Alabama Front Porches: The official website for Alabama's Black Belt

The Ghosts of the Black Belt: visit any town in Alabama and you will most likely hear a local ghost story. You will hear stories of civil war soldiers, haunted riverboats, spectral visitors at university campuses and many tales of apparitions that either met an early or unwarranted death. Learn more about our ghost stories and watch video interviews and tales.

On Saturday, July 31, 2010  the Birmingham Audubon Society embarked on its second birding trip to the Black Belt region of Alabama, finding some of the birds we encountered last Saturday while adding a few new delights to make this trip equally memorable. We began the day at the Heflin Lock Facility on the Tombigbee [...]

The Old Lock 1 Park is located at the remains of Old Lock 1 on the Tombigbee River between Jackson and Coffeeville. This park lies in a grove of large pecan trees. Major improvements at the park site from 1999–2004 include a picnic pavilion, restrooms, renovated boat ramp, paved roads, parking lots and a park host campsite.

Folklife Specialist Anne Kimzey interviews Deborah Rankins, Assistant Director of Library Services at Alabama Southern Community College and the Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum in Thomasville.  Rankins furnishes information about the Windham Museum and discusses a calendar of events that feature various regional storytelling groups associated with the Kathryn Tucker Windam Storytelling Club in Southwest Alabama. [...]

The many blocks of the David K. Nelson Wildlife Management Area offer some exceptional birding opportunities. One of our favorites is Backbone Creek in southernmost Greene County. It’s located just a few miles northeast of Demopolis and provides easy access to the backwaters of the Black Warrior River and Lake Demopolis.

Lodging, from hotels and campgrounds to hunting lodges and more, all in Marengo County.

Note: These are travelers’ favorites. Tell us what you liked where and why you liked it. Leave a comment here or send us a message. Check back frequently, as we’ll be updating the dining section regularly in the coming weeks.
Ezell’s (Lavaca) – Famous catfish for generations. Listed in 100 Places to Eat Before You Die for their hushpuppies. Fried dill pickles and blooming onions are good. Their coleslaw is the local standard for good slaw. Located on the river in a 200 year old log cabin as the central building. Walls are covered with stuffed game heads.

It was the 50th anniversary of the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”. It may turn out to be the fiction bestseller of all time. Almost every student in America reads it at some time. It is a multilayered work telling the story of life in a small rural town with the good, the bad and the ugly with honesty and humor. Those of us who live in the area will find ourselves, our lives and our ancestors embedded somewhere in its pages. This book has probably done more for us in the South to examine our prejudices and lay them aside in honor of the plight of the whole human race than the author ever imagined as she pinned her narrative. It is a morality play told through the fresh eyes of a child.