Hope Hull in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Abner McGehee
⎯⎯⎯
Early Alabama Entrepreneur

Abner McGehee Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 27, 2013

1. Abner McGehee Marker

Inscription.
Abner McGehee Born Feb. 17, 1779 in Prince Edward County, VA, nephew of John Scott, founder of Alabama Town which in 1819 joined New Philadelphia to become Montgomery. Reared in the Broad River area of northeast Georgia, he became an affluent planter, tanner and general trader. When Creeks lost much of their land in the 1814 Treaty of Ft. Jackson, "Alabama Fever," the lure of much very fertile land, caused many Broad River residents, among them Abner McGehee, to emigrate to Alabama. He bought a huge plantation in the area now known as Hope Hull, named for a Methodist preacher who brought his family into the Church in 1809.

Early Alabama Entrepreneur McGehee was a very prosperous farmer and entrepreneur. In 1833 he built Planter's Hotel on Court Square and rebuilt it when it burned. He was a promoter of Alabama railroads, including the 76-mile line from Montgomery to West Point, GA, one of the first in the state when its construction began in 1836. Instrumental in starting the iron industry in Alabama, in 1830 he hired ironmonger Daniel Hillman to erect a forge in Roupes Valley, later known as Tannehill. A devout

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Methodist, he founded the Alabama Bible Society in 1851. His philanthropies were unexcelled in Alabama in his lifetime. He died on Feb. 19, 1855 and he is buried here.

Erected 1997 by the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Historical Preservation and Promotion Foundation and Alabama Historical Association.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Industry & Commerce • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Association series list. A significant historical date for this entry is February 17, 1779.

Location. 32° 15.436′ N, 86° 22.444′ W. Marker is in Hope Hull, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It can be reached from Folmar Parkway south of Bill Joseph Parkway, on the right when traveling south. At the cul-de-sac paved end of South Folmar Parkway, take the dirt farm road through the woods to the south and make a right at the T intersection. The marker and cemetery is on the right at the end of the northerly dirt road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Montgomery AL 36105, United States

Early Alabama Entrepreneur Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 27, 2013

2. Early Alabama Entrepreneur Marker

of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

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 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 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Teague Road (approx. 1.9 miles away); a different marker also named Teague Road (approx. 4.1 miles away); The Bethel Cemetery (approx. 5 miles away); Pintlala School (approx. 5.6 miles away); Pintlala Grange Hall / Grange Hall School (approx. 5.6 miles away); The Federal Road / Manac's Tavern (approx. 5.6 miles away); Federal Road, 1805, (approx. 5.7 miles away); The Smiths: A Civil Rights Family (approx. 5.7 miles away).

More about this marker. The marker is located inside the cemetery fence close to the dirt road.

Abner McGehee Tombstone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 27, 2013

3. Abner McGehee Tombstone

Cemetery & Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 27, 2013

4. Cemetery & Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 27, 2013, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 2,238 times since then and 132 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 27, 2013, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

Abner McGehee⎯⎯⎯Early Alabama Entrepreneur

Abner McGehee
⎯⎯⎯
Early Alabama Entrepreneur