Fort Payne, Alabama

Fort Payne, Alabama
City
Gault Avenue in downtown Fort Payne
Nickname:  Official Sock Capital of the World
Location of Fort Payne in DeKalb County, Alabama.
Coordinates: 34°27′13″N 85°42′23″W / 34.45361°N 85.70639°W / 34.45361; -85.70639
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	DeKalb
Area [1]
• Total	56.76 sq mi (147.01 km2)
• Land	56.41 sq mi (146.09 km2)
• Water	0.35 sq mi (0.92 km2)
Elevation [2]	1,079 ft (329 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	14,877
• Density	264/sq mi (102/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	35967-35968
Area code	256
FIPS code	01-27616
GNIS feature ID	2403645[2]
Website	www.fortpayne.org

Fort Payne is a city in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877.^[3] The city is the county seat of DeKalb County. The city calls itself the "Official Sock Capital of the World."

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred here in 2003.^[4]

Local Attractions

Fort Payne has the headquarters for the nearby Little River Canyon National Preserve, a 14000 acre National Park Service facility. The canyon itself is at Lookout Mountain outside the city limits. Another attraction is DeSoto State Park, a smaller facility with a lodge, restaurant, cabins, and river access areas.

Education

Fort Payne is served by the Fort Payne City Schools system which includes:

• Wills Valley Elementary (K-2)
• Williams Avenue Elementary (3-4)
• Fort Payne Middle School (5-8)
• Fort Payne High School (9-12)

Fort Payne is also served by the Northeast Alabama Community College which is in Rainsville.

Health care

• DeKalb Regional Medical Center- 134 bed facility

Media

• Radio stations
  • WFPA-AM 1400 (News/Talk)
  • WZOB-AM 1250 (Country)
• Newspapers
  • The Times-Journal
  • The DeKalb Advertiser

Transportation

• Interstate 59
• U.S. Highway 11
• Alabama State Route 35
• Norfolk Southern Railway
• Isbell Field (municipal airport)

Notable natives and residents

• Miles C. Allgood (1878–1977), United States Congressman
• Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry, and Randy Owen, founders of the Country music band Alabama
• Lt. Gen. Duward Crow (1919–1997), Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, USAF and Associate Deputy Administrator, NASA
• Howard Finster (1916–2001), religious folk artist and Baptist minister
• Flock Family (NASCAR drivers)

• Bob Flock (1918–1964)
• Fonty Flock (1921–1972)
• Tim Flock (1924–1998)
• Ethel Mobley (1920–1984)

• Milford W. Howard, United States Congressman and writer
• Lt. Gen. Forrest S. McCartney(ret.), USAF and director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center
• Larry Nelson, professional golfer
• Philip Ober (1902–1982), actor
• Lilius Bratton Rainey (1876–1959), United States Congressman
• Ron Sparks, Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nominee
• Katherine Stinson, pioneer female pilot, fourth woman in the U.S. to become a licensed pilot

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fort Payne, Alabama.

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