History of the City of Dadeville and surrounding communities:
Dadevile is the County Seat of Tallapoosa County. The area was the junction point of roads leading from Georgia and Tennessee to the trading posts at Wetumpka and Montgomery. There was an Indian trading post on the land in the early 1800s.

The City of Dadeville was surveyed in 1836 by John H. Broadnax about three years before Tallapoosa County was formed. The town was named for Major Francis L. Dade who was a hero in the Seminole war in Florida. On December 28, 1835, he and his men were ambushed by Indians under the leadership of Osceola. Only one man survived to report the ambush to Fort King. Dade and his men were buried in the Federal Cemetery in St. Augustin, FL.

Dadeville was granted a charter in 1837 during a called session of the Alabama Legislature. The Legislature passed an act of incorporation in 1858, providing for an intendant (or mayor) and five councilmen. The charter was revoked during the Civil War, and the town made application for a new one in 1871. "The Dadeville Democrat" announced the re-incorporation of the town on December 4, 1878. The charter was amended by a bill presented to the Legislature in 1891.

SOME OF THE FIRST FAMILIES IN THE DADEVILLE AREA
The names of some of the first families living in the area that is now Dadeville in the 1830s were Berry, Boon(e), Browning, Bostick, Clark, Corprew, Cosby, Gresham, Davenport, Dennis, Johnson, Goolsby, Hatcher, Holley, Johnson, King, Lane, Leftwich, Lowery, Lisle, Mitchell, Oliver, Reeves, Sturdivant and Vaughan. It is believed that Dr. William M. A. Mitchell was probably the first home owner in Dadeville after it was first incorporated.

FIRST MEDICAL SCHOOL IN ALABAMA WAS LOCATED IN DADEVILLE
In 1851, Dr. Philip M. Shepard chartered the Graefenberg Medical Institute located on the northeast corner of LaFayette and Shepard Streets. The area was known as Graefenberg Woods. There is a plaque on the northwest corner of Broadnax and LaFayette Streets commemorating the first medical school in Alabama. Why they did not erect the monument on the actual site is a mystery I can't explain. Dr. Shepard died in 1861 and the school was closed. The building burned in 1873. Approximately 50 students graduated while the school was in operation, including three of Dr. Shepard's sons and a daughter. Louisa Shepard was the first woman to graduate from a Southern medical school.

JOHNSON J. HOOPER and Simon Suggs
Dadeville gained lasting fame from the fictional character Simon Suggs, a native of Dadeville in the novel "Some Adventures of Simon Suggs, Late of the Tallapoosa Volunteers," and Other Stories by JOHNSON J. HOOPER, were very popular. Hooper became quite well known for his humerous tales about Simon Suggs. An interesting short biography of Hooper can be found at JOHNSON JONES HOOPER. He was the editor of the local newspaper in Dadeville and lived in the Dennis Hotel where he wrote many of his tales about Simon Suggs. The Dennis Hotel began life as the United States Hotel and was built in 1836. It was torn down around 1960 and the U.S. Post Office was built on the site. Soon after the new Post Office was built on Spring Street, the Movie Rack opened in the building.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN DADEVILLE
We are very fortunate to have two very good libraries in Dadeville. They both have web sites that are very complete and informative. Both libraries are located in one building at 205 North West Street. Check them out when you are in town and have a few minutes. I can guarantee that you will be impressed with what you see on their web sites or if you go there physically to check them out.

Visit the DADEVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY and get acquainted with all features of this great library.

The HORSESHOE BEND REGIONAL LIBRARY, in Dadeville is one of the most complete in the area. It is the home base for a group of eight libraries located in Tallapoosa, Lee, Coosa and Elmore Counties.

HISTORY OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN DADEVILLE:
The Constitution of Alabama, 1901, states "The legislature shall establish, organize and maintain a liberal system of public schools throughout the state for the benefit of the children thereof between the ages of 7 and 21 years." In 1907, the state legislature decreed that each county must acquire a site of not less than five acres and build a substantial building suitably equipped for a high school. The "state high school locating board" announced in January 1908 that Dadeville had been selected as the site for Tallapoosa County High School. Dadeville was given notice to make showings for the board. The Dadeville Town Council sold bonds and solicited private donations to raise the funds needed to build the school in Dadeville. There were six classroom and an auditorium in the original TCHS building, which is still standing and the plaque is still on the corner showing "Tallapoosa County High School, 1908, Building Committee - Thomas L. Bulger, J. W. Strother, W. S. Herren, G. J. Sorrell, W. B. Rosser, and J. B. Rylance - E & A Zoble, Architects."

The school opened in September 1910 with 29 girls and 26 boys enrolled on the first day of school. There were four members of the 1910-11 graduating class. The class of 1948-49 were the last pupils to be graduated from TCHS. Pupils of TCHS have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, teachers and possibly "chiefs." A number of them have served in the armed forces of the United States. Many gave the ultimte sacrifice, their lives. Their names are engraved on a marble monument on the northeast corner of Broadnax and Cussetta Street (Courthouse Square) in Dadeville. (Excerpted from an article by Ruth Lockett for The Heritage of Tallapoosa County)

The Dadeville Convalescent Home now occupies the original Tallapoosa County High School Building.

DADEVILLE SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED 1949:
In the fall of 1949 the children in the area began attending the new Dadeville Schools, located on East South Street. These 60-year old buildings are in need of being replaced. Hopefully, that will be possible within the next few years. (From information furnished by Ruth Lockett, who has lived in the Red Ridge Community near Dadeville all of her life. She has been very helpful in many ways to make this web site )

In 1912, Adam Hill Wilder, purchased the franchise for bottling and distributing Coca Cola east of the Tallapoosa River. The distribution route for Dadeville Coca Cola Company included Carrville, Camp Hill, Dudleyille, Easton, Jacksons Gap and Dadeville. Around 1934 the franchise was sold to Dr. Miller, a veterinarian, from Columbus, GA, who also acquired the Alexander City franchise.

In 1945 The Carnation Company built a milk plant in Dadeville. It was located on Carnation Street just off East LaFayette Street. The plant provided a market for dairymen in eight surrounding counties. In 1950 Tallapoosa County had more Junior Dairymen than the next four highest counties in the state. The Plant was in operation for about 25 years. Shape South moved into the old Carnation Company building in the 1970s.

In the 1940s Joe Tom and Hennie Wilson built the Blue Creek Inn, a very popular catfish restaurant, located on Highway 49 just past the Blue Creek Bridge on the lefthand side of the road. The restaurant burned in 1953 and was rebuilt by W. T. and Frank Farrow. They ran the restaurant until 1956 when it was sold to Dorsey Richardson who ran it until 1966, when he leased it to Roy and Vivian Brown. The restaurant burned again in 1968. After that fire it was never rebuilt.

In the early 1960s, Joe Tom and Hennie Wilson built the Blue Creek Skating Rink on the righthand side of Highway 49 across the road from the Blue Creek Inn. It was a favorite gathering place for the young people for several years.

Over the last 50 years I have become well acquainted with the City of Dadeville. When we moved to Lake Martin permanently in 1965, we fell in love with the small and friendly city. It was a different world from the hustle and bustle of living in Birmingham and, in some cases, barely knowing your neighbors names. Even in the mid-1960s the people in a city the size of Birmingham were too busy to pay much attention to their neighbors. The only people that we were well acquainted with were our church family and a few neighbors who lived within a block of our home. Dadeville was totally different. When we went into town to shop for groceries, go to the bank or the hardware store or any other place of business, the local people were very friendly and would always strike up a conversation. Whether they knew us or not, they waved to us when we passed them on the street. We fell in love with Dadeville because of the people who accepted us immediately. We attended church in Dadeville and felt right at home from the very first visit. Nothing has changed. The people in Dadeville are still very friendly and ready to help you in any way they can. My family roots were in the very friendly small town of Lineville, in Clay County.

In 1965 there were several vacant stores on the square in Dadeville. Currently, all of the stores are occupied and doing well. There are now two banks and a number of new stores have been built, along with several restaurants. Most of the older buildings have been remodeled and the town has a really nice look. The area surrounding Still Waters has also changed and improved tremendously over the last few years. Even though there are only about 3,100 people in the City Limits of Dadeville, there are at least 10,000 people who shop there frequently and eat at the many restaurants in town and on the east side of Lake Martin. We have a choice of Chinese, Mexican and everything in between at the eight good restaurants in our area. There are even two new Oyster Bars on County Road 34...one in Duck Crossing and the other next door to Holiday Grocery.

Welcome home to Dadeville, Still Waters and Lake Martin. You made a good choice when you chose to live in our area.