Zabud Fletcher Collection

Zabud Fletcher was born in Mount Jefferson near Opelika, Alabama, in 1842 when the community was a part of Chambers County rather than Lee. Fletcher enlisted in the Confederate Army of Tennessee in 1862 at Opelika and was a private in Johnson's Army, Hood's Corps, Cleburne Division, Lowery's Brigade, 15th Alabama Regiment, Company B under Col. Goodwin and Capt. Flournoy. He was wounded in the right hip at Perryville, KY, on October 8, 1862, and never fully recovered. He was taken to Camp Douglas, Ill., as a war prisoner and later taken prisoner in Atlanta in 1864. He was paroled in June 1865. After the war's end, he returned to the Opelika area to primarily farm wheat, oats, corn, and millet, as well as fruit. Fletcher married Janie Milford in 1873, and their three children were Johnnie Milford, Walter Zabud, and Ziba Estes. The family attended both the Liberty Baptist church at Mount Jefferson and the Congregational Methodist Church in the community. Fletcher is responsible for building what became known in the community as "Lake Condy." (The lake was purchased from Fletcher by J. C. Condon, who gave the pond its name.) Fletcher was also named as secretary and treasurer of the Liberty Farmers Alliance. Fletcher died in 1926 and is buried in the Opelika, AL, cemetery.