Chewacla, Alabama

Chewacla, /tʃuɑːklə/ 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.

Chewacla, Alabama
Unincorporated community
Chewacla
Chewacla
Coordinates: 32°37′12″N 85°20′14″W
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyLee
Elevation
771 ft (235 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (EDT)
GNIS feature ID156176[1]

History

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]

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

  • Convict quarters, Chewacla Lime Works
  • Old commissary building, Chewacla Lime Works
  • Old mule stable, Chewacla Lime Works
  • Remains of old lime kilns
  • Old lime pit

References
  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 (12 May 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 1 January 2015.


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