Coleman Hill in Athens, named for Daniel Coleman and his family, was a prominent site in the city’s history and in the history of its African American community. Coleman, a Virginian who moved to Athens in 1820, served on the county bench, in the Alabama House of Representatives, and on the Alabama Supreme Court. Because this high ground on the Coleman property was well suited for defense, Fort Henderson occupied the site during the latter stages of the Civil War. Originally called the Athens Fort, it was later renamed for Perry Henderson, who surveyed the area in 1892. Fort Henderson, together with fortifications at Sulphur Creek Trestle north of Athens, protected the Nashville and Decatur Railroad from Confederate raiders, and that railroad was critical to General William T. Sherman’s operations against Atlanta. Near the fort’s southern wall and sally port, Trinity School later became a lasting center of education for African Americans. Established in 1865 near the railroad passenger depot, Trinity moved to the fort field in 1908 after fire destroyed its earlier building in 1907. It remained there until closing in 1970, serving as the community’s black school through the Jim Crow era and shaping generations of African Americans.