Historical Markers and War Memorials in Opelika, Alabama
Opelika is the county seat for Lee County
Opelika is in Lee County
Lee County(74) ► ADJACENT TO LEE COUNTY Chambers County(24) ► Macon County(91) ► Russell County(77) ► Tallapoosa County(57) ► Harris County, Georgia(29) ► Muscogee County, Georgia(185) ►
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Side 1
On February 9, 1876, the City of Opelika paid D.B. Preston $80 for two acres of land to establish an African-American section of Rosemere Cemetery. This rectangular area of the cemetery contains 176 blocks, with 16 being partial . . . — — Map (db m75139) HM
Side 1
Here in 1897 the first iron bridge in Lee County was built. In 1903 George W. Bean bought the mill, operating it until his death in 1952. About 1910 Bean installed an iron overshot wheel to replace the old turbine. Later, the dam . . . — — Map (db m73533) HM
Located on this 800 acre site was an enemy prisoner of war camp. Construction of Camp Opelika began in September 1942. The first prisoners, captured by the British, were part of General Erwin Rommel’s Africa Corps. The camp prisoner population was . . . — — Map (db m85170) HM
Dr. John Wesley Darden, was the first African American physician to treat patients within a 30-mile radius of Opelika. He built the Darden House in 1904, and later married Maude Jean Logan of Montgomery. Dr. and Mrs. Darden shaped many lives through . . . — — Map (db m75131) HM
Organized in 1858, Trinity Mission was admitted to the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama on May 5, 1860. When the first church was consecrated on this site in 1862, it was renamed Emmanuel, meaning "God With Us." That building was destroyed by a tornado . . . — — Map (db m75132) HM
On this site in October 1859, the Opelika Baptist
Church was organized. In 1861, a "little white framed
church" was erected. After a fire consumed this
original building, a new structure was built in 1885.
This building was referred to as the . . . — — Map (db m176382) HM
Established as the first religious organization in the area in 1837 with 22 members as Lebanon Methodist Episcopal Church, around which the village of Opelika developed. Moved to present location in 1879 as Opelika Station, Montgomery District, . . . — — Map (db m68097) HM
Side 1
Killgore Scholarships
Here James A. Killgore (1888-1966) and his wife, Ophelia Parker, operated a grocery store from 1916 to 1944. The Killgores worked hard, practiced frugality, and invested money wisely, desiring to help . . . — — Map (db m75123) HM
North side
To Our Confederate Dead
and Lee County Veterans
West side
"Nor Shall Your Glory
Be Forgot, While Fame
Her Record Keeps,
Or Honor Points
The Hallowed Spot,
Where Valor
Proudly Sleeps!
Easts . . . — — Map (db m176385) WM
Lee County Courthouse
Lee County was created from portions of Russell, Macon, Chambers and Tallapoosa by act of the Alabama Legislature, approved December 5, 1866. The County’s first election was held January 21, 1867.
An early . . . — — Map (db m85171) HM
In grateful memory of the rich courage and
sacrifice of the men and women who served
with the Armed Forces in World War II
This tribute is erected by their friends in Pepperell
{List of Names} — — Map (db m176392) WM
Dallas “Dal” Smith was a veteran of the First World War. During his time of service, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart and a Regimental Citation. He commanded the 3rd Battalion of the 167th Regiment. After the . . . — — Map (db m75133) HM
Lynching in America
After the Civil War, the ideology of white supremacy led to violent
resistance to equal rights for Black people. Lynching emerged to enforce
racial hierarchy through arbitrary and deadly violence that terrorized
all . . . — — Map (db m176380) HM
Opelika's Board of Parks and Recreation hired W.J. "Bill" Calhoun as its first director in 1951. His top priority was to develop a wooded area behind Northside School. Two adjacent parcels of land were donated by I.J. Scott, Sr. and Winston Smith . . . — — Map (db m210764) HM
Side 1
The City of Opelika purchased 19.6 acres of land to expand Rosemere Cemetery. This rectangular area is the newest portion. There are 193 blocks with varying numbers of sections and spaces in each. 467 grave markers have death dates . . . — — Map (db m75140) HM
Side 1
On July 23, 1869, the City of Opelika purchased ten acres of land for a cemetery from Dr. A.B. Bennett for $100 an acre. On November 23, 1869, he accepted his choice of a lot in exchange for the debt. The earliest marked grave is . . . — — Map (db m85335) HM
Opelika A Railroad Town
Opelika's original name was Opelikan when the town was founded in the 1830s. In 1850, the name was respelled as Opelika. In 1851, the Montgomery & West Point Railroad Company extended its Montgomery to Opelika rail line . . . — — Map (db m184077) HM
Dragon/Griffin – The Pepperell trademark
symbol of world-wide excellence
This memorial is dedicated to the memory of the pioneer men and
women who came to Pepperell to begin a new way of life.
Russell Leonard, Treasurer of Pepperell . . . — — Map (db m176391) HM
obverse
The Railroad Avenue Historic District was the downtown nucleus of Opelika when the city was incorporated as part of Russell County, Alabama in February, 1854. The city limits extended a mile in every direction from the Montgomery . . . — — Map (db m85336) HM
With orders from Gen. Sherman, Gen. Lovell Rousseau left Decatur with 2,700 cavalry, beginning his raid into East-Central Alabama. That raid ended successfully in Opelika July 19, 1864, after miles of track were destroyed along with other railroad . . . — — Map (db m75126) HM
obverse
This is the last surviving covered bridge in Lee County. It was constructed about 1900 by Otto Puls over Wacoochee Creek in the Town's lattice truss design. Materials used in the 75 foot long bridge included longleaf heart pine, . . . — — Map (db m85337) HM
Organized November 15, 1846, as the Church of Christ at Shady Grove, under the New Covenant of 2nd Corinthians, 3rd chapter, agreeing to believe all the New Testament teaches, and to obey all its injunctions to the best of their capacity and submit . . . — — Map (db m85338) HM
The earliest buildings in the South Rail Road Avenue block between 9th and 10th Street were constructed by William O. Harwell around 1900 and were occupied by his agricultural supply store. His daughter, Alice Inez Harwell married Lum Duke who . . . — — Map (db m84735) HM
Organized c. 1872 by Rev. John Ford, Tom Isaiah, Julius Crockrum, Daniel Billingslea, Fannie Bryant, Charity Harris, Sarah Chambers and others, and named for presiding Bishop J. P. Thompson. This congregation first met in a house near the oil mill . . . — — Map (db m75157) HM
This "Top Rock" Millstone
was in a grist mill
owned and operated by W.S.A. Bence
on Sweetwater Creek in Clay County, AL
1919-1947
Donated by H.S. Bence — — Map (db m75160) HM
This cemetery was founded in 1900 when Francis Marion Whatley and Emma Whatley buried their daughter, Ophelia. A son of Simeon Whatley, Francis was a Confederate prisoner of war veteran. He was a prominent landowner, farmer, and cotton gin and . . . — — Map (db m204230) HM