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Chewacla, Alabama

Coordinates: 32°37′12″N 85°20′14″W / 32.62000°N 85.33722°W / 32.62000; -85.33722
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Chewacla, Alabama
Chewacla is located in Alabama
Chewacla
Chewacla
Chewacla is located in the United States
Chewacla
Chewacla
Coordinates: 32°37′12″N 85°20′14″W / 32.62000°N 85.33722°W / 32.62000; -85.33722
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyLee
Elevation
771 ft (235 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (EDT)
GNIS feature ID156176[1]

Chewacla, /uˈwɑːklə/ choo-ahk-lə also known as Yongesborough /jɔːŋɡʊsbɔːrɔː/ yawn-guus-baw-raw, is an unincorporated community in the northeast corner of Lee County, Alabama, United States.

History

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The name Chewacla is derived from the Hitchiti word sawackla, with sawi meaning "racoon" and ukli meaning "town".[2] Chewacla was located on the Central of Georgia Railway. It was once home to the Chewacla Lime Works, which operated a quarry.[3] A specific type of marble, known as Chewacla marble, was mined in this quarry. Chewacla marble was described as "a highly crystalline dolomite, for most part a beautiful pearly white stone".[4] Gneiss was also mined in the quarry and used to make millstones.[5]

Chewacla was the location of one of the first Rosenwald schools in Alabama.[6]

A post office operated under the name Yongesborough from 1859 to 1886 and under the name Chewacla from 1886 to 1907.[7]

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Below are photographs taken in Chewacla as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey:

References

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  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Chewacla, Alabama
  2. ^ Read, William A. (1984). Indian Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. p. 15. ISBN 0-8173-0231-X.
  3. ^ List of Quarries in Alabama & Quarry Links, Photographs and Articles
  4. ^ Lexicon of Geologic Names of the United States: A-L. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1938. p. 423.
  5. ^ Charles D. Hockensmith (May 12, 2009). The Millstone Industry: A Summary of Research on Quarries and Producers in the United States, Europe and Elsewhere. McFarland. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-7864-5380-1.
  6. ^ Ellen Weiss; Robert Robinson Taylor (2012). Robert R. Taylor and Tuskegee: An African American Architect Designs for Booker T. Washington. NewSouth Books. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-58838-248-1.
  7. ^ "Lee County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
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