Chilton County Historical Society

Brief History of Clanton

Early Settler Days

Originally, the locality of Clanton was a cattle ranch and apparently a destination for waterfowl hunting... the main creek through the area of the future town was called Goose Pond and the area just a mile or two eastward was called Ranch.

The Williams family owned all of this area and used it for a cattle ranch. Their son and Alfred Baker soon took over the property in the Clanton area and Baker quickly bought out all the Williams' interests.

Alfred Baker

Alfred Baker's family had moved to this area when he was an infant. By the 1860s he was a Legislator from Autauga County in Montgomery, apparently as part of the "Radical Republicans" that were in charge during Reconstruction.

In 1868 Baker was instrumental in convincing the Legislature to create the new county of "Baker" from parts of Autauga, Shelby, Bibb, Perry, and Dallas. About this same time, Baker had bought large amounts of property in the center area of this new county.

Baker soon had the town surveyed and laid out. He gave lots (or sold them for one dollar) to churchs and government organizations.

After a few years Baker fell out of favor, likely because of some personal indiscretions and his politics. He moved westward for several years and ultimately returned to Clanton shortly before his death.

Early Years

Ranch / Goose Pond
Until the formation of Baker County in December 1868, the area had two notable communities, Goose Pond and Ranch, separated by a couple of miles. Albert Baker owned significant parts of all the property of those communities and in-between, especially the Goose Pond area. Mentions of Goose Pond have been found as early as 1843 in Autauga County newspapers, discussing election returns for that voting place. The Goose Pond Post Office was created in January 1871 by Alfred Baker, but it was changed to Clanton by May. The Ranch Post Office apparently only existed in about the same 1871 timeframe.

Gullahorn's Switch
In the 1870 timeframe, the Gullahorns owned a lot of propety and operated a sawmill where downtown Clanton is today. Apparently for a time the railroad location was called "Gullahorn's Switch."

Baker's
In the 1871 Alabama Legislature draft of the law setting up times for a new courthouse location election, Clanton is first called "Baker's." This is the only mention of this name found thus far.

Clanton Station
In the same Legislative draft, Clanton Station is mentioned. The railroad named their stations after their friends and supporters in Montgomrey - legislators and wealthy businessman. Clanton Station was named after James Holt Clanton. It was mentioned that the county papers were being stored there in the station.

Clanton
Before the 1871 document became law, it was amended such that the name Baker's was changed to Clanton. Clanton was first incorporated in April 1873, but that was later repealed. It was again incorporated in February 1897.

Baker County

Baker County's county seat was named "Grantville" which was effectively at the location of the former "Ranch" mentioned above. This was at a crossroads, today near I65, where a north-south road came from Montgomery toward Montevallo and an east-west road went from roughly Columbiana toward Maplesville. This courthose was very shortlived and burned less than a year - in spring 1870.

In February 1871 the Alabama Legislature passed a law for Baker County to have an election April 1st for a new courthouse location. Those communities in the running were Clanton (at first called "Baker's" in the documents), Barrett's (Verbena), Benson (Isabella), and Lomax. Clanton and Benson went to a runoff on April 29th and Clanton won to become the new county seat. On May 2nd the county commissioners declared Clanton the new county seat.

Courthouses

Baker County's first courthouse was built at Ranch, renamed Grantville, in 1869. It was operational until March of 1870 when it burned. Tradition has that it was built of logs, however, many contemporary newspaper articles describe it as frame.

The first courthouse in Clanton was built in 1872 and was a two story wood frame structure that sat in the middle of the intersection of 2nd Avenue North and 6th Street and faced the railroad. Practically all of the businesses at that time were located on the strip of 2nd Avenue North from the courthouse to the railroad and just beyond.

When the county decided to build a new courthouse in 1896, the original courthouse was moved (by a mule) from the intersection just a few yards down 2nd Avenue and continued to be used as a store for many years. The new 1896 courthouse was a brick structure, two stories, with a tower. Many of the ca 1900 photographs of downtown Clanton were made from this tower. The new courthouse location was changed from the center of the intersection to the northeast corner of the intersection.

This courthouse partially burned in 1918. Large parts of the structure were reused in the new courthouse that was built after the fire. The front of the new courthouse was different and was built with large columns.

The 1918 courthouse was replaced in 1962 by a new building. All the property from 6th St. to 5th St. was purchased and the new structure was built in the middle of the block - while the old building was still in use. When the new courthouse was completed, the old one was torn down.

Today (2026) the county has almost completed the next courthouse on Hwy 145 and should move in the spring.

1880 descriptoins - DeJarnette

A couple of descriptions of Clanton about 10 years after the County formation by African-American Minister Peter DeJarnette, Sr. were printed in the Union Banner in 1934 and 1938. He was working for Gullahorn’s sawmill in Clanton around 1880 and describes it thusly:

John Gullahorn’s sawmill was about the only thing in the new town. The sawmill was behind the location of the Big Four Hardware Company (southwest corner of 2nd Avenue North and 7th Street). The area was sometimes called Gullahorn’s Switch. The roads were “nothing more nor less than a real rough route, with stumps, treetops, logs and holes.” There was a log Courthouse, log jail, and a Commissary near where City Hall stands. The train “depot” was a boxcar where train tickets were sold. He helped unload the first train carload of fertilizer that came to the area and they had to keep the buzzards knocked off of the bags! When he worked for the Sloss Mineral Company he was robbed of $85 and he credited Sheriff Homer Lowe and Judge Callen for catching and punishing the thief. He remembered Verbena being named by Major Norton.

On a personal note, he was a Reverend, and said that, at age 76, he had preached for 49 years, baptized 3549 people, buried 2374, married 840 couples and had preached in nearly every prison in Alabama and in lots of the jail houses. Some brief research on his history shows that he was born in January, 1859 in Autauga County, Alabama. Note that since this was before Chilton’s existence he could very well have been born in the area of Autauga that became Chilton. In 1870 he is listed in the Kingston post office area with his family, possibly father or grandfather Zacharia DeJarnette, mother Mary A., and brothers John and Zacharia. Ten years later he is living by himself in Pine Flat and working as a laborer. By 1900 he is living in Cooper, west of the L & N Railroad, married to Ellen (1883) and is a farmer. She is listed as having 3 children, all living, John W. (15), James M. (13), and Peter H. (11). In 1934 Mr. DeJarnette said he had owned his home-place for 51 years. He bought it from the Smith, Taft, & Marbury Lumber Company, near Marbury station.

Clanton ca. 1880-1900

The town of Clanton really began to take form in the 20 or so years before the turn of the 20th Century. The focus of the business activity was the railroad intersection with Main Street (2nd Avenue North). The buildings were all wood frame at first and around 1900, after two major fires in 1901, some brick structures began to be built.

The only hotel for a time was the Thornton House on the northwest corner of 2nd Avenue North and 8th Street. A new brick courthouse was built in 1896 and the old wood frame courthouse, built in 1872, was moved across 2nd Avenue and used as a store. W. L. Sampey, merchant, built his two story brick building on the southwest corner of 2nd Avenue North and 7th Street. It was soon purchased by his son-in-law Pinckard as the Pinckard Hardware store.

Clanton ca. 1900-1920

Telephone (Telegraph)

1898 – by the end of 1898 there was telephone service in Clanton by the American Telephone Company.
1906 – Southern Bell Telephone came into Clanton. Peoples Telephone Company soon followed.

Major Fires

1901 saw two devastating fires that reshaped the city. The old wooden framed buildings were almost completely replaced with brick and stone buildings.
On January 31, 1914 a major fire destroyed the Palmer Hotel, the old/original Episcopal Church, and the Davis Boarding House on the top of hill on the west side of the railroad.
1920 the Wade Ice Plant was totally destroyed by fire in September, threatening the entire rest of the block beside the railroad on the north side of 2nd Avenue North.

Civic Progress
Progress was made in 1908

Sidewalks were paved.
The "frog pond" between 6th and 7th Streets and 2nd and 4th Avenues North was drained in June.
Finally when 3rd Avenue North was extended to the railroad in 1929 the extra dirt was used to complete the filling in of the "frog pond."

Railroad

Completed ca 1871
Straightened the "cut" with a steam shovel June 1902.
Built the "overhead bridge" (wooden original version) in February 1906.