Download [Page] [Document]
mcc-ns1-229
Farming For A Better Future, page 203
Since the 1930s, the Academy and the history of African American education experienced many changes. The North Alabama Baptist Academy closed when Courtland Colored School opened about 1930. When the white high school opened in Courtland, the name was changed to Central High School. Their athletic team was the Panthers, and their school colors were green and gold. When integration went into effect in 1970, the school became Central Elementary School. Sometime between then and the early 1990s, the school was named in honor of local educator Richard Alexander Hubbard - R.A. Hubbard Elementary School. Sometime later, Courtland and Hazelwood high schools merged, the new high school was named R.A. Hubbard School. It is located in North Courtland along Jesse Jackson Parkway. Therefore, the history of education for all students currently graduating from grade school in Courtland reaches back to the North Alabama Baptist Academy. (Below) School Census Card for the Crutch Family with a Child at Courtland School, 1938 (Lawrence County Archives, Moulton, Alabama) Albemarle Plantation What is left of the plantation known as Albemarle is located to the southeast of Courtland. The main house and some of the outbuildings still stand and are on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. The house was built in 1821, making it one of the oldest houses in the state. The original owner of the plantation was Littleberry Jones. In 1820, he owned 57 slaves, making him one of the larger slaveholders in Lawrence County. Over the years, the estate continued to grow and by 1830 included 236 acres. Another owner bought the land and added more acreage so that by 1840 there were 745 acres associated with Albemarle. Oakley H. Bynum Plantation* The Bynum Plantation was located southwest of Courtland near the airfield. A plantation and slave owner, O. H. Bynum (1817-1879) was born in North Carolina. His father, Drew Bynum, brought him and his family to Lawrence County about 1821. Nothing remains of the plantation besides the cemetery located in the woods beyond the end of W.C. Handy Avenue. The main cemetery with an iron gate is the resting place for at least 8 members of the Bynum family, but another, larger cemetery in close proximity was used by the slaves of the plantation and the freedmen community after Emancipation. The exact location of the African American cemetery is not known. Information on the cemetery has been relayed via Findagrave.com. Local resident Mr. Charles Jordan was interviewed by the Moulton Advertiser in 2006. He supposed there may be as many as 100 burials there when he participated in Decoration Day at the cemetery in the 1960s and 1970s. He remembers there was one marked grave, that of William McDonald (1892-1918), who seems to have been a soldier who died in a camp in Illinois, perhaps a victim of influenza. (Below) Excerpt from the 1860 Slave Schedule Showing O. H. Bynum and slaves (National Archives and Records Administration via Ancestry.com) 61 David Temple School* & FosterDavis Cemetery The name “David Temple” is most likely intended to be Davis, but was changed over time. The earliest records from 1930 call it Davis School, and the 1936 USGS topographic map labels it “Davis Temper School." By the late 1930s, some of the school records say “David Temple” instead, and, similarly, the 1951 topographic map names the school “David Temple School." Due to the many local residents with the last name Davis, it appears that the letters were changed over time. (Below) 1936 USGS/TVA Topographic Map of David Temple as “Davis Temper,” Hillsboro, Alabama Quadrangle 203 - LAWRENCE - (4731)