" Conecuh Has History of Five Court Houses
Beginning with Log Cabin at Hampden Ridge"


Compiled and contributed JAN 2005, by Sherry S. Johnston, conecuh_hs@hotmail.com

The following is reprinted from the 1957 Evergreen Courant:
" Conecuh Has History of Five Court Houses Beginning with Log Cabin at Hampden Ridge"
" The present Courthouse building is the fifth court house in Conecuh, with the history of Conecuh courthouses dating back to before Alabama became a state in 1819.
The first "court house" was at Hampden Ridge, and was built and used shortly after the War of 1812. The log house could hardly be called a court house as is known today, since Conecuh was not a county, and it was generally used for a court room only.
After Alabama became a state, the "court house" was moved to Old Sparta, where a special structure was built. It was at this court house that the first Conecuh company of volunteers was organized for the Confederate Army, in April of 1861. This company served with distinction throughout the Civil War, and was among those which surrendered at Appomatox in April of 1865.
Shortly after the Civil War, the courthouse at Old Sparta burned down, destroying all records. It was rumored at the time that the fire was deliberately set by a party or parties to destroy records which would have been damaging to them.
After the fire, which is variously said to have been in 1866, to 1868, the county seat was moved to Evergreen, and Old Sparta gradually waned away. The court house erected here then burned a few years later, and an imposing red brick structure took its' place. The red brick court house was condemned about 1899, and the present building finished in the summer of 1901. Other accounts place the completion as late as 1906, but it is believed that the summer of 1901 is the most accurate.
The destruction of Conecuh's court houses by fire have made it virtually impossible to trace land transactions, since the records were also destroyed."

*Please note that since this article was published in 1957, some land records and other transactions, though difficult to obtain, can now be found, along with newspapers on microfilm from 1879 forward. These records are on file at the Evergreen Public Library in Evergreen, and The Dept. of Archives and History in Montgomery, AL
The present day courthouse in Evergreen is still controversial, as repairs have yet to be made, and its' future is still in the fate of others. Many of the offices have been removed to the old Southwest Alabama Agricultural School (formerly Evergreen High School & more recently, the Evergreen Junior High School) on North Main Street in what was once known as Old Evergreen.




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