History
of Enon Florida
Escambia
County
History Of Enon, Escambia County, Florida The following research paper was prepared to establish the construction time of the church located in Enon, Escambia County, Florida. It is an excellent paper, but it is in error in establishing the times in which the early settlers migrated to this area. It, unfortunately, used the dates that the Homestead requirements were met, and not the dates on which the settlers originally settled and started their Homestead requirments.. As an example, William Walter Lowery migrated from Texas and began his Homestead requirements in December of 1880. William W. Lowery and Mary Florence Beck were married in the Perdido area of Escambia county Florida in 1871. They migrated to Shelby County Texas and began their family. Mary Beck's brother, Jesse also migrated to Shelby County Texas. William and Mary returned to Florida and started their Homestead requirements in the Enon area in December of 1880. William and Mary had a 160 acre homestead. He constructed a Log dwelling, Kitchen, Outhouse, Smoke House, Crib, Stables, and Fencing. He cultivated 10 to 12 acres for food each year. His primary occupation was Timberman. He sold his property to James Mathis in August 1891 after he moved to Williams Station (Atmore). The principal Enon settlers were: James Larkin Mathis and wife William W. Lowery and wife John Grimsley and wife William Keevan and wife Wilburn W. Bray and wife Alfred D. Beck and wife John M. Brunson and wife Mary Ann Mathis Hollond (widow) Pleasant Williams and wife ---------- " The Enon Community is situated in Township 3 North, Range 33 West, in Escambia County, Florida. There is no authentic record when the community was settled. It is calculated it was settled in the year of 1885 as this is the year people begun to migrate to the area. In the latter part of the year of 1885, people begun to migrate from south Alabama, principally from Conecuh and Covington Counties to the area in quest of a better livelihood and to procure the Government lands. James Larkin Mathis, a prominent business man, was the first to file for the land, his application being dated December 16, 1885; William Walter Lowery was the second to file for the land, his application being dated March 6, 1886; and John J. Grimsley was the third to file for the land, his application being dated September 24, 1887. Immediately following the filing of the first three applications, there were numbers of other settlers to file applications for the Government land. The settlers left meager information concerning their immediate activities, after arrival at their new home. It is quite obvious the settlers of Enon Community, were God fearing, industrious with considerable enthusiasm as they busied themselves with the establishment of a school, a church and a cemetery, soon after they had found shelter for themselves. In the latter part of the year 1885, the Moscogee Lumber Company, Moscogee, Florida, gave the Escambia County School Board one acre of land, in the N.E. 1/4 of N.E. 1/4 of Section 15, Township 3 North, Range 33 West, in Escambia County Florida, on which to construct a school house. However, the settlers gave no consideration of the ownership of the land on which their facilities were constructed; the first church in Enon was constructed on land in Section 15, owned by the Moscogee Lumber Company, Moscogee, Florida, and the cemetery was located on land in Section 14 owned by A.D. Beck, Enon, Florida -- a public spirited gentleman. The first church in Enon was built facing west, in the south east corner of N.E. 1/4 of N.E. 1/4 of Section 15 and cemetery was situated in Section 14 adjacent to the church. The highway lay west of the church and it ran in a southerly direction across Section 15. In the early days when a church was constructed in the country, it was customary to locate the cemetery adjacent to the church It is obvious the custom of locating a cemetery will help establish a basis for determining the date of the Church, at least in the situation involved. It appears that there is no better basis for determining the date the church was established than to use the dates of deaths and the dates of burials of settlers or their relatives. It is undisputed evidence. Edward Keevan, son of William Keevan, one of the settlers, was killed February 6, 1888 by a tree limb falling on him, while his father was engaged in clearing the land. Owing to no cemetery, in Enon, at the time of death, the body of the Keevan child was carried across Perdido River into Baldwin County, Alabama for burial. When a cemetery was located in Enon the body of the child was returned to Enon for reburial. John W. Grimsley, son of one of the settlers died on October 15, 1888 and the body was immediately buried in the Enon Community. Based on the dates of deaths and burials of the two persons it is obvious the church was built sometime between February 6 and October 15, 1888. Notwithstanding that, some people might question the formula used in ascertaining the year the church was built, it would be foolish to bury the body of a person in the bald-open pine woods, where there is neither a school nor a church. The first Enon Baptist Church was, as previously stated herein, constructed in the south east corner of the N.E. 1/4 of N.E. 1/4 of Section 15, which is approximately 1 1/4 mile, straight as the crow flies, due east of the Florida-Alabama (Perdido River) state line, and approximately 16 miles south of Atmore, Alabama. The Enon Baptist church, strange as it may seem, did not own one foot of land, until November 2, 1939, at which time the Escambia County School Board discontinued the old Enon school and deeded all of its land, approximately 4 1/2 acres to the Deacons of the Enon Missionary Baptist Church. The Enon Community was blessed with an abundance of long-leaf-yellow pines, the settlers derived their livelihood by logging, that is they felled the pine trees, but them into logs, and floated them down the Perdido River to Muscogee, Florida where the logs were sawn into lumber and forest materials. James Larkin Mathis, one of the settlers, ran a general store in Enon which is situated some 40 miles northwest of Pensacola, Florida and all food and other supplies were procured in Pensacola and transported by horse and wagon, over unimproved roads." ----------