In the early months of 1890, a valuable mineral spring was discovered in East Florence. These...
Gravelly Springs near Waterloo is the spot where the largest cavalry force in the Western Hemisphere was ever assembled! Major General James Harrison Wilson brought together 22,000 people and camped between this spot and Waterloo during the spring of 1865. Wilson himself made his headquarters one mile east at Wildwood Plantation, the 2,750-acre boyhood home of Alabama’s 25th governor, George Houston. Though signs of the plantation can no longer be seen, land deeds show that there are two cemeteries on the property. A 5-acre family plot and a second area set aside for the burial of enslaved families. The 1860 census showed 100 enslaved individuals working the plantation.
