Over 100 years ago, Fairhope had its own celebrity in longtime area resident Ellen Hill. Hill was a freed slave, and fellow residents and tourists alike assigned her the affectionate nickname “Aunt Ellen.” She lived in a small cabin, where she is pictured in the photo at right, between Volanta and Sea Cliff. From the house was a picturesque view of the water, and locals would come over to enjoy it and the fruit from Ellen’s orchard, which they would purchase or sometimes receive for free. Along with selling fruit, Hill made a living charging passersby pennies to travel over the footbridge that spanned Fly Creek. According to a note on the photo, Hill was 98 years old at the time it was taken. However, her exact age thoughout her life was reportedly unknown, even by her own family. Local rumors popularized the idea that she was 104 when she died in 1920 after a “stroke of paralysis.”