Clay County AlArchives News.....A Brief Historical Sketch of Mellow Valley April 3, 1930 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Linda Ayres http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00031.html#0007674 July 8, 2023, 3:23 am Ashland Progess April 3, 1930 Before 1840, a few log cabins might be found in this community, possibly half dozen. Roper and Cawley, were among the family names of these people, who stayed a few years and moved on. About this time a few families, mostly from Georgia, came to the community, built cabins, cleared land and acquired titles to their land from the government. Among these the Andersons, Scotts, Millers and Carrol families were prominent settlers. It is said the name Mellow Valley is derived from the Miller family, first being Millers Valley, the low land between Blackjack Ridge on the South and the flat woods on the north, being the "valley". The post office then was located at what is now known as the A. B. Conner place, and Tom Hamlin and a man named: Cawley were among the first postmasters. After this the post office was moved to Clark Hamil's and he was postmaster for a long time, then the post office was moved almost out of the community to where Z. D. Fetner now lives, and J. Autrey was postmaster for a short time, when the office was moved to what is now known as Mellow Valley and when S. H. Wood came to the "valley" in the nineties, he became postmaster with the office in his store. The Baptist church of the community used an old log house for meetings. This was near the line of Randolph and Talladega counties and was called County Line church, this as well as the whole community being in Randolph County. The M. E. church, nearly a mile across the valley from the Baptist church, was named after one of its prominent preachers, McDaniel's Chapel and also used a log house for its meetings. The Civil War left the community in a most desperate condition. The cavalry had carried most of the horses as well as men, to the war, and oxen were used for hauling, and plowing, and to go to market, to West Point. Wetumpka, Opelika and sometimes Columbus, was a week's trip, but it was necessary to make these trips about once a year to buy such things as sugar, coffee, molasses, bar iron and a few other things. Almost everything else used being made at home, including clothing and farming tools, and New Site were trading places. After the war for many years Dr. Scarbrough was the pastor of the Baptist church and during this time a new framed house was built, and the church was growing in membership and prospering. But for 20 years or more after the war the M. E. church held its services in a log schoolhouse. About this time Rev. J. E. McCain was the preacher and for the protracted revival services or Big Meetings as they were often called, a large bush arbor was built where Uncle Jim McCain would preach for a week or more at a time. A new framed house was built for this church where the Presbyterians also held occasional services. Rev. W. M. Worthy was for a number of years pastor of County Line church and there was scarcely a family name in the community that could not be found on its list of members. 1880 to 1900, steam sawmills and good timber made lumber plentiful and cheap, resulting in more if not better houses than the cabins of days gone by. The ten years from 1900 to 1910 brought many changes, improvements, new things and new people to the community. Ashland, Lineville. and Cragford became railroad towns, doing away with the long tedious trips to market. The Mellow Valley post office was discontinued, and the community had R. F. D. from Almond and later changed from Almond to Cragford. Telephones and many other conveniences. At this time a new building was erected and painted at County Line church. A Baptist church was organized and located at the Mellow Valley school house, this church carries the name Mellow Valley Baptist Church and is very near the center of the community. In the space given the writer of this not all that might be interesting can be said about the community. Its social and home life is probably not very different from many other communities not larger than it. But its natural environments give it a distinction that is its own. With new and different ways of traveling and hauling came better roads, and different ways of making them, in other times the road making tools were picks, shovels, hoes and one-horse plows, where now machinery especially constructed for this purpose is being used. Cotton made in this community is being carried to LaGrange and the trip being made in a day, and it's not being thought unusual, simply because it's not. Spinning wheels, Sheep shears, and wooden shoe lasts are curiosities, and to grease the wagon spindles with pine tar would no doubt seem like a devilish prank. That the old tedious, tiresome, laborious ways and tools are being discarded for better ones and living, and planning, and working more agreeable and pleasant are indications of better things in the days to come for the people who live and hope and plan and work in the Mellow Valley community. Back in the days of 61 when the dark war clouds were hovering over our beloved Southland, the same year that Abraham Lincoln took oath as chief executive of our nation, and just 41 years after this great state of Alabama was admitted to the Union, the first school was built in Mellow Valley district. It was built of the roughly hewn logs from the nearby for forests and was heated with the old- fashioned stick and dirt chimney. Here children for miles around attended school. They used slates, studied the old blue-back speller and Davies arithmetic. This school was moved from McDaniel's Chapel to a spot a few miles east and served in the same capacity for two years. Later this building became dilapidated and was burned. The three or four years following this school was taught in the church at McDaniel's Chapel in the summer, and in old vacant dwelling houses in the winter as a church had no chimney for heating. The term was five months without public money. Each child paid 5 cents per day for each day that he attended school. Twenty-five to seventy-five pupils came to the school here from a radius of several miles. The people became tired of using anything for a school, so they built another log house with a chimney. The same textbooks, slates and goose quill pens were used, but the patrons were aided by a little public money which came in 1872. When saw-mills came to this section the people became modern and built a plank structure on the same pillars that the old house had stood on. In 1882 logs were hauled with oxen from several miles distance, and a new school was built on the Ashland-Roanoke Road. It was eighteen by twenty feet, two stories, and accommodated from fifty to sixty pupils, who were taught by one teacher. The upper story was a K. of P. Hall. In 1890 a plank building with four rooms and two stories was erected near the same spot where the old log building was. The upper rooms served as halls for the K. of P. and Woodmen. The number of pupils increased until it was necessary to divide one of the larger lower rooms and add another teacher, this being three teachers. Finally, the K. of P. and Woodmen halls were given over for classrooms and other teachers were added until the entire teaching force was five teachers, and it remained thus until the year 1929. Today a beautiful brick building of six classrooms stands in the heart of Mellow Valley district. It is very modern in every respect. All grades up to senior three are taught and pupils are trucked in from all the surrounding communities. This school will be even greater in the future because other rooms and teachers, and a commodious auditorium will be added, and the people are interested, and are working for it.... This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 8.3 Kb