Old Scotland Homecoming Services Will Be Held On May 1, 2011
We hope to see you there!
Structural damage has been discovered at the church! We who are the descendants and friends of the Old Scotland Presbyterian Church bear the responsibility of maintaining this historic old church building, built in 1835, for future generations. It is estimated that it will cost approximately $10,000 to stabilize the building and prevent further damage. Please give generously to the building fund so we can prevent further damage. Please make checks payable to Old Scotland Church. The board members have mailed fund-raising letters to descendants and friends that they have mailing addresses for. To view the letter, click here. To have your address added to the list for future notifications, click here. The mailing address for donations is shown on our contact page.
Old Scotland Presbyterian Church in Monroe County, Alabama, located 2.5 miles west of Tunnel Springs was established in 1823. In 1988, the church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage Properties. The church is no longer in regular use, however, descendants of the original members of the church still meet at the church for an annual service on a Fifth Sunday.
Scotland, Alabama, in the northern portion of Monroe County was a thriving farm community in the 1800’s. Old Scotland Presbyterian Church was the heart of the community. The school at Old Scotland was located next to the church. According to an article in the centennial edition of the Monroe Journal, “Classes in Latin, Greek, higher mathematics and music were offered. Leading features of the school were advertised as strictness and thoroughness.” The church still stands today but there are few, if any, traces left of the school, and the homes that were once here.
Most of the families who settled in the area were Scotch and Scotch-Irish who came by wagon from North Carolina, and from Georgia. Some of the early members of the church included members of the following families: Black, Davison, Dennis,Dunn, English, Falkenberry, Fountain, Jackson, McCorvey, McMillan, Nettles, Rumbley, Simmons, Smith, Stevens, and Wiggins. In 1870, 30 members of the Old Scotland Church formed the Monroeville Presbyterian Church. One of these was a Negro woman named Jane Dailey. This list of families is by no means a definitive list. If you have information about the history of the church and the members, please contact us so we can add your information.
Members of the Board of Trustees of Old Scotland are Sara Nettles Bradley, Carolyn Watson McMillan, and Robin Sanderson. Robert “Bob” McMillan, Sr. serves as a liason between the church and the Presbytery.