Bexar, Alabama

Last updated

Bexar, Alabama
Unincorporated community
SOUTH ELEVATION (FRONT) AND WEST SIDE - Apothecary, County Road 13, Bexar, Marion County, AL HABS ALA,47-BEX,1-1.tif
Bexar Apothecary, taken as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey
USA Alabama location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bexar
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bexar
Coordinates: 34°11′27″N88°08′50″W / 34.19083°N 88.14722°W / 34.19083; -88.14722
Country United States
State Alabama
County Marion
Elevation
518 ft (158 m)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
Area codes 205, 659
GNIS feature ID114199 [1]

Bexar is a rural, mostly agricultural community in extreme west Marion County, Alabama, United States, approximately three miles from the Alabama - Mississippi state line.

Contents

Origins

The community was founded circa 1830 and named for the Mission (then known as San Antonio de Béxar) which was the location of the Battle of the Alamo, [2] scene of one of the bloodiest battles fought on North American soil.[ citation needed ] Bexar first appeared on the Alabama state map in 1853. [2] The major road through Bexar was U.S. Route 78, connecting Birmingham and Memphis, Tennessee. However, the road was improved and rerouted about one mile north of Bexar in the 1960s. All that remains today in Bexar are homes, a few churches and the vacant buildings that once housed the post office and general store.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1880 37—
U.S. Decennial Census [3]

Bexar appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census having 37 residents. It was the only time it appeared on census rolls.

Postal service

The Bexar post office was established August 12, 1843, making it the oldest post office in Marion County. Richmon Pearce Goggans served the longest of any postmaster here, from 1905 until 1953. Postal service was discontinued on February 15, 1974. Mrs. Willie Lou Lochridge served as the last Postmaster from May 1971 till the end. The local community rallied around the post office in an attempt to thwart the end of postal service but were not successful. At the time the post office was closed, it had a modern building for the times, having been built in 1962. Former postmaster Pearce Goggans was the guest of honor at the dedication of the new post office, and U.S. Rep. Carl Elliott gave a speech. The Bexar post office served a large area of Western Alabama and Eastern Mississippi. The old Bexar rural delivery area is now served by the post offices in Detroit, Vina, Hamilton (all in Alabama) and Tremont, Mississippi. The ZIP code assigned to the Bexar post office was 35547.

Schools

Bexar has been the home of two secondary schools. Gravel Springs Junior High School (home of the Golden Tigers) was established in 1907 and educated the children of the surrounding countryside until 1985. It was the last "country school" in Marion County. Gravel Springs "graduated" sophomore students to Hamilton High School up until the 1950s. At the time it was closed it only served to 8th grade. There have been three Gravel Springs Junior High School buildings. The last one was dedicated in 1947 and still stands. The school grounds are owned by a local family and serve as a gathering place each Christmas and Decoration Day for the family. After the school was closed, the buyers utilized two of the class rooms on the southern end of the school to manufacture horse trailers for a few years and thus the exterior wall was knocked out. Other than that, the building looks much the way it did when it was closed in 1985, both on the exterior and interior. The other school that served the Bexar community over the years was known as Ada Hannar High School. It was established in 1921 as the Marion County Training School and then the Rosenwald School. The first teachers at the school were Professor G.H. Hannar and his wife, Ada—hence the name of the school. The Marion County Board of Education gave permission for a new school to be built to replace the outdated Rosenwald School building and on September 19, 1965, the Ada Hannar High School was dedicated. However, in 1967, with desegregation, the AHHS began phasing out grades. The students were transferred to Hamilton with the school being shut down completely at the end of the 1969 school year. The building was used as a place for local children to play basketball in the school gym for a few years, then was used as a manufacturing plant. It has since fallen into severe disrepair after a fire gutted most of the school building. The remnants of the school are still standing, though they are very overgrown with weeds and trees.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion County, Alabama</span> County in Alabama, United States

Marion County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 29,341. The county seat is Hamilton. The county was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General Assembly on February 13, 1818. The county seat was originally established in Pikeville in 1820, and moved to Hamilton in 1881. The county was named by planter and US Indian agent John Dabney Terrell, Sr., in recognition of General Francis Marion of South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oktibbeha County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Oktibbeha County is a county in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census the population was 51,788. The county seat is Starkville. The county's name is derived from a local Native American word meaning either "bloody water" or "icy creek". The Choctaw had long occupied much of this territory prior to European exploration and United States acquisition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,441. Its county seat is Columbia. Marion County is named for American Revolutionary War guerrilla leader Francis Marion also known as The Swamp Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newville, Alabama</span> Town in Alabama, United States

Newville is a town in Henry County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Dothan, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the population was 544.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton, Alabama</span> City in Alabama, United States

Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1896 and since 1980 has been the county's largest city, surpassing Winfield. It was previously the largest town in 1910. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,042.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delight, Arkansas</span> Town in Arkansas, United States

Delight is a town in Pike County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 279 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond, Mississippi</span> City in Mississippi, United States

Raymond is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,933; in 2020, its population was 1,960. Raymond is one of two county seats of Hinds County and is the home of the main campus of Hinds Community College. Raymond is part of the Jackson metropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew, Mississippi</span> City in Mississippi, United States

Drew is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,927 at the 2010 census. Drew is in the vicinity of several plantations and the Mississippi State Penitentiary, a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison for men. It is noted for being the site of several racist murders, including the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955 and the lynching of Joe Pullen in 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianola, Mississippi</span> City in Sunflower County, Mississippi

Indianola is a city in and the county seat of Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta. The population was 10,683 at the 2010 census.

Asher is a town in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. The population was 393 at the 2010 census, a decline of 6.2 percent from the figure of 419 in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilghman Tucker</span> American politician

Tilghman Mayfield Tucker was Governor of Mississippi from 1842 to 1844. He was a Democrat.

Jonesboro is an unincorporated community in Coryell and Hamilton counties in Central Texas, United States. The Coryell County portion of the community is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Rosharon, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located entirely in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 521 and Farm to Market Road 1462. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,152. There are areas outside of the CDP, with Rosharon postal addresses, in Fort Bend County.

Lochridge is an unincorporated community located in Brazoria County, Texas, United States. It formerly had a distinct community. It is located within the Greater Houston metropolitan area.

Morgantown is an unincorporated community located on Mississippi Highway 587 in northwest Marion County, Mississippi, United States.

A Mississippi Landmark is a building officially nominated by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and approved by each county's chancery clerk. The Mississippi Landmark designation is the highest form of recognition bestowed on properties by the state of Mississippi, and designated properties are protected from changes that may alter the property's historic character. Currently there are 890 designated landmarks in the state. Mississippi Landmarks are spread out between eighty-one of Mississippi's eighty-two counties; only Issaquena County has no such landmarks.

Sayersville is an unincorporated community in Bastrop County, Texas, United States. It is located within the Greater Austin metropolitan area.

Losoya is an unincorporated community in Bexar County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 322 in 2000. It is a part of the San Antonio–New Braunfels metropolitan area.

Shottsville is an unincorporated community in Marion County, in the U.S. state of Alabama, located 15 miles northwest of Hamilton.

Hybart is an unincorporated community in Monroe County, in the U.S. state of Alabama. Hybart is located at 31°49′36″N87°22′56″W. It is located at the intersection of Alabama State Route 41 and Monroe County Road 56, in the northwestern part of Monroe County, just a short distance from its border with Wilcox County, Alabama. Hybart is the host of a locally famous Alabama turkey hunting competition called the Butterball which has appeared in Mobile Bay Magazine. The area is also known for being a good hunting spot for whitetail deer, turkey, quail, dove, and duck. Hybart is on the northwestern edge of the Red Hills region of southwestern Alabama, a hilly, wooded, and still largely undeveloped part of the state, geologically distinct from the Gulf Coastal Plain to its south, and the Black Belt region to its north. Within the Red Hills region, the Forever Wild Land Trust of Alabama owns two large tracts of land a few miles to the southeast of Hybart. Recreational opportunities in these tracts include hunting, woods road hiking/exploration, wildflower viewing, photography, and bird and wildlife watching. The Red Hills tracts are open to visitors year-round.

References

  1. ↑ "Bexar". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. 1 2 Harris, W. Stuart (1982) Alabama Place-Names, p. 23. Huntsville, Alabama: The Strode Publishers, ISBN   0-87397-231-7
  3. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2013.

Photographs of Gravel Springs and Bexar, 2006

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.