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The People Who Lived on the Land that is Now Redstone Arsenal, page 331
Other Neighbors. Edith said: The neighbors were not really close. The McWhorters were not as close as the Longs. They [the McWhorters] had a daughter Inez and two sons. To go to their house, coming in [the road that is now Buxton], you would pass the road where we turned south, past the Methodist Church. If you didn't turn south, and were going west, on the right was the Barleys and on the left was the McWhorters. Most people today of younger generations than Edith who did not grow up in farming communities would not think of the McWhorters as neighbors. The McWhorters were white people who lived on Parcel D-159, which was across the road from the house Edith lived in with her parents when her mother owned the store [D-174]. Since most of Edith's remembrances relate to when she lived on Parcel F-277 (the Woodward property), it seemed possible she was thinking of the McWhorters as neighbors from when she lived across the road from them, however, this consideration was dismissed, because Edith, at the same time, had mentioned the Long family. It is reasonable to suggest that “back then,” in farming communities, the concept of “neighbor” encompassed a greater amount of distance away than it does today. The Long family (James Long interview) lived on Parcel F-291, owned by I. Schiffman & Company, Inc. James Long's father was the company's land manager for Parcel F-291, and the house where they lived was in what is now the igloo area, on the west side of what is now McAlpine Road, south of Nick Fitchard's place (Parcel F-290). James is contemporary in age to Edith. The Barleys lived on Parcel D-173, which is a large parcel that forms the western and northern boundaries of the small parcel where her mother's store and house was (Parcel D-174, owned by A.C. Turner at the time of the sale of the land to the government). Edith spoke highly of the Barley family. She said: “They were the most unique Black people in the community. They were really light and the most educated.” When asked about Black neighbors who might have lived closer to the Woodward house, Edith said Buddy Clay was a name she remembered. She said he was also “well to do” and she thought he owned his land. Their house was off the road a bit. Church. The community church for white people was the Methodist Church. It was located on Parcel D-159, which is shown on the Army Real Estate Map as being owned by the Madison County Board of Education at the time of the sale of the land to the government. The small parcel appears to have been “carved” from the one owned by the McWhorters (D-166). It was on the south side of the road coming in from Farley, across the road from the store, which today is the southwest corner of the intersection of McAlpine Road and Buxton Road. Edith said the sanctuary wasn't very big. The Sunday school rooms were off to one side in the back. Edith said she couldn't remember how many rows of pews the church had; 331 - (4364)