In February, family members, fellow firefighters and onlookers walked down a portion of Chilton County Road 51 as part of the funeral ceremonies for Charles Culp. Thanks to a unanimous vote by the members of the Chilton County Commission, portions of that highway will now be named for the iconic figure.

During their recent meeting, commissioner Allen Caton made a motion to name a portion of Chilton County Road 51 for Culp, the first and, until his death in February, the only fire chief for Union Grove Volunteer Fire Department.

“For many years, Mr. Culp was the 911,” Caton said, referring to Culp’s service of monitoring calls and paging other departments long before the current E-911 system was put in place. “For years, he would work on grants for Union Grove, do whatever it took to keep that department. He was Union Grove.”

The section of road to bear his name will be from the highway’s intersection with Chilton County Road 42 past the Union Grove Volunteer Fire Department and will be called “Charles Culp Road.” The signs will also display Culps signal number – 701.

In addition to his public service as part of the Union Grove department and his work as a peach producer, Culp also served two terms as a Chilton County Commissioner and was a member of the Democratic Party. The Union Grove Fire Department was founded in 1977, and Culp served as its first and only chief. He was also instrumental in the emergency medical services and firefighters association.