Mr. Warren C. Crawley, Sr. left a legacy for not only Brewton-Parker College but for the entire Montgomery County area. Born around 1842 in Richmond, Virginia, Crawley was reportedly stolen from his family and brought to Montgomery County as a slave. In 1867, Crawley married Josephine, daughter of Samuel and Sally McRae Hill. Crawley and his wife had five children together. In April of 1878, Crawley purchased land in Montgomery County. In 1904, an effort was made by local churches to start the Union Baptist Institute. The Mount Vernon/Ailey location was chosen but the site only had ten of the needed fifteen acres. Crawley stepped forward to donate the other needed five acres. His generosity allowed the establishment of the school to go forward. Crawley’s donation was remarkable in an era of economic difficulty, but it is even more impressive when considering he knew that the practice of strict segregation would not allow his children or grandchildren to attend the school. In 1905, the Georgia Baptist Convention recognized Crawley for his generosity that crossed all boundaries of race. His was truly a Christ-like act of reconciliation that was remarkable for any time but especially in that day. Crawley also donated additional land in Mount Vernon for the construction of the Warrens Chapel Methodist Church. The church later merged with Nepsey Methodist Church to become Nepsey-Warren United Methodist Church. Crawley passed away on October 12, 1925. He was so well-respected by the community that The Montgomery Monitor once described Crawley as one “who had won for himself the favor of both races. . . . He was looked upon by those who knew him as a man of honor and integrity, faithful in the performance of whatever tasks fell to his lot, a good citizen, a Christian man, in whom a great number had unlimited confidence.” Today, over a century later, Brewton-Parker College is seeking to honor Crawley’s legacy by the naming of a section of dorms on Brewton-Parker’s main campus. The family of Crawley is assisting the college in seeking to raise $350,000 to complete the fourth male dormitory in the Baron Ridge area. Reaching the goal will allow not only the construction to be finished, but also the paving and landscaping to make it a place of beauty to fittingly be renamed as the Warren C. Crawley Commons. As part of the project, a new memorial will also be erected in the front area of the campus that will commemorate his life and generous act that allowed the establishment of the college. Brewton-Parker hopes to begin this project in 2018, an especially significant year because of the remembrance of the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. In the Warren C. Crawley Commons, students of different races and backgrounds will live amongst one another, a vision of diversity and unity that both King and Crawley could only dream about. A Celebration of Heritage banquet was held on February 3, 2018. The banquet recognized the achievements of African Americans in our community and honored Crawley’s legacy. The banquet was the first event to raise the funds for the Warren C. Crawley Sr. project.