Todd Springs

Todd Springs is at the junction of State highways 87 and 147, nine miles southeast of Center in southeastern Shelby County. The community was settled, predominantly by Blacks, during the period immediately after the Civil War. It was named for the nearby spring, which had been named for a prominent Shelby County pioneer family. A post office named Todd was established in Shelby County in 1870 and closed the same year, but information on its exact location was not available. The first known activity near the present site of the Todd Springs community was the organization of the Todd Springs Baptist Church in a log cabin constructed for that purpose in September 1878. The church served as a community focal point. In 1899 the community had a one-room, one-teacher school with thirty-four Black students. During the early 1900s Todd Springs included a Knights of Pythias lodge and several small businesses, serving about fifty-three families. As the rural population of the county declined, so did the population of Todd Springs. In 1983 it consisted of the Baptist church, a cemetery, and widely scattered houses.