October 2008 Archives

The land was farm land along the Cahaba River and purchased from Mr. Collie Wallace.  All the houses and farm equi[pment were donated.  The park is within view of uptown historical Centreveille.  The park is available for family reunions, picnics and just a day of fun in the sun on the beautiful Cahaba River.

Available to the public is a boat ramp and R.V, hook-ups.  The park is also a museum of old homes and farm equipment dating back to the 1800s.

The Confederate monument was unveiled on July 22, 1910. The Courthouse is still a functioning building and has been renovated.  It is the 5th courthouse dating back to 1902.  The land lay out back in 1828 was done in the traditional square of the time period. 

In addition to being a spectacular architectural example of area courthouse construction for the period, there are also genealogical research opportunities located here.

It is located in the center of historic Centreville, AL.

Address: Historical Square, Centreville, Alabama
Phone: 205.926.3104, Bibb County Chamber of Commerce.

The Bibb County Courthouse is open Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and has public restrooms. You will also find brochures for the area.

Payne Lake Recreation Area:
Offers outdoor enthusiasts solitude, a scenic lake, and picturesque campsites. Payne Lake Recreation Area has two swimming beaches and bathhouses for users of the recreation area. Each bathhouse has restrooms and showers. Camping is permitted at 76 developed sites along the shoreline of the 110-acre Payne Lake. Each site has a picnic table, cooking or fire circle, and tent or trailer pad.

Payne Lake Recreation Area is open year round and offers boating, nature trails, fishing, picnicking and swimming opportunities for Forest users. A trailer dump station is located in the campground.

The Cahaba River flows through Bibb County and is the home of the beautiful "Cahaba Lily".  It provides many forms of recreation: swimming, fishing, canoeing.

Imagine paddling down the Cahaba River in the early morning sunlight as the mist rises off the water. Paddling around a bend, you notice a blanket of white. As you get closer, this blanket transforms into thousands of white Cahaba lilies. This scene is what one could expect to see paddling the Cahaba River in mid-May.

The Cahaba Lily (Hymenocallis coronaria) is one of many species found in the Amaryllis family or spider lily family. Spider lilies are found throughout the Southeastern United States. Three species of spider lilies are found in Alabama: the northern spider lily (Hymenocallis occidentalis), Choctaw spider lily (Hymenocallis choctawensis), and the Cahaba lily. All three of these lilies are very similar in appearance and easily mistaken for one another.

Directions to see the Cahaba Lilies

1. Take I-59 south from Birmingham for about 30 miles to the Hwy. 5 West Blocton/Centreville Exit.
2. Hwy. 5/Hwy. 11 is 4-lane for about 3 miles where Hwy. 5 turns abruptly south as a 2-lane. Watch for this turn!
3. Travel 10 miles south on Hwy. 5 to a blinking yellow light. Turn left onto County Road 24 to West Blocton.
4. Continue straight at the stop sign (passing West Blocton High School and West Blocton Elementary on the right) for 5 miles to the Cahaba River.
5. A couple of hundred yards before you can actually see the bridge, turn south (right) on a rough dirt road that runs along the west side of the river. Use your judgment about whether your vehicle can negotiate the road.
6. There is a good stand of lilies just under 1 mile down the road, and the largest stand in the world just over 2 miles down the road.