Arley is located in the heart of Winston County, Alabama. Some early settlers in the area around 1832 were Byrd McDonald, James Blevins, Thomas Calvert, and John Hawkins. “The early pioneers are to be held in high esteem for their native skill, ability, ingenuity, and raw courage. The longevity of these early settlers was short. The exposure and hard work made old men out of young people. Families were large, the mother of the house was cook, nurse, gardener, seamstress, counselor, doctor, and you name her other responsibilities. It is easy to see why the were short lived. George W. Gibson, a minister in the area, had a son named Robert Arley Gibson, who the town was named after.”
Town first named Dismal
The town was probably first named Dismal since the first post office with that name was located in the home of Thomas M. Wadsworth. The Dismal post office was closed in 1902 and a new one opened in 1903 near the Arley school, so the town took that name as well.i
A historical marker in Arley states the following. “On January 11, 1861 the State of Alabama seceded from the Union. Deeply perturbed, the people of Winston County held a political convention on July 4, 1861 at Looney’s Tavern, near Addison. A resolution was adopted to the effect that Alabama had no right to secede from the Union; but if she did have such right, then Winston County had the same right to secede from Alabama. Uncle Dick Payne, a Confederate sympathizer, remarked, “Oh, oh, Winston secedes! The Free State of Winston!’ Winston did not secede, but ever after she has been beloved of her sons and daughters and fondly known as “The Free State of Winston”.
Canning and Sacred Harp Singers
In 1908, a canning company called the Arley Canning Company operated in the town and was said to have put up one thousand cans per day.
Sacred harp singing has been an important part of Arley, Alabama for over 85 years as can be seen in the film below by the Denson Quartet from Arley, Alabama.ii alm
Orin Adolphus Parris, who resided in Winston County, became a major figure in southern music as a publisher, teacher, and composer in varied styles for the Sacred Harp, Christian Harmony, and shape-note convention music. He was a quartet singer and a member of the Denson-Parris Quartet, which recorded for Columbia in 1934.
At the 2000 census, there were 290 people living in Arley with 123 households and 89 families residing in the town. In the 2010 census, the population had increased to 357.
“Much of Arley is located within the east side of Bankhead National Forest, and it lies within a mile of Lewis Smith Lake. On the third Friday of March, Arley holds its annual Chittlin’ Supper as a fundraiser. The event focuses on recipes featuring the southern mainstay as well as other types of regional cooking.”
SOURCES
1.Historical marker in Arley, Alabama, in Winston County. Marker is on County Route 41, on the left when traveling north.Marker located next to Meek High School across from Arley Town Hall.
iFrom The New Era Newspaper 4 Jan 1901 – From Arley, Arley, Ala. Dec. 28, 1900 – We have a new post office recently established which will be a great convenience to the people. Arley is its name and is located 20 miles north of Jasper, on the new road leaving the Decatur and Jasper road near the Dismal post office crossing the river at the new bridge. Arley promises fair. We have two mercantile establishments already, M. L. Aaron and A. F. Farley, are the gentlemen in business. Mr. N. Dover has a saw and grist mill, cotton gin. J. O. Farley is our blacksmith. He can do any work required of a blacksmith.
iiFrom The Makers of the Sacred Harp by David Warren Steel, Richard H. Hulan – “In the early years of the twentieth century, Marion County in western Alabama supported many singings and conventions; both Tom and Seaborn Denson taught schools in the county. Among the singing families of the area, the Frederick family of Hackleburg produced three composers, all pupils of Tom Denson, whose works are represented in The Sacred Harp, Oscar H. Frederick, born in 1885, was the grandson of Marion County pioneers; he farmed, worked in insurance, and taught singing schools. His son Elbert Foy Frederick went to college, then returned to the county as a schoolteacher and agricultural agent. Oscar’s nephew Floyd Monroe Frederick was an active teacher until his death in 1960. Another Alabama family that contributed to the Sacred Harp was the Parris family. Hosea Anderson Parris, born in Georgia, moved at an early age to Winston County, where he lived near the Densons. He contributed an arrangement to the Union Harp (1909). His nephew Orin Adolphus Parris, who also resided in Winston County, became a major figure in southern music as a publisher, teacher, and composer in varied styles for the Sacred Harp, Christian Harmony, and shape-note convention music. He was a quartet singer and a member of the Denson-Parris Quartet, which recorded for Columbia in 1934. He served on the 1935 Sacred Harp revision committee, revised the Christian Harmony in 1954, and founded the Parris Music Company and the Convention Music Company.
Discordance: The Cottinghams (Volume 1) Inspired by true events and the Cottingham family that resided in 17th century Somerset, Maryland, and Delaware, colonial America comes alive with pirate attacks, religious discord, and governmental disagreements in the pre-Revolutionary War days of America.
![North Carolina woman had to take her rose bush with her to Alabama [pictures]](https://www.alabamapioneers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Methodist-Church-over-100-years-old-Old-Spring-Hill-Barbour-County-where-the-six-Comer-brothers-worshipped-ADAH-400x150.jpg "North Carolina woman had to take her rose bush with her to Alabama [pictures]")
