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Furman in Wilcox County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
 

Furman National Historic District

 
 
Furman National Historic District Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, August 27, 2013
1. Furman National Historic District Marker
Inscription. (obverse)
Representing 10,300 acres with 73 buildings, and 14 structures, the Furman Historic District, encompassing Old Snow Hill Road, Wilcox County Road 59, Burson Road, and AL 21, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 13, 1999. The town's history began circa 1802 when the first settlers came to the area from South Carolina. Most of the Wilcox County towns, including Furman, were settled by Scottish, Irish, and English, however, some of the early settlers of Furman also came from the South Carolina low country and were of French ancestry. In the early 1800s, the William Snow family settled on a high hill north of present-day Furman, now the site of Old Snow Hill Cemetery. Thus the early community was known as Snow's Hill. It was renamed Furman in 1872 after the town of Furman, South Carolina. A new community was founded a few miles to the west and named Snow Hill. Furman Academy was a popular school in the late 1800s with students from across the state.
(Continued on other side)
(reverse)
(Continued from other side)
Most of the earliest settlers came from the Carolinas. Family groups included, among others, the Albrittons, Carters, Lees, Palmers, Purifoys, Gulleys, McCondiches, Bursons, Hearsts, Stablers, Powells, and the Simpsons after the Civil
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War. The town's most notable citizens have included persons such as Elkanah Burson, an attaché to General Robert E. Lee and John Purifoy, a member of Company C who later served Alabama as Secretary of State. Mr. Burson, an original member of the Wilcox True Blues Company, delivered the Confederacy surrender papers to General Ulysses Grant at Appomattox. He returned home to Furman and later served in the Alabama House of Representatives. Direct descendants of these original settlers have continued to own homes and property in Furman. Landmarks include Trails End, Patience Plantation, Wakefield Plantation, Fox Hill Plantation, Palmer-Barlow-Britt Home, McCondiche-Stabler Home, Purifoy-Libscomb Home, Perdue-Williams-Estes Home, Watson-Moorer Home, Burson-Rushing Home, Robbins-Kennedy Home, Bethsaida Baptist Church, Furman Methodist Church, and Hopewell Church.
 
Erected 2010 by Alabama Tourism Department and the Community of Furman.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & ReligionSettlements & SettlersWar, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #18 Ulysses S. Grant series list. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1809.
 
Location. 32° 0.018′ N, 86° 57.75′ W. Marker is in Furman, Alabama, in
Furman National Historic District Marker (reverse) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, August 27, 2013
2. Furman National Historic District Marker (reverse)
Wilcox County. Marker is on Freedom Farm Road (County Route 59) 0.3 miles south of Alabama Route 21, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7976 Freedom Farm Road, Furman AL 36741, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 13 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Snow Hill Normal and Industrial Institute (approx. 4.3 miles away); Town of Oak Hill (approx. 8.8 miles away); Downtown Pine Apple (approx. 8.9 miles away); Pine Apple Historic District (approx. 8.9 miles away); Moore Academy (approx. 9.4 miles away); a different marker also named Pine Apple Historic District (approx. 9.8 miles away); Mount Carmel Church (approx. 11.9 miles away); The Butler Massacre / Fort Bibb (approx. 12.1 miles away).
 
More about this marker. Located near the Furman Civic Club, a National Historic Landmark.
 
Furman Civic Club image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, August 27, 2013
3. Furman Civic Club
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 28, 2013, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,282 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on August 28, 2013, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024