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Alabama Back Roads and Old Mills in Black and White
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Alabama Back Roads and Old Mills in Black and White

Keith Dotson
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Black and white photographs of abandoned buildings in Ft. Payne and Anniston, Alabama

In this video we take a day trip on back roads of N.E. Alabama, searching for abandoned buildings or anything else of interest. Over the years, I have found Alabama back roads to be a reliable source of incredible gems of discovery. . . abandoned buildings, rusty trains, fading old ghost signs, and beautiful scenery.

Driving south from Nashville on I-24, I exited at South Pittsburg and cut into the State of Alabama. I roughed out a loose itinerary in advance: Ft. Payne, Collinsville, Leesburg, Anniston, and Gadsden. The photographs seen in the video are from Ft. Payne and Anniston.

Black and white photographs of abandoned buildings in Alabama

Below are a few of the black and white photographs taken on this Alabama road trip. For all my photographs of Alabama, see my Alabama portfolio on my main website here.

An ivy storm: This abandoned building in Anniston, Alabama featured a lightning-bolt-pattern of poison ivy vines across its broad side.
An ivy storm: This abandoned building in Anniston, Alabama featured a lightning-bolt-pattern of poison ivy vines across its broad side.
Black and white photograph of the historic W.B. Davis Hosiery Mill which operated from 1874 - 1974 in Ft. Payne, Alabama.
Black and white photograph of the historic W.B. Davis Hosiery Mill which operated from 1874 – 1974 in Ft. Payne, Alabama.
Climbing vines found in an Anniston, Alabama alley. Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson.
Climbing vines found in an Anniston, Alabama alley. Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson.
Front elevation photograph of the historic Kress 5-10-25 Cent Store in Anniston, now vacant and up for sale.
Front elevation photograph of the historic Kress 5-10-25 Cent Store in Anniston, now vacant and up for sale.

See more photographs of Alabama in my Alabama portfolio on my main website here.

Keith Dotson's photo book of abandoned places across America. Available on Amazon.
Keith Dotson’s photo book of abandoned places across America. Available on Amazon.

If you’re a fan of abandoned buildings photography, check out my photo book of abandoned places available on Amazon here.

Behind-the-scenes photographs from the locations

Front of the beautiful Dekalb Theatre in Ft. Payne, which is famous as the home town of country music band Alabama.
Front of the beautiful Dekalb Theatre in Ft. Payne, which is famous as the home town of country music band Alabama.
A strange, all-white building photographed through the windshield of my car with my phone.
A strange, all-white building photographed through the windshield of my car with my phone. Seen in Ft. Payne, Alabama.
A bottle tree, a practice brought with enslaved people from Africa and introduced originally in the Carolina Low Country. Bottle trees were used to capture haints, evil spirits from the beliefs of the Gullah-Geechee culture. This bottle tree was outside a small railroad museum in Ft. Payne, Alabama.
A bottle tree, a practice brought with enslaved people from Africa and introduced originally in the Carolina Low Country. Bottle trees were used to capture haints, evil spirits from the beliefs of the Gullah-Geechee culture. This bottle tree was outside a small railroad museum in Ft. Payne, Alabama.
The Ft. Payne Hosiery Museum honors the region's history of textile manufacturing. The old W.B. Davis Hosiery Mill seen in the video operated just a few blocks away from this location from 1874-1974.
The Ft. Payne Hosiery Museum honors the region’s history of textile manufacturing. The old W.B. Davis Hosiery Mill seen in the video operated just a few blocks away from this location from 1874-1974.
An old knitting machine seen through the window of the Hosiery Museum, which was not open at the time I was in town.
An old knitting machine seen through the window of the Hosiery Museum, which was not open at the time I was in town.
Peeking up the stairs of an unused building in downtown Ft. Payne.
Peeking up the stairs of an unused building in downtown Ft. Payne, Alabama.
Downtown Ft. Payne, Alabama. The stone building is an old opera house.
Downtown Ft. Payne, Alabama. The stone building is an old opera house.
Historical Marker for the Ft. Payne Opera House.
Historical Marker for the Ft. Payne Opera House.

This photograph of the historical marker for the Ft. Payne Opera House says:

“Opened in Sept. 1890. Built during local boom period. Converted to theatre during era of silent movies. Closed as a theatre in October, 1935. Purchased by Landmarks of Dekalb County, Inc. 1969. Renovated, restored and opened to public in 1970. The oldest theatre in Alabama located in a building originally constructed as a theatre. Listed in National Register of Historic Places and the National Register of 19th Century Theatres in America. Alabama Historical Association 1973.”

For some reason unknown to me, the Ft. Payne Opera House includes broken bottle fragments in the masonry of its exterior walls.
For some reason unknown to me, the Ft. Payne Opera House includes broken bottle fragments in the masonry of its exterior walls.
Iron storefront by Sherpe and Koken, St. Louis. I've never seen this maker before. The vast majority of these old iron storefronts I've seen are from the Mesker Brothers (St. Louis) or from George L. Mesker (Evansville).
Iron storefront by Sherpe and Koken, St. Louis. I’ve never seen this maker before. The vast majority of these old iron storefronts I’ve seen are from the Mesker Brothers (St. Louis) or from George L. Mesker (Evansville).
Children's art left on the floor of an abandoned commercial space in downtown Anniston, Alabama.
Children’s art left on the floor of an abandoned commercial space in downtown Anniston, Alabama.
Anniston, Alabama
Anniston, Alabama
A fading old sign on the side of a former retail building in Anniston, Alabama.
A fading old sign on the side of a former retail building in Anniston, Alabama.
Yours truly, on the site of abandoned buildings in Anniston, Alabama.
Yours truly, on the site of abandoned buildings in Anniston, Alabama.
The way home: entering I-24 north of Chattanooga Tennessee.
The way home: entering I-24 north of Chattanooga Tennessee.

Be sure to visit me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest, or on my website at keithdotson.com.

~ Keith

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