Courtland in Lawrence County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Courtland Cemetery

-1819-

Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, December 14, 2012

1. Courtland Cemetery Marker

Side A

Inscription.
Side A
One of Alabama's oldest and most picturesque town cemeteries, this site was set aside as a burying ground by the Courtland Land Company in its original survey made prior to the incorporation of the town in 1819. Many of the area's earliest settlers and prominent leaders are buried here, including three Revolutionary War veterans. There are a number of unmarked graves of Confederate soldiers. Three Union soldiers were interred here following an 1863 skirmish at the nearby railroad trestle. Their graves were later enclosed behind a rock wall erected by the townspeople. (Over)

Side B
Older gravemarkers found in this cemetery represent a variety of styles and types common in the 1800s and early 1900s. They include simple upright stone slabs as well as "table" and "box" tombs, tall granite obelisks and Victorian-era statuary. Some family plots are enclosed with ornamental cast-iron fences. Older graves lie mostly in the southern part of the cemetery. After the Civil War, an African-American burial ground was established just east of the main cemetery. Oldest graves in this section date from the early 1900s. (Over)

Erected 1994 by the Courtland Historical Foundation.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites

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• Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil • War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical year for this entry is 1819.

Location. 34° 40.263′ N, 87° 18.395′ W. Marker is in Courtland, Alabama, in Lawrence County. It is on Van Buren Street 0.1 miles north of Jefferson Street. Marker is at the entrance to Courtland Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Courtland AL 35618, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. 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 walking distance of this marker: McMahon House (about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Courtland Presbyterian Church (approx. ¼ mile away); The Town of Courtland / Early Settlers (approx. 0.4 miles away); Courtland's Early Architecture (approx. 0.4 miles away); The African-American Experience (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Red Rovers / Red Rovers Roster (approx. 0.4 miles away); Early Roads / One of the South's First Railroads 1832 (approx. 0.4 miles away); A Cotton Kingdom (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Courtland.

Additional commentary.
1. Maps and GPS
Some online map services and GPS units show Van Buren Street and Church Avenue intersecting at the

Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, December 14, 2012

2. Courtland Cemetery Marker

Side B

cemetery entrance and continuing north. This is not true. Church Avenue is north of the cemetery, but there is not an (active) entrance into the cemetery from the north side on Church Avenue.

— Submitted January 15, 2014, by Lee Hattabaugh of Capshaw, Alabama.

Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, December 14, 2012

3. Courtland Cemetery Marker

looking north along Van Buren Street into the cemetery.