Orion, Alabama

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

Orion, Alabama
Unincorporated community
Orion, Alabama
Orion, Alabama
Coordinates: 31°57′32″N 86°00′20″W
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyPike
Elevation
561 ft (171 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)334
GNIS feature ID152820[1]

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was changed to Orion in honor of the constellation.[2] Orion was incorporated on February 4, 1850, and the charter was repealed by the Alabama Legislature on February 26, 1881.[3] A post office operated under the name Prospect Ridge from 1838 to 1848 and under the name Orion from 1848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

  • Baptist Church
  • Front door of Baptist Church
  • Solomon Siler House front porch
  • Solomon Siler House bedroom
  • Solomon Siler House foyer
  • Solomon Siler House stairway
  • Solomon Siler House columns
  • Solomon Siler House
  • Solomon Siler House
  • McCullough-Henderson House
  • McCullough-Henderson House fireplace
  • McCullough-Henderson House stairway
  • Hanchey-Pennington House
  • Hanchey-Pennington House rear
  • Hanchey-Pennington House fireplace
  • Orion Male and Female Institute
  • Orion Male and Female Institute front door

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.
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