AUSTIN CEMETERY (Spring Ave
SW. Austinville) DECATUR, MORGAN COUNTY, ALABAMA
Mapping the Location
Area views of the Austin Cemetery 0050/0051/0052/00053/0054/0056/0057/0058/0059
AUSTIN, Francis A. , 2 Jul 1826 - 17 Dec 1878. (grave unmarked)
AUSTIN, Charles Henry, abt 1861 - 21 Jul 1933, Age 72 (grave unmarked)
AUSTIN, Elizabeth Melinda Roper, 1862 - 11 Apr 1910. (grave unmarked)
AUSTIN, William F., 1827 - 31 Dec 1878. (grave unmarked)
AUSTIN, Vandiver Lawson, 1835 - 25 Jun 1884.
0045L/0045/0048/0049
AUSTIN, Edward J., Sr., 1891 - 1917. 0039
AUSTIN, Walter Lee, 26 Dec 1879 - 27 Nov 1900. (grave unmarked)
HUDSON, Charles, no birth date given - 23 Jun 1902. (grave unmarked)
WHITE, Elmyra A., 1845 - 28 Nov 1908. 0043L/0043/0044
WHITE, James W., 18 Apr 1842 - 25 Apr 1916.
0040L/0040/0041/0042
Broken and Lost parts of memorials lying here:
0046L/0046
This cemetery has a very large open area in
the front and likely either there are a lot of unmarked graves here or there was a old
church on the front side of the few remaining grave assets. When I visited this
cemetery to photograph it in 2003 it was torn up with only one stone standing. I picked up a the
small stones and reset them. Later the Decatur city took over and graded & mowed the site and added a
protective fence along with appropriate signage so
that it looks nice now. I still wonder who will restore the old eloquent Lawson
Austin monument. All it needs is to level the base and then set/glue the other two
parts on top that.
Every time I see destruction around a
cemetery like this near a populated area I think of this scenario &
fictitious story. Some of this may have happened here with the missing tops of
tombstones: RogueTeen1 says to RogueTeen2 "If you want to be a part of my
(gang) club you have to do this. Go to that graveyard over there and grab a
tombstone and take it and dump it into the Tennessee River." RogueTeen1
then one night at midnight picks up
RogueTeen2 and they drive over to the
graveyard. They snatch up the top of a small marker and shove it into their junk
car. Then they head off to the Tennessee River bridge where they stop and take
it out and slide it off the edge of the bridge where it plunges into the
dark river waters below. Back at school the next day they are bragging to all their cronies
about what
they did. Some are in awe, others in disgust, but no one rats on them. Now years later these two individuals consciences are haunting them
for their bad choices, but they cannot correct this mistake. The stone is gone. The challenged one
then drives to the bridge in his sports car one day after a dark moment in his life,
gets out of his car and jumps to his
death below near where the tombstone was thrown many years earlier. Of course
the moral is - young people keep your conscience clean. Visit graveyards for the
right reasons. [CWA 28 Jun
2013.]
Unrelated Decatur historic assets:
Decatur Alabama's most historic & recognized landmark - Old State
Bank: 0104/0099/0109
Historic Marker indicating Alabama's first Railroad in 1830.
0300
The Vietnam Memorial recognizing those Decatur born who gave
their lives for their country. If this memorial still stands I don't know where
it is: VietM12/VietM1/VietM21/VietM2
What? Old Burger King torn down? Yea, but they just moved south
1/2 mile some years earlier. Photo just before demolition 2006:
0890/After
demolition: 0830 Yup! Its now a
useful truck staging area.
Spotting the Kimbell/Wimbley Cemetery on ULV Property as you drive along
Hwy 72. Visit here with corporate approval only:
0060
This Cemetery presentation is based on the photography of C. Wayne Austin on 15
May 2003. Uploaded here on 28 Jun 2013 after 10 years. It is also presented on
Findagrave.com with some family history and obituaries. I am no close
relation that I know of to these Austins.