Historical Marker Program
Side one
The Horse Shoe Lumber Company
E.L. More, president of the A&F Division of the L&N Railroad, arrived in River Falls from Nashville in 1897 to spearhead the construction of a branch line of the L&N. Recognizing a business opportunity in the large quantity of virgin longleaf pine timberland in the area, he purchased a half-interest in a small mill located on Buck Creek near River Falls. He was encouraged by his long-time friend and mentor Major E.C. Lewis, president of the NC & STL Railroad and L&N board member. From this beginning until its closure following the disastrous flood of 1929, the Horse Shoe Lumber Company along the river and near this marker was one of the largest, most modern sawmills of its time. The mill operated an extensive logging rail system using as many as eight locomotives over the years. In addition to More, key mill personnel included his long-time associate Cyrus A. O’Neal as company vice president, Henry Stanley as company secretary, and E.W. Arwood as private secretary to Mr. More. Gus Henderson of Andalusia was mill superintendent. John Miles Cooper, also of Andalusia, served as woods foreman.
Sponsored by the Covington Historical Society, Inc.
[2011: River Falls]
Side two
River Falls Power Company
E.L. More organized the River Falls Power Company in 1920 to provide a grid system to furnish electricity to nine counties along the FL/AL state line. Leslie Cheek of Nashville joined More and Cyrus A. O’Neal in providing the start-up capital. More became the company’s president and O’Neal its vice- president, while Henry Stanley served as secretary. The arrival of electricity served as an invitation to industry to locate in the area and More’s own Horse Shoe Lumber Company was one of the earliest customers. More constructed a modern all-electric sawmill on the same site where his old mill had burned in 1924. The power was supplied by the company’s Gantt and Point “A” dams built upstream on the Conecuh River in 1924 and 1926, respectively. To ensure uninterrupted electrical service, a large auxiliary steam plant was added to the system in River Falls. A third dam up the Patsalagi was envisioned for the future by the company, but those plans were abandoned after the 1929 flood.
Sponsored by the Covington Historical Society, Inc.
Lake Jackson
Andrew Jackson in Seminole War with an army of 1200 camped here in May 1818 en route westward from Fort Gadsden to subdue marauding Indians abetted by Spaniards at Pensacola. Jackson determined to seize Pensacola and thus altered the course of history on the continent.
[1996: 3rd St. South, Florala, 31.00125N 86.32892W]
Montezuma
On December 18, 1821, the Alabama General Assembly appointed Covington County commissioners William Carter Jr., James R. Mobley, Aaron Lockhart, Henry Jones, and Abel Polk "to fix and designate a suitable place for a seat of Justice, and to contract for, and superintend the erection of such public buildings" as necessary for the use of the county. Originally known as Covington Court House, the county seat was named Montezuma by 1824 and was located on the banks of the Conecuh River near this site. Due to repeated flooding, the seat of justice was moved to present day Andalusia in 1844 and Montezuma was eventually abandoned.
[2005: Hwy 84 near River Falls, 31.34398N 86.52482W]
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