Fort Payne, Alabama

 

Little River Canyon

May 11 2025 Sunday 

In the morning the rain was holding off for now and despite the ominous clouds hanging low we drove the rim road of the Little River Canyon. We stopped at all the overlooks in the 15-mile-long road. The recent rains here; including yesterday’s watery contribution created spectacular viewing today. Tons of water per second thundered over the waterfalls, it was truly magnificent to see in person. The swollen river rushed downstream with an enormous force, sweeping over the bands and shooting skyward as it rammed into the huge boulders in the river bed. It was a sight to behold!

One of the many canyon overlooks


At the end of the canyon rim road, you are really out there, no houses, no Dollar General, lol, not even any signage, just a fork in the road. 

We could have back tracked the Rim Road but what’s the fun in that. We chose the right fork and went exploring. We meandered through the country eventually reaching a small village named Dogtown. I have no knowledge of its naming. We continued our countryside outing until we reached I-85 near the town of Colbran. 

Trail of Tears


We took I-85 north to Fort Payne. Its origins date back to 1838 when it was a military stockade during the Trail of Tears. Indians were interned here during the forced relocation of the Cherokee people to reservations in Oklahoma. Seems like a very barbaric time in our country’s history.

Bronze statues of the hometown band, Alabama


On a happier note, fort Payne is the home of the country music band “Alabama”. I’ll bet you didn’t know that! Another tid-bit and I don’t know why anyone would want to noted for this but because of all the textile industry here, Fort Payne became known as the sock capital of the world.

Millie by statue for scale


In downtown Fort Payne we stopped at a couple interesting sites. On one corner of the main street is a tribute plaza to the musical group Alabama. They have larger than life bronze statues of the bandmembers, who are all local boys from Fort Payne. Behind them were panels with all the awards they had earned over the years flanking a central plaque with a chorographical history of the group. 

Memorial Park, Ft. Payne, Alabama

My war


Just a block away is a park memorializing military veterans from all our modern-day conflicts and also law enforcement and firefighters. I’ve never seen the civilian and military groups together like this but it was a very peaceful place, solace for everyone. That is for everyone except descendants of the War of Northern Aggression or the Indian Wars. There was no tribute to the Confederate Military, I found this very strange here in the heart of the south. The complete absence of the Indians was even more baffling considering Fort Payne’s origin as a detainment facility for Indians on the Trail of Tears.  


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