Little River News
March 7, 1934
OLD TIMER TELLS OF EARLY DAYS OF LITTLE COMMUNITY OF OAK
HILL
By H.G. Chauncy
In 1877 my father,
A.V. Chauncy, moved out from near Richmond to the neighborhood called Lick
Creek, which is now known as Oak Hill neighborhood.
At that time there were but few people who lived in that
neighborhood. They were Joe Perry, J.M. McCall, Purnel Challand,
H.W. Hill, A.C. Patterson, E.S. Patterson, A.P. Patterson and their mother Mrs. Bettie Coble, a widow woman and
her family, Joe Ruff, an old
bachelor, A.M. Bishop, F.P. Freeman,
John Henderson and Bob Campbell.
All of these people had little farms of fifteen to twenty
acres. They raised corn, potatoes, peas
and all kinds of garden stuff and some cotton in those days.
There was no church nearer than Richmond and I think there
was one little schoolhouse called Centerville.
The county was full of wild game, deer, turkey, wild cats,
and wolves. When the people wanted a
fresh mess of meat they got together and went out and killed a deer, took his
hide off and then divided the meat.
From 1877-1934 there is a great change. In 1877 there was only one public road, known
as the Richmond and Cotton Wood Schoals Road.
Now there are public roads leading in all directions.
Oak Hill has two churches, one schoolhouse and a wide spread
of farming land.
People no longer have access to a free range and there are
laws, which forbid them from hunting at any time. The community is now thickly settled and lots
of good people live around Oak Hill.