| Summary: | LaGrange Cemetery in Colbert County is located on the site of Alabama's first college, which was established by charter in 1830, and served as a military academy in the years leading up to the Civil War. In 1854, most of the LaGrange College faculty and student body followed president R.H. Rivers to nearby Florence in Lauderdale County, and formed a new institution which later developed into the University of North Alabama. During the war, in 1863, the original college site on LaGrange Mountain was burned by Union troops under the command of Colonel Florence M. Cornyn.
Today, visitors to the cemetery are greeted by a marble statue, the Abraham Ricks Monument, sculpted on the site by an Italian artist who was brought to the United States by the Ricks family. A complete list of those buried in LaGrange Cemetery can be found at the USGenWeb source linked below. The college cemetery are listed on the Alabama Historical Register of Landmarks, and the cemetery has recently been restored by the LaGrange Living Historical Association.
To reach the college site and cemetery from Muscle Shoals, head southeast on Highway 172 for 8 miles, turn right onto LaGrange College Lane, veering right almost immediately onto LaGrange College Road. The college site and cemetery are on the right.
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