Alabama Confederate Memorial Park
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The Alabama Confederate Memorial Park is "The Confederate Soldiers Home of Alabama".
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At the beginning of the 20th Century there were many Confederate veterans living in Alabama whose "wants cannot be supplied by means of pension funds.....who have no homes, no families, no relatives, no friends, no money, or property and who are too feeble to work or earn a living." Jefferson Manly Falkner, a Montgomery attorney and Confederate veteran, was determined that something more than just the payment of meager state pensions had to be done for his needy and disabled former "comrads-in-arms". Through his untiring efforts the Alabama Confederate Soldiers Home, the state's only facility for the care of indigent Confederate veterans, was established in the fall of 1901.
In 1902, Falkner donated 80 acres of his own land near the summer resort community of Mountain Creek, in Chilton County, for use as a site for the Home. Through various fund raising projects, the finances were secured to turn Falkner's vision into a reality. The State took over the adminstration of the facility in October of 1903.
The home consisted of a 22 building complex that included a 25 bed hospital as well as an elaborate water & sewage system. At the peak of its service between 1914 & 1918, the home housed over a hundred people, 91 veterans and 19 wives.
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Building_the_Home_-_1902_News_Article
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Two seperate cemeteries were established while the home operated. The first cemetery is now located outside the boundaries of the park, near the north gate. The second is located atop the hill within the park and is the resting place of the founder, Jefferson Manly Falkner.
Cemetery No. 1
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Cemetery No. 2
CEMETERY_LIST
For a digital image of a particular marker, contact the group manager.
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Located at the home is the Old Mountain Creek Post Office which was originally Gray & Speer's Store. It was located about 3/4 mile from its present site, and was converted to a post office circa 1906. It served the Alabama Confederate Soldiers Home until October 1933. The home was officially closed six years later, October 1939.
Old Mountain Creek Post Office
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The Old Marbury Methodist Church was moved to the park in 1983. It was originally located near the Marbury Post Office, a few miles from the park. It was donated to the park by the State of Alabama.
Old Marbury Methodist Church
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Picnic Pavillion No. 1 is located on the site where a log structure known as "Memorial Hall" once stood. The hall was erected in 1902 through statewide contributions of "memorial logs" purchased by individuals in memory of Confederate soldiers. These logs were utilized in building the first floor.
Picnic Pavillion No. 1
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The J.M. Falkner Memorial Monument is located at the Picnic Pavillion No. 1 and was erected in 1967 by the UDC, replacing the original monument that was lost to fire & the elements.
J.M. Falkner Memorial
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The Museum and Gift Shop is loacted on part of the original roadway that ran through the ground. It was erected in 1979 and contains exhibits pertaining to the Civil War, the history of the Soldiers Home, and to the activities of the UDC.
Museum & Gift Shop
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ENTER THE MUSEUM
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