Near Alabaster in Shelby County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Harless Cemetery

Photographed by Tim Carr, November 27, 2009

1. Harless Cemetery Marker

Inscription. Harless Cemetery was established as a burying ground in the early 1800s. It is on land homesteaded by Henry Harless, Jr., that was later owned and subsequently deeded to the cemetery by members of the Wyatt family. The oldest surviving marker is for Henry Harless, Jr.'s sister, Hannah Harless Wilson (1783-1833). Hannah and her husband, Benjamin Wilson, arrived to this area about 1814 and are believed to be the first white settlers to the Ebenezer community. The cemetery is sometimes referred to as Ebenezer Cemetery because of its proximity and connections with nearby Ebenezer United Methodist Church, established in 1818. Most of those buried here can be linked by blood or marriage and their lives tell the history of the area. Among those buried in this hallowed ground are descendants of American Revolutionary War Patriots, as well as veterans from five wars of the 1800s and 1900s: the Civil War, World War I and II, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Listed in the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register

Erected 2009 by Alabama Historical Commission / The Harless Cemetery Association.

Topics and series. This historical

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marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Military • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1814.

Location. 33° 10.11′ N, 86° 48.36′ W. Marker is near Alabaster, Alabama, in Shelby County. It is on County Road 24, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Alabaster AL 35007, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Birmingham Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Washington Hall / Birth of A Nation (approx. 2.3 miles

Photographed by Tim Carr, November 27, 2009

2. Harless Cemetery & Marker

away); The President's Oval Office / The Glorious Burden (approx. 2.3 miles away); The Lucille Ryals Thompson Colonial Chapel / One Nation Under God (approx. 2.4 miles away); The Colonial Courthouse / The Stocks and Pillory (approx. 2.4 miles away); The Liberty Bell (approx. 2.4 miles away); The Liberty Bell Garden (approx. 2.4 miles away); O'Neal Lime Works (approx. 2.6 miles away); Nabors Cemetery (approx. 3.1 miles away).

Photographed by Tim Carr, November 27, 2009

3. Harless Cemetery Marker

Hannah Wilson Gravestone (1783-1833) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Carr, November 27, 2009

4. Hannah Wilson Gravestone (1783-1833)

Benjamin Wilson Gravestone (1773-1852) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Carr, November 27, 2009

5. Benjamin Wilson Gravestone (1773-1852)

Civil War Veteran Gravestone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Carr, November 27, 2009

6. Civil War Veteran Gravestone

James L. Butler Sgt Co I 7 Regt Ala Cav Confederate States Army

World War I Veteran Gravestone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Carr, November 27, 2009

7. World War I Veteran Gravestone

James Ottis Mink Alabama Pvt US Army World War I June 17, 1896 May 20, 1972

World War II Veteran Gravestone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Carr, November 27, 2009

8. World War II Veteran Gravestone

Reginal Carl Bolton US Army World War II May 1, 1926 Dec 29, 2004 Purple Heart General Patton's Third Army

Ebenezer United Methodist Church Est. 1818 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Carr, November 27, 2009

9. Ebenezer United Methodist Church Est. 1818

The church is located about half mile south of the cemetery. Go to second dirt road and turn right, the church is located at the end of the dirt road.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 20, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 27, 2009, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. This page has been viewed 3,646 times since then and 97 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 27, 2009, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. 3. submitted on November 28, 2009, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. 4, 5. submitted on November 27, 2009, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. 6, 7, 8, 9. submitted on November 28, 2009, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.