Orion, Alabama

Orion, Alabama
Unincorporated community
Orion, Alabama
Coordinates: 31°57′32″N 86°00′20″W / 31.95889°N 86.00556°WCoordinates: 31°57′32″N 86°00′20″W / 31.95889°N 86.00556°W
Country United States
State Alabama
County Pike
Elevation 561 ft (171 m)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
  Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s) 334
GNIS feature ID 152820[1]

Orion, also known as Prospect Ridge, is an unincorporated community in Pike County, Alabama, United States. Orion is 12.9 miles (20.8 km) north of Troy.

History

Originally called Prospect Ridge, the name was changed to Orion in honor of the constellation.[2] Orion was incorporated on February 4, 1850, and the charter was repealed by the Alabama Legislature on February 26, 1881.[3] A post office operated under the name Prospect Ridge from 1838 to 1848 and under the name Orion from 1848 to 1903.[4]

Orion was home to the Orion Institute, one of the earliest schools in Pike County.[5]

Jim Capers, the first African-American Revolutionary War soldier known to be buried in Alabama, is buried at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Orion.[6]

Multiple structures in Orion were documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey.

Gallery

References

  1. "Orion". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. Foscue, Virginia (1989). Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. p. 105. ISBN 0-8173-0410-X.
  3. Alabama (1881). Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Alabama. J. Boardman. p. 435.
  4. "Pike County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  5. Best Books on; Federal Writers' Project (1941). Alabama; a Guide to the Deep South. Best Books on. p. 378. ISBN 978-1-62376-001-4.
  6. "Jim Capers" (PDF). The Alabama Society Sons of the American Revolution. Retrieved 19 January 2015.