Way Back Wednesday in Calhoun County---August 22-28

In the early days of Calhoun County, the main form of transportation and entertainment was horsepower. Horses were needed to perform everyday functions on the properties of the settlers. Even as late as 1893, the county had a population of over 2000 mules and about 1700 horses. Each city had at least one livery stable, a place to hire out or board horses as well as buggies and wagons. Most of the time liveries were part of boarding houses. Blacksmiths, who sometimes owned the liveries, were also in demand to shoe horses.

Many of the early citizens came to Alabama from South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee which were known for horse breeding. By the early 1840s, a jockey club was formed in Benton County. It met at the Benton Course near Jacksonville. The course was operated by John T. Pope, a wealthy Jacksonville farmer. The Jacksonville Republican reported the other Jockey Club members were Daniel Ryan, B. M. Pope, and John W. Trotter. The 1842 racing season was reported in the newspaper with the sweepstakes races in July followed by mile heats in November.

The next time a horse-racing track was considered for the county, it was in Oxford. In the Victorian Era, Oxford Lake Park was a recreation area that boasted a trolley line that came into park. Once patrons disembarked the trolley, they could visit the opera house, bowling alley, swimming pool, restaurant and a variety of other recreations. The blue prints for the 1915 version of Oxford Lake Park had a ½ mile horse-race track complete with grandstand and stables. The race-track eventually became a motorcar raceway, which was located near modern-day Highway 78.

Horses were not just used for entertainment in the county. They provided a valuable service. Even into the early 20th Century, horses were used by the military. When Camp McClellan located in the county in 1917, the livery stables were built very quickly. Several times a year, the military held surplus auctions of horses and mules that were no longer needed for service. Cavalry officers participated in drills with their animals. In the 1920s, the military held polo tournaments at the parade grounds.

Once Anniston was open to the public, a city hall building was built on 12th Street and Gurnee Avenue, site of the current police station, with a livery stable in the rear of the building. This area housed the horses used by the fire and police departments. The train station was a few blocks from the livery stable. Hack drivers were the early taxi drivers who ferried people in buggies pulled by horses. These hack drivers waiting outside the train station for passengers. The last hack driver in Anniston was Ben Ware who worked into the 1930s. Horses were also needed to the pull the Anniston Trolleys until they were motorized.

In the rural areas of modern Calhoun County, there are still horse farms but these horses are not used for racing or manual labor. Most of the horses in the county are used for pleasure where horse and rider sped their time together enjoying the beautiful Alabama scenery.

To learn more about the history of Calhoun County pick up a copy of Images of America: Calhoun County (ISBN 978-0738589985), Anniston (ISBN 978-0738506012), or Anniston Revisited (ISBN 978-1467114752) by Kimberly O’Dell.