Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Flagg Mountain - TPR's In Focus - March 4, 2026

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Flagg Mountain - TPR's In Focus - March 4, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from the Wiregrass Archives
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  at Troy University's Dothan Campus,
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  identifying and preserving historical documents
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  and photographs for research related
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  to the Wiregrass region.
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  More information at troy.edu slash Wiregrass Archives.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is In Focus,
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  and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson.
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  Flag Mountain in Coosa County has a tower
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  that's on the National Historic Lookout Register.
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  Forestry Management Specialist, Brad Dunham,
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  reports on the Alabama Forestry Commission's restoration
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  of the CCC Tower atop the southernmost
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  Appalachian Peak in Alabama.
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  Our conversation is part of our Back to Nature series.
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  ♪♪
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  Brad Dunham, I want to welcome you
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  to Troy Public Radio's In Focus.
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  Thank you, Ms. Carolyn.
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  Since spring is the perfect time to visit Flag Mountain,
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  can you give us a little of its history?
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  Flag Mountain is commonly known as the first mountain
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  in Alabama, or Alabama's first mountain,
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  coming from the Gulf northward.
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  It's the first mountain to reach 1,000 feet
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  above sea level.
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  The tower at Flag is at 1,135 feet above sea level.
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  The observation tower is a 50-foot stone tower
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  that was built in the 1930s.
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  I'm pretty sure it was completed in 1935 by the CCC.
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  And they also completed five cabins during that time.
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  So there are five cabins on Flag Mountain
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  and the stone observation tower.
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  We are talking about a landmark in Coosa County.
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  You have been working on that tower.
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  What have you been finding?
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  The construction of the tower is amazing.
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  When we had the steps redone,
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  the architects and everybody set up
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  like laser levels inside the tower,
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  and it was perfectly square to within a quarter of an inch.
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  So we're talking a hundred years later,
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  everything up there is just,
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  the stonework is just amazing.
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  What was the tower built for originally?
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  It was built as a fire tower to spot wildfires.
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  We're talking the Civilian Conservation Corps.
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  The construction you're saying is almost perfect.
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  It is, it's really amazing.
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  I think the walls are three to four foot thick
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  on the bottom, just solid rock walls, four foot thick.
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  It's a really neat sight to see.
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  Can people actually go up in the tower?
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  Yes, since we've had the steps reworked,
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  the tower's open seven days a week.
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  So you can ride up to Flagg, park in the lower parking lot,
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  walk up the new approach trail,
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  and go all the way up to the top of the tower.
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  You know, Brad, so many of these fire towers are metal,
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  but you're talking solid rock.
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  Can you sort of describe what that looks like?
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  Yeah, if any of the listeners have been to Mount Cheahaw,
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  the tower up there, it's similar to it.
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  It's just a solid rock tower,
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  50 feet tall, and it's just an amazing structure.
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  So you've been up in that tower many times.
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  When you look out from the top of the tower,
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  what do you see?
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  You can see this forest land, as far as you can see,
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  is just forested in probably four or five different counties.
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  Vast forest, longleaf pine forest,
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  and hardwood forest also.
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  And as a registered forester, you're out in the woods a lot.
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  Is there anything significant about those woods
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  around that Penhody Trail and the tower
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  that maybe are historically significant?
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  Oh, yes, absolutely.
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  Especially the longleaf pine.
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  You know, at one time, longleaf dominated
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  as much as 92 million acres.
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  And in 1985, we were down to less than 4 million acres.
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  But through some restoration efforts,
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  the last 40 years, we've increased longleaf acreage
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  up to 5 million acres.
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  So currently, there's around 5 million acres
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  of longleaf pine.
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  The longleaf that flag are actually montane longleaf.
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  So they're a little different than the longleaf
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  that grow on the coastal plain.
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  Montane longleaf are actually some of the most
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  endangered longleaf that we have left.
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  So really, the Alabama Forestry Commission
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  is helping preserve a historic tree, right?
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  Yes, we are taking steps to preserve those trees
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  and make the habitat more suitable for their regeneration
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  so we can keep them around for years to come.
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  I have seen some montane longleaf up in North Alabama.
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  So is this a mountain tree?
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  It is.
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  They grow on the steep, rocky slopes up in the mountains.
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  You're surrounded by the Weagufka State Forest.
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  And are these montane longleaf in that forest as well?
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  They are.
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  The Weagufka State Forest is a 240-acre state forest
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  owned by the Alabama Forestry Commission.
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  Brad, hiking through the woods, the Penhody Trail,
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  what kind of wildlife do you see?
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  You're going to see white-tailed deer and eastern turkey,
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  without a doubt.
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  Gray squirrels, there's a lot of squirrels, turkey, and deer.
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  The southern terminus of the Penhody
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  was actually moved to the observation tower at Flagg.
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  So you're saying that the terminus of a connecting trail
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  to the world-famous Appalachian Trail
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  is right there at Flagg Mountain?
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  The southern terminus is, yes, ma'am.
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  It's known as mile 0.0.
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  So if you're starting your hike on the Penhody,
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  you will start at Flagg Mountain.
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  Or if you're headed southbound,
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  you'll end at Flagg Mountain, at the tower.
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  How much of the Penhody Trail,
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  how many miles of that trail connect to the AT in Alabama?
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  Okay, in Alabama, there is 171 miles.
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  It ties into the Georgia Penhody,
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  which is 164 miles, for a total of 335 miles
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  for the Penhody Trail.
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  To your knowledge, the history of the Penhody Trail,
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  was there a trail there that the Native Americans used?
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  I mean, is this a pattern after that?
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  I'm sure it is.
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  The name Penhody is actually a Native American term.
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  So if you're on the Penhody Trail,
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  and as I've read, it means turkey home
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  in the Muskogean language.
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  But if you're on the trail-
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  As I've seen, blue blazes,
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  it's sort of like dipping an eraser,
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  like you'd see at school, into blue paint,
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  and you put it on a tree.
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  Is that how you know where you are on the trail?
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  Yes, that's correct.
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  If you see the blue blaze,
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  there's a certain blue designated for the Penhody Trail.
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  So as long as you're following that blue blaze,
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  you'll stay on the Penhody.
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  And the logo for the Penhody is what?
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  It's a turkey foot, yep.
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  In the area that you serve
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  with the Alabama Forestry Commission,
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  what are some of the significant parts of Coosa County
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  that your listeners might want to know more about?
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  Hatchet Creek is really popular.
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  If you're into kayaking or canoeing,
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  and the Cahaba Lilies,
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  everybody should take a trip down Hatchet
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  in a kayak or canoe and see those.
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  The Cahaba Lilies are spectacular in the late spring.
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  But back to what you've been working on
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  with Historic Flag Mountain,
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  what facilities are available to the public?
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  The five cabins, they're available.
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  You can rent overnight.
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  We're allowing hikers to stay in the cabins now.
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  So you can come start your hike at the tower,
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  hike down to the cabin,
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  spend the night and continue your hike.
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  The tower's also open.
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  Everyone should go up to the top and look out of the tower.
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  It's amazing.
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  And you're saying water is there now, is that right?
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  Yes, and that's one of our biggest projects.
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  We now have city water from Stewartville.
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  We have a dependable water source
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  that's going to open a lot of different avenues for us.
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  We're looking at doing some bath houses
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  and shower facilities and stuff like that in the future
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  since we have that dependable public water source.
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  How many years have you been working
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  on the Flag Mountain Tower?
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  I've been with the Alabama Forestry Commission for 10 years
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  and probably half of that, we've been at Flag.
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  Over the last five years,
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  we've been doing a lot of work up there.
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  In the work that you've been doing,
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  have you discovered anything unusual
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  besides the construction?
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  Not really unusual,
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  just amazed at the craftsmanship that the CCC guys had.
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  You know, with very limited tools back in the 30s,
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  they didn't have all the modern tools we have now
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  and the construction's just perfect.
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  Can you tell us how to get in touch
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  for more information about Flag Mountain?
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  Yes, they can visit our website
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  forestry.alabama.gov
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  and there's a link for the Weagufka State Forest.
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  And on that website,
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  you can see a photograph
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  of that historic Flag Mountain Tower.
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  Brad, thank you for your time today.
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  Thank you, I appreciate that.
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  Joining us from Flag Mountain
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  in Coosa County's Weagufka State Forest
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  for our Back to Nature series
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  was Brad Dunham, Forestry Management Specialist
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  with the Alabama Forestry Commission.
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  More information can be found
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  at the forestry.alabama.gov website.
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  Thanks for joining us for In Focus,
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  which is a podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson
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  and this is listener-supported Troy Public Radio.