Chilton County Historical Society

Brief History of Verbena

Settler Days

Francis Posey was the earliest US settler to obtain property in the current Verbena area, from the US BLM (1825). In the 1830s more settlers obtained land in the area; names like Nathaniel Posey, Squire Posey, Jacob P. House, William Robertson, Daniel Nelson, James L. Price, John H. Ray, William Gray, Lewis Easterling, and Malcolm McRae. But by far the largest landholder was Peter Cooper, who owned practically all of the land that makes up Verbena town today.

A few miles north of the present spot of Verbena was the location of the Chestnut Creek Post Office, now called Cooper or Coopers. This small crossroads was the earliest settlement in the eastern half of the county (Maplesville being the earliest in the western part).

The South & North Alabama Railroad (S&NARR) was built through in the late 1860s and completed to Nashville in 1870. It was soon controlled by the L. & N. Railroad. With the railroad to Montgomery operational, population increased and the town boomed.

Barrett's

At the time of Baker County formation (later Chilton County) Verbena was called Barrett's Station or just Barrett's, after a prominent family at the time. After the first Baker County courthouse burned in 1870, Barrett's (Verbena) was in the running for the new courthouse location, along with Benson (Isabella), Lomax, and Clanton (briefly called "Baker's" at the time). Clanton won that election after a runoff with Benson (Isabella).

Summerfield

Briefly the area was called Summerfield, however the US Post Office soon caused a name change as there was another Summerfield in Alabama. It was likely the present Summerfield in Dallas County.

Verbena

The community was renamed Verbena sometime before 1871. Wyatt says in his "Chilton County and Her People" book that "... Miss Kate Norton was given the task of rechristening it. Because of the wild Verbena growing so abundantly she named it Verbena."

During Yellow Fever outbreaks in the late 1870s and 1880s the area became a resort community for wealthy Montgomery residents. Land was bought by these well-to-do folks from Montgomery and new names were added those of the early settlers: Barrett, Hughes, Baldwin, Clisby, Norton, and Gibson.

The Methodist Church was built 1877. It is one of the oldest still standing in the county. Two others that come to mind are Maplesville Methodist and the unused Jemison Methodist buildings - both also built in the 1870s.

Verbena was a thriving community in that time with two hotels (both gone now), bank, PO, stores. In 1890 it was the largest community in Chilton County, per the census.

Notable Residents

Montgomery newspaper owner Carr Gibson bought property and became a prominent citizen. He married the sister of the poet Sidney Lanier and the poet spent time in Verbena, often writing there. The descendants of that family still own local property, however, most or all of them live elsewhere now. Gibson's daughter later married former Governor Braxton Bragg Comer. Carr Gibson's son also dabbled in poetry and there are a few of his poems in the local newspapers.

In the late 1870s the F. A. Gulledge and the Gulledge family became prominent merchants and land owners in the area. Their enterprise was known as "the Gulledge Brothers" and lasted well into the mid-twentieth century.

Like most small towns in the second half of the Twentieth Century, the town of Verbena shrank as transportation improved and people moved or spent more time in the larger cities.