CHILTON COUNTY HISTORY
Established by the Alabama Legislature on December 30, 1868, from land obtained from Autauga, Bibb, Perry, and Shelby counties. Originally designated Baker County for Alfred Baker, postmaster, justice of the peace, state legislator, and founder of the city of Clanton. First county seat was Grantville, named for President Ulysses S. Grant, located one mile northeast of present courthouse site. Following a public referendum held in April 1871, the county seat relocated to Clanton along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. A two-story wood-frame courthouse, constructed at the intersection of Second Avenue North and Sixth Street, served as the new seat of county government. In response to a petition by residents, the name of the county was changed on December 17, 1874, to honor former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court William Parish Chilton. An all-brick courthouse was constructed in 1896 but was damaged by fire in 1918. Rebuilt in 1919, the building served the people of the county until February 1962 when a new courthouse facility was dedicated.
Known as the “Peach Capital of Alabama,” local orchards produce more than two-thirds of the total yield of Alabama’s leading commercial fruit. In celebration of this agricultural export, the inaugural Chilton County Peach Festival was held in July 1947 at the Thorsby Institute. Organizers had a prize-winning basket of Hale Haven peaches delivered to President Harry Truman in Washington, D.C. The Coosa River on the eastern border of the county became the site of the first Alabama Power Company hydro-electric project in the state. Completed in 1914, Lay Dam was constructed on the Army Corps of Engineers Lock 12 site and named for William Patrick Lay, founder of the Alabama Power Company. Mitchell Dam, erected at Dunkin’s Riffle and completed in 1923, is named for former Alabama Power Company President James Mitchell. The establishment of rail systems, the Dixie Bee-Line Highway, and the interstate highway system significantly affected the growth and development of communities within the county.
[500 2nd Avenue North, Clanton]
EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH
On July 31, 1819, Ebenezer Baptist Church was constituted by Isaac Suttle, Lewis C. Davis (“Old Club Axe”), and William Harrod. The first house of worship was a large log house located one mile south of this site, near Bogle’s Creek. After fire destroyed the log structure, a second building was constructed here on this site in the 1830s, on the hill where the pastorium now stands.
On April 1, 1865, this property dedicated to God became a Civil War battleground. Known as the “Battle of Ebenezer Church,” the brief but fierce engagement pitted more than 1,500 Confederate cavalrymen under the command of Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest against a larger Union force led by Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson, en route to Selma. Forrest was wounded during the fighting here. Union forces captured 300 Confederates and seized three artillery pieces. The Union dead from the battle were buried in the church cemetery on the hill. The following day, Wilson’s forces captured and destroyed the Selma Ordinance and Naval Foundry, one of the Confederacy's last remaining industrial and manufacturing centers. The Civil War-era church burned in 1917. A new edifice was built around 1919.
Dedicated on the occasion of the church’s 200th anniversary.
[5349 AL-22, Stanton]
Ebenezer Church
April 1, 1865-A cavalry engagement here among fiercest of the Civil War. To defend arsenal of Selma, Forrest (Confederate flag) charged with 1500 into Wilson (U.S. flag), moving south with 7500. Forrest was seeking
to delay Wilson pending the arrival of scattered (Confederate flag) units. Forrest, involved in heavy fighting to inspire his men, suffered a saber wound, but killed opponent. Swollen streams and intercepted orders blocked aid for Forrest and forced his retreat.
[Before 1965: 5349 AL Hwy 22, Stanton 32.736061 N 86.90014 W]
Walnut Creek United Methodist Church
Established 1820.
Arthur Love, a charter member, was first pastor.
Organized as a Methodist Episcopal Church.
Became Methodist Protestant, 1828.
Changed to Methodist Church, 1939.
Affiliated with United Methodist, 1968.
In the original church built of logs, Judge James Q. Smith, Montgomery, in 1869,
presided at first court held
in Baker Co. (now Chilton).
Circa 1875, a frame building replaced log church.
Present brick building erected 1935.
Walnut Creek United Methodist Church has always maintained a progressive Sunday School.
[1978: 314 Co. Rd 458, Clanton 32.85462N 86.59857W]