Luverne

This week had been a difficult one to find some down time to make a trip. But I was finally able to take a trip to a little town not too far from Troy called Luverne, Alabama. I have been to this town before, but had never gotten the chance to really look around.

In Alabama, there have been a number of towns that began mainly because of the railway system. Luverne being one of them. The town was founded in 1889 because of this and actual became a stop along the railroad track. The track was the Florida and Montgomery railroad track. And with the building of the railroad, came more people. And so the town grew.

In 1893, the people of Crenshaw County, where Luverne is, changed the county seat to Luverne. Since it had grown in size.

The town of Luverne has been given the nickname of “Friendliest City in the South.” It’s a name you will see on every welcome sign for the city. But the happenings of the town have not always been the “friendliest.”

The only recorded lynching in Crenshaw County happened in Luverne. On June 22, 1940, an African American man named Jesse Thornton was lynched for not calling a white man “mister.” The body of Jesse was found in a nearby river called the Patsaliga River. The white man was later found to have been a police officer. The reason I say recorded was because most lynchings were kept on the down low. There is a good chance there were many more than just this one.

On a lighter note, in the town of Luverne there is a Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company. Around almost every corner in the downtown Luverne area you will see Pepsi painted on a wall. I may have seen Pepsi painted out at least seven or eight times. There are about two or three different Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company buildings around town. It is definitely a major trademark of the town. The company mainly makes Coke products, but they also make coffee products such as Starbucks.

The town is a very beautiful town. It appears to have been kept up very nicely for years. Usually with old towns they, unfortunately, start to wither away. But the citizens have done a good job with Luverne. The downtown area is very neat and my favorite spot I saw of the town. I will definitely be going back! And i recommend the ice cream shop in downtown. The ice cream is delicious!

Youngblood Dam

Some of my favorite places to go to are hidden gems. Unfortunately, I do not find enough of these places. But when I do find them, they bring me a lot of joy. This week I was about to find a gem a little outside of Troy called Youngblood Dam.

The dam is located around 6.5 miles outside of Troy closer to Youngblood, Alabama, on Youngblood Lake. It is a beautiful spot that quite a few people enjoy to fish at. If you look closely in the picture above you will see people doing just that.

The area itself does not have too much history I could find unfortunately. In what I could find, there is not even a census to prove how many people live in the area. So, the community of Youngblood is a bit of a mystery. For me at least. The area is a gorgeous area though. With the dam, the lake, an abandoned building on the shore, and a really lovely area that a family could easily have a cook-out on. And is, once again, a nice place for fishing. The woman in the picture actually caught one shortly after I took it. The wildlife around the area also create a really nice effect.

There is a little trail that goes down to the water, and it is very easy to climb down. The hill is not too steep to go down. Making it easy for any age to get down to it.

The place is absolutely beautiful and I very much recommend anyone to go to it! Next time I go, I am hoping that it will be warm so I can actually get in the water!