Category: St. Clair Outdoors

New Nature Center

Historic Springville Rock School will once again focus on education

Story and Photos
by Graham Hadley
Architectural renderings
Courtesy of Stewart Knox
Centercut Creative

Springville’s old Rock School has always been a cornerstone for education and community activities in the region. So it should be no surprise future plans for the historic structure continue that tradition.

The Big Canoe Creek Preserve Partners will be developing parts of the building as an educational Nature Center – an immersive and interactive walk-through experience highlighting the natural wonders of the preserve and surrounding areas to help better educate people of all ages about the importance of the regional biome.

“The Nature Center will teach people about all the diverse animals and plants in the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve, all the biodiversity, the Big Canoe Creek watershed and what a watershed actually is,” said Preserve Manager Doug Morrison.

Concept designs from Centercut Creative on what the Nature Center will look like

The project will use between 1,200 to 1,900 square feet of space in the historic Springville building. Some of that space is already being put to use as office space for the Preserve staff, which was previously primarily operating out of a small building at the preserve.

The idea for the educational Nature Center came to Morrison a little over a year ago during a planning and zoning meeting.

“The Springville Preservation Society owns the building and has done a great job restoring it. They needed to rezone the property to properly make use of it. During one of the zoning meetings where that was being discussed, the idea for the center just came to me. The old school would be ideal for that,” Morrison said.

“It gives us room for the Nature Center, office space, handicapped parking and has a ramp for ADA compliance. It checks all the boxes. The Preservation Society remodeled it and were looking to lease it.” The Rock School has been a centerpiece of the community for decades. “My son used to do Scouts here years ago,” Morrison said.

Frank Waid, president of the Preservation Society, told Morrison they had the big room and some other space available for lease, and things started coming together.

Community support has been instrumental to the success of Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve, and this latest project is no different.

Doug Morrison in front of the blackboard in the Rock School where organizers brainstormed ideas for the center

Morrison is quick to point out how much help he, Education Coordinator Lucy Cleaver, Maintenance Tech Jake Tucker and the others who work to make the preserve such an amazing place, receive from the non-profit Preserve Partners. It was organized to handle fundraising and similar activities for the preserve. From the Board of Directors to the individuals and businesses that donate, along with the City of Springville, none of what they are doing would be possible without that collective support.

Shortly after discussing the idea with Frank Waid, Morrison was sitting in Nichols Nook drinking coffee with Justen Burns when he shared the vision for the Nature Center. Burns immediately responded, “I might be interested in helping out with that.” His company, Peritus Wealth Management, quickly stepped up to cover a portion of the lease expenses.

Granger Waid and his company, Norris Paving, also jumped on board to cover the remaining portion of the lease, saying, “I believe in what they are doing here.”

“We have the first year of the lease taken care of thanks to these good folks in our community,” Morrison said. “And thanks to other donors in the community and the Alabama Power Foundation, we are already accumulating funds for next year’s lease. If anyone would like to contribute to the Nature Center and the Preserve, donations can be made through our website at bigcanoecreekpreserve.org. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful support in this community, and we are extremely grateful.”

Once they had the fundamental pieces in place, things started moving quickly. Morrison and Cleaver have already moved into their new offices, making use of much-needed space for managing the preserve and planning for its future.

Morrison, Cleaver, Granger and Jessica Waid sat down after discussing the project and, using one of the old blackboards in the school’s big room, Granger mapped out exactly what their vision was.

What they have come up with is something very special for the city and the region.

“We have a guy, Stewart Knox with Centercut Creative, doing the master plan for the Nature Center,” Morrison said.

“He was involved in parts of the Natureplex at the Alabama Nature Center in Millbrook. I really like their 3D and interactive displays, especially this giant beehive you can go into. I want to have displays like that here.”

The walk-in behive display at the Natureplex in Millbrook designed by Stewart Knox

Knox, an Auburn graduate with a degree in industrial design, said it is “all concept-based design.” His work has focused on special projects – like the beehive at the Natureplex. “I am very hands-on; you have to be with this. I am good at coming up with complex plans.”

According to the design proposal Knox has put together, “The design will highlight the mission of Big Canoe Creek through storytelling, visual engagement and hands-on learning, while maintaining flexibility for future growth and programming.”

It incorporates free-standing and wall-mounted displays, interactive 3D installations and more. Knox refers to it as “nature’s classroom.”

Morrison said that they would also like to possibly have live animals at the center – “fish and turtles, maybe snakes. People have already started donating fish tanks that I need to go pick up.”

They also want to include displays about how the local native people lived in the area and others about community involvement in the Preserve and the conservation process.

This display case was originally in Laster Sundries

“It goes to our core ideals: Preserve, Explore, Discover,” Morrison said. “When you educate people about everything that makes up the biome here, those are going to be the people who want to help preserve it.”

Morrison sees other parts of Springville and the county working with the center. “Lucy is already putting together plans with the Springville Library to collaborate on educational programs. And we have two other businesses leasing space in the school – a photographer and an artist. I can see both of those being very much resources we can collaborate with.”

The Nature Center and the Preserve are the sort of big-picture projects that benefit the area by attracting people to Springville from all across the region and the state, he said.

The Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve is already doing just that. This past Christmas, more than 1,200 people came through the preserve to see the holiday light display called “Christmas in the Pines,” an event that Morrison expects to grow next year.

“This was a great idea from Lucy and working with Jake, myself and our many volunteers, it turned out to be a huge success. People loved it!” And the Nature Center is only one of several projects attached to the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve that is in the works, including an education and multi-use pavilion. All of which, Morrison reiterated, are made possible through the support they receive from the city, Preserve Partners, grantors and many others who are working to make the preserve and center successful regional destination points.

Features

Big things for Big Canoe Creek

Changes, innovation, expanded education on the horizon for nature preserve

Story by Paul South
Photos by Graham Hadley
Submitted photos

“Come to the woods, for here is rest.”
— John Muir, American naturalist

Even in late August on the banks of Big Canoe Creek, change was in the air. Doug Morrison can see it from his side porch as he sips his morning coffee.

Leaves turned red, yellow and gold. Some even surrendered without a fight to the coming autumn. Soon, a crisp chill will be at home in the air, exciting stuff after months of heat and humidity.

But for Morrison, manager of Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve, nature isn’t the only architect of transformation. There are exciting human changes coming this fall to the 422-acre preserve in Springville, part of Alabama’s Forever Wild lands.

The preserve, one of the most biodiverse parcels of land in the nation’s fourth-most biodiverse state, has a new education coordinator, Auburn University graduate Lucy Cleaver.

“We’ve got endangered species and threatened species in the Big Canoe Creek watershed,” Morrison said. “She will be working with different educational programs. We’re about to light it up and make it happen.”

Local students learning about the animals found in the Preserve

Cleaver, a native of Salem, Ala., holds a master’s degree in natural resource management from Auburn. She assumed her current role in August but has worked for the City of Springville for about three years.

Her work extends beyond the preserve and area schoolchildren, she said, even though she’s already conducted field trips for classes.

“When people think about outdoor education, they think it’s mostly about K-12 groups,” she said.

“But it’s also my goal to reach out to our landowners in St. Clair County. It’s equally important to me to educate them as to what they can do on their own property to help our entire watershed. It’s not just about what’s going on at the preserve. I want to make sure everybody has access to the knowledge that we have.”

Cleaver also plans to partner with entities like The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Geological Survey of Alabama, St. Clair County Soil Conservation District and the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.

The preserve, which opened in 2024, boasts some eight miles of trails, including one hiking only trail (Creek Loop), two combination hiking and biking trails (the Fallen Oak and Slab Creek trails) and one combination hiking and horseback riding trail, called the Easy Rider trail.

Biodiversity on display

The magic of the preserve’s flora and fauna – even Creation’s s smallest treasures – captures the imagination of visitors.

Some examples? Consider the Canoe Creek Clubshell, a freshwater mussel found only in the Big Canoe Creek Watershed and listed as endangered on the Endangered Species List. It’s an important barometer of the health of the creek, Morrison said.

“Mussels are important to the water system because they’re livers for the river because they filter the water,” Morrison said. “They are also good bio-indicators. If they are there, it means the water hasn’t been polluted enough to kill them. Their food source comes from the water and as they ingest the water, they filter the water, thereby cleaning turbid water of sediment.”

Lucy and Doug at the cabin and preserve office

The tri-spot darter, featured on the preserve’s logo, is a threatened species. It also calls the preserve home. The small fish features three dark saddle-like markings on its back. But during the mating season, males become brightly colored reddish orange and green.

Other aquatic species in the watershed found in a tributary of the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve are the Western Blacknose Dace, a creature not documented in the area since the 1980s. A new find, the Gold Striped Darter was recently discovered, which is a rare find above the Fall Line.

For plant lovers, there are an array of blossoms – Mountain Laurel in the spring and wild azaleas are plentiful. The oak leaf hydrangea has bloomed out for the season. There are stands of Woodland Spider lilies, similar to the Cahaba Lily and a variety of irises and other wildflowers.

In the fall, Morrison said, the resplendent purple Beauty Berries are plentiful. The forest becomes more open as the leaves tumble to the ground.

“There are beautiful, big patches of old hardwoods,” Morrison said. “We have persimmons, paw paw trees, Muscadine.”

The unique finds fit the preserve’s motto, “Explore and Discover.”

An exciting journey ahead

As far as future goals for the preserve, Morrison is excited.

“We’re wide open,” he said.

An August grant of more than $335,000 from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs will help fund the construction of a new open-air educational pavilion. The project will also get a boost of nearly $84,000 in local matching funds.

The new facility will house restrooms, an area to host educational classes and general gathering space.

Initial design renderings of new pavilion

“One of our locals, Mike McCown worked diligently with me and (St. Clair Economic Development Council Grants and Leadership Director) Candice Hill on the grant application. Mike really put a lot of time and effort into this. As a matter of fact, he inserted many links to past articles in Discover (magazine)that I believe helped craft the story. Our journey speaks for itself, a journey of perseverance, faith and huge community involvement. We are beyond thrilled this will be underway soon,” Morrison said.

Also in its earliest phase, a Nature Playscape for kids crafted not from plastic, but from rock and other natural features is planned. It is hoped that the playscape will open in 18 to 24 months.

“We just got the concept plan for that created by Learning Landscapes Design,” Morrison said. “We’re waiting on the projected costs of that, and then we’ll go after grants to help build that. Hats off to donor, G.T. LaBorde, for funding the Concept Plan and coming up with the idea. This design is incredible and will be a big attraction once built. Again, more community involvement.”

Already, Cleaver has scheduled fall field trips with homeschool and other school groups from as far away as Birmingham.

When Cleaver talks about the preserve, she thinks of a spot in Slab Creek where stones like flat dominoes seem to provide a natural footbridge over the water.

“What makes (the preserve) special is there’s nothing else like it in this community,” she said. “We don’t have another nature preserve where people can go for free and go hiking or horseback riding or mountain biking. To me, it’s very special that we offer this to the community.”

With all the happenings at the preserve, Morrison and Cleaver are like kids at Christmas. Cleaver’s addition only adds to the excitement as the preserve charts a course into the future.

“It’s a great journey, and it’s a great job,” said Morrison. “We are beyond grateful for our community support.”

Features

The Rock Bridge

Key part of Chandler Mountain’s rare natural beauty

Story by Paul South
Photos by Mackenzie Free

Sometimes nature’s miracles enter our hearts, souls and minds with a bang, like the colors of the Northern Lights, or the Hale-Bopp comet piercing a blue-black sky as it did late in the last century. Both phenomena are greeted by “ooohs” and “aaahhhs,” wows or wordless, wide-eyed wonder.

But more often, time and the elements combine quietly with nature to create something magnificent and mystical.

So, it is with the Chandler Natural Bridge, a place known simply as The Rock Bridge. Located near the base of Chandler Mountain that forms part of the St. Clair-Etowah County line, the natural bridge is one of six named natural bridges and two unnamed spans in Alabama, according to the Natural Arch and Bridge Society.

The Rock Bridge spans Little Canoe Creek. It’s 48 feet long, 54 feet wide and 17 feet thick. The top part of the span is made from Gaspar Limestone. Wind and water erosion sculpted the bridge over millions of years.

Since 2003, Save Chandler Mountain, a nonprofit advocacy group for the mountain, has worked to protect the Alabama’s third-largest peak, which is known as the “Tomato Capital of the World.”

Fran Summerlin, founder and president of the advocacy group, has a special place in her heart for the mountain and for the Rock Bridge. She holds dear childhood memories of her brother taking her to see the bridge when she was only five.

“It was fascinating, I’d never seen anything like it. It was wonderful.”

What made it fascinating?

“There was a big rock that looked like a bridge,” Summerlin said.

“When you think of natural bridges all over the country, they’re always revered,” she said. “People love going and seeing them. (The Rock Bridge) was formed by water, and it’s a fascinating place.”

She talks of Alabama Power Company’s unsuccessful plans two years ago to build a hydroelectric dam there, a move that drew vocal opposition from residents, environmentalists and Native American groups. “If the power company project had gone on, it (the bridge) would have been covered with water,” Summerlin said. “It would have been lost.”

In August 2023, Alabama Power withdrew its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to operate a Pumped Storage Hyrdro facility at Chandler Mountain.

Locals now have a heightened sense of the mountain’s importance. Darrell Hyatt, too, has precious memories of the bridge – picnics, swimming in the creek and exploring the area. “It should be a state park,” Hyatt said. “It’s beyond comprehension that anyone would consider destroying it.”

Summerlin said Save Chandler Mountain is continuing to research the area and work to find historical and archaeological treasures on the mountain. “We will continue to do that and continue to hope that (the utility) would come to some conclusion that the land needs to be preserved.”

Seth Penn is an environmental and political activist and enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama. While he couldn’t speak specifically about the significance of the Rock Bridge to indigenous peoples, generally speaking, natural arches and bridges often have sacred meaning for Native American tribes, who often see natural bridges as portals to the upper and lower spiritual worlds.

“I don’t know a lot of specifics about that specific natural bridge itself to really give you a lot of insight,” Penn said. “I can tell you that a lot of natural bridges … and special occurring rock features such as that which occur on the landscape are often seen as portal-type places, meaning they are significant to various indigenous tribes. And often, those are places where certain ceremonies or prayers will be conducted because they do believe sites like that have special spiritual significance.”

Rich Beckman, Knight Chair of Journalism Emeritus at the University of Miami (FL), is president of the nonprofit Natural Arch and Bridge Society. Formed in 1968, the 200-member organization works to protect natural arches and bridges and promote the study, appreciation and preservation of the natural structures.

While the NABS is small compared to other environmental groups like the Sierra Club, Beckman said the organization can “raise a ruckus” when natural treasures like the Rock Bridge are threatened.

“We don’t preserve natural arches, but we do try to help them live out their life cycle without abuse,” he wrote in an e-mail. “So, we are concerned about any planned or criminal destruction by man.”

The NABS joined locals and indigenous peoples to oppose an Alabama Power plan to build a hydroelectric power facility on Chandler Mountain, a proposal opponents of the plan argued would flood Chandler Mountain and leave the natural bridge underwater.

In the face of opposition, the utility withdrew its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permit request and shelved the proposal, at least for now.

“We certainly let the utility know of our disapproval,” Beckman wrote. “(The Alabama Power proposal) would have been a disaster.”

The land where the bridge resides is fenced off by Alabama Power and closed to the public.

However, a portion of the utility-owned land on the mountain is open to hunters under Alabama Power’s hunting license program.

In an email, company spokesman Joey Blackwell wrote, “Through this program, parcels of land across the state are awarded through a public auction program,” Blackwell wrote. “Once a hunting license is awarded to a particular hunting club, the property can only be hunted by its members and guests.”

The utility makes some of its land holdings available for public use, including public access points across 13 reservoirs in partnership with local and state agencies, Blackwell said. The hunting license program is one of those initiatives.

Blackwell defended Alabama Power’s land use practices. “Alabama Power manages its St. Clair and Etowah County property holdings in the same way we work to be good stewards of land across out state,” Blackwell wrote. “Alabama is one of the most biodiverse states in the country, and experts in forestry, biology and wetlands management work together to protect our natural resources.”

Meanwhile, Save Chandler Mountain’s preservation work continues. How can citizens get involved?

“There’s power in numbers,” Summerlin said. “They could join Save Chandler Mountain, get on our Facebook page. We continue to strive to preserve this land. Just get involved with us.”

Hyatt said the mountain and the Chandler Natural Bridge are important, not to be taken for granted. “I was in awe of it, even as a child,” he said. “I didn’t really appreciate this place then as much as I do now. The older I get, the more it means.”

What would Summerlin want people who had never seen the Chandler Natural Bridge to know about the span?

“It Is s magical place,” she said. “It deserves to be preserved. In fact, all of this community and this area deserve to be preserved because it is a holy place for the Cherokees. It has incredible historical significance, not just for the indigenous people, but with, for example President Andrew Jackson took the land and either sold it or granted deeds to people.”

Some descendants of those original recipients still have those deeds, Summerlin said.

“This is a very historically significant, culturally significant, and I would like to say, it’s a sacred place.” l

Editor’s Note: For more information about Save Chandler Mountain, contact Fran Summerlin at fransummerlin@att.net, or visit the Save Chandler Mountain Facebook page or on the organization’s website, savechandlermountain.com. Dues are $20 annually.m to keep our programming fresh, giving people a reason to come and come back again to discover our rich history.”

Beyond the Arena

St. Clair Agriculture & Multi-Event Center
is so much more than original rodeo venue

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Mackenzie Free
Submitted Photos

The St. Clair County Arena in Odenville has been home to rodeos and agricultural shows for many years, but today, it is so much more. Over the past 12 months, it has hosted a dog show, a vintage market, a circus and a county fair.

The Event Center next door is a pickleball mecca to rival any courts in the county.

In other words, the Arena ain’t just a place for agricultural shows anymore. The official title may give a hint to the depth of its overall scope: St. Clair Agriculture and Multi-Event Center.

“We wanted more than just an agricultural center,” says County Commissioner Jeff Brown. “And that’s what we have. We can do a dog show one day, a circus the next. I give (Arena Director) Ashley (Hay) a ton of credit. She’s easy to work with. The original board that ran it needs credit, too. It started from nothing.”

The county bought the Arena, 25.6 acres of land and an office building in 2010 from Randy and Michelle Spence for $551,197. For 11 years, it was used for rodeos and other horse-related events. During COVID, the county received a $1 million federal grant to build an emergency facility, called a Pandemic Center, that they could operate from in the event of a natural disaster. That grant changed everything.

“I came aboard in 2021, and the grant had already been awarded,” says Hay.

“The county commission looked for a way to use the grant to best help the entire county. Only the Arena was here then.”

Hay says that grant required a large, unobstructed space, restrooms, as well as storage to be utilized by EMA. The county commission looked for ways that the facility could be used for more than just emergencies, though. This led to the addition of a sport-court surface, bleachers, retractable basketball goals and equipment for volleyball and pickleball in the Event Center.

“This building was attached to an existing older building that had administrative offices and the cowboy church,” says Hay. “The concession stand with restrooms and showers was built a while ago.”

Both the Arena and the indoor, 12,000-square-foot Event Center are membership facilities available to anyone. “We have a lock box for daily use, or you can sign up online. We have about 100 members right now. The cost is $100 for an annual membership, but daily memberships are obtainable, too.”

Pickleball players have five days a week to play their favorite game. “They are pretty dedicated folks,” Hay says. “And they say ours is one of the nicest facilities within 100 miles. We have pickleball classes, but we don’t have programs, so we’re able to offer more open gym time.”

The Event Center offers summer membership for kids, too. The Center’s Facebook page is the best place to check out the schedules.

“We’re the only arena in our area that I know of that allows open rides as much as we do,” Hay says. “Horseback riders can come any time between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. When they register, they get access to opening the gates. We have 80 horse-riding members. One woman comes with her baby at 6 a.m. because it’s the only time she can.”

Early history

Originally, the county created a parks and recreation board to run the facility, appointing Lude Mashburn of Odenville, the late Hershel Walker of Argo, Don Smith of Springville, Brad Sanders of Odenville and Kenny Womack of Riverside as members. A couple of years later, Womack was replaced by Jimmy Hollander, also of Riverside. The board elected Mashburn as chairman.

“The county had a vision, and they appointed the board to run it,” says Mashburn, who was an agricultural science teacher at St. Clair County High School at that time. “They turned everything over to us, and we ran it. We put in the dirt for the Arena floor, bought a tractor to keep it compacted during rodeos, all that. But the county never funded it for the 10 years we had it, except for building the restrooms and the bleachers. Then things kinda changed when the county got COVID money.”

The board was officially dissolved on February 10, 2022, and the property and facility are now funded and managed by the St. Clair County Commission, according to County Administrator Tina Morgan. Board members at the time of dissolution were Chairman Lude Mashburn, Jimmy Hollander, Brad Sanders, Candi Jones and Donnie Smith.

The county covered the bleachers and Arena, added lights and industrial overhead fans. The bleachers seat 800, with extra seating brought in for rodeos, pushing that total to 1,200 seats as needed. The Arena itself is 22,000 square feet. “In March, April and May, then again in September, October and November, there’s an event every weekend,” Ashley Hay says. “We have had car shows, a community yard sale, barrel racing, ranch sorting, a pig squeal and a county fair.”

Youth timed events such as barrel and pole races and goat tying are still held there. “We have more equine events than anything else at the Arena,” Hay says. “We also have lots of banquets in the Event Center. We’re working on grants for developing the 12-15 acres at the back of the property, including a multi-use trail for walking, horseback riding and bicycles. We also want to do RV hookups so folks can park for the time they are in a show.”

Local youths take part in Pickleball Events Group clinic

Hay’s background is in parks and recreation, having worked for the city of Springville before St. Clair County. Originally from Kansas, she moved here in 2018 because her husband is from Alabama. “I was a high school volleyball and basketball coach, then got into parks and recreation after that,” she says. “I really enjoy it. I started and grew the parks and recreation program in Springville. Then they asked me to do the same here.”

Under Hay’s management, the facility has added a wash bay, industrial fans, lighting, an uncovered, warm-up pen behind the Arena, and everything inside of the Event Center. It has improved parking and upgraded the PA system, too. Hay added a Facebook page and advertisements on Radio Station 94.1. “I feel like things are running well,” she says. “We’re trying to expand the types of programs we have.”

Besides all the public functions, the Arena and Event Center are available to rent by individuals for volleyball and basketball games, for wedding receptions, banquets and other private events. “We have had a wedding, and they brought horses,” Hay says. “The wedding was in the back pasture, and the Arena was where they held the reception. It’s a $750 fee for two days’ rental, and that’s dang cheap in comparison to other facilities of similar size.”

The Arena hosted a circus in February 2025, and the Gala of World Horses in the Fall of 2024. “The Gala had never been to Alabama before,” Hay says.

At least two dozen trailers were parked outside the Arena for a recent Buckle Series, a barrel racing event. Several horses stood tied to trailers, munching hay from their hanging bags. Riders walked their horses in circles, getting them ready for the event. One of those riders was Emmaline Puckett, 9, of Ashville. She has been racing since she was five or six, and like most of the other competitors, usually comes early to put her horse through its paces.

“We’re members here, so if the weather is bad, we come over here to practice barrels,” says Emmaline’s mom, Christina Puckett. “We’re very thankful for this place.”

Tyler and Jayclyn Cobb of Blount County came to watch the barrel race, even though Jayclyn couldn’t compete as usual because her mare has been bred. “We love coming here, Jayclyn says. “It’s covered, shaded, not as hot as other places.”

“A lot of people have really done a great job with the Arena from the get-go,” says Commissioner Brown. “The board members deserve a lot of the credit. We (the county) had the ideas, and they made it happen.

“That board served for free, put in a lot of hours, even parked cars during events. They deserve all the credit.”

Features

Chandler Mountain

St. Clair’s place of sacred beauty

By Roxann Edsall
Photos by Mackenzine Free

For many, the mention of Chandler Mountain brings to mind images of big, beautiful, savory tomatoes. But the roots of the mountain’s history run far deeper than those lovely fruits or even of those families that have farmed them for generations. Archaeologists are now calling the mountain a place of profound Native American cultural significance, having documented several sites on and around the mountain.

These sites, formally verified by archaeologists over the last two years, include pictographs, which are paintings on stone using the pigment, called red ochre, found in the dirt. There are at least eight documented sites containing pictographs, cairns, snake walls and other various rock formations attributed to the area’s Native American heritage. Next month, archaeologists are planning to visit an additional five areas that may also contain significant indigenous findings.

Those culturally significant Native American findings were instrumental in saving Chandler Mountain residents from the fallout from a proposed Alabama Power dam project. Alabama Power had planned to build a pumped storage hydroelectric facility that would have pumped water from Neely Henry Lake up the mountain to a reservoir and dam at the top, the intent of which was to created electricity by releasing water at peak use times to flow down the mountain to four dams below.

The building and operation of the project would have forever changed the landscape of the mountainside and residents banded together to fight. They created Save Chandler Mountain, a 501c3 non-profit, and began working to build a case to oppose the dam project. “The project was a net-negative program, meaning it would have used more energy than it created,” said Fran Summerlin, the organization’s president. “It was going to get rid of so much farmland and so many houses.”

Summerlin explained that the organization reached out to archaeologists and cultural heritage people and found common ground with the people who originally lived on the land, members of the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama. Both current residents and the Indigenous people of the area were desperate to save the land and protect its features.

Seth Penn is a member of the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama and was, at the time of the proposed dam project, the southeastern coordinator for the Indian Nations Conservation Alliance (INCA). Fighting to promote Native American culture and to protect sacred sites was his mission and that dovetailed well with Save Chandler Mountain’s mission. Penn, who has degrees in both cultural anthropology and natural resource conservation management, with minors in Cherokee studies and language, lives in north Alabama, but has ancestral ties to both Etowah and St. Clair counties.

“Chandler Mountain and that area was a place where multiple tribal territories came together,” Penn explains. “You had the Cherokee people, various branches of Muskogee, as well as Choctaws and Chickasaw too. This was a special place where various tribes would come together to trade and to talk through things and to try to work things out peacefully.”

A popular destination – Horse Pens 40 – for bouldering, entertainment, festivals and views

So, their work together began by inviting noted archaeologist David Johnson to visit the mountain. Johnson, who is from Poughkeepsie, New York, had successfully documented Native American sacred and ceremonial landscapes along the lower Hudson Valley, which was instrumental in saving Split Rock Mountain, a land sacred to the Ramapo Munsee Lenape Nation. “We were having a ceremony celebrating the saving of Split Rock Mountain and Seth Penn and his mother came from northeast Alabama,” said Johnson. “I walked him around that site and showed him the stone features. He said I needed to come to Alabama.”

“I made the drive down to Huntsville and met with Seth’s tribe,” Johnson continued. “Within the first two days, we found two ceremonial landscape sites that the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama knew nothing about.” It was at the presentation he gave to the tribe about his findings that he met some visitors who came up from Chandler Mountain. “They asked me to come look and I went down for two days for a quick look. What I saw was enough that I went back and have documented eight major sites there.”

The shape of the mountain itself is unique in that, unlike typical mountains that rise to a peak, the top of Chandler Mountain is a plateau, flat at the top with a dip, or bowl in the middle. The shape is a natural occurrence, formed during the creation of the Appalachian Mountains hundreds of millions of years ago. The flat top made the mountain ideal for the ceremonial and tribal activities, according to Johnson, with plenty of room for tribes to meet, to trade, to work through disputes, and to pray.

The mountain is known as the tomato capital

“You don’t usually find a lot of artifacts at this type of site,” says Johnson. “You don’t find a lot of broken arrows and firepits because that’s not what they did here. This was a special place, a sacred place.” Those types of artifacts, he explains, are found in habitation sites, archaeological sites where cultures lived and slept.

“There are ceremonially significant places on the mountain, as well as in the whole region,” Penn explains. “There are places where you see the presence of that confirmed through various rock formations, art, and things along those lines that are centuries old. It affirms the long-lasting presence of Indigenous people there.” It’s a place that local Native Americans still go to pray. “We go to these sacred places where we are able to stand in present time, but lock arms with our ancestors, the ancients, to pray.”

The land is sacred, too, to those who live and farm the land today. “There are places there with history, with stories, with blood, sweat and tears that have been poured into that land,” Penn continues. “If that dam project had happened, it would have erased the history of Indigenous people from thousands of years ago, but would also have erased a lot of history from the present inhabitants of that land and their families.”

Charles Abercrombie’s family is deeply ingrained in the history of the area. For more than 75 years, he has lived on land on the side of Chandler Mountain that was once part of the homestead of Joel Chandler, for whom the mountain is named. Chandler received the land as payment for his work as a soldier in the Creek Indian War. Abercrombie still has the land grant signed by Andrew Jackson. The land has been owned by the Abercrombie family since 1894, and Abercrombie says he would fight to protect his land from any threat. “When all this started, I went to an eminent domain attorney,” Abercrombie said. “I was willing to go to the Supreme Court, if I had to.”

He did not have to go to the Supreme Court. As a result of feedback from residents and pushback from Twinkle Cavanaugh, then Alabama Public Service Commission president, the application for the Alabama Power dam project on Chandler Mountain was withdrawn and the mountain, with its beautiful landscape and rich history was saved.

“Bringing these potential cultural losses to the forefront may have contributed to the demise of the project, but important political opposition is probably what made the difference,” says Terry Henderson. Henderson, whose family has been around the mountain and Canoe Creek since around 1850, has lived on the south brow of the mountain for two years. He is married to Linda Derry, a professional historical archaeologist, and worries as much about “unrestrained and uncontrolled visitation” in the area. “These properties, structures, and vistas should be protected through legal, enforceable, verifiable development and access restraints,” says Henderson.

Ben Lyon agrees. He was drawn to the mountain as a rock climber 20 years ago and has lived there for the past 12 years. His property contains red ochre drawings and other findings important to Native American culture. “I believe it’s as important as anything to preserve these,” says Lyons. “It’s one of the few examples of pre-Woodlands depictions in the Coosa River Valley.”

Lyon says saving the mountain and its cultural history is important for the future of the children and for the families who make their living on the land. “There’s a way of life on Chandler Mountain that would have been lost, and about a third of the mountain would have been lost,” said Lyon.

Chandler Mountain is a place of tranquil beauty, a place where families live off the land and spend time in the outdoors. It’s a land of history, of promise, and carries with it the burden of conserving it for future generations. Conservationist Aldo Leopold stressed the importance of that responsibility when he wrote, “The oldest task in human history is to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.” Together, the mountain’s current residents and those representing their Indigenous predecessors have made sure this sacred mountain will not be spoiled.

Features

Return of the Logan Martin Longbeards

NWTF auction and fundraiser a huge success

Story and photos by
Graham Hadley

For the first time in a quarter of a century, the local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation held a Hunting Heritage Banquet in St. Clair County and marked the event as more of a success than they ever dreamed.

“Even if we had raised half of what we did, I would have considered it a success. We brought in about twice that. This was a fantastic first-time event,” said Jim Tollison, chapter president and chairperson of the fundraiser.

The local branch of the NWTF, called the Logan Martin Longbeards, recently reorganized with the help of the national organization, Tollison and some of his coworkers at Alabama Farm Credit in Talladega, where he serves as the regional vice president, and a host of others throughout the community.

“The NWTF works to protect wild turkey habitats and hunter rights,” Tollison said, pointing out that wild turkeys were all but hunted out in Alabama in the early 1900s. “For years, it was not common to see turkeys around where we live. They had to reintroduce wild turkeys to the state, or we would not have them today.”

The committee included Cameron Edge, Hanna Grogan, Logan Tucker, Karlee Tucker, Tim Smith, Brittany Smith, Jim Tollison, David Talley, Coy Holloway and Dillion Willams
(Not pictured – Brooke Tollison)

Those efforts run the range from conservation to working with communities and government agencies to protect the land and the heritage of the sport.

The event organizers are still adding everything up, but the banquet, held April 3 at Celebrations in Pell City, brought in between $30,000 and $35,000 and attracted more than 150 people.

Aside from the catered dinner by Bowlings BBQ, attendees got to bid on and take part in drawings for a variety of guns and other outdoor and hunting equipment.

“People came together who like the outdoors,” Tollison said. “It was just a great group of people. The Federation had some special guns to win. Some are custom that are only available from the organization.

“It’s always fun to have a live auction – there were a couple of times I realized I was bidding against my wife, Brooke. And she was bidding on lots of stuff – it looked like she was trying to furnish our son, Jay’s, college room with NWTF stuff.

“Brian Worley helped with background checks, and GNX Guns and Bama Guns & Outfitters also were big sponsors.”

Those partners were key to the success. “Chad Camp with Lovejoy Realty really stepped up. He was eager to support the outdoors and did the premiere sponsorship,” Tollison said. Others, like Realtor Dana Ellison and Rob Knight not only sponsored the event, but they came and spent money at the auction.

Chapter president Jim Tollison and Chad Camp

Other sponsors included Cline & Co Properties; Richey, Price, Sawyer and Associates; THM Electrical and Maintenance Services; Chase Phifer; GNX Gun Exchange; Coosa Guns & Outdoors; Sen. Lance Bell; Bain & Co. CPA; Dixie Sod Farm; Alabama Farm Credit; Farm Systems Inc.; Metro Bank; Covered Bridge Timber Inc.; Rodney Bunt; Knights Plumbing; Ryan’s Hope Poultry Farm; Brooke Tollison, Alfa Insurance; Scott Tucker; and Alex Williamson

“Celebrations was great to work with. They have upgraded the venue, and everything was perfect for what we wanted to do … have a family friendly event where people could bring their kids and have a fun night.”

Tollison also wanted to thank all the help he had organizing everything, especially from the NWTF and his associates at the bank.

“I had been attending these events in other places as a way to network and build business relationships and finally said to myself, why don’t we do this here? I was sitting with NWTF regional representative Coy Holloway and Hannah Grogan (who became treasurer for the organization) at the bank, and everyone was on board.”

The previous chapter had ceased operations years ago. “When we came up with the name Logan Martin Longbeards and looked it up, turns out the old chapter had used the same name. We had no idea.”

From that group, they organized a board and then put their attention toward the banquet.

“It was really a small core group of people who did most of the work – people from the bank, Coy and others. Brooke was probably one of our top sellers for the event. … And Hanna did a lot of the organizing for the actual event. Representative for NWTF had high praise for her efforts.

“We were blessed this first time.”

The money raised at the event goes to the NWTF efforts, both locally and around the country, with the exception of funding set aside for a local scholarship the Logan Martin Longbeards plan to award.

After the success of this year, Tollison is already looking ahead. “We will be doing this again next year. We had people from Clay and Randolph counties who came out and supported us. I want to reach out to other neighbors, like Talladega and Calhoun counties and get their involvement.”

It was a night of “good fun,” Tollison said, “with a great crowd of quality people who came together to support the NWTF and its efforts.”