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Farming For A Better Future, page 151
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Hopewell African Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery
The Hopewell AME Church and Cemetery are located on the east side of Middle Road between Locker and Kolbe lanes in Northeast Florence, part way to St. Florian. The history of Hopewell AME is connected with the history of Hopewell Church of Christ and its integrated congregation. After the Civil War, there were several churches of Christ established in the county. This is credited mostly to Theophilus Brown Larimore, who founded the nearby Mars Hill Bible School in 1871. One of the new churches was the Hopewell Church of Christ, located at the intersection of Cox Creek Parkway and Old Jackson Highway. This later became Hopewell Methodist Church. The timeline is unclear; however, at some point the white members of the church dissipated to other congregations and the members of color came together to form the Hopewell AME Church.
The Hopewell AME Church most likely came to its current location sometime before 1914. The USGS topographic map of 1914 shows an unlabeled church on Middle Road. The 1936 topographic map has the
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(Left) 1936 USGS Topographic Map of Hopewell Church and Cemetery, Killen and Florence, Alabama Quadrangles (Top) 1957 USGS Topographic Map of Hopewell Church and Cemetery, Killen and Florence, Alabama Quadrangles (Above) 1971 USGS Topographic Map of Hopewell Church and Cemetery, Killen and Florence, Alabama Quadrangles
Hopewell Church labeled and depicted alongside a cemetery and an unknown building. The Hopewell AME Church Cemetery has at least 28 burials and possibly a few dozen unmarked burials. The first known interment is Virginia Brewer (died 1926), which is consistent with the appearance of the cemetery on topographic maps. Family names include Bowens, Brannon, Brewer, Brown, Campbell, Eady, Fuqua, Hampton, Hill, Hobbs, Hough, Malone, McDaniel, McVey, Nalls, Roach, Smith, Stanford, and Webster. The cemetery is still in use.
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Ingram Cemetery
Ingram Cemetery is located in a field to the east of County Road 84 and Wheeler Dam Highway along Second Creek. Its proximity to Butler Cemetery, just a few hundred feet southwest of Ingram Cemetery, often leads to confusion. Ingram Cemetery is sometimes referred to as Butler Cemetery. It is also known as Ben Ingram Cemetery after one of the earliest interments, Ben Ingram (1859-1903). Little information could be confirmed about Mr. Ingram. This cemetery has almost 80 graves; the earliest known burial is of Elizabeth Mason Ingram Barclay (1860-1901). Common surnames include Coffee or Coffey, Fuqua, Kogers, and Smiths.
Even though the cemetery is on the west side of Joe Wheeler State Park and close to the water, there are no cemeteries recorded on the USGS/TVA topographic maps from 1936. Also, no cemeteries by the name of Butler or Ingram were part of the TVA cemetery relocation program. The cemetery is recorded on the 1952 topographic map as Ingram Cemetery, just northeast of Butler Cemetery. In 1971 and afterwards, the cemetery is depicted, but not labeled.
(Top Right) 1952 USGS Topographic Map of Ingram Cemetery, Wheeler Dam and Thorntontown, Alabama Quadrangles (Right) 1971 USGS Topographic Map of Ingram Cemetery, Wheeler Dam and Thorntontown, Alabama Quadrangles
151 - LAUDERDALE - (4679)