History of Natural Bridge, AL

Hello all! First, I want to apologize for not posting in so long, but I hope to be back up and posting more of where I have travelled to recently more regularly!

This past weekend I travelled to a small little town close to Jasper, Alabama called Natural Bridge, Alabama. It is located right outside of Winston County here in Alabama. The town was established on September 3, 1914. In the 1930s, the population of the town began to dwindle, and its charter ended up becoming dormant. It was not re-incorporated until July 24, 1997. In the year 2000 it was actually the least populated town in all of Alabama with a population of 28 people. By the 2010 census they had gone up to 37 people living in the town.

The town brings in people from all over with the Natural Bridge Park. The rock arch located in the park is the longest natural bridge east of the Rocky Mountain. It spans 127 feet! This arch dates back to 200 million years ago when the sea washed the sandstone away leaving iron ore veins holding the bridge. The Creek Indians used to live in the area, and it is believed that they probably used the area under the bridge as shelter. The park opened in 1954 and has seen many people since its opening. The location used to be known as Lodi.

Within the park is also an artesian well (confined aquifer containing groundwater) for the water fountains, a gift shop, 27 kinds of ferns, hemlock that dates back to the Ice Age, a picnic area, a beautiful trail that lasts about 30 minutes, and a rock formation that is in the shape of an Indian head. The Indian head stone is about 15 feet tall.

Unfortunately, people are not allowed to walk across the bridge for insurance reasons, but it truly is a sight to see! The admission is only $3.50 per adult so I believe it is well worth the trip. The area itself is not the largest but thinking of all of the people that have walked the area is so neat to me. I hope you are able to visit it one day!