Sunday, March 2nd, Tony and I stopped at the Old Depot. It was closed. would have loved to go…read moreinside but at least I got to walk around and take some gorgeous pictures of the old depot. History: The Fort Payne Depot Museum is one of the few surviving nineteenth-century railway terminals in Alabama. Located on the main thoroughfare in Fort Payne, DeKalb County, it features a large collection of Native American artifacts as well as holdings that illustrate the history of the region and the railroad era. The Fort Payne Depot was constructed in 1891 by the Alabama Great Southern Railroad. Fort Payne was a main stop on the line, with two express mail trains and as many as six passenger trains daily. The depot was a passenger station for 79 years. Among the most notable people to use or pass through the station were Milford Howard, one of the nation's leading populists The depot served passengers until 1970, when passenger service was dropped. After that, it served trains hauling freight only and housed an agent. The following year, the Alabama Historical Commission, Landmarks of DeKalb County, and the City of Fort Payne worked together to have the landmark placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1973, a local group called Landmarks of DeKalb expressed interest in obtaining and preserving the depot. Railroad officials agreed to trade the depot to the organization in exchange for a building in another location. In July 1983, freight service was halted by approval of the Public Service Commission, and the depot remained empty for a year. In 1986, the nonprofit Landmarks of DeKalb Inc., and its board of directors was created to save the depot building after it was threatened with being torn down. The group decided to put a museum into the building. To fund the building's renovation, Landmarks of DeKalb Inc. and the City of Fort Payne were able to secure funding through grants. The exterior of the structure was renovated that same year; it is constructed from pink sandstone with a copper roof, and the interior is finished in native pine and plaster. On October 12, 1986, the depot was dedicated as a museum. Five years later, on October 13, 1991, the depot celebrated its 100th anniversary. Also on the grounds is a 30-foot trailer that contains a collection of 94 dioramas, small, intricate scenes created by Italian artist Steve Fiora between 1915 and 1934 out of plaster of Paris and wire mesh. The dioramas, donated by L. A. Shankles, feature characters and settings from fairy tales, historical scenes, and scenic representations. The museum is run by a 12-member board of directors and is funded through grants, donations, and the City of Fort Payne. The museum has a curator and one staff member, as well as several volunteers.

We did not go inside. We also just walked around and took some pictures. We had just come from…read moreanother Museum in Fort Payne. I also would have loved to go inside as the grounds were lovely. Unfortunately we were on the road and had to be somewhere. It was my first trip to the beautiful state of Alabama and I was very impressed. It is a beautiful state with it's rolling hills and lush plants and greenery all over. I must give a shout out to the two ladies we met outside the Museum. We were taking pictures and when my friend mentioned it was my first time in Alabama, they welcomed me. Lots of southern friendliness and I so wish I could have stayed longer! I would love to come back to the Depot Museum and Alabama in general some day.

A beautiful presentation of the Alabama Band history and personal items…read more The lady in the store was very knowledgeable and pointed us to a wonderful water fall and fabulous restaurant. I wish I could remember her name she is an asset to her community!

Was nice little stop museum was nice and quiet. Friendly staff dog friendly. The gift shop was nice…read morebought a shirt and couple of other things . Love the group Alabama so it was on our list of things to do in Fort Payne.

Sunday, March 2nd, while in Fort Payne, Al ..Tony and I happened across three different sites…read morepertaining to the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail..I visited them and found them very interesting..so I wanted to share. The main property is posted as PRIVATE because someone actually lives in the home as a private residence. History of the site: Visitors to our area will soon discover new signs identifying the Andrew Ross Home, along with the Willstown Mission Cemetery and old Fort Payne Cabin site, as official components of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. The congressionally designated trail commemorates the tragic history of the 1838 removal of the Cherokee people from their ancestral homelands to territory in the west. Located just off the intersection of 45th Street and Godfrey Avenue NE, the Andrew Ross home is privately owned by Dr. Stephen Brewer. The present structure retains intact portions of the original home built in 1821 by Cherokee leader Andrew Ross and his wife, Susannah (Susan) Lowery Ross, who was the daughter of Assistant Principal Chief George Lowery. Long thought to be the home of Daniel Ross, Andrew's father, recent research has revealed the home's true origins. In addition to the home, which had an impressive second story balcony across the front, the property included stables, numerous outbuildings, farmlands, orchards and pastures A brother of Cherokee Principal Chief John Ross, Andrew was a judge on the Cherokee Supreme Court. As a member of the Ridge Party -- the group who lobbied to cede all Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi and voluntarily emigrate to the Western territory, Andrew was in direct opposition to his brother John's anti-removal stance. The other two certified properties are owned by Landmarks of DeKalb County. They are Willstown Mission Cemetery located off Godfrey Avenue on 38th Street NE, which is open to the public, and the old Fort Payne Cabin site, located at the end of 4th Street SE, which is undergoing continued research and development -- access to the Cabin Site is by appointment only. National Park Service signs should be in place at these two sites by May, 2010. For further information, contact Landmarks at (256) 845-6888 or send email to: Landmarks.

There is nothing as good as this place. They have a new…read more Museum that they just finished in 2018. It is the most amazing thing. All the stuff that Alabama started out with. Awards stories about them. Just a hand everything about the super group Alabama. If you love country music and love Alabama. This place is a must. Such great files work there and who know at any moment Randy , Teddy, or Jeff could walk in.

Definitely cool! Merry Christmas from Fort Payne Alabama. Really cool stop along the highway…read morepassing thru Alabama. I guess it help if you are a fan of the band! Lot of CD's and cool merch. The museum was cool too. A nice tribute to a great band, definitely a cool stop!

The Reverend Howard Finster Man of God and Man of Vision. In painting bicycles I'm sure as part of…read morea ministry, he saw a face in paint on his fingertip and it was a sign from God that forever changed his earthly path! I had the pleasure of visiting Paradise Gardens when The Reverend was still alive and even got to sign his casket he hand painted which was on display at the time for all to see. An "outsider artist" not to be confused with folk artists he is completely untrained. Yes his REM album cover shot him to a lot of fame and he did another album cover maybe the B 52s? I believe it was an Athens GA based band. And his famous coca cola art and has others have referenced he has a permanent display at the High Museum in ATL. So not too shabby! The gardens are stunning in their down to home feel and do with what you have mentality which strikes a very stark contrast with his signage all done in capital print about how specifically stole what piece of art or to look out for (insert children's names) who will copy his art and claim it at their own. This place is a must see. I didn't have the pleasure of actually meeting Howard. The time there was wonderful and his home (not open to the public at that time) was humble. I bought a piece of his art which I still treasure and delight in his simplified messages of good and evil in his outsider art. God put it on his heart to do a certain number of pieces before dying and I think he suppasssed the number producing something like 20+ thousand works. All signed and with his personal icon of a dove with a branch in it's mouth. I saw a YouTube of him dancing and singing on a late night show in the 80s or 90s. Howard was full of life, full of the Lord and full of himself. A larger than life figure. I'll upload photos soon Rest in peace and rise in glory Sir, I'm certain you are dancing with Jesus and making God so proud you honored Him and definitely spread His kingdom on earth. Thank you for sharing your God given gifts! I

This is a massive collection of artwork, architecture, sculpture that merges all into the amazing…read moreexperience that is Paradise Garden where you can learn all about the visions of Rev. Howard Finster. My first visit was back when Reverend Finster was still alive and they still had quite a nice selection of his art available for purchase and everything was still in pretty pristine shape. The years have caused some deterioration of Paradise Garden but there are now efforts underway to preserve and maintain this amazing collection. This is one of the most fun and quirky displays of American folk art you can experience anywhere. Even if you think you've never heard of Rev. Finster you probably know some of his art so prepare yourself for surprise and amusement. My video review of Howard Finster's Paradise Garden is here: https://youtu.be/1DMCR5jk12Y

Alabama Band Statues Life-size statues of the country music…read moregroup "Alabama" are now on display in this small town in the northeast of the state. The statues are in the corner of Union Park facing the intersection of Gault Avenue and 4th Street North in downtown Fort Payne

Really neat!! Love Randy Owen and Alabama. So many songs I love…read more Glad I got to see this. Easy to find. Just stay on hwy 11 until 4th street, right on the corner. Can't miss it. Do NOT follow the directions on here. You won't see it. Lol Worth stopping off the hwy to see

Great place to bring the family. We did the museum and the mirror maze. We had fun and took many…read morepictures.at the end they had a quick survey and we ended up getting a nice souvenir picture as a gift. It was worth the money.

Me and a friend of mine took a trip to Scottsboro and decided to go to this museum. I really didn't…read moreknow the backstory on this, but of course I read about it after we visited. This is located in a white church and it's pretty close to unclaimed baggage so you can kill two birds with one stone. I loved reading about the story however I hated that those boys were convicted and most likely didn't need to be. We came here on a Friday morning there really wasn't that many people in there so we were able to stop and look at all the information on the walls in regards to these boys that were arrested for apparently raping two white women on a train. If you had just Scottsboro, I would definitely check this out if especially if you're into history There was two girls that were working that day and they were very sweet and gave us some information about the Scottsboro boys.

This museum is an incredible, important attraction that Scottsboro should be proud of. The owner…read morereally knows her history, and my group left with a new wealth of knowledge about the Scottsboro Boys, their trial, and the aftermath. This history deserves to be preserved and acknowledged and should I come back to town, I will definitely be visiting again!