Ad in local paper for workers at McNeil's in Hollinger
History along Butler Street has ebbed and flowed with the coming and going of numerous forgotten communities. Hadley, Vocation, Coley, Steadham are names lost to all but a few who dig into the past. Yet between Old Stage Road and Butler Street the forgotten lore of the Hollinger community beckons us to remember its forgotten past.
Today, as tractors and other farm equipment sail across a sea of cotton and peanuts in the quite fields of south Monroe County, a history is slowly being forgotten. The small communities which once had a post office and school are now a thing of the past and with their demise, the local memory starts to fade.
Hollinger is one such area. The community had a school, several churches, maybe even a masonic lodge and at least one store in the community operated by Noah McNeil.
John Hollinger may have been one of the first settlers in the area. In the early 1800s he set an example of how to rebel against a toll bridge when he built his own toll free bridge next to John Poeble's toll bridge on the Old Stage Road, naturally Peoble's bridge soon was a relic.
By the 1880s numerous patent deeds were being applied for in the area and notice of these deeds are found in the Monroe Journal editions of that decade. By the early 1900s the people of Hollinger witnessed an up and coming community nestled in the rich farm land of the area.
Part of any community's success is its schools. In early November 1899, Noah McNeil travelled to Monroeville to bring back Miss Maude Malone to teach at the local school. McNeil apparently received great accolades for securing her for the school yet by June of 1900 Professor W. S. Nash was teaching at the school. Yet by December 13, 1900, Noah McNeil was advertising for a teacher in The Monroe Journal. Miss Katie Robert of Mexia was teaching the public school at Hollinger by 1902.
The McNeil's were prime movers in the community in those days. By 1897 they ran a mercantile store, turpentine operation (constructed by A.D. McNeil in 1896) as well as a gin and grist mill. Meanwhile locals attended church, worked their farms and raised families.
Things were not always an all idyllic rural life in the community. The Monroe Journal reported on February 11, 1892 that the 9 year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Newberry was burned to death near Hollinger when the child was helping to burn off a sedgefield when her clothing caught fire and she was burned so badly that she died shortly thereafter.
Brewton's Standard Gauge newspaper reported on March 7, 1901 that: "Several citizens were hauling fertilizer from Repton, Charles Lucas and 15 year old Leon McNeil among them," when Lucas, (allegedly under the influence of 'mean whiskey') was said to have assaulted the young McNeil to the point that McNeil shot him twice to escape his attacker.
Lucas died the following day, leaving behind a wife and children and supposedly giving a statement that young Leon McNeil was justified in the shooting. Justice H.W. Boulware discharged McNeil from any charges stemming from the incident according to the newspaper reports.
Many at Hollinger had family ties to other local areas. W.J. McNeil and wife had a son, P.R. McNeil, who was living in Bluff Springs, Florida in 1902. Rev. Joseph Tomlin of Century, had family members at Hollinger during this same period.
Rev. Hall preached at Enon Church during early 1900s. Church services sometimes had a way of brining unique excitement to the community. In early January 1902, A.D. McNeil's horse broke its halter and tore through the churchyard with buggy attached before striking a tree. The horse was not injured but the buggy was a total loss. During this period, Jesse Silcox attended to a sickly W.J. McNeil at his home.
Infrastructure along the roads were important to the residents of the area and in April 1902 A.D. McNeil contracted to rebuild Hollinger's Bridge. Later, in November 1907, W.S. Bowden contracted once more for the rebuilding of the Hollinger Bridge in the area, perhaps heavy rains were behind two bridges in five years.
Other names associated with Hollinger were S.K. Pridgeon, Jesse Silcox, Della Steward, Riley Norris (who actually lived at another community called Beaumont). A local church was called Liberty Chapel.
The good people of Hollinger worked their fields, raised their children and attended church together for decades. Local papers continued to mention the area as a community at least as late as 1915 and today Hollinger Road, which connects with Butler Street on the west and Old Stage Road to the east, remind us of a time in our not so distant past when the woods were filled with industry and life travelled at a slower pace.
Shadows and Dust Volume III: Legacies is available for purchase in the amount of $30.00+$5.00 shipping and handling to PO Box 579 Atmore, AL 36502 or visit Lulu Publishing.com; Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles.com OR at the Monroe County Heritage Museum in Monroeville, Alabama or by calling 251 294 0293.
