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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On Long Street at Auburn Street, on the left when traveling north on Long Street.
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
On West Point Parkway (U.S. 29 at milepost 197), 0.6 miles south of County Road 390, on the right when traveling south.
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
On Marvyn Parkway (Alabama Route 51) south of Williamson Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
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
On Auburn Street, 0.1 miles north of Kilgore Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
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
On North 8th Street at 1st Avenue, on the right when traveling south on North 8th Street.
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 South 8th Street south of Avenue B, on the right when traveling south.
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
On Avenue A at South 7th Street, on the right when traveling west on Avenue A.
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
On Avenue B at South 9th Street, on the right when traveling south on Avenue B.
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
On Geneva Street south of South 8th Street, on the left when traveling south.
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
On South 9th Street south of Avenue A, on the right when traveling south.
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
On South 9th Street at Avenue B, on the left when traveling north on South 9th Street.
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
On 7th Avenue at North 6th Street, on the left when traveling east on 7th Avenue.
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
On South 9th Street south of Avenue A, on the left when traveling south.
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
Near North 5th Street north of Park Road, on the right when traveling north.
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
On Long Street, 0.1 miles north of Auburn Street, on the left when traveling north.
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
Near Long Street, 0.2 miles north of Auburn Street, on the right when traveling north.
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
On South Railroad Avenue west of South 8th Street, on the left when traveling west.
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
On South 9th Street at Avenue A, on the left when traveling north on South 9th Street.
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
On South Railroad Avenue at South 9th Street, on the right when traveling north on South Railroad Avenue.
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
On South 8th Street at South Railroad Avenue, on the right when traveling south on South 8th Street.
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
On Park Road, 0.1 miles west of Rocky Brook Road, on the right when traveling west.
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
On Lee Road (County Road 177) 0.1 miles north of West Point Parkway (U.S. 29), on the right when traveling north.
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
On South 9th Street at South Railroad Avenue, on the right when traveling south on South 9th Street.
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
On Columbus Parkway (Alabama Route 38) at South 6th Street, on the right when traveling east on Columbus Parkway.
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
Near Park Road, 0.1 miles west of Rocky Brook Road, on the right when traveling west.
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
On County Route 43, 0.1 miles north of County Route 24, on the right when traveling north.
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
