Historical Marker Program
Chambers County
Created December 18, 1832, from Creek Indian cession. Named for Dr. Henry C. Chambers of Madison County, member of Constitutional Convention on 1819, legislature of 1819, elected U.S. Senator 1825 but died en route to Washington. County government organized 1833 by Judge James Thompson of Jefferson County. First officers were: Nathaniel Greer, Sheriff; William House, Clerk Circuit Court; Joseph J. Williams, Clerk County Court; Booker Lawson, John Wood, William Fannin, John A. Hurst, Commissioners Roads and Revenue. Permanent court site selected by Commissioners Thomas C. Russell, James Taylor, and Capt. Baxter Taylor. A log courthouse was built here 1833, replaced by brick structure 1837, and used until present courthouse erected 1899. LaFayette, county seat, was formerly known as Chambersville and Chambers Courthouse.
[Hwy 431 (LaFayette Street) at Alabama Avenue in LaFayette at courthouse.
32.89935 N 85.40110 W]
Muscogee Indians
Creek Indian villages nearby were affiliated with either Upper or Lower Confederacies of the Creek Nation. In colonial times Spain, France, and England contended for this section. Indian title ceded in 1832.
[1953: Hwy 431 (LaFayette Street) at Alabama Avenue in LaFayette.
32.89951 N 85.40105 W
]
The Lafayette Presbyterian Church
Organized 1835. This structure was built by early settlers from Virginia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, and subsequently modified. The original building has stood since 1836. Union Sunday School began here in 1891. Many eminent ministers have filled the pulpit.
[1st Street at 2nd Avenue in Lafayette
32.89779 N 85.40006 W]
West Point Manufacturing Company
Cornerstones of Chattahoochee Manufacturing Company, Langdale Alabama, and Alabama & Georgia Manufacturing Company, River View, Alabama, were laid on August 1, 1866. Mills used Chattahoochee River water power for operation of spindles and looms. Planters and businessmen of Chambers County, Alabama, and West Point, Georgia, invested the capital for these ventures, providing a new way of life to a war-stricken people. In 1880, West Point Manufacturing Company was organized from the Chattahoochee mill. The business genius, enterprise, and vision of LaFayette Lanier (1845-1910), president 1896-1910, were largely responsible for the industrial and civic development of "The Valley."
[1964: Hwy 29 in Langdale
32.81410 N 85.171043 W
]
Other Chambers County pages:
Back to Historical Marker Index
http://www.archives.alabama.gov/aha/markers/chambers.html
Updated: March 31, 2010
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