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Orion, Alabama

Coordinates: 31°57′32″N 86°00′20″W / 31.95889°N 86.00556°W / 31.95889; -86.00556
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Orion, Alabama
Orion, Alabama is located in Alabama
Orion, Alabama
Orion, Alabama
Orion, Alabama is located in the United States
Orion, Alabama
Orion, Alabama
Coordinates: 31°57′32″N 86°00′20″W / 31.95889°N 86.00556°W / 31.95889; -86.00556
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyPike
Elevation
561 ft (171 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code334
GNIS feature ID152820[1]

Orion, also known as Prospect Ridge, is an unincorporated community in Pike County, Alabama, United States, located 12.9 miles (20.8 km) north of Troy.

History

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Originally called Prospect Ridge, the name was changed to Orion in honor of the constellation.[2] Orion was incorporated on February 4, 1850, and the charter was repealed by the Alabama Legislature on February 26, 1881.[3] A post office operated under the name Prospect Ridge from 1838 to 1848 and under the name Orion from 1848 to 1903.[4]

Orion was home to the Orion Institute, one of the earliest schools in Pike County.[5]

Jim Capers, the first African-American Revolutionary War soldier known to be buried in Alabama, is buried at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Orion.[6]

Multiple structures in Orion were documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey.

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References

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  1. ^ "Orion". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ Foscue, Virginia (1989). Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. p. 105. ISBN 0-8173-0410-X.
  3. ^ Alabama (1881). Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Alabama. J. Boardman. p. 435.
  4. ^ "Pike County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  5. ^ Best Books on; Federal Writers' Project (1941). Alabama; a Guide to the Deep South. Best Books on. p. 378. ISBN 978-1-62376-001-4.
  6. ^ "Jim Capers" (PDF). The Alabama Society Sons of the American Revolution. Retrieved January 19, 2015.