unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
, United States which used to be in Barbour County. During the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, Company "H" of the
15th Regiment Alabama Infantry
The 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment was a Confederate States Army, Confederate volunteer infantry unit from the state of Alabama during the American Civil War. Recruited from six counties in the southeastern part of the state, it fought mostly wit ...
was raised from Barbour and Dale counties and called the "Glenville Guards". The Glennville Historic District, containing the
antebellum
Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to:
United States history
* Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States
** Antebellum Georgia
** Antebellum South Carolina
** Antebellum Virginia
* Antebellum ...
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1979.
History
Glennville was the first permanent community in what is today Russell County. It was founded in 1835, after the
Muscogee
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlandsremoval, by
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
preacher James Elizabeth Glenn. The town quickly developed into an economic and cultural center of East Alabama. In addition to the Methodist Church, the community was home to Male and Female Academies and the Weyman
School for Girls, all of which were renowned throughout the South for their classical curricula. The town also had a
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...
, stores, a
Masonic Lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
, and an
inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
. The town incorporated in 1854, seeking to attract a rail line, but the line was opposed by many planters in the community. With railroad bypassing Glennville and diminished power and influence of farmers after the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, the town gradually faded. ''See also:''
Geography
Glenville is located in the rural southern portion of Russell County along
U.S. Route 431
U.S. Route 431 (US 431) is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently travels for approximately from US 231/Alabama State Route 210 and US 231 Business (US 231 Bus.) and US 431 Bus. in Dothan, Alabama, to Owensboro, ...
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
.
Demographics
Glenville appeared on the U.S. Census in 1850 when it was located in Barbour County. It did not reappear again until 1880 with a much-diminished population after the borders were redrawn between Barbour and Russell Counties and it was moved into the latter. It last appeared on the 1890 census.
Architecture
The historic district consists of 32 main structures, 27 outbuildings, and 6 cemeteries. The most prominent are
antebellum
Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to:
United States history
* Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States
** Antebellum Georgia
** Antebellum South Carolina
** Antebellum Virginia
* Antebellum ...
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
style. The Methodist church (built circa 1850) is also Greek Revival, while the Episcopal church (1926) shows
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
influence. Late 19th- and early 20th-century
tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...
houses are more modest, and reflect the changing fortunes of the town.
File:Abandoned Store (ca. 1920) in the Glenville Historic District.jpg, alt=, Abandoned Store - September 2018
File:Episcopal Church in Glenville, AL.jpg, alt=, Episcopal Church - September 2018
File:Glennville Historic District.JPG, alt=, Glennville Historic District Historic Marker - September 2018
File:Glenville Historic District Monument.jpg, alt=, Glenville Historic District Monument - September 2018
File:St. John's Methodist Church (c. 1850).jpg, alt=, St. John's Methodist Church - September 2018