East Sandy Community

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the East Sandy Community, over in Walker County. Now settle in, because this one's a story about two families, a creek, and the kind of roots that don't let go easy. The Sandel family and the Powell family came out of Mississippi in the 1850s, and when they got to that south bank of East Sandy Creek, something told them this was the place.

The Reverend Peter W. Sandel, born in 1806, arrived and bought property in October of 1851. He was twice married, and he lived out here with his second wife, Louisa J., born Winborn, and children from both marriages.

Oliver Powell, born in 1815, bought land here too, coming with his wife Caroline, born Quinn, and their children. Between the two families, a community started taking shape. Both families were Methodists, and Methodists, well, they don't wait long before they're building something to pray in.

They established a local congregation and put up a small building that pulled double duty, church on one end of the week, schoolhouse on the other. That building stood approximately 150 feet north of where the marker sits today, right up against the East Sandy Cemetery. Now the cemetery carries its own quiet story.

The first marked grave there dates to 1861, the burial of twin daughters of A.A. Moore. But according to oral history gathered from John Oliver Vick, who was born in 1869 and lived all the way to 1959, there may be earlier, unmarked graves out there, possibly members of the Dunn family, their names swallowed by time.

By the 1880s, a Baptist congregation had started sharing that same little building for services. Two denominations, one roof, and somehow it held. Then in 1903, Lavinia A.

Abercrombie and Sallie E. Gibbs sold ten acres of land, including the burial ground and the church and school site, to three trustees of the East Sandy Community: J. Rodney Powell, Noah R.

Powell, and Peter T. Sandel. The school kept going until around 1913, when it merged with Moore's Grove School.

The Reverend Peter W. Sandel had passed in 1866, Oliver Powell in 1892, but the names they carried into this community, you can still find them on that deed, and you can still find them on that land. The East Sandy Cemetery stands today as a reminder of what was once the settlement's center.

The community dispersed, as communities do. But the people who trace their way back to that south bank of East Sandy Creek, they'll tell you they're still bound together. That's what a shared history does.

It doesn't let go easy.

What the marker says

The Sandel and Powell families moved to this area from Mississippi in the 1850s, helping establish a community church and school in this vicinity. The Rev. Peter W. Sandel (1806-1866) arrived and bought property in October 1851. Twice married, he lived here with his second wife, Louisa J. (Winborn), and children from both marriages. Oliver Powell (1815-1892) also bought land here. He arrived with his wife, Caroline (Quinn), and their children. The agricultural settlement in this area, on the south bank of East Sandy Creek, became known as the East Sandy community. Both families were Methodists, and they soon established a local congregation. They held services in a small building that also served as a schoolhouse for area children. The building stood approximately 150 feet north of this site, adjoining the East Sandy Cemetery. The first marked grave there dates to 1861 and denotes the burial of twin daughters of A.A. Moore. According to oral history conducted with John Oliver Vick (1869-1959), earlier, unmarked graves are possibly those of members of the Dunn family. In the 1880s, a Baptist congregation began sharing the building for services. In 1903, Lavinia A. Abercrombie and Sallie E. Gibbs sold 10 acres of land, including the burial ground, as well as the church and school site, to J. Rodney Powell, Noah R. Powell and Peter T. Sandel, trustees of the East Sandy Community. The school continued until around 1913, when it merged with Moore's Grove School. The East Sandy Cemetery is a reminder of what was once the settlement's center. Residents of the rural East Sandy community, although dispersed, remain bound together by common history. (2004)