Robinson Springs Neighborhood

Robinson Springs Neighborhood. . Side 1: , Clear, bubbling springs have enticed people to this vicinity for thousands of years. Native American hunting paths led to them and after the defeat of the Creek Indians by the United States in 1813, old trails became the Jackson and Federal roads over which settlers from Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia flooded into these lands in 1818. They were lured by the fertile soil and ideal climate for growing cotton. The free and enslaved worked together to establish this community. Among the early arrivals was Eli Robinson who acquired property that included the springs. Recognizing their significance, he laid out the site as a public square for a small town. He and two other unrelated Robinson families, James Robinson, later a state legislator, and Lewis Golson Robinson, founded the Town of Robinson, which later became Robinson Springs. (Continued on other side). Side 2: , (Continued from other side). From the 1830s through 1850s a public pavilion, church, parsonage, academy and Masonic Lodge brought activity and recognition to the region. In 1852 the first statewide fair, sponsored by the Alabama Agricultural Association, took place here. The Confederate Memorial was erected in 1913 and the Robinson Springs School in 1926. Within the vicinity of Robinson Springs, plantations and farms sprang up during the settlement period. Alabama’s territorial and then first state governor, William Wyatt Bibb, lived in nearby Coosada; his relatives also established homes in the area. Other early families included Hall, Clepper, Rives, McKeithen, Lanier, Myers, Ross, Zeigler, Reese, Roy, Whetstone, Speigner, Gaines and Cooper. Today, Robinson Springs is one of the most prosperous areas within the City of Millbrook and retains interest and concern for its historic origins. The flat below the hill near Robinson Springs School is the site of the Fair Grounds and Race Track; the Confederate Memorial, the 1845 Methodist Church and many older homes proudly reflect the region's rich and diverse heritage.