Day Two of my 9 states in 9 days challenge to stay only on the backroads and search small towns . Alabama was full of amazing places . Day 1 Florida • The Non Tourist and Em...
Instagram - AdamTheWooATW Getting into the groove and loving this trip so far . Just curious but is this the type of content worth subtly mentioning Patreon for or should I just keep it hush hush as I have for some time now ? i don’t like mentioning it in the videos really but for those who find it , it’s there .
Love this series. I think that a lot of people are very interested in the old backroads and forgotten towns. I think this would be great filler content in between your main theme park, Halloween, and roadside attraction vids. A neat way to get your sanity back in check.. lol lol. Thanks for gracing South Alabama once again with your presence.
It really is a beautiful state with decaying old towns and great nature scenes. I used to live in the Florida panhandle and would often drive up there and explore around.
It’s not nearly as dead here as he’s making it out! Cottonwood still has many locally owned shops and some large corporately owned stores but he only shows the death. It’s a sad but inaccurate picture.
I'm from the last town in the vid. Atmore. Raised there for the first 20 years. Let me tell you... I live in a Chicago suburb and work downtown in a skyscraper. I would love to be back in Alabama and I'm actively working on making that happen. My life seems to be in fast forward since moving here. I make a lot of money but now I've learned... money ain't everything. City people could never appreciate what country is. Although I didnt have a lot growing up but I never recalled being generally unhappy like I feel in Chicago most of the time.
I unfortunately live in walker county Alabama and drugs have taken over I know drugs are everywhere but its horrible here. You can't leave anything out nothing we literally have to chain our lawnmowers to the house. Locked doors ect. I wish I had never seen this place.
These small town and quiet communities are an inspiration to witness because people developed these towns and raised their families here without the need for all the glitz and glamor of big city life. Much respect to these communities that have helped shape America.
It looks very poor to me. I guess I'm just spoiled living in a wealthy liberal state like Colorado. I wonder how people in these poor southern states could feel like they're somehow better than us or smarter than us. Some of these southern states don't even have a minimum wage. Probably because they're used to free forced labor if you know what I mean.
thank you Adam for going back on the road. 4 people in the UK to see parts of the Americana that we wouldn't see normally. Thanks to you we get to see these things please keep it up I know it must be lonely. you're definitely the man
What's really wrong with this though? These places are a remnant from another time, when industry was in the US or people did agriculture and shopped locally. That time is gone now, no matter how much a president could do to reverse it. Time has moved on from it. Let these places be retaken by nature and let trees grow there, animals use it for hunting grounds. What's wrong with that? What's negative about that? I don't see anything negative about it either way.
@@LetsGoGetThem There is absolutely nothing wrong in it. My comment was not meant to be negative. Matter of fact, I love towns such as these...life from the past. Its all so beautiful.
@@alvarezjacqueline1266 Actually, there is something bad. Its the writing. I can not enjoy your work. I feel like there is hate in your words. For example, when you say, "That deep brown to mine eyes, I couldn't help but feel that I was looking into your soul." ala about towns In one word, its insipid. Also, if you were my student, I wouldn't have taught you in my class because I would say you weren't ready for this level. This is my opinion and opinion is like that. Some are liberal some are conservative. Some are easy and some are hard. Its not about the word.
What do you want to know? In Samson, Al There’s a new business in town every 3 months or so doesn’t last very long compared to the older ones. We have 4 local dining places, the shack, crews bbq, and granny’s dinner and a Mexican restaurant. One dollar general because those things are everywhere. We do all have accents. Tractors pass through town almost every day as well as The vacationers who are headed to the beach. We’re a tight community where everyone knows everyone. My class friends parents graduated together and their parents and it continues. We have no more than 45 in a graduating class. We have a “hangout spot” since there is no movie theater or skating rink or anything like that. We hang out at the “hobo” or the car wash. It’s simple but it’s the best way to live.
@@hannaanderson9062 I have taken this route on the way down to the beach as an alternate route from Montgomery. This video strikes me because I was really captivated by that area. Everything moves so slowly there, it is almost hypnotic. I am sometimes jealous of an area where everyone knows everyone else.
Awesome to see you in my area. I’m from Dothan Alabama and currently live about 1 mile from Fadette, AL. I drive by the Free Ice/Dr Pepper building every day. Love your videos.
I grew up in Gordon Alabama & went 1st grade to 6th grade at Ashford High School from 1975-1981. In 1981 my parents moved to Mobile Al. Now I'm living in Satsuma Alabama...about 20 miles north of Mobile Alabama. I have some GREAT memories of Houston Co Alabama.
I use to live right across the line in a little place called Muscadine Ala. loved it. Wish I could move back. Had nothing but a Piggly Wiggly and hardees down the road across the Ga line into Tallapoosa Ga, I bought a home with three bedrooms and 5 acres for 50,000. It was beautiful.
Wow, that eerie overcast brings back memories! I partially grew up in Selma, AL. It was a cute, little city back in the day. Unfortunately it now suffers the ills of poverty, bleakness, and growing crime. Sadly, if things keep going the way they're going, Selma will suffer the same fate as the town you toured. You can't beat that Alabama soil though. Pecan trees are king and some of the sweetest peaches are grown there.
Haven’t heard that word in years. Grew up not missing a Sunday in church (got my 8 year pin)...and going to Training Union. They don’t do that anymore.
@@john1653 I'm not sure an investor would see the value in rebuilding a small town. They would be more likely to just buy the land and bulldoze everything and build a modern neighborhood.
You mean “gentrify”. What we like about towns like this, is that they are untouched. Living like this is not for everyone, but it has its beauty. No tall buildings, you can still see the land, and sky. Spend a year down here first. Learn what it’s like. If you can get through summer and hurricane season. The Bitter South. Love it.
@@lordvader3538 you may need a history lesson on why Alabama at one time would have been hit hard in wartime in the early part... and a large portion of NASA now days... but I digress..
Not really. The majority of every state is exactly like this. People just think they have to flock to cities and pay two or three times rent. The town I am from has less than 500 people. I’ve lived in cities as big as San Diego and couldn’t stand it, but the people from San Diego who visited here said it was boring. Sorry I will keep my $400 a month rent and fly when I want to see something else.
@@murphy1011 I agree. I grew up with a rural address, couldn't wait to get to the big cities. I left home at 18 and lived in some of the big cities. In 2015 I left and moved to a small town with less than 7000. Closest walmart is three exits away. I love it and feel like it's one of the smartest choices I've made in life.
Dude. Wow. Than you so much. I’ve always had a fascination on this side of America. The forgotten side. The real America, not what it has become today. And reading through the comments, silence speaks volumes. Ones mind will create their own soundtrack for the scenes that you show.
Biggest industries for these towns: funeral homes, dialysis or cancer treatment centers (if real fancy), hospice-type facilities, pawn shops, churches and, of course, the cemetaries. No kidding, I drove through an area with all these along a stretch of road about a mile long. In theory, you could get dialysis, treated for cancer, pray for your soul, pawn your possessions to pay for your funeral, go to an endstage treatment place, die, and then your remains go to the funeral home, then the cemetary. All on the same short road, in a surprisingly short time.
I blame it on abortions and people deciding not to have any children or just one. They're going to be replaced with people from third world countries. 😭
This is absolutely fascinating I'm from Australia & am finding your journey very interesting I also really like the way you talk to the animals and your concern for them ... the horses in the rain Safe travels & thank you so much
With large city overcrowding and high rent it seems like these small towns are a diamond in the rough. Buy something for 20k and have ups and amazon deliver what you need.
That's EXACTLY what mid 30's married people are doing. In 50yrs these places will all be rediscovered - reformed. When we bought our ranch my realtor said she had 4 other couples the same age & looking for the same thing. Homesteading & going back to the basics is a HUGE movement with the kids of the 80's & 90's!
This is the area I live in. I’ve lived all throughout the US and Europe. I retired here and bought a 2000 sq ft house on Main Street with a 1 acre yard for $48k and my property tax is just $72 a YEAR. Town shuts down around 8pm but within 15 miles is just about any store you’d need.
Hello. Good job of covering southern Alabama. Cottonwood was hit hard during Hurricane Michael. Samson has one of the very best meat markets around. Circa 2000, the Samson area was hit with a very destructive tornado. Note, there is another fine meat market on 231 south, where Cottonwood was to the east, just after the Florida state line. 231 goes through Cottondale, and was the western path of Hurricane Michael. The Conecuh National forest is home to Conecuh Sausage! They retail some of the best smoked meats. They also smoke ham and turkey for the holiday season. Brewton is a very large area and a historic route intersection into Florida. When you travel a bit more west you cross Interstate 65. You pretty much began by traveling across the southern area of Dothan, Alabama. Again, Dothan is a major route intersection into Florida. Civil war routes were made throughout this area. One of the most historic was to the NE of Cottonwood. Many towns all over rural Alabama have died off because of commerce and industry being centralized in the larger cities nearby. But the farming remains. Livestock farming is a major industry of Alabama agriculture. Not to give too much history, I think it would behoove your viewers to at least understand why these small towns existed. Thank you, This was a nice visit, especially to see it after Hurricane Michael. Blessings and Re Jouir -Darlene
The Southern Baptist church I was raised in didn't do stained glass windows or fancy buildings because they were considered ostentatious. It's similar in concept to how Amish don't dress ostentatiously and in an effort to remain humble before God.
some of these little towns I dream of reinbahiting with out all the modern trappings, something like the little towns my parents and grandparents grew up in. I member visiting towns like this as a kid in the 1960s as we traveled the country ( my Dad was in the service) . I miss that.
BREWTON, ALABAMA...Now Adam you know what.. we listen to Country Music legend HANK LOCKLIN on cassette tapes at the Barbershop. I've even cut Hank's hair.. I gave him the "Bill Dozer Cut". He loved it. Hank was from Brewton, Alabama. Bill Golden of the Oak Ridge Boys was born and raised in Brewton too. We listen to the Oak Ridge Boys on 8 tracks and Casettes. We do it Old School here at the Barbershop!
Getting prepared to move back down to the Mobile area. South AL, NW FL have an endearing quality to them despite the derelict, half abandoned towns. You miss them when you've been gone a while.
We still have 1 gas/grocery and bait shop station in the area I live in in Fl. That is a busy store because its 1 of 3 in the area but where it is located is where most people either head home, fishing or hunting. Its in the forest.
I've been in Alabama all my life, been through about every spot you filmed. Brewton was a fairly nice place. Now typical back roads, even in N.W. Ala. where I live. South Ala. around Brewton, gets better on main Hwy, around Troy. (The Megaphone is prob. a tornado warning device) usually mounted higher than a power pole, and the cows laying down is a sure sign it's raining or going to rain. So hurry and get that bailed hay in the barn, before it gets wet. Funny how many differences are from (Illinois to Ala.) Even Florida Power Comp. came here to help Tornado damage, and never seen a Tornado shelter built in a dirt bank or under ground. Good vid.
The view of my hometown Faydette Alabama. You missed a chance for some local cuisine. The Faydette country store at the Crossroads of Al 103 and Geneva Co Rd 49 is famous for their chili dogs.Home made and made while you wait Mmmm good
Thank you for showing these forgotten little towns, it's sad we sold our Country out, it took a lot of hand labor to build these little towns to just see them fad away.
Southern aviator liked what you sa id I'm from Ky close to Lousville a nd Lexington but I lived in the cou ntry growing up and there's nothin g like the peace and quiet of a sm all town.
These towns are incredibly bleak, yet fascinating at the same time. The weather doesn't help throughout the video. I wish you took the time to talk to the locals about the former glory days of their towns.
why do you think these places had 'glorious days' ? these are small towns that formerly had higher population. I assume people used to have decent life there but not really glorious... or glorious like in the town of Grady in the movie 'Doc Hollywood' from 1991 ? have you seen that? so funny, that is the encyclopaedia of small town life 😂
@@laszlovona Glory days is a relative term. At one point these towns were more alive than they are now. I'm speaking about days past, when more than one shop owner in town chose to build with substantial materials, such as brick, rather than simple word framing, because business for the foreseeable (at the time) seemed good enough to warrant the expense. For most of those towns, I'm guessing this period might have been sometime between the beginning of the first, and then end of the second World Wars. Better transportation networks caused a shift in resource and production centers across the country to cheaper locations, and the jobs went with them. More than 5 decades after this process started, we see what is left in these videos.
Rick Sarvas Yes, I see what you mean. I think we are on the same page, we both refer to the days where these communities, small towns were sort of prosperous or at least operating in a 'self contained' manner.. And of course with an overall younger age structure which itself provides a different atmosphere. That in my interpretation is 'normal'. But as you described, we saw and are seeing transformation(s) in technology/economy which are reflected in society and make people change the place/way of living.
Speaking of cottonwood and the other small towns in my area, the interstate highway and stores like Walmart and dollar general hurt a lot of these towns. Local people went to nearby Dothan to get all their goods in one place rather than the multiple small locally owned shops they used to buy from. The highway bypassed all of the small towns and took away the thru-traffic that used to bring business in. Some of us are still kicking though. I know personally that Cottonwood is not nearly as dead as he makes it out which makes me wonder as to the others. My local town is growing and seeing new business. Long standing businesses are still chugging on (my husband and I own the barbershop, which has been in business since 1891.) New homes are being build and people are returning to rural America!
@@augustethompson3964 I've noticed that as well, the moving back to rural America. What makes me sad is seeing the farmer pass and the children inherit the farm, only to parcel it off and sell it. We are experiencing that all around us here in TN. We have a WM but I hate going to it. We usually like the Piggly Wiggly and the local Amish store. We are now looking to find a source for fresh meat. I remember when WM came to town when I was a kid and it was great. It carried everything. Now it's just another big store. (There are other reasons I have grown to despise it but I won't get into that here.) I didn't feel like the man making the video made the town look dead. He was just showing some of the old buildings, which are awesome. I guess to some it might seem "dead" because it is QUIET! That is something you cherish more as you grow older, lol.
I live in Greenville,Alabama and I travel 40 miles to work in Montgomery for my job which I make Very Good Money. My coworkers always ask , when are you going to move up here to the city, I look at them with a smerk and say never because where I live can actually sleep with my windows up and doors unlocked !lol ..........Small-town living 4 Life👍👍👍
They are abandoned. You see it everywhere in the US. They had a mill or a factory and it closed down for various reasons and there was no work so the people slowly moved on. I was in a small town in North Carolina heading into Tennessee a few years ago and at least 50% of the town was recently boarded up (within the last 10 years). I asked a couple of the locals what was going on and they told me that the local industries of coal mining and logging had fallen on hard times...........another town not far away had virtually no local businesses at all. Seems Walmart had moved in, run them all out of business and then closed since they felt the store was underperforming.
Dan Strayer you could also drive through Alabama and “many are like this but not all” .. I’m from Wash DC and you can drive 30-45 mins out into Maryland or Virginia and find areas like this ..
OldManClutch /Strayer=. I live 1 hour from DC and this is what I see every day. I work in rural America and travel on a regular basis through 6 states. There are a few towns holding on but only if they have some industry or if they are the County Seat but this video is an extremely accurate portrayal of rural America.
I remember all those fireworks stores near the Florida border. Alabama sold heavy artillery so us Florida boys would make the run up over the State Line. I'm getting teary eyed now for the old days. :-(
This is south Alabama. It's pretty desolate outside of the Mobile area. Most of the population is concentrated in the northern 2/3 of the state from Montgomery northward. There's a lot of cool little towns down there. It makes for a nice little road trip on the way to the beach in the summer. If you ever go through there, watch your speed! There are several speed traps along US-231 and US-331.
I like your take on what's become of the Americana small town. It's very reminiscent of Charles Kuralt's CBS Sunday Morning program's, also from days gone by. Seems to me the more animals people consume the less vibrant they become. And now the only vibrancy left may be the animals just outside those towns.
The first shop you showed in Kinston with the "closed on monday" sign used to be a barber shop. Last time I got my hair cut there was in the early 90's , i was home on leave from the Army. Before then I remember it was an T.V./appliance repair shop.
It occurs to me that the land area the US wastes on these decrepit, deserted towns -- just in the South, mind you, not to mention the Plains States or West -- would almost certainly cover the entire UK. You guys would really do something with land like this -- even if it were just, like, raising sheep on it, or building bad cars.
Many of those small AL towns were once thriving (or at least prospering) with the Railroads and agriculture (cotton, corn, peanuts, etc.), and also became "Mill" towns going back to the 30's and 40's when cotton mills generated shirts and clothes (including for the soldiers in WWII - my grandmother worked at one in Geneva (just East of Samson). The interstate system moved alot of traffic away from the main east/west routes that went through the towns, and in the 80's and 90's NAFTA put many of the mills out of business, a few shirt mills hung on until early 90's (like Van Heusen, etc.) but ultimately closed. As opportunities dried up, most of the young people moved out to seek opps elsewhere (i.e. no future in farming), many many small farms went bust in the recessions of the 80's and beyond, and now that the price of cotton has returned - cotton is returning as the cash crop, but its still small farms compared to the big commercial farms in the midwest. Unfortunately, in the 90's through today, drug addiction ravaged the younger generations in these towns (meth and then opiates, etc.), and now they are just shells of what they once were .... very small local families still living there, a few successes here and there, but all told ... these towns are dying slowly as older generations die out and the younger generations either succumb to drug addiction or leave for better lives elsewhere. All that said, these are quiet and peaceful places if you want to go back in time to a slower life. People in these towns still live life at a much slower pace than the rest of the modern world .... and there's nothing wrong with that.
Wal-Mart has killed small businesses. These buildings served many a person. Generation have passed on & their children now live in other places. Prosperity will come again some day.
J ronnn If only the USA opened immigration to populate small town areas. Then you’ll have a thriving community instead of ghost towns.
4 года назад
@@iMadrid11 The USA essentially has open immigration and they arent going to ghost towns. Its not just about numbers its about the character of the people themselves. If these people cant make a community thrive in Mexico, Africa or South America in their own homelands then why the hell would you assume they can do it in an abandoned town in the US?
J ronnn That’s because the US Gov. isn’t doing legal immigration right. I’m from the Philippines we have agencies provides immigration assistance to UK, Canada & Australia as an example. Those who qualify for immigration are placed in cities with low population that are in desperate need of jobs to be filled in. In the US there are rural towns that are in desperate need of school teachers. We have Filipino school teachers sent there to work at limited 2 year contract. When their contract ends they are sent back home. Even if the school district wants to keep them. Why not open a path of immigration for qualified school teachers eligible for immigration? Then you’ll have that rural job filled on a permanent basis.
Sunflower, Alabama in Washington County, Alabama. A true ghost town industrially and supernaturally. Actually the whole area. I would recommend ghost hunters to go stay there in the woods for a few days. They might get more than what they are looking for!
You should give a little intro about these small towns. It would be interesting to know population, if the towns are known for anything interesting...ETC.
Another awesome slice of Americana. Just a suggestion but since you've done this type series before maybe put the year in the title so people don't get the video series confused with another time.
U need to come to the biggest small town in Missouri Braymer mo....once was one of the largest city's to go to with a toy factory movie theater skating rink ect now all its 850 people and a store or 2
Some of these stores you've been showing makes me curious whether some are still in business or not. Hope you'll provide more info on your future video.
Wow.. Cant believe that you came through my hometown. BREWTON, ALABAMA. Awesome !! If I knew you were coming through town, I would have taken you over to the local newspaper. They would have loved to have done a story on you, your videos, and this series !! You would have been a "celebrity" passing through town !!
@@CarportCarl You are exactly right. Years ago these were thriving little towns and communities, and the main source of income was farm products and timber products, but over the years, technology took over, and the big corporations moved in, and basically the smaller businesses just couldn't compete with their lower prices. A lot of families gave up farming, sold their land or the banks foreclosed on their land, and they moved away. A really sad situation. A lot of the old remnants still remain of the buildings and farms, like you see in this video.
@@schopen-hauer My town, Brewton.. is still going strong and a lot of the older buildings still remain. A lot of the older buildings have been remodeled and updated, and small businesses are in them. We had some very smart Mayors that brought in Industry and offered jobs, so our town could keep going, but a lot of smaller towns and communities around here, no longer remain.
im not American, but when i was a kid i would watch lots of American movies like goonies, or et, you know the classics like big with Tom Hanks, and they lived in these small towns like yours, and i loved it, whole thing, that to me was america, seeing this breaks me heart, its like it was a dream or something, hope America comes back stronger. In europe we have whole parts of countries abandoned, absolutely nobody living there, towns that are 1000 years old, houses selling for 1 euro.
@@bamamoondog9039 can i ask you something if someone lives there in town, where does he shop? everything was closed. its even possible to live there without a car?
I can tell you from living in Alabama for 15 years, and traveling through most of the south-east, that more and more people are leaving rural areas because there are no opportunities in these places. Many young people don’t want to work in trades and have seen the world due to the internet. It’s hard to stay in a place that’s lost in time when the present (what seems like the future) is in your hands beckoning you to explore.
Yes i see and understand this. Yet we have the self proclaimed intelects. They say they hold all the answers. Theyve been running this world for quite some time. And look where we are from that. I say they didnt do such a wonderful job. Therefore i have to question how inteligent they are and what answers they actually posses. Anyway these people claim our problems are mostly due to overpopulation. Their answer is to eliminate a huge portion of the population. Yeah just go around and kill most of us. Sounds a bit like what they condemed people for in the past. Example Hitler. But its okay for them because they tell us they are really smart. And they have a bunch of worthless money they created out of thin air and cheating the people they now want to eliminate. Well if you look around there is quite a bit of land that is not in use. If you check into this world wide seems that we might not be so overpopulated. And your comment about young people and work. I might be wrong. But seems most of them just dont want to work. Socialists been fooling them into thinking they shouldnt have to. Anyone with common sense knows money has to come from somewhere. Even if it is worthless paper. Then they throw in the AI narrative to reinforce the idea they wont have to work. They can get paid to sit at home playing video games. Ill give Bernie credit for 2 things. He does a pretty good job fooling young people and fooling people to believe socialism and communism arent alike. Not meaning Bernie is behind all of this. There are many doing their part. I feel they want more control to usher in the UN and get their new world order. That wont be good for anyone but those self proclaimed . You can say whatever you like and label me the same. Doesnt matter to me. History shows more than enough evidence that points right in that direction. We are loosing our rights exponentially as well. And we are to believe that the same ones who want to kill off most of us is going to take care of us. Believe they are looking out for our well being. I dont think so. And anyone who buys that has apparently drank too much fluoridated water.
