Fort Payne Overview
At the southern foot of the Appalachian Mountains and home to vast expanses of protected forests, Fort Payne, Alabama, is a year-round rainbow of natural beauty – blazing sunset colors of fall foliage, brilliant pink and purple rhododendrons in spring and dense, green forests in summer. In the winter, it’s the only place in Alabama to ski. Waterfalls, state and national parks, ancient rivers and rocky Lookout Mountain provide the stunning backdrop for outdoor recreation in this natural beauty.
The region was first inhabited by Cherokee Indians and grew when a rail line from Birmingham to Chattanooga, Tennessee, passed through Fort Payne. The town boomed in the 1880s when New Englanders came looking for work in the new coal and iron mines. Their contributions are evident in many of the town’s Victorian structures, such as the Opera House, built in 1889, and the circa 1891 Fort Payne Depot, a beautiful, pink sandstone train station that now displays Cherokee handicrafts and local artifacts. See the remnants of the namesake fort at the Fort Payne Cabin Historic Site and pay respects to local Cherokee and pioneers at the Willstown Mission and Cemetery. Fast-forward about a century when three young musicians from Fort Payne formed a now-legendary county band called Alabama. Take a selfie with the life-sized statues of the band at City Park.