Fort Payne offers natural features on different scales: the course of the Little River, a view of a waterfall and a scenic drive along the canyon rim. There are also museums with distinct collection themes. When narrowing down your travel options, you can first decide whether your focus should be on the landscape, a particular museum theme or historic buildings.

River, Waterfall and Canyon Views

For most of its course, the Little River in Little River Canyon National Preserve flows along Lookout Mountain. In the Little River Falls area, you can see a 45-foot waterfall. The two features offer different perspectives: one describes the river’s course in relation to Lookout Mountain, while the other is a waterfall with a specific height. They provide different kinds of orientation: a geographic relationship covering most of the river’s course and the height of a waterfall.

Another perspective comes from the 23-mile scenic drive along the rim of Little River Canyon. Several overlooks along the route offer views into a 700-foot-deep gorge. The three figures describe different things: 23 miles is the length of the road, 45 feet is the waterfall’s height, and 700 feet is the gorge’s depth. This distinguishes the scenic drive’s length from the two height measurements; it also contrasts a single waterfall view with several canyon overlooks.

Museums with Different Collections

At the Depot Museum, architectural history meets a variety of collection items. The building is made of pink sandstone and was built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style in 1891. Its holdings include railroad memorabilia, dioramas from 1913 and Indigenous artifacts. The building and collection offer two different ways to explore: the material and style place the building in context, while the collection ranges from railroad history to dioramas and Indigenous artifacts. The dates refer to different things: 1891 is the year of the building, and 1913 is the year of the dioramas.

The Alabama Fan Club and Museum has a different focus. It houses numerous awards and achievements of the group Alabama, as well as collections from the group’s early years. Its address is 101 Glenn Blvd. SW in Fort Payne. Compared with the Depot Museum, its thematic focus is clear: this museum centers on the group Alabama, while the Depot Museum focuses on railroad memorabilia, dioramas and Indigenous artifacts. This comparison makes the different focus of the two collections concrete when choosing what to visit.

Historic Buildings and Attributions

Another trace of the past can be found in the cabin at the Fort Payne Cabin Site. It is said to have belonged to Cherokee John Huss, also known as Spirit the Preacher, and to have been built around 1825. Unlike the Depot Museum, whose building dates to 1891, the cabin’s connection to John Huss is presented tentatively, and its construction date is approximate. Thus, a dated sandstone building and a cabin with an attributed connection to a person represent different ways of placing something in historical context.

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