A Walk Through Lee County History

(All exhibits in this building are from Lee County or were used in Lee County. The museum still needs more historical material to fully tell the story of this area, and welcomes donations that can be appropriately displayed within the museum's limited space.)

Under the Sea: About 80 million years ago much of Lee County was under what is now called the Gulf of Mexico. Evidence of some of the shoreline has been found in northern Russell County and part of Macon County, running roughly from Seale westward to just south of Tuskegee. Sea shells from the Cretaceous period are sometimes still found in plowed land in these areas. The rest of the Lee County area was a tropical rain forest crossed by wide but shallow streams running off the adjacent mountain highlands, depositing sand and clay soils, according to Dr. David King, Auburn University professor of geology and geography.

Alabama Dinosaurs: At least four known groups of dinosaurs walked through Lee County during the Cretaceous period: there were meat-eaters (genus Albertosaurus); two plant-eaters, one with duck-like bills and another with tank-like armor; and some "bird-mimic" omnivores who would eat both plants and animals.

Indians of Lee County: No one knows how many or what tribes of Indians once inhabited Lee County, but as early as DeSoto, the 1540s, the Upper Creeks were here, according to Dr. Alexander Nunn who wrote a history on the county. Remnants of their capital Tuckabatchy can still be found on the west bank of the Tallapoosa, south of what is now Tallassee. They didn't live in teepees, but in houses, generally at strategic defensive positions along streams or springs, and ate the animals, fish, nuts and berries native to this area.

Cotton was king: England was happy to import cotton grown in the South. But crop after crop on the same land without fertilizer or rebuilding the soil simply left the land depleted, and families often moved westward, clearing new land for their crops. From Georgia they poured over the Chatahoochee to farm what would be Lee County. They came from the Carolinas, from Tennessee, felling trees, moving rocks to the edges of fields, to plant new crops.

Tools: Among the most important items the settlers brought with them were their tools. Women could spin cloth, cook, plant, hoe and gather. Some men were gifted blacksmiths. Others were carpenters. Whatever their gifts, they carried the hammers and picks, looms, pots and anvils to do their work.

Quilts: Although quilts were used as warm bed covers, they also developed into works of art and social attractions. Women in a community often gathered around a quilting frame in a home to make wedding quilts, signed by all who stitched. Many methods and patterns developed, such as appliqued quilts and the familiar log-cabin design.

Honoring a founder: Dr. Alexander Nunn of Loachapoka, executive editor and vice president of The Progressive Farmer magazine, was the founding energy of the Lee County Historical Society and museum, and did much of the work toward the National Register recognition of the Loachapoka Historical District. In 1977 he was appointed the first official Lee County Historian. Among his many publications are Yesterdays in Loachapoka and Communities Nearby (1968) and Lee County and Her Forebears (1983).

Reconstruction of the museum building: You are standing in what was designed to be a trade center in 1845. The downstairs was originally two long rooms, with a dress shop at the back. These photographs were taken 1968-'73, after the Lee County Historical Society bought the building.

Lee County is formed: Only about 15 years after this building was finished, the War Between the States began. In 1866, a year after the war ended, Lee County was formed from portions of Macon, Russell, Tallapoosa and Chambers Counties.

Novelties: Leaving this room of the old trade center, you see an exhibit of gloves, laces and novelties that might have been sold when the original owner J. C. Phillips, and then the second proprietor, L. T. Wimberly, clerked here.

Dry goods: Stepping through the door and turning to the left, you see ladies' dry goods: a delicately painted fan of feathers, a handkerchief that was a wedding present to the granddaughter of J. C. Phillips, who first built and ran this trade center.

Post Card collection: Have a seat and browse these cards, organized by years, from the collection of Joe Peddy, first president of the Lee County Historical Society. There's also a book of all-occasion greeting cards from the past.

Original desk: This high desk is original to this building and held the account ledgers. Clerks like James Zachery (portrait to the right), who worked in the store in 1845 when it opened and later clerked at the desk, could either stand or sit on the high stool to write entries.

Clothes from Lee County: Many homes had metal shoe lasts to repair or replace soles. The turn-of-the-century "waist" in the case belonged to Mary Ann Clara Whatley, granddaughter of Simeon Whatley, the pioneer member of a family which has lived in this area ever since. The top hat belonged to Beverly Peddy while he was a member of the state legislature 1871-'72.

Boxes: Post office boxes and this hexagonal box for screws and nails were among many special containers designed to hold specific items. If you look closely, you can see the nail sizes marked on the drawers, and the hole for the sample.

Implements and instruments: This leather vise was used for hand stitching leather. Can you name the farm implements? Would you like to have been a patient in the dental chair in the next exhibit? A doctor's black bag often held a few drugs, many of which were mixed at his home. Elixirs like Auburn Prof. John Darby's "…Prophylactic Fluid" were sold by stores and traveling salesmen.

What's in a name? Loachapoka gets its name from the Indian words "locha" and "poga," or "turtle-killing place." Indians used turtles for food, utensils, decoration and symbols (turtles are long-lived), and it was taboo to indiscriminately harm them.

The Coming of the Railroad: As early as 1833 a group of Montgomery men formed a company to begin a railroad from Montgomery to West Point, and grading began three years later. But the railroad got only to Franklin before financial trouble halted construction. In 1840 the Alabama legislature authorized the reorganized Montgomery and West Point R.R. Co. to issue bonds with the endorsement of the state, and by 1848 cars were running to Opelika. In 1861 Jefferson Davis traveled the M&WP, reviewing troops in Auburn on the way to his inauguration as president of the Confederacy in Montgomery. The bent rail on display was ruined in 1864 by Rousseau\'s Raiders who ripped up the rails, heated them over a hot fire and bent them to make them unusable. They also cut telegraph wires to disrupt communication. General Wilson unnecessarily destroyed the line in 1865 several days after Robert E. Lee\'s surrender. (The knife made from an old railroad spike was produced on museum grounds by Jordan Hall when he was 12 years old.) The large bell on the post used to be on a passenger train that ran through Lee County. It could be heard a mile and a half away and many a resident would check his watch to see if the train was on time.

Loachapoka after the Civil War: Notice the description of Loachapoka in this 1889 issue of the Opelika Democrat.

Odds and Ends: Tobacco and moonshine were sins to some, but liberally consumed. German soldiers (2,772 by 1945) were held at Camp Opelika, the second of four POW camps in the state. It was built in a sparsely populated area outside the city, where an industrial park now stands, offered library and study opportunities, and was abandoned shortly after the war ended in 1945. The duster, the motel T and the camera were a popular threesome in the 1920s and Burton Bookstore a popular subject.

Tree of photographs: From mills to gins and schools, these reproduced photographs give a picture of life in Lee County from the turn of the century to the 1970s.

Upstairs bedrooms: The Pearson Room and the Victorian Room are filled with furnishings and apparel that has been used in the past in Lee County.

The Parlor: The instrument in the Parlor is a small melodeon, and the portrait above is of singer Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale." Note the fascinating auto harp and the directions how to play it. There is also a display of feminine crafts that pertain to the home. The chairs and settee are from the Loachapoka Methodist Church. Cathy James has given us a portable organ that was once used by itinerant preachers who would put it on their cart or wagon to take to the country churches on his circuit.
Next, walk down the hall adjacent to the stairway and enjoy the pictures of the Carlisle family who lived here for many years.

A Woman's Place: Our fine collection of irons boarders the kitchen where women spent a great deal of time either preparing or preserving food for the family. Milk and butter were generally produced at home thanks to the family cow (note the mechanical churn). Settlers were inventive: there was a water tank attached to this building. Note the fireplace pipes that were once connected to an adjacent tub.

Sewing: Across from the kitchen is the sewing room. Women also made many of the clothes and linens for the family and, before they had electricity, they used foot powered machines and did hand embroidery.

The Uniforms of War: Beyond the sewing area is a collection of uniforms from many wars and service branches, a trunk fully outfitted for a World War 1 soldier and displays of many things used in wars.

Business and Children's Area: Adding machines, old typewriters and ledgers are among the business tools in the case next to the door. Visit the school room, sit at a desk and read awhile after looking at the school items on display.

Judy Nunn