Little Known Facts About Fayette County

Little Known Facts About

Fayette County

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Fayette's Many Names

The first settlement around what is now the county seat, was the area known as 'old town' today, and was called 'LaFayette' for the French general who was on a second visit to this country at about that time. This name didn't last long because the same settlement was incorporated as a town on January 15, 1821 and was called 'Fayette Court House'. Fayette County was created by an act of the legislature on December 20, 1824. The town was known as 'Fayette Court House' for sixty years, then became 'Fayetteville' on December 8, 1880.

At the time the Richmond & Danville Extension Company built the Georgia Railroad into Fayette County in 1883, the county seat was more than a mile away from the railroad and was called 'Fayetteville'. A short time after the railroad was built, people began to move nearer the depot for convenience and to save the transportation of goods from the railroad to 'Fayetteville'. People continued to abandon the old place (Fayetteville) until nearly all the business houses were located near the depot, thus 'Fayette Depot Town' came into being. However, the new location was covered in water in the winter and spring. When the weather began to warm up in the early spring, the frogs would hold singing conventions in various places, and someone called the place "Frog Level"; the name stuck and a post office was established bearing that name. The first postmaster of 'Frog Level' was Joe Mason with G. W. Howton as his assistant. Mason was succeeded by Dr. Kilby Newton who had the name of 'Frog Level' changed to 'Alfreda' in honor of his wife. The third postmaster was A. J. Renfro who had the name of the post office changed from 'Alfreda' to 'Icy', in honor of his daughter.

On June 29, 1891, James J. Ray filed a petition with the Probate Judge with the neccessary number of adult inhabitants of the town of Fayette Depot, stating in the petition that they desired to become a body corporate and to form a municipal corporation under the name of 'Latona'. On July 13, 1891 the town of 'Latona' was incorporated. 'Latona' began being called 'Fayette' sometime around 1895, but the change of the name of 'Latona' to 'Fayette' did not legally take place until November 12, 1898.

*In formation obtained from a book entitled Fayette and Fayette County History written by M. L. Coons.

Fayette's Three Three's

In the year 1899, three catastrophic events took their toll in Fayette County. The Sipsey River overflowed, flooding much of the county killing livestock and wild game, and making it nearly impossible for the farmers to plant and grow crops. The county also suffered a measles epidemic and a small pox epidemic that year.
Fayette county has lost three Courthouses to fire, the first in 1854, the second in 1866, and the last in the 1911 fire that destroyed most of the town, leaving only a few buildings unharmed.
On the 3rd day of the 3rd month in 1933, 3 houses all owned by 3 different Newton families, within a 3 mile radius of each other, ALL burned at the same time.

*Information obtained at Fayette Memorial Library Geneology Room.

Three Fires 3/3/33

Three Fires on 3/3/33

Original Art By:

Nicholas Fowler

Fayette Academy 1902

Fayette had it's First Private School in 1902

The advertisement in the July 1, 1902 edition of the 'Banner' read as follows:

FAYETTE ACADEMY

'Will prepare you for the real duties of life'.

John B. Zeigler, A. M. Principal

Competent and Experienced Assistants.

SESSION OPENS 8th SEPT., 1902.

TUITION VERY LOW:

Pupils Inside Fayette District:.......................................Outside Fayette District:

Primary, per month............$0.50.................................Primary, per month........$0.75

Intermediate, per month.....$1.00.................................Intermediate, per month.$1.25

High School, per month.....$1.50.................................High School, per month.$1.75

Children of Ministers will be entitled to enter school at half of the above rates. The incidental fee of $1.00 for the term must be paid in advance.

School Building large and better equipped. Teachers prepared for the School Room. Board with private families at reasonable rates. Fayette is on the Southern Railway, 80 miles west of Birmingham, Alabama, and 40 miles east of Columbus, Mississippi, and is one of the most attractive towns in West Alabama.

*Information and Photo Taken from 150 Yesteryears published 1971.

The Earliest Mail

Before the railroad was constructed, Jacob Henderson Stough had a contract for transporting the mail from Fayette to Birmingham. His sons, Perry, Tony, William D. and Jacob J. took turns carrying the mail by horseback. They traveled the old Elyton Road.

The Stough post office was established February 14, 1889. The location was at Sardis (Stough) railroad station in a small store building. Later locations included other store buildings or the home of the postmaster.

The following served as postmasters, and are listed with their dates of appointment:

Jacob Henderson Stough (2/14/1889)
Stephen J. Ford (12/23/1897)
George W. Gray (12/22/1900)
Horace N. Gardner (6/4/1903)
Rufus M. Lee (1/4/1904)
John H. Stough (3/22/1906)
C. Bascom Sanford (8/20/1908)
Miss Sophia V. Tucker (4/26/1909)

Mail was brought in and picked up by train with the use of a mail grab, since Stough (Sardis) was a flag stop. The post office was discontinued on August 31, 1910. After this, Fayette Route 5 delivered to the majority of the community and Bankston Route 2 served the southern section of the community.

* Jacob Henderson Stough is a relative of mine by marriage, information for this article provided by family stories and an article written for 150 Yesteryears by Mrs. Ozella Stough a well respected lady in the Stough community, who lived it. Parts of this article originally written by Mrs. Ozella Stough (1971) and adapted by Lisa K. Fowler for this Webpage(2002).

Stough Once Considered For Courthouse Location

Stough is a community located in the center of Fayette County, and was once named Sardis. It was once considered as a location for the Fayette County Courthouse, because of it's central location. However, a vote was cast and Fayette was chosen as the location.

*Information based on article written by Ozella Stough for 150 Yesteryears.

Fayette had a Saloon in Early 20th Century

Mr. T. G. (Tom) Johnson owned and operated a Saloon in Fayette in the later part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. Below is the Advertisement for the Saloon and photos of Tom Johnson and Mart South (bartender) in 1901

Saloon Ad

Webpage Designed By:

Lisa K. Fowler

angelbear@pepperlink.net

Last Updated: May 7, 2002

Little Known Facts About Fayette County
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Fayette's Many Names The first settlement around what is now the county seat, was the area known as 'old town' today, and was called 'LaFayette' for the French general who was on a second visit to this country at about that time. This name didn't last long because the same settlement was incorporated as a town on January 15, 1821 and was called 'Fayette Court House'. Fayette County was created by an act of the legislature on December 20, 1824. The town was known as 'Fayette Court House' for sixty years, then became 'Fayetteville' on December 8, 1880. At the time the Richmond & Danville Extension Company built the Georgia Railroad into Fayette County in 1883, the county seat was more than a mile away from the railroad and was called 'Fayetteville'. A short time after the railroad was built, people began to move nearer the depot for convenience and to save the transportation of goods from the railroad to 'Fayetteville'. People continued to abandon the old place (Fayetteville) until nearly all the business houses were located near the depot, thus 'Fayette Depot Town' came into being. However, the new location was covered in water in the winter and spring. When the weather began to warm up in the early spring, the frogs would hold singing conventions in various places, and someone called the place "Frog Level"; the name stuck and a post office was established bearing that name. The first postmaster of 'Frog Level' was Joe Mason with G. W. Howton as his assistant. Mason was succeeded by Dr. Kilby Newton who had the name of 'Frog Level' changed to 'Alfreda' in honor of his wife. The third postmaster was A. J. Renfro who had the name of the post office changed from 'Alfreda' to 'Icy', in honor of his daughter. On June 29, 1891, James J. Ray filed a petition with the Probate Judge with the neccessary number of adult inhabitants of the town of Fayette Depot, stating in the petition that they desired to become a body corporate and to form a municipal corporation under the name of 'Latona'. On July 13, 1891 the town of 'Latona' was incorporated. 'Latona' began being called 'Fayette' sometime around 1895, but the change of the name of 'Latona' to 'Fayette' did not legally take place until November 12, 1898. *In formation obtained from a book entitled Fayette and Fayette County History written by M. L. Coons.
Fayette's Three Three's In the year 1899, three catastrophic events took their toll in Fayette County. The Sipsey River overflowed, flooding much of the county killing livestock and wild game, and making it nearly impossible for the farmers to plant and grow crops. The county also suffered a measles epidemic and a small pox epidemic that year. Fayette county has lost three Courthouses to fire, the first in 1854, the second in 1866, and the last in the 1911 fire that destroyed most of the town, leaving only a few buildings unharmed. On the 3rd day of the 3rd month in 1933, 3 houses all owned by 3 different Newton families, within a 3 mile radius of each other, ALL burned at the same time. *Information obtained at Fayette Memorial Library Geneology Room.		Three Fires on 3/3/33 Original Art By: Nicholas Fowler
Fayette Academy 1902
Fayette had it's First Private School in 1902 The advertisement in the July 1, 1902 edition of the 'Banner' read as follows: FAYETTE ACADEMY 'Will prepare you for the real duties of life'. John B. Zeigler, A. M. Principal Competent and Experienced Assistants. SESSION OPENS 8th SEPT., 1902. TUITION VERY LOW: Pupils Inside Fayette District:.......................................Outside Fayette District: Primary, per month............$0.50.................................Primary, per month........$0.75 Intermediate, per month.....$1.00.................................Intermediate, per month.$1.25 High School, per month.....$1.50.................................High School, per month.$1.75 Children of Ministers will be entitled to enter school at half of the above rates. The incidental fee of $1.00 for the term must be paid in advance. School Building large and better equipped. Teachers prepared for the School Room. Board with private families at reasonable rates. Fayette is on the Southern Railway, 80 miles west of Birmingham, Alabama, and 40 miles east of Columbus, Mississippi, and is one of the most attractive towns in West Alabama. *Information and Photo Taken from 150 Yesteryears published 1971.
The Earliest Mail Before the railroad was constructed, Jacob Henderson Stough had a contract for transporting the mail from Fayette to Birmingham. His sons, Perry, Tony, William D. and Jacob J. took turns carrying the mail by horseback. They traveled the old Elyton Road. The Stough post office was established February 14, 1889. The location was at Sardis (Stough) railroad station in a small store building. Later locations included other store buildings or the home of the postmaster. The following served as postmasters, and are listed with their dates of appointment: Jacob Henderson Stough (2/14/1889) Stephen J. Ford (12/23/1897) George W. Gray (12/22/1900) Horace N. Gardner (6/4/1903) Rufus M. Lee (1/4/1904) John H. Stough (3/22/1906) C. Bascom Sanford (8/20/1908) Miss Sophia V. Tucker (4/26/1909) Mail was brought in and picked up by train with the use of a mail grab, since Stough (Sardis) was a flag stop. The post office was discontinued on August 31, 1910. After this, Fayette Route 5 delivered to the majority of the community and Bankston Route 2 served the southern section of the community. * Jacob Henderson Stough is a relative of mine by marriage, information for this article provided by family stories and an article written for 150 Yesteryears by Mrs. Ozella Stough a well respected lady in the Stough community, who lived it. Parts of this article originally written by Mrs. Ozella Stough (1971) and adapted by Lisa K. Fowler for this Webpage(2002).
Stough Once Considered For Courthouse Location Stough is a community located in the center of Fayette County, and was once named Sardis. It was once considered as a location for the Fayette County Courthouse, because of it's central location. However, a vote was cast and Fayette was chosen as the location. *Information based on article written by Ozella Stough for 150 Yesteryears.
Fayette had a Saloon in Early 20th Century Mr. T. G. (Tom) Johnson owned and operated a Saloon in Fayette in the later part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. Below is the Advertisement for the Saloon and photos of Tom Johnson and Mart South (bartender) in 1901

Webpage Designed By: Lisa K. Fowler angelbear@pepperlink.net Last Updated: May 7, 2002