It’s origin goes back to Dr. William Baldwin, a respected medical doctor of 150 years ago, who also founded what is now the Montgomery piece of Regions Bank. Baldwin built the “Four Sister Houses” on South Perry, just two houses up from his own townhouse. His daughter Jennie, one of the two sisters that actually lived in one, had married a Will Craik. The powerful Doctor B did not think Will was worthy, and Will felt overwhelmed and unappreciated. Ergo, to escape the constant chiding of his powerful father-in-law, Will betook his family out on Carter Hill Road, beyond the city limits, where he had purchased 20 acres. There he planted a surrounding hedge of Hazelnut bushes, all of which soon all died. Nevertheless, Will Craik called his new redoubt “Hazel Hedge” and went on to develop it as a lush but secluded homeplace for his family. Over the next 50 years Will’s bastion served as a focal point for high society, famous visitors and progressive thinking. What you see is a picture of present-day Hazel Hedge entrance that evolved from Will’s effort to escape Dr. Baldwin. It has long been one of Montgomery’s more elegant neighborhoods, perhaps the first of many with a gated concept. Even today, the residents of secluded Hazel Hedge enjoy the safety and privacy that was fomented by Baldwin’s put-upon son-in-law, and his effort to escape torment back in 1898.

-Charles Humphries