Todd Springs is at the junction of State highways 87 and 147, nine
miles southeast of Center in southeastern Shelby County. The community was
settled, predominantly by blacks, during the period immediately after the
Civil War.qv
It was named for the nearby spring, which had been named for a prominent
Shelby County pioneer family. A post office named Todd was established in
Shelby County in 1870 and closed the same year, but information on its exact
location was not available. The first known activity near the present site
of the Todd Springs community was the organization of the Todd Springs
Baptist Church in a log cabin constructed for that purpose in September
1878. The church served as a community focal point. In 1899 the community
had a one-room, one-teacher school with thirty-four black students. During
the early 1900s Todd Springs included a Knights of Pythias lodge and several
small businesses, serving about fifty-three families. As the rural
population of the county declined, so did the population of Todd Springs. In
1983 it consisted of the Baptist church, a cemetery, and widely scattered
houses.
| Francis Hamilton Ayers |
10-16-1883 |
01-09-1936 |
- |
| William Lawrence Ayers |
09-26-1922 |
12-08-1946 |
- |
| Edmond Coleman |
-- |
12-02-1927 |
- |
| Tom Latham |
1827 |
12-19-1927 |
Age 100 |
| Nettie McCoy |
03-12-1908 |
10-21-1951 |
- |
| Caline McClelland |
06-1869 |
08-24-1932 |
- |
| Erma McLendon |
-- |
02-10-1918 |
- |
| Ilo Moore |
12-11-1892 |
12-19-1946 |
- |
The information on this site was taken from Mangum Funeral Home
Records. Thanks to John Smolarek for gathering the
information for the web site.
BACK