Historic Nymph Community

Historic Nymph Community. . Stephen Decatur Miller Jr., namesake of a former governor and U.S. Senator from South Carolina, moved to rural Conecuh County in 1850. He brought with him to this place at least thirteen enslaved people. Within a decade, farming interests enriched Miller's real estate holdings to $80,000. By the time of the Civil War, he held 110 people in human bondage., Some of these African American men and women chose to remain here once freedom came in 1865. They formed the community of Nymph, started families, established their own farming and business interests and purchased land. In 1875, these formerly enslaved people founded what became Greater Nazarene Missionary Baptist Church, which relocated to its present site in 1906. It is the oldest and largest African American congregation in the county. The community built its own school in the early 1920s., Descendants of the resilient formerly enslaved families who thrived here have remained in the historic community of Nymph since Reconstruction. Their enduring surnames include Ferguson, Taylor, Howard, Moye, Clay, Castleberry, Dees, Roach, Sims, Travis, Rankins, Avant, Stevens, Richardson, Harris, Shaw, McCreary, Joseph, Jones, Stallworth, Simmons, Ausby, Miller, Walton, Oliver, Bowens, Harrison, Cato, Johnson, Oliver, Ewing, and Franklin.