ROGERSVILLE – Joe Wheeler State Park will dedicate a portion of a park trail in memory of long-time park ranger and unveil a historical marker on Saturday.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m., at the park’s First Creek Boat Ramp on McLean Drive. Reporters, photographers, videographers, and the public are invited to attend the ceremony.
The historical marker chronicles the history of the pre-civil rights era at Joe Wheeler State Park and the contributions of Howard Fuqua, the first African-American park ranger in the Alabama State Parks System, and longtime ranger Samuel Harden Sr., the second African-American ranger who replaced Fuqua, who served 38 years at Joe Wheeler State Park.
A portion of the Awesome Trail will be officially named in Harden’s memory, and members of his family are expected to attend the ceremony.
The historical marker will also commemorate Camp Drake, a site within what is now the park’s day-use area that hosted African-American Boy Scouts of the Tennessee Valley Council for many years prior to the civil rights movement.
The project is a partnership between Alabama State Parks and the East Lauderdale Historical Society. The marker will be permanently installed near the park’s main entrance on U.S. Highway 72 in Rogersville.
THE DETAILS:
WHAT: Unveiling of historical sign and dedication of trail in memory of Samuel Harden Sr.
WHERE: Joe Wheeler State Park’s First Creek Boat Ramp on McLean Drive
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 15, 10 a.m.
WHO: Chad Davis, deputy director for Alabama State Parks; David Myers, president of the East Lauderdale Historical Society; Wesley Cox, of the East Lauderdale Historical Society
Media Release/Josh Bean/Alabama’s State Parks System
