Rogersville in Lauderdale County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Covington/Second Creek
⎯⎯⎯
Wheeler Dam/Lake

Covington/Second Creek marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, December 25, 2014

1. Covington/Second Creek marker

Inscription.
(side 1)
Covington/Second Creek
Goodsprings Church
This site, one mile east of Elgin, has been referred to as “The Indian Mound.” There were white landowners here as early as 1833. Prior to 1936, there was a thriving community, Covington, located between here and the northern bank. At its eastern boundary was a creek, referred to as Second Creek as early as 1817. It entered Lauderdale Co., AL, from Lawrence Co., TN, north of here, flowed through a creek bottom in this area which was used for farming and converged with the Tennessee River. An early road ran through Covington from the eastern bank, approximately .5 miles north of the current bridge, diagonally southwest to within 50 feet of the modern-day Highway 72. A one-lane metal bridge, with a plank floor, was installed over the creek. By February 1875, Covington had a post office. It moved to Rogersville in February 1897. The community also had a school. In 1839, the Goodsprings Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized by Felix Johnson at the Goodsprings Campground. In April 1861, the congregation divided and a church was organized at Center Star.

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

In 1885, the Goodsprings congregation built a church in Covington, west of Second Creek, on the tree-covered knoll across the lake northeast of here. There was a cemetery near the church. (Continued on other side) (side 2)
Wheeler Dam/Lake
Evacuation of Covington (Continued from other side) Covington thrived until Wheeler Dam was completed in 1936 when citizens of Covington were required to evacuate the area. As the water was backed up in 1937, Wheeler Lake expanded into Second Creek covering the area previously occupied by Covington and adjoining farmland. The lake in this area was created, and the water was backed up more than a mile north of here. The road through Covington was inundated. The bridge across Second Creek was disassembled, moved upstream and installed over what later became CR 92. A new highway was constructed with a causeway connected to this mound and extended on the east with a concrete bridge, thereby providing a two-lane highway across the lake, .6 miles long. It was initially named Lee Highway and later renamed Highway 72. Two lanes were added to the north side of the highway in the mid-1970s. The

Wheeler Dam/Lake marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, December 25, 2014

2. Wheeler Dam/Lake marker

Goodsprings Cumberland Presbyterian Church was relocated to the Thornton Town community, about one mile to the east. The church became the Goodsprings Baptist Church in later years. The cemetery remains at the old church location. This lake has been used primarily as a reservoir by the TVA to regulate the depth of the water above Wheeler Dam.

Erected 2014 by Eastern Lauderdale Historic Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Religion & Religious Structures • Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1875.

Location. 34° 50.622′ N, 87° 22.352′ W. Marker is in Rogersville, Alabama, in Lauderdale County. It is on Lee Highway (U.S. 72) 0.4 miles east of County Route 113, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Rogersville AL 35652, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama

and in the Shoals.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally,

Covington/Second Creek / Wheeler Dam/Lake marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, December 25, 2014

3. Covington/Second Creek / Wheeler Dam/Lake marker

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 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Elgin/Elgin Crossroads (approx. 1.2 miles away); Bettie Anne Highway (approx. 2 miles away); Wheeler Dam / Wheeler Reservoir/Locks (approx. 2.1 miles away); Daniel White (approx. 2.3 miles away); Cherokee Chief Doublehead's Village Around 1800 (approx. 2.4 miles away); Samuel Burney: 1763-1849 Revolutionary War Veteran / Burneys Creek/First Creek Wheeler Lake (approx. 3.1 miles away); Gabriel “Old Gabe” Butler (approx. 3.1 miles away); Springfield Community / Springfield Church and School (approx. 3.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rogersville.

Second Creek Bridge image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, August 26, 1996

4. Second Creek Bridge

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on December 27, 2014, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 2,012 times since then and 105 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 27, 2014, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

Covington/Second Creek⎯⎯⎯Wheeler Dam/Lake

Covington/Second Creek
⎯⎯⎯
Wheeler Dam/Lake