Spring Hill: Eight Miles South of Troy

By Mack Lowery

In 1814 when General Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Indians at Horse Shoe Bend in Alabama, settlers began making their way to the new area creating “Alabama Fever”. Many of these settlers homesteaded the area in Southeast Alabama that would become known as Spring Hill. These Settlers came from Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia, bringing with them a strong work ethic and the determination that their community would not be isolated, that it would be educated, and that religion would thrive.

In this moving account Mr. Lowery shares with the reader the importance of the people and community institutions that so positively influenced him for the first twenty one years of his life. Because of community participation these institutions remained strong and influential through the years. The family, churches, and school would cooperate in bringing to fruition the vision of the early settlers set on making Spring Hill a strong and viable community.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664259676

Mack Lowery

Mack Lowery was born and reared in Pike County, Alabama, in the small community of Spring Hill, located eight miles south of Troy, and has lived in this area most of his life. The family farm and rural community provides many of the experiences and events about which he has written. He was educated in the Pike County and Troy City School systems, graduating from Troy High School in 1957. Upon graduation he entered Troy State Teachers College in the fall of 1957 and graduated in the fall of 1965. Mack worked for a time in management with a firm in Columbus, Georgia, but in 1969 he left that employer for the ministry, serving as pastor in Baptist churches in Phenix City, Dothan, and Troy, Alabama. Later he would become a bi-vocational pastor and return to the world of work as a sales representative. Mack is married to the former Gerri Herring of Smith Station, Alabama, and they have four children and nine grandchildren. He is still involved in the ministry, serving as pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church of Troy. He also remains involved in sports, serving on the chain crew during Troy University football games. Mack and Gerri live on a nine acre mini farm in the China Grove community near Troy.

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Copyright © 2022 Mack Lowery.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-5966-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5965-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-5967-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022904216

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/11/2022

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 Leaving Home

Chapter 2 In the Beginning

Chapter 3 Beginning to Begin

Chapter 4 A Day on the Lowery Farm

Chapter 5 Our Surroundings, Neighbors, and Institutions

Chapter 6 A Year on the Farm

Chapter 7 Foreigners in Our Fields

Chapter 8 Family Entertainment

Chapter 9 A Tribute to the Churches: The Story of Two Churches

Chapter 10 Spring Hill Baptist Church

Chapter 11 Spring Hill Methodist

Chapter 12 History of Spring Hill School

Chapter 13 Entering First Grade

Chapter 14 My Spring Hill Classmates

Chapter 15 After Spring Hill

Chapter 16 Our Black Families

Chapter 17 Changes

Chapter 18 Good People and Strange Animals

Chapter 19 Social Events

Chapter 20 Friends

Chapter 21 Hinton Boutwell’s Store

Chapter 22 Troy

Chapter 23 Leaving Town

Chapter 24 Home Again

Chapter 25 The Big Challenge

Afterthought

INTRODUCTION

Several years ago, I was prompted to write a book about Spring Hill. Spring Hill, Alabama, was my home for the first twenty-one years of my life. It was most of all I knew to that point, and I was so proud to let people know it was where I had grown up. Directing the stranger to its location became easy: Go to the Alabama map and find Montgomery. From Montgomery, take Highway 231 due south, and thirty-nine miles later, you will come to Troy. At Troy, get on Highway 87 South, and Spring Hill is eight miles south on Highway 87.

At this writing, it is quite a changed place from what I remember growing up there. Only a few of the original structures remain. There is the Leonard Abercrombie home and auto repair shop building, and alongside of it is the Jim Earl Bundy home. Up from these by the cemetery is the Baptist church, and across the highway is the Norman Rhodes home and what used to be the Methodist church. Where the school was located is a mobile home, and where the Ara Thompson and Hinton Boutwell stores stood there is now a Dollar General store. All the roads are paved in and around Spring Hill, with the exception of the road we called The Neck. So if you come to this place looking for the Spring Hill I write about, you won’t find it.

When I finally decided to undertake this work and write the book, I spent some time thinking about how to do it. Finally, I picked up pen and paper and started the project. I wrote about the families and other things I knew, and after completing the draft, I read it several times. I saw several things noteworthy, but knew I would need to choose a specific direction in which to travel. Four things stood out above all else, and they were the influences of family, church, school, and the good people of the community. To write about these influences was far more appealing than simply to compile a family directory. The family directory could be done by someone more capable than I, and the message of the importance of said institutions was much more appealing. Upon that premise I started the work, trying to portray the vital importance that family, church, school, and community play in all our lives wherever we have grown up. Somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost the significance of the import of these powerful institutions and the important parts they play in bringing us to adulthood.

I discovered immediately that to be successful with this endeavor I would need the assistance of others. Many people have allowed interviews, which have provided much of the material. I am thankful to them for allowing the many questions I needed to ask to acquire much of the material in the book. Some I’ve had to revisit many times. I must acknowledge the help of my sister-in-law Faye Abercrombie Lowery. Faye has contributed much information, and directed me to others who could help. She also exposed me to much written material that proved so helpful in many areas. Faye was a super source of information, and without her contribution, this work would be incomplete.

My brother Frank also proved to be a reservoir of information. His information and guidance have been invaluable in some of the areas covered in the book. Frank was one of my teachers in my early years, and helping me here was simply an extension of what he has done throughout most of my life.

Lora Baker Lowery shared much of her research on the physical community. She also provided information on many of the first families who pioneered the Spring Hill community. Her information and advice have gone quite far in extending the boundaries of this work. She was a big encouragement, and she urged me on to its completion.

Carol Reddock shared some vital material and gave advice on one of the areas of the book. She helped me understand some of my family of which I had only quaint knowledge. One of my most memorable interviews was with Mrs. Imogene Pinkard. Mrs. Pinkard is perhaps the oldest of former faculty members at Spring Hill School. She paraded me once again through the huge halls and large classrooms of the old school. At ninety-seven, her memory was excellent as she remembered well those potbellied heaters and rough old country boys that filled her room. She informed me that two of my brothers, Fred and Frank, were her students, and that I could acquire information from them as to what kind of teacher she was. I did, and I received an excellent report.

Joe Boutwell provided much information concerning the background of Hinton Boutwell’s Store. Having been the Boutwells’ youngest son, and having worked in the store until leaving home after college graduation, Joe was a rich source of information. Sharing this was vital to the completion of the chapter on Hinton Boutwell’s store.

Though she is not mentioned in the book because she had not come into my life yet, my wife, Gerri, was a tremendous help in all the organization of this work. She was instrumental in developing information for the cover, and she assisted in arranging the artwork. Gerri was a tremendous support factor in keeping me at the work and encouraging me to the book’s completion.

For the many people who have encouraged me and have prayed for God to bless the work, I say thank you. Your confidence and patience have greatly assisted me in continuing this work to completion. The book is dedicated to you who have contributed, and to all our ancestors who pioneered our community, dreamed the dreams, and had the visions to bring Spring Hill to the glorious edifice of wholesome living I remember as a boy.

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CHAPTER 1

Leaving Home

On the morning of December 7, 1959, at about 11:10, I boarded the Capital Trailways bus bound for Columbus, Georgia. My brother Charles took me to the station in his blue-and-white 1956 Chevrolet. I could tell by his face that Charles was a bit apprehensive, as he had loaned me five dollars to buy the bus ticket. The loan was made from money he had saved to buy his wife, Faye, a Christmas gift. The loan was made on the assumption that I would find employment and return the money before Christmas. I could tell by the look in Charles’s eyes that he had serious doubts.

You can ascertain that I was leaving town broke. The bus ticket cost $3.65, leaving me with $1.35 to live on until employed. I was dropping out of Troy State College, where I had attained junior status. I had not done well in college except for subjects in which I had deep interest. I was leaving at the regret of one of my professors, Jack Solomon, who tried convincing me to stay. I will say more about this experience later, but at this point, I was determined to leave. I was tired of college. I was tired of doing all the things necessary to stay in college. I was tired of being broke. I was tired of having to come up with the money to pay the college for a quarter’s expense in order to register for the next quarter. I was employed with the Pike County School System, driving the school bus from Spring Hill to Troy, delivering the rural students to high school in Troy. I was being paid one hundred dollars per month, minus taxes, and had used all the proceeds from my November check to pay Troy State for the previous quarter’s expenses. Then I used the last $3 on a date on Friday night, December 4. This was the state of me on this day in my life. I was a college dropout by every stretch of the imagination—broke, unemployed, and $5 in debt to my brother.

I was leaving my home in Spring Hill to take up residence in Columbus, Georgia, which for a country boy would prove to be quite a change of venue. Spring Hill had been my home for my whole life. I grew up there on the family farm, was an active member of Spring Hill Baptist Church, and had attended my first nine years of school at Spring Hill School. So I was deeply rooted in this community; it was a hard decision to leave it and move on in uncertainty to a new home. I had not lived outside this community for any long period of time except for the summer of 1957. I had graduated from high school, and my brother Jack had provided me with a summer job in Lawton, Oklahoma. I lived there for the summer but came back home to attend Troy State Teachers College. But on this day in December of 1959, I found myself standing at a new threshold, doggedly determined to move on.

My new home would be Columbus, Georgia. Once again I would be residing with Jack, Von, Evaughn, and Neil. Jack and Von had always been good to me in this way. I had resided in their home before and understood their rules and expectations. There would be no slackers there, and I was included. So while I was a grown man now, I would still be under their watchful eye.

Jack was arranging employment for me at Burnham Van Service Incorporated, where he was employed in upper management. I would be working in the billing department, where I had worked some the summer before. There was an air of excitement about this new challenge in my life as I would have to prove my worth and make it in the world of work. All my life I had been conditioned for this test. Experiences in my home, church, school, and community had prepared me for this experience, and I was excited for the opportunity to prove to all these institutions the great value of their work. Here I recognize these four institutions that made life so good and promising.

First, my daddy, mother, grandfather, brothers, and sister. Together we shared in family life and farm life. Farm life was hard but provided the personal and group discipline we would need to move on and become successful in other endeavors. We shared both the successes and failures. Through it all, we learned to love and respect one another—a feeling that still flows through us to this day. To this point, nothing has happened to break this bond of family union. We have all tried to pass this bond on to our progeny, and so far, our efforts have proven to be successful.

Second, the churches! Though we belonged to the Baptist church, we were also very close to the Methodist church and had the golden experience of being influenced by both congregations. We attended Sunday school each Sunday at the Baptist church. We had preaching services on second and fourth Sundays. The Methodist church had preaching services on third Sundays, and after Sunday school on third Sundays, we crossed the highway and attended the Methodist church. As a result, we received gospel preaching on three Sundays during the month.

Third, Spring Hill School! Next to family life, we spent the greatest part of our time at school. It was an excellent place for the first nine years of education. We always had an excellent faculty, discipline was strict, and education was expected. There were no free rides or social promotions. There was a big building with large rooms and a big auditorium with a stage and beautiful draw curtain made of heavy velvet. The halls and stairways were spacious, and every room had large windows without screens. Each room had a large potbellied heater, and there were outside privies for boys and girls. There was a well with an electric pump that pumped fresh water all day for drinking. We had a playground large enough to accommodate the student body. Miss Jeanie Fryer would also allow us to go onto her property when the grounds became too crowded.

Along with these three institutions were the people of the community. How do you appraise the value of having all the right influences of the good people of the community? I wrote a poem once that summarizes my opinion of this influence. I titled the poem Influence.

Be careful of what you eat

And the people you meet.

Of your diet or acquaintance,

Let there be no regret,

For we are all a part

Of what we’ve et

And who we’ve met.

The poem isn’t hard to understand. Make certain you maintain a good diet, and let all the right kinds of people influence you. Spring Hill was full of good food and good people, and I rejoice in having this excellent foundation. I could name many of those people and will later in the book, but here I will acquaint you with one of the families, the Thompsons. This family was a community leader for many years. They led by public decree, not by self-acclamation. A community trust was placed on this family, and to my knowledge, they never betrayed it. The family members have come and gone, leaving Bill Thompson as the family patriarch now. At age ninety-eight, Bill is still very active in the community. He is a deacon in the Baptist church and assists with the men’s Bible class. He is on the cemetery committee and still drives his vehicle. He is a vibrant older man, and his stories of older people, present people, and community events keeps people laughing. The community loves Bill deeply and appreciates the contributions he has made over the years.

Well, Charles did get me to the bus station on time, and he sat with me until the bus arrived.

He also helped me with the bag that contained all my worldly possessions. It was hard saying good-bye to him, as we had been close all our lives. He had been a good brother and a real friend and had covered for me many times when I fell behind in my work. That wasn’t easy, for he had his own work to keep up. He saw I got to go places and do things by staying back himself and performing both our chores. He understood this new commitment, and he was there to see I got started in the right direction.

I did go to work at Burnham Van Service a few days before Christmas just as my $1.35 was expiring. I made a payday in time to return to Spring Hill for the holiday. Yes! Charles received full payment in time to apply it to Faye’s gift, and I was even privileged to go on another date, with my pockets being filled with newly earned money.

Thus, the saga of my leaving Spring Hill to work and reside elsewhere spells the end of one segment of my life and the beginning of the next.

What follows is a romantic and realistic view of life as a child growing up in the Spring Hill community and the part its good institutions played in helping me grow into manhood. I have always remained grateful for the contribution of the people and institutions of my area. What success I’ve enjoyed I share with them. The book is my opinion and how I saw things as a child and growing boy. I don’t declare everything here absolutely right but simply a record as I saw things.

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CHAPTER 2

In the Beginning

On March 27, 1814, General Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Indians at the battle of Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River in eastern Alabama. This defeat destroyed the power of the Creeks in Alabama and created the legend of Andrew Jackson. It also brought peace to the area, and opened this part of the country for settlement, and many squatters rushed into the territory, thus beginning a land rush into East Alabama. Soon Alabama fever swept the young nation, and thousands of settlers began coming into the area. Mostly they came from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Land in these states was suffering from overfarming, and many were encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to acquire new land. Some came well equipped, with necessities such as farm animals and equipment. Some of the richer settlers brought slaves to assist with the work. Others came with the meagerest of all means, but the opportunity for cheap land drove them. Most of these settlers would have to live off the forests and streams until gardens and crops could be put in and food could be produced.

The few records that exist show at this time some of the earliest settlers who began coming into the Pike County area. Some of these came into the Spring Hill community and began homesteading. Of these first families there was reported to have arrived the Sam Gibson family, along with Dawson Grimes, Lonnie Boutwell, and the Leverett families. But by 1839, many other families joined these first ones. There were the Allens, Andersons, Bakers, Bryans, Carlisles, Carrols, Coskreys, Coursons, Davises, DeBices, Edges, Grissettes, Lassiters, Laws, Lees, McDonalds, Rhodeses, Sanderses, Thompsons, Watkinses, and Whiteheads who had made their way into the area. Their efforts would produce a well-developed community to which would later be added a Baptist church, a school, and, later, a Methodist church. Their efforts also produced the early road system through the community that the county would later develop into the present system that connects Spring Hill with the surrounding area, highway 87 being its main artery.

To the eyes of a young boy in the 1940s, Spring Hill was a beautiful place. It had a newly paved road (Highway 87) running through it, with the rest of the roads being dirt and well-kept by the county. Homes, store buildings, churches, and schools were well-kept and presented a clean atmosphere that permeated the whole community. The sun appeared to shine brighter here, and all this made Spring Hill look cleaner and brighter than any other place around us. Most of its inhabitants were God-fearing and moral people. All were hardworking and productive, and cared for the welfare of fellow citizens.

At this time, World War II had exacted a heavy toll on almost every family, with members being drafted into the armed services. My own family was well involved, with three uncles and a brother being inducted. I remember hearing Daddy say that after the war things would not be the same for our area. During the years that followed, we witnessed the effects this experience brought, and we absorbed the changes brought on by so many of the area’s citizens being exposed to other areas and other opportunities. There would follow another migration of our citizens to other more promising and productive areas, and this migration involved some of the community’s most promising citizens. In this way Spring Hill would be robbed of its most precious product—its young and aspiring citizens. The movement was slow at first as men came home and tried their hand at farm life, but by the midfifties a large number was gone, and the small family farm was becoming nonexistent. There were other things helping to push this process along. The cost of farming was becoming prohibitive as a result of changing methods of production with more and more machinery being employed to do the work. The cost of the farm machines and the anemic return on goods produced were in no way equal to each other. The Spring Hill I knew as a youngster would pass, and so would the simple agrarian life that we enjoyed. New families would come and go, and many members of older families would depart the confines of the community, leaving great gaps in its breastwork.

Through this geography and these people, institutions, and events, I will share with you my remembrances of the splendid and lovely community in which I was raised. I will try hard to honor all those wonderful people who had a hand in bringing me into manhood. Most of them have long since left this life and rest in the cemeteries of Spring Hill, Center Ridge, Mosey Grove, and White Rock.

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CHAPTER 3

Beginning to Begin

Spring Hill—word has it this name came from a high bluff with a spring at its bottom. This location was about two miles north of the present location. I believe this bluff was what we referred to as Ballard’s Hill. It was reported that travelers making their way to Troy by wagon or horseback would stop at this spring to camp out before going on to Troy. It no doubt received the name Spring Hill from this entourage of travelers who sought its convenience and named it so all travelers could identify it.

Clara Miller gave a history of Spring Hill years ago at a homecoming service at Spring Hill Baptist Church. She reported that it was named for a hill with a spring at the bottom of it. The Baptist church was located near this hill and took on the same name. Clara’s report came primarily from the oral tradition of the community, which had been handed down through the years; and knowing how meticulous she was with such reporting, her word was good enough for me.

This was also the first location of the first community school, which was named Spring Hill. Margaret Pace Farmer, in her History of Pike County Alabama, mentions a school building erected at such a point. Later this school would be moved to a more centrally located place named Milo. This was about the time the Baptist church was relocated to Milo. The church was relocated to its present site as land had been donated for this purpose. Apparently the school was attached to the church, as records indicate land had been donated to the church for the purpose of erecting and running a school. When the church relocated, the school went with it to the more centrally located Milo. Spring Hill became the most dominant name for the location, so Milo would lose its identity to it. Milo would disappear from the map, and Spring Hill would take its place.

Before, during, and sometime after my boyhood, Spring Hill was a thriving place, with many families living in the area. There were also several small businesses located there. I’ll start with Ara Thompson’s Mercantile Store. Mr. Ara stocked many farm items plus work clothes and shoes. There were hoes, rakes, pitchforks, and horse and mule gear, such as horse collars, bridles, back bands, trace chains, and plow points.

In the same building with Thompson Mercantile was Hinton Boutwell’s General Store. There were other general stores in Spring Hill, but Boutwell’s seemed to be the largest and busiest. More about this store will be discussed in a later chapter. For now I will simply say it was a place that attracted practically all the residents of the area.

To explain the physical appearance of Spring Hill, I will use these two business establishments as a starting point for the rest of the physical layout of businesses, churches, and school. It seemed to represent the middle of the business area, as its physical location was the dominating structure.

Behind and to the north of Thompson’s Mercantile was located the Methodist church. It was a wood structure with a nice entrance, was well-kept, and always presented a very clean and bright appearance. To the west of the church, and adjoining its property, was Spring Hill School. It was also a wood structure, well kept, and presented a welcoming spirit to those coming and going. This was the center of much community activity and would remain in that capacity for years to come.

Warren’s Store was just south of and next door to Hinton Boutwell’s store. I recall very little about this establishment but do remember one hot summer afternoon I stopped there with my brother Jack and he bought me a twelve-ounce root beer.

South on Highway 87 at the edge of Spring Hill was the cotton gin. My memory of this place is dim, as I can recall being there only once. Alabama Warehouse in Troy owned it, and it served farmers for miles around. Mr. Roy Rhodes ran the gin, and he was always glad to take us young ones through and give us a view of the gin doing its work of separating the cotton lint from the seeds. At first this gin was powered by a steam engine, and this engine had a habit of popping, making a sound like a shotgun being fired. Daddy told the story of a man in the community who had a bird dog that was gun shy, meaning the dog was frightened by the sound of a gun being fired. The dog’s owner brought him to the gin and tied him off for the day. The popping of the steam engine all day got the dog over his shyness, and the story ended with this dog becoming a very good bird dog.

Just past the gin, there was a small commissary store. I don’t know who owned it, but these stores were common. Most large farms operated one. It was for the convenience of the laborers working on the farm. The laborers would make their purchases and then pay the accounts up when they received their wages or got their monthly draw. I remember several farms maintaining these stores. Roy Bryan had one at the back of his home. His old dog Rover stood guard over it. Mr. Ira Thompson kept one near his home, as he maintained lots of laborers and renters on his farms.

On the east side of Highway 87, across from Thompson’s Mercantile, was Leonard Abercrombie’s Auto Repair Shop. It was the only one in Spring Hill, and Cousin Leonard would serve the community in that capacity for many years. He was a good man, a good mechanic, and was always dependable. The old structure that housed his business is still visible today.

Down the road about the length of a football field was a place familiar to all of us. Here was a rustic old building where Mr. D. Coskrey had a blacksmith shop. I well remember that red-hot place with bellows blowing and sparks flying in every direction. Mr. D. was an interesting study. He was half bald and wore a whited-out lens on one side of his glasses. He kept a cigarette in one corner of his mouth. Occasionally he would use his tongue to move it to the other side, give it a big puff, and continue hammering. This exercise was repeated throughout the day. Mr. D. and my granddad, Nealie Buchan, would visit, telling small tales and off-color jokes while discussing the war and politics, cussing a little bit as they talked. No one was ever injured by these conversations, because I was the only one who heard, and I was not about to be a bearer of tall tales. This was an interesting place to visit, always giving the appearance of a dusty and dirty place, but Mr. D. was always careful to see that we kids stood out of his way while he worked.

Between Abercrombie Auto Shop and D. Coskrey’s Blacksmith Shop was the Spring Hill cemetery. It was a large cemetery and was well-kept for its day. But even so, it seemed always to be in need of cleaning. It contained some very old graves, as it had been open since the 1850s. More will be said about this part of the community later. Adjoining the cemetery was the Baptist church. It, too, was of wood structure, painted white and well kept. This wonderful old edifice of faith will be visited in detail in another chapter.

Just in front of Mr. D. Coskrey’s shop and across the highway was Rhodes’ Grocery. It too, was a large brick structure with a big glass front. Mr. Norman Rhodes owned this store and had it stocked with groceries and fruit, and he had a magnificent candy counter in it. We always liked going there because it was spacious and smelled good. The store featured outside gas pumps, and in the back, down near his basement, Mr. Norman kept a monkey named Jocco. We will visit Jocco again in a later chapter.

Just north of Rhodes’ Grocery and on the same side of Highway 87 was Gene Ausburn’s Store. I met Mr. Ausburn as a little boy, and he seemed friendly enough to me. It was buzzed throughout the community that Mr. Ausburn