alabama's first public carden union springs,...

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Alabama's First Public Carden

Union Springs, Alabama

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Samford University Library

Silver goblet awarded as a premium to Mrs. E. A. R. Po1Veff in 1848, by /be Cbunnenuggee H orlicultural Societ y and Public Garden. O wnrd now by Mrs. P01~·eff's gramldaugbter, Mrs. A . ]. Pillman, Myrt le-

mend, Union Springs, Alabama.


l ·:ditl'll f,y M11~. T. M. FRA N<~~. C:on.\1'1'/'ttlion C lwirman, T hl' (;ardt·n C:luh of • \labama

"Show me", the weary traveler ~:~ i cl, "A place where I may rest , And never wish to journey on And leave a spot so blest". The aged man :lt once arose And took him by the hand And led him on until at last They came to Dixie Land.

They halted where the roses bloomed, The cotton spread its snow, The blighting frost fo rgo t to come, The winter winds to blow, The b:~njo and the mocking bird With music f illed the :~i r , A nd :~ II t he men were bnve :~nd true,And :til t he women f:lir.

"Par:~d ise ! " the traveler cried, " H ere let me build m y home; H ere let me live :1nd die com enc, A nd never. nl'\ er ro:1m" .


.\l.1b.1nu i~ gloriou~ly rich in history :1nd u·:~dition. T he :~uthcn tic records of nc:~rly one: hundred yc.1rs ago in the Abban1:1 Archives of History refer to a " Public Garden '', ,,t.1bli,hcd by the Chu nnenuggec Ridge Horticultur.li Society of Union Springs, Alabama. "hich " ' ·1' or~.111i1ed in I 847. ,\(rs. Lucile C.1ry Lowry, now residing in D:~lbs, Texas. h.1, dw f11·, t minute:' of thi, Socit'!)' in her po,~t·,,ion, .1l'o .1 Llrge ~ilvcr tr.1y, .1\V.Irded her 0\1 n ~r.mdmothcr .1~ .1 premium in 1856. i\nothcr gr.1ndd.wghtcr, Mrs. A. J. Pittman, ( :-.1~ nle :-.re.1d ) , Union Springs, Abb:~nu, has :1 silver goblet, awarded to t heir grand· mother, ~lr~. E. A. R. Powell, in 1848.

rl.,. illonlgoma_) ,\drrrtisrr, Sunday, Febru:~ry 27, 1938, in "THROUGH THr: Y1 \RS," by Peter A. Brannon, State Department of Archives and History, h:1s in the hi<otoriCJI article concerning Union Springs, the following: "The C hunnenuggee Horti<.ultur:~l ociety, of Macon County, was organized in 1847, :1nd held its first A nnual r.1ir there thH year. I have consulted the catalogue of the eight Fairs held at that place until i\by 1, 1856; so, this rural organization must have been quite active. Doctor Powell, the guiding spirit of that organization, is represented by families today at U nion Springs :md Tuskegee. The old issues of the Cotton ]>/(Infer, an old journal published by Doctor N. B. Cloud, prove that diversified brming :1s an ind iv id ual concept of rural life w:~s in evidence.

"Chunnenuggee is from the Indian word "Tcha-na-naghi" which means " high long t ridge". The Chunnenuggee Ridge extends from the Chattahoochee Valley, near W cs;: Point, Georgia in a sou thwestwardly direction by Troy, and the high country in Washington County is doubtless a conti nuation of it ... ".

Other interesting points are in this article pertinent to the history of Chunnenuggce. ;\frs. Lucile Cary Lowry gave the following address at the Annual Con vention of

the Garden C lub of Alabama, Selma, Alabama, on the morning of April 30, 1938, when \Ill' \\':1 ~ c~corted to the platform by Mrs. N. D. Oenmn, of Opelika. Mrs. Denson intro-


l,

I f

duced Mr·~. Lowry a~ the granddau~hter of Dr. . B. Powell, of Union )pri ng~, J\ IJ. bJma, the donor of the famous and historical ALAliJ\MA\ FrRSI Pu uu<. G i\RUL/'..

A~ you know, a very extensive reasearch has been carried on in an effort to loLJl'~ the first Horticultural Societies and Garden Clubs in A merica, and after a t horough investigation t h rough the archives of all our Southern States, it seems to be an undi~putcd fact that the first Horticultural Society in the South was organized at Chunnenuggee Ridge in the State of Alabama on March 6, 1847; and fur ther, as will he disclosed by this article, Alabama may also be entitled to the distinc tion of claiming the first Garden Club in America in the Public Garden established at Chunnenuggee Ridgt: during the same year.

Chunnenuggee is an Anglicized-Indian word, meaning, in English, " High .Bluff" or " U p and down", and is located in an area in the southeastern part of Ala bama, <;onraining ma ny square miles; but, that part which is pertinent to my story is marked b1 ,l rather "abrupt ascent of several hundred feet in height and is most t ypical in t h..: vicinity of Union Springs, Alabama , where the name for the entire ridge came to b~ known and was first bestowed". All deeds to this property along the Ridge, between Union Springs and a station now known as Peachburg, desc ribed t he land as being "bounded on the north by the me:wdering of the bluff" , and the mil here. unlike tlut of the prJirics below, w,ts sand y .md looked as if it might h.11 e been Ide there m.ln) centuries past by the receding waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Howe, cr, bencJth rh:, layer of sand there must have been nourishing soil as lJrge n.1ti1·c trees. shrubs .wd flowers flourished in it.


After the Creek cession in 1832 this new country wa~ opened up for settlement, ,1nd nun y men from Virginia, Georgia ,md other States came here to develop this virgin ~oil, bringing wtth them, like the Patriarchs of old, their families, their flocks and their slaves. At firs t , they erected log houses in which to live on these new plantations, many of them containing several thousand acres of land. \'V'ith bad roads, however, which .tlmost imprisoned these people during the winter rains, they were denied even the simple pleasure of visiting from one plantation to another, w hich was one of the highly sociali7ed habits of plantation life; and, soon many of the planters began to realize the necessity of building homes on higher g round and left their broad acres in the low lands to the supervision of overseers, who cultivated the land w ith the assistance of negro slaves left for that purpose, and moved their homes to the more ideal location of Chunnenug_gee Ridge.

I do not know who pioneered the first home on Chunncnuggee, but I do know that Dr. orborne Berkley Powell, a former Virginian, built there in 1844, on the site of th..: Jndian \XIar Council Lodge, and called his home "Old Field". There were no lumber yards in those days from which to buy timber, but the forests were full of magnificent trees suitable for the purpose and easily convertible into building materials; and, as every planter had carpenters, bricklayers, and other artisans needed on a large plantation, Dr. Powell soon had a comfortable home, which house and grounds alone required the aid of twenty slaves, each a specialist in his line, to keep it running smoothly . At the back of his house, beneath the bluff, flowed a cool :111d .tbundant spring, furnishing all the w.ner needed for c.1tde and home consumption, as well as a primitive refrigerating ~yHem, known as a Spring House, where dai ry products, vegetables and fruits were kept cool and p:tlatable. Like all Southerners as soon as Dr. Powell built his home, he also began to plan and develop, among other essentials, a flower garden, and ere long, amid


the oaks, chestnuts and other native trees growing on these acres, there were honeysuckles and many other varieties of flowers to shed their delicious fragrance on "Old Field" .

I n the meantime, this unique and c ultured settlement was g rowing and all were eagerly building for the good of the whole and dreami ng of a permanen t little Eden for theiJlselves and their descendants. In the early fifties, two colleges were chartered and church edifices built on Chunnenuggee Ridge. The Dr. Powell of this story, who in 1835 and 183 6, had been in the Georgia Legislature and had given his assistance in obtaining the charter for Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia, (the first college in the world to give diplomas to women) was, no doubt, instrumenta l in persuading Dr. William Ellison, a former president of that institution to take charge here of the Chunnenuggee Female College. The citizens of the Ridge naturally took a pride in their Female College and School for Boys, and felt it a duty to open their homes to the children of nearby p lanters, feeling that these c hildren too should be given the cultural :~dvantages enjoyed by their own; and, since there were no hotels on the Ridge the teachers of these colleges were also welcomed into the homes of the planters. These people feeling, as did that distinguished Southerner, Robert Toombs, of WashingtOn, Georgi:~. who expresses t heir sentiments so clearly when he said: " W e do not need a hotel in this village. If a m:1n comes here, who is a gentlem:~n, he can find entertainment in my home. If he is not a gentleman, he has no business here".

Among the s taff of teachers was an exiled Polish Count, G. Krzeczkowsky, who taught the young ladies of C hunnenuggee, French. On his return home he kept up a

':'- spirited correspondence with Chunnenuggee friends, and I have in my possession a letter he wrote to one of the Blackmon girls who lived there. Another outstanding te:1cher in this Female College was a Miss Brown, from Boston, who taug ht music. She stayed in t he home of Mr. Blackmon for a term and bcc:1mc so deeply attJched to the family that her const:lnt denial of the unjust criticism of our beloved Southland by Northern peopl~


durin" thl' 1 .-d.-r.ll in v :1 ~ion, :~lmost brou ght her in conflict w it h the :wthorities. In J une,l' 18 57. Lucy Je:tnc.'tte Powell and Eugenia Blackmon graduated at the Female ( olle~e •. 111d Dr. Powel l. f:l t her of rhe former .m d g r.lndfadtc.'r of the latter, persuaded tlll'lll w tc.'.1ch mu,ic during the next rerm in the.' college, giving their S<ll :uies tO the college. In p.tyment for this he took t hem to N ew York the follow ing summer, after '' hich they roun~d Dr. Fowell's beloved Stne of Virg inia. J\mong m y treasu res is part of .1 di.H) kept by Lucy Je;~nnette Powell describing how they traveled to Salem , Virgi~ia, from ~e\\ York. b) r.tif .tnd f rom there took a stage visiting man y beautiful watering pl.!Cl'\ throughout the western p:~rr of the State.

So, '' hrlc the men of Chunnenuggec Ridge were bui lding sc hools and churches, '' hich were.' running in perfect order, the women were developing their gardens, which b) nuny 'i~i tor~ from the East , were said to be the most beautiful ly landsc:~ped garden;; the) lud c.'Yc.'r seen. I it surprising then that we find a g roup of these men and women mc.'c.'ting on the evening of March 6th, 1847, for the purpose of organizing a H orticult ur:d ocicty with the in tention of h:JVing monthly exhibits of flowers and in season, fruit

.1nd \'c.'gctablc ? T hus was born the Chunnenuggee Hortic u ltura l Society.

ln the f irst minu te~ of this Society, which T h:JVe in m y possession, T f ind t he ( ollowing prc.'am ble :

"And tile.' Lord God pla nted a garden eastward in Eden ... and there H e put m an whom I fc.' had formed . . . and o ut of the g round made the Lord God to grow every tree that was pleasan t to t he sight and good for food. The Tree of Life also in the midH of the Garden and t he T ree of Knowledge of good :~nd ev iL-Genesis, Chapter 2 : ver~es 8th and 9th.

"The first practical act of the Dei ty after H e had formed the st:~rry H eavens, di,·itkd the '' atcrs of the great deep :111d bid the e:~rrh bring fo rrh gra~s :~nd t he herb


Tbi~ jJrt•mium is 110w a pri::rt! possrssio11 of Mrs. P(m·dl's gralld-dt~ugbtcr. 1'vf rs. Lucile Cary Lowr_): E11grated 011 frll_) i1: "Cinllnll'IIU.'{gn· llorficullural Soril'l), IR56, Prrmium to ;\Irs. F.. Poll'l'll.' '


) iclding \Ccd lnd the fruit tree yielding fruit lftcr his kind, w.1s to pbce man pure and holv in the g.1rden to keep it and co dress it.

· "C.1n ,~e doubt then rh:~t the first gre.1t comm:tnd of the A lmighty still rests on u,? 'J hen: " no ,tud~ better c.dcul.ncd to exp.1nd the soul, to improve the mind, co refine the l.l\te\, ro enl.!rge our comprehension of the useful and the bc:tutiful, than the 'tud, of horticulture. \\' ho c:tn reflect on the beauty, sweetness, and structure of the rme: wirhout fcding his helrt open in :ldor:nion to the Great Author of all good, who h.1~ lcf t nothing unfinished from the revolution of a pbnct to che perfectness of the fr:~gil.: snow-drops? !'\one who has :t head to think or :1 he:trt to feei:-George D. \\' .urhcn.

" Deeply imbued with these truths we unite as members of :1 Horticultural Society, ''e cl.1im not for it the cultivation of flowers only, we :tim at usefulness and utility ... we profess to embr:tc.: in our range fruits, vegetables, manuring .. . in a work to gather .1ml interch.1nge ideas as well as pbnrs, :1nd acquire a thorough knowledge of all that perr.1in~ to this healthy, useful and be:tutiful science; nor will we leave out our sturdy fricnd5, the f:trmers. It is our desire to aid them, coo, to get and co diffuse all the light we C.ln on :tgricultur:tl pursuits ... tO take Our twin sister by the hand :tnd unite Our effort' for mutu:tl instruction. Such we wish to m:tkc our society ... :1 medium for increa~i ng the knowledge :tnd comforts of our fellow men, :tnd :1 combin:t tion of the bclu tiful :tnd useful. We, therefore, bind ourselves as members of this Society to be governed by the :trticles which follow."

A constitution with regulations was here written into the minutes, which is quire long and con tains m any interesting derails, one among them being an article which pro,ide~ for a fine if any inattentive member is found whispering during the proceedings.

t\ t the third meeting of this Society, on the evening of March 3 I, 1847, we find 1 hn on motion of Dr. \X' ortlw two re5olutions on rhe 5ubjcct of "A Public Garden"


,I

were pa~~ed; namely: "Rc~olvcd that chi~ Society do hereby .tgrcc to lay ou t and build .1

Public Garden on Chunncnuggec Ridge"; second, " Reso lved thH a committee of ~i x be appointed to exa mine and lay out the ground and negotiate for the ~ame. " \XIhercupon the President , R. H. Powell, a son of the Dr. Powell of chi~ Hory, appoin ted a committee of six to consist of Mrs. W illiams, Miss Cotton, D r. Worthy, ,\Irs. E. ]. C ary, ~lr~. Carter and Mr. James Horten.

On April 9th, same year, at a meeting of the Societ y, I f ind a~ follow~ : " The committee to whom was referred the arranging and laying out of the Public Garden reported that they have selec ted a tract of land lying and being im mediately before Dr. Powell's residence, and , that they desire further time to confer with Dr. Powell who is absent H

this time, to sec if the same can be had by deed of gift ."-Rcport of Mrs. E. J. Cary, Chairman.

On the evening of Monday, November 8th, 1847, there is recorded that , " T he committee reported that they had conferred with Dr. Powell and t he doctor stands read r to make the deed of gift to the regular trustees appointed by the Society and their successors in office, and said tract reverting to him when it shall cease to be used as a public p leasure ground" . On this same date the Society resolved to : "petition the Legislature of Alabama at its next session to charter the Chunncnuggee R idge H orticultural Societ y."

After the g round fo r the " Public Garden" had been secured, the members were th-:n asked to send trained negro gardeners from their estates to clear the ground and make it ready for development, whic h was done under t he supervision of a committee appointed for this purpose. Speci.1l :lttentio n w:1s given to t he time and t ype o f pbnti n~ . . 111d numerous committees were .tppointcd for the different phases of perfecting t he g.trdcn.

A s can be seen by the minu tes, the Societ y grew larger .111d Ll rgcr .It c:~ch mcet i n~ .1nd many persons f ro m nea rby cities in the South were admitted into t he Societ y. H onorary members were also added, amo ng them being nurserymen from :-\cw York, Augusta.


C..corgi.1, Columbu~ .tnd ebewhere. Time went on .u.d m.tny fo rms of entertainments were gi1 en ,uch .1~ ~uppers, monthly exhibits with prizes for t he differen t varieties of floiH'r~. flower .1rrangemcnt~, ere. ~!any d.1hli:~s were g rown, bu lbs being ordered in ::rc.n quJntity. It ".1~ decided, however, that anything shown for premium should not be procured chewhcrc th:tn in the home garden.

The member~ set aside, by I'Ote, a small areJ in rhe Public G.trden to g row st r:twbcrries and cotton, the proceeds of which were used to pay for the premiums at the flower shows. This also being cultivated under the supervision of a committee.

1\ rhe Horticultur:tl Society and the Public Garden developed it was determined by the members to hold an Annual Fair, to be known as the Chunnen uggee May Fair, an .1nnu.tl flower festival which was always held about the first of May when the flowers were :u their best .tnd :ttrracted visitors far and wide. And on the 18th of April, 18 50, there .tppe.trcd .1 notice in the issue of the Macon Republic, Tuskegee, Alabama, which n:.td, tu- wit:

(Jtrlllli!ltU',jfjee flvrlicu~umf Svcie/'j

lk Artnu.tl 1-.!ir of thi~ Society will be given H Odd Fellow~ Hall o n C hu n ne11uggcc l<.td).;e on \'\'cdnc~day, firH day of May, next, at which time and pbce t here wi ll be an .tppropriJtc .tddre~~ by Hon. \Xfm. P. Chilton. The public generally :tre invited to attend.

T. V. Ru·111FRI OIU>, Secrdary Pro Trm.

I h<·n onh t11o 1c.tr' !.ncr. on ,\\.tv 6th, ISS2. we find the ediLOr of t he Macon Kqnrblic writi.ng .1~ f~llow~: .

"On last Thunday we went down tO the Annual Horticul t ural Fair at Chunneng~ee Ridge and we were much gratified with our visit. The Fair wa~ held in the Public


Garden, whic h i~ new a~ yet, but which promi~e~ in a few year~ ro he a pretty place. lr i~ laid out with a good deal of t aHc and well pla nted with ~h ru hherv. The garden hou~e i~ a neat circular building".

llowever, before long room~ were added to the buildi ng b~c.IU\e we fmd th.H .111 c>.hibit io n hou'e ,1\ commodioll\ ,1\ a modern cl ub w.1, bui lt an the J>ublic (,,lrden. It cont.1ined .1 " I.Hge \.l ion where concert~ were given, .1 dining room, .1 l1.1ll .1nd .1n open pavilion." T he salon, whic h was always beauti full y decorated for t he occasion with a a lavish usc of c ut f lowers, was the place where the members and guests gathered on the fi rst evening of t he Fair. Thn the Fairs were well attended may be seen from the following extract of an old letter which states, t hat, " . .. among the d isting uished guc~t~ wen· the top of the pot socially from Columbus. Georgie. Mobile. and Monq~omcrr. a~ well :1s ma ny from the C arolinas.''

In another account of the Ma y Fai r in the early 5 0'~ we f ind R. I I. Powell mentioned as calling the meeting to order, as Presiden t , ladies then not being accustomed co speaking in public; and, that " :deer an invocation b y Rev . Wm. H enderson, the Presiden t's address fo llowed and was described as replete with good sense, histo rical research, classical illusions and poetic beau ty." Immediately after t his address, the g uests repaired to the dining hall where a su mpt uous feast had been prepared. During this repast soft music f loated o ut from a decorated bower where a small g roup of negro players sat. P robably those belonging to Col. Luther Walker who had bee n trained to piJ)' at the en tertainments of his beautiful and accomplished daughters. \Yie read that the dessert consisted of ' 'ice cream, strawberries and plain, as well as pyramids of beautifully embossed cakes." Since t here were no caterers a t th i ~ time, t hese cakes were decorated by the skillful fingers o f the ladies of the Societ y.

O n o ne evening during this Fair there was a g rand concert gi,•cn by the young belie~ of the Ridge in the large ~:don in the exhibit ion hou se, and we rcJd thJt "The


young l.ldic~ were ch:~rming in their flowered dresden ~ilks :1~ they S:lt at t he h:~rp :~nd pi;~no." And "following the concert an eleg:~nt collation was served." After a visit t o thi~ most delightful F:~ir. :1 young m:1n wrote, :ts follows:

'Tioro .1nd Pomon.1. lund in lund, .1w:1kened in me .1 high .1dmir.nion for the <. hunncnu""ee l.ldil'' in p.1rricul.lr .1nd for horticulture in gcner.1 l, .1nd I nude .1 resolve to for~.1kc b~u:hl'lorhood .md get unto myself .1 wife, .1 ho~llC :~nd .1 g•lrdcn."

Throughout the grounds of this Public G:trden there were summer houses covered with honeysuckle :md roses, m ingling their perfume with hundreds of blossoms to be inluled by the young men :tnd women who rested in seats within these flowery r etreats to clut or scroll leisurely on the green stretches of l:twn beyond. The "Lover's Knot" \\' .lS also :tn intriguing pl:tce to wander in such an in tric:tte design th:tt it created a maze with it~ one concealed cntr:tnce, and once within its confines the young ladies :tnd gentlemen were hopelessly lost." The only :tuthoritative St:ttement ext:tnt is the admis.,ion that it took the "young lovers at the Chunnenuggee M:ty Fair :1 remarkable long time to solve the difficulties of escaping from the confines of the tall flowering shrubbery of the Lover's Knot" .

This being strictly an agricultural country, of course no Fair wou ld be complete without including specimens of everything g rown in t he soil, as well as samples of t he ~kill of the housewife. On the last day of the Fair premiums were awarded for flowers, flower arrangements, etc. Special mention was made of a D ella Robia wreath cleverlv designed of strawberries and flowers by Mrs. E. ]. Cary, for which she was awarded ~ prize, and in the American Cotton Planter of July, 1856, we find that a premium for the best essay on horticulture was given to Mrs. Homer Blackmon. A prize was also gi,·en the young woman most skilled in equestrienship, promoted by the young gentlemen of the Ridge. \Y/e read: "The young ladies wore sweeping riding habits and carried gold ropped riding crops, splendidly mounted on spirited horses. It was :1 thrilling moment


when each cook the cour~c ... ". As horseback riding wa~ ,l uni ver~a l accompli~hmcnt at Chunncnuggec, the contest was animated and the riding skillf ul and daring.

Another reference which I would like ro g ive is an article written by a vi~itor to Chunnenuggee in the early fifties that was published in the A labama J ournal, to-wit:

" The reputation of chis pleasant section, so well k nown , is by no means exaggerated, either in respect to its floral production, the beauty and accomplishment of the ladies, or the general high culture of its people. I left chis pleasant section leaving my kindest thoughts for the genial and refined hospitality that greeted me a t every step. Now, m y dear Junior, as you Jre, I suspect, a m arryin g man, do not in your celibate wanderings forget to visit chis garden spot of loveliness and pleasure and you will not wish to go further.

" Nowhere will you find more finished beauty, more heightened, refined .lnd lady like breeding, combined with all that is admirable in househo ld v irtues, th,1n in th•~ flower gem among the hills of Macon County.

" On the last night of the Fair, tableaus were given by the young ladic~ ,1nd gcntkmen. One particularly effective tableau was the flower filled barge of Elaine. A golden haired Miss Cotten was breath-takingly lovely as the white clad recum bent E laine, with lilies at their breast, while a young West Point Officer, with his sword at his side, was a handsome, if unrepentant Launcelot."

Each year in the American Cotton Planter and Macon Republic t he yearly lists of premiums were published, as well as account of these Fairs; and, among the descendants of Chunnenuggee residents, there must be extant man y of t he premiums given durin g the existence of this Society of which I have no knowledge. H owever, there is in the possession of Mrs. McRoberts and her sister, Miss Good win, of Chevy Ch.1~c, ~[aryland, .1 handsome sil ver cre;un pitcher given to their ::'.lnt, ~IJry E. BLH.:kmon, Jt the age of ~ixtccn, in 18 56, for her ~upcrior equcstricmhip. I .tbo h.1vc in my po~~e~~ion .1 l Jrgc


,dHr tr.ty ~1\ C il Mr~. N. ll. Powell by the "Chunncn uggcc llonicultur.tl Society, 1856". Thc~c wi ll ~ufficc a~ po~itivc proof of this once f.tmou~ .111d beautifu ll y cultiv:ned "Public G.trdcn" .1~ well .1~ proof of the Horticultural Society and .trti~tr)' of the private garden)

there. Bm, .1 ~ i~ well know n, early in April, 1861 , .1 black cloud which had long threatened

the Southl.1nd, began to rise in the 'orthcast amid thu nder of artillery and sound of invading hoof-beats. I t swept further and further Southward and when it had passed, this pc.1ccful, serene landscape had been almost swept away and soon there was little to tell of the past g lories of this small, but unique, settlement of Old Chunncnuggcc. The good Doctor .1nd the President of the Female College sleep ncar each other in the Powell gr.l\'eyard on .1 picturesque knoll, back of "Old Field"; and, there now remains on ly ,, few ~hrub~ .1nd crepe myrtles, g rown as tall .1s young trees, .dong the road ncar the once f.• mom Public G.1rden of the H orticu ltur.tl Society, and the private gardens have become but .1 tr.ldition .unon g the descendants of those c.trly pioneers of the Ridge, the home of tho~e kindly, 11.1ture loving people of the old South.

LUULL CAI\Y Lo\\' 1\Y


alabama's first public carden union springs,...

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