The Hidden History of Chilton County
© 2022 Billy J. Singleton
144 pages

Forget Georgia peaches. The best to be had are in Chilton County, Alabama,  which has been so long proud of its peach orchards that the local water tower, visible from the interstate,   looks like a ripe peach ready to pluck.  The Hidden History of Chilton County uses  lesser-known excerpts from the county’s history to tell its story more generally: you will find no formal political chronicle here, no tables of changing demographic changes or economic production. Instead,  we are treated to little slices of interest, like the Battle of Ebneezer Church connected to Wilson’s Raid; to the creation of the first Peach Fest in Clanton (or as the locals call it, Clantern), to the still largely-unknown internment of German POWs in an old CCC camp;    of bridges to nowhere created by road routes shifting; and  why a field off of First Avenue is marked by three curious pillars.  This is obviously a bit of a niche history, of enormous interest to those who live in Chilton County or have a connection to it, but presumably of limited appeal outside of that despite its great readability. I have family connections here and a professional interest in the county (being a local history librarian), so I enjoyed it all around and learned a few things despite being fairly conversant with the of my county and its neighbors like Chilton. (For instance, the Big Peach is younger than me, and I’d never known about the German POW camp despite visiting another camp last year!) If you ever visit Chilton County, don’t miss Peach Park. Vanilla ice cream and blackberry cider are a delicious combination.