seen. And highly decorated. I researched online about it, and saw that each June, families come to decorate and cleanup the cemetery. This was a tradition I had never seen until I moved to Alabama. Most in Florida were flat, plain and unadorned. No interest, unless they were old! Every step I took today, uncovered a new group of headstones. In a cluster of bushes or trees, overgrown in the furthest areas, most could not see. You have to look beyond the new areas for the old. I would scan the distance and there I would see an obelisk. So many wrought iron fenced areas grouping the family together. And smaller stone fences surrounding single burials. I was able to find the photo request way back in a fenced area. It had been awhile since this gate had been opened. It is John Speer.

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Eddie Thickston was just 13 years of age. He died while rock climbing in 1900.

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DECATUR ALABAMA STRUCTURES

On Sunday, Patrick and I were driving around Decatur near the new Ingalls Harbour Pavillion. Which is really nice by the way. We saw an odd structure at the back of the lot. Now, Decatur has a lot of historical markers, but, this had nothing. Something as cool as this structure deserves a sign of some description, history etc. It took a lot of research to determine what it was. The Morgan county or Decatur websites had no information. It was a photo on Flickr that described it.

Beehive Brick Kiln

As we were driving, we discovered the Burleson home. It is a beautiful Greek Revival set on the Tennessee river west of Decatur.

Burleson house ( photo by Tim Carr )

The Rhea-McEntire House ( Burleson house )  is a historic antebellum Greek Revival mansion located along the shoreline of the Tennessee River in Decatu Alabama.

The house was constructed prior to 1836, and was used as headquarters by both Union and Confederate forces, alternately, during the Civil War.

In 1862, before being occupied by Federal forces, the plans for the Battle of Shiloh were laid out within this building. Because of this, the house was spared when the city was burned, leaving only 2 other buildings standing in the city.

The house was also used as the first temporary courthouse, during the construction of the first permanent courthouse in Somerville, in Cotaco County which is now Morgan County.

 

 

 

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