Merrellton, Alabama

Merrellton, Alabama
Unincorporated community
Merrellton, Alabama
Merrellton, Alabama
Coordinates: 33°51′48″N 85°44′31″W / 33.86333°N 85.74194°W / 33.86333; -85.74194Coordinates: 33°51′48″N 85°44′31″W / 33.86333°N 85.74194°W / 33.86333; -85.74194
Country United States
State Alabama
County Calhoun
Elevation 673 ft (205 m)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID 160086[1]

Merrellton, also known as East and West Junction, Junction, and Merrelton, is an unincorporated community in Calhoun County, Alabama, United States.[1]

Merrellton is located on Alabama State Route 21, 16.6 mi (26.7 km) north of Anniston.

History

A post office was established in 1884 and was named Merrill, after the daughter of the postmistress, Adelia E. Frank. A school was established in the early 1900s.[2] The post office closed in 1923, and the school closed in 1927.[1][3]

In 1929, a tornado struck an African-American church which was used as a school, demolishing the building and killing five pupils.[4]

Merrellton was a historic junction for two now-abandoned railway lines, the East & West Railroad and the Southern Railway.[5] In 1996, the city of Jacksonville acquired from the Norfolk Southern Railway the track bed of the former Southern Railway which passed through Merrellton. The track bed was used to complete a portion of the Chief Ladiga Trail, Alabama's first rail trail.[6]

Notable people

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Merrellton". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. ↑ O'Dell, Kimberly (1998). Calhoun County. Arcadia. p. 66.
  3. ↑ "Merrellton School (historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  4. ↑ "Freakish Storms Leave Six Dead" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. March 23, 1929.
  5. ↑ "Calhoun County" (PDF). University of Alabama. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Chief Ladiga National Recreation Trail, Jacksonville and Piedmont, Alabama". National Recreation Trails. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  7. ↑ I'll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition. LSU Press. 1977. p. 388.
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