A drive through historic downtown Elkmont now features a new official county history marker.

The sign commemorates the building of Limestone County’s first high school on one side and the reverse side honors the Delmore Brothers, arguably two of Limestone’s most famous citizens. Limestone County Historical Society partnered with the town of Elkmont and the Elk River Development Agency to place the marker on Dec. 3, which is the second historical sign erected this year.

“We just feel like this is really our purpose — to do something that’ll be here long after we’re gone to inform people,” said Linda Nelson of the Limestone County Historical Society.

One side of the sign summarizes the history of the first public high school built in Limestone County with the following text:

“‘Limestone County High School’ was established in Elkmont in 1912. The original building constructed in 1912, stood on Evans Street where Elkmont High School is currently located.

The County Board of Education included Col. M.K. Clements, Superintendent of Education, and board members Fred Gray, W.T. Stepp, G.R. Bullington and N.R. Nichols. Willis B. Vaughn was instrumental in the establishment of the school in Elkmont.

The new high school required certified faculty, thus Professor E.B. Baxter, a learned scholar, was employed as principal. Townspeople collected money and built a house for Professor Baxter as an incentive for him to take the job. The house still stands on Evans Street near Elkmont High School. In 1915 Alma Loveless, Beulah Nichols, Martha Nichols and Eddie Stepp were the first graduates.”

On the reverse side, visitors can read about the Delmore brothers:

“Alton Delmore (December 24, 1908-June 8, 1964) and Rabon Delmore (December 3, 1916-December 4, 1952), billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneers and stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s.

They were born into poverty near Elkmont, sons of tenant farmers, amid a rich tradition of gospel and Appalachian folk music. The Delmores blended gospel-style harmonies with the quicker guitar work of traditional folk music and the blues to help create the still emerging genre of country music.

Over the course of their careers, the Delmores wrote more than one thousand songs. Some of the most popular were ‘Brown’s Ferry Blues,’ ‘Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar’ and ‘Fifteen Miles from Birmingham.’

The Delmore Brothers were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Their pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.”

Richard Martin, who helped organize the sign project, said the historical society gets pitches for markers from many groups and individuals. The society must then research the request and determine if it merits a marker. Then, the society and other groups interested in the marker raise the roughly $2,600 it costs to manufacture the sign.

The new Elkmont sign comes nine months after the society set up a marker at the Sim Corder/Harrison Mill in West Limestone. Five more markers are in the works, including one to be erected in honor of the late Judge James Horton and one by the waters of the Tennessee River to memorialize ancient Native Americans who lived in Limestone County before the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creeks and Chickasaw, Martin said.

Martin said he hopes continuing the sign project will inspire younger generations to be involved in the Limestone County Historical Society, which is seeking new members.

“It’s nice,” Martin said about the markers. “You go to these places and wonder, ‘What happened here?’ People enjoy these and we enjoy doing them.”

 For more information and a listing of all historical markers to date, visit limestonecountyhistoricalsociety.org.