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

Harmony Graveyard

Shelby County

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 14, 2014

1. Harmony Graveyard Marker

Inscription. This site began as the burying ground for Harmony Presbyterian Church, the first church built in the area that would become Helena. The earliest marked grave is Jones Griffin (died 1836), one of Andrew Jackson's Tennessee volunteers who was credited as the first soldier to mount the breastworks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The cemetery contains the graves of Helena's earliest physicians, ministers, educators, and public officials including C. I. Hinds, the city's first mayor. Early family names found here include Davidson, Lee, Dunnam, Roy, Ruffin, Lambert, Lovelady, Wyatt, Squire, and Tucker. Notable graves include C. T. Davidson, who built Buck Creek dam and opened Helena's first telephone exchange and electrical power plant, and Joseph Squire, an engineer from England who first surveyed Helena into lots and streets in 1873 and who authored the 1890 Cahaba Coal Field study. Among the most poignant burials are Ora Hanbury and her children Guy and Ione, and Sarah J. Glendale who were killed in the Cahaba River train wreck on December 27, 1896. Victims of the 1926 Mossboro coal mine explosion and the devastating May

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1933 tornado are also buried here.
Listed on the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register in 2010

Erected 2012 by the Friends of Harmony Graveyard.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Disasters • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #07 Andrew Jackson series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1873.

Location. 33° 17.338′ N, 86° 50.705′ W. Marker is in Helena, Alabama, in Shelby County. It is at the intersection of Helena Road (Alabama Route 261) and 3rd Street, on the right when traveling north on Helena Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3396 Helena Rd, Helena AL 35080, 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

Harmony Graveyard Marker Area image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 14, 2014

2. Harmony Graveyard Marker Area

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 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Helena, Alabama (approx. 0.4 miles away); Central Iron Works (approx. half a mile away); Helena Freight House & Depot (approx. half a mile away); Cedar Grove Cemetery (approx. 3.4 miles away); Fungo Hollow (approx. 3.8 miles away); Brock’s Gap / Historic Gateway To Birmingham (approx. 3.8 miles away); Buck Creek Jail and Water Tower (approx. 4 miles away); The Founding of Alabaster / Siluria (approx. 4.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Helena.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Shelbyville, A. T. (was approx. 2 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Also see . . .
1. Church History. (Submitted on August 14, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
2. Helena City News article about train wreck. (Submitted on August 14, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
3. Find-A-Grave Memorial notes. (Submitted on August 14, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Harmony Graveyard & Helena Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 14, 2014

3. Harmony Graveyard & Helena Cemetery

Helena Cumberland Presbyterian Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 14, 2014

4. Helena Cumberland Presbyterian Church

Grave of Guy Hanbury image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 14, 2014

5. Grave of Guy Hanbury

Killed in 1896 train wreck & buried here.

Ione Hanbury image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 14, 2014

6. Ione Hanbury

Killed in 1896 train wreck & buried here.

Grave of Ora Hanbury image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 14, 2014

7. Grave of Ora Hanbury

Killed in 1896 train wreck & buried here.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 23, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 14, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,401 times since then and 62 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on August 14, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.