Cherokee Plantation (Fort Payne, Alabama)

Willstown (sometimes Wattstown, or Titsohili, as it sounded in Cherokee) was an important Cherokee town of the late 18th and early 19th century, located in the southwesternmost part of the Cherokee Nation, in what is now DeKalb County, Alabama. It was near Lookout or Little Wills Creek. Willstown was one of the trading centers along the Native American trading path in the region. The town site overlapped the boundaries of present-day DeKalb and Etowah counties in Alabama. It was largely abandoned after the Cherokee were forcibly removed from the region by United States forces in the 1830s. The city of Ft. Payne, Alabama developed nearby around the fort of the same name, built to intern the Cherokee before their removal.

Rawlingsville, also known as Crystal Lake or Hollemans Station, was the first county seat of DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. It served as such from 1835 for a short time until the county seat was moved to Bootsville. Rawlingsville was located within the boundaries of the present city of Fort Payne but has long since ceased to exist as a recognized community.

The 2003 Alabama earthquake took place on April 29 at 3:59 A.M. Central Daylight Time (local time when the event occurred) eight miles (13 km) east-northeast of Fort Payne, Alabama. The number of people who felt this quake was exceptionally high as the earthquake could be felt in 11 states across the East Coast and as far north as southern Indiana. The earthquake was strongly felt throughout metropolitan Atlanta. The Georgia Building Authority was called out to inspect the historic Georgia State Capitol in downtown Atlanta and other state-owned buildings but found no problems. However, this is not out of the ordinary as earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains can be felt several times the area felt on West Coast earthquakes. The earthquake was given a magnitude 4.6 on the moment magnitude scale by the USGS (other sources reported as high a magnitude as 4.9) and reports of the duration of the shaking range from 10 seconds to as long as 45 seconds. It is tied with a 1973 earthquake near Knoxville, Tennessee as the strongest earthquake ever to occur in the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, which is the second most active seismic zone east of the Rocky Mountains, with the New Madrid Seismic Zone the most active.The April 29 earthquake caused moderate damage in northern Alabama including a 29-foot (8.8 m) wide sinkhole northwest of Fort Payne. The quake disrupted the local water supply. There were numerous reports of chimney damage, broken windows, and cracked walls, particularly around the area near Hammondville, Mentone and Valley Head, Alabama. Many 9-1-1 call centers were overloaded with worrisome and panicked residents, who thought it was a train derailment, a bomb, or some other type of explosion that had awakened them. There were several aftershocks, all of magnitude 2.0 or lower, and were not widely felt.

The Vance C. Larmore House is a historic residence near Hammondville, Alabama. Larmore came to DeKalb County from Abingdon, Virginia, around 1838. One of the earliest white settlers in the county following the Cherokee removal, he built one of the largest farms in the mountainous area, amassing 1700 acres (690 ha) by 1860. In the mid-1840s, Larmore built a two-story I-house, a Vernacular form brought from the East to what was then the frontier. The house is clad in clapboard, and has a Victorian-detailed front porch, which was a later addition. The interior has a center-hall plan on each floor, as well as a one-story ell off the rear, containing a kitchen and dining room. The house was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1979 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Fort Payne is a city in and county seat of DeKalb County, in northeastern Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877. European-American settlers gradually developed the settlement around the former fort. It grew rapidly in the late 19th century based on industrial resources and manufacturing increasing in the early 20th centuries. At the beginning of the 21st century, it still had 7000 workers in 100 mills producing varieties of socks, nearly half the world production.

The W. B. Davis Hosiery Mill (also known as the Alabama Builders' Hardware Manufacturing Company Complex) is a historic industrial complex in Fort Payne, Alabama. It opened in 1884 in the midst of Fort Payne's economic boom, manufacturing building hardware and supplies. The main building, which features Colonial Revival details, is three stories tall, with 12-over-12 sash windows on each floor. An 85-foot (26-meter) chimney has a flared top and corbeled brick course, imitating a doric order column. By 1890, hopes that large quantities of iron ore and other minerals would be discovered in the Fort Payne district proved to be ill-founded. The ABHMC and seven of Fort Payne's other large manufacturers merged in an effort to remain in business, but they were unable to avoid bankruptcy.The mill building was purchased in 1909 by hosiery executive W. B. Davis, and converted it into a factory providing ribbing, knitting, and looping. The operation was soon expanded to include dyeing, shaping, and packaging, as it became the largest employer in Fort Payne and gave the town its nickname of the "Sock Capital of the World". The factory underwent a large expansion beginning in 1927, including a large wing off of the main building, a knitting building, an expanded boiler room, other storage buildings, and an annex across the street. In 1948 the company was sold, and in 1974 a new building was constructed adjacent with production moved out of the original building.The complex was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1976 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The Annex was added to the National Register listing in 1992.

The Fort Payne Depot Museum (formerly the Alabama Great Southern Railroad Passenger Depot) is a historic building in Fort Payne, Alabama. The depot was built by the Alabama Great Southern Railroad in 1891, at the height of Fort Payne's mining-driven boom. Passenger service ended in 1970, but the depot continued to service freight until 1983. It was converted into a museum in 1986, which includes exhibits with 19th century and Native American artifacts, a collection of dioramas of fantasy scenes and historical events, and a former Norfolk Southern caboose. The depot was designed in Richardsonian Romanesque style by architect Charles C. Taylor. It is clad in grey sandstone with pink granite trim. The hipped roof has several gables protruding from it, as well as a circular tower on one corner. The depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

The Fort Payne Opera House, located at 510 Gault Avenue North in Fort Payne, DeKalb County in the U.S. state of Alabama built during the industrial boom in 1889. The Fort Payne Opera House is the only one in the State of Alabama still in use. The establishment has been used as a movie theater, live theater and a public forum. The Opera House still hosts live theatrical events and is on the National Register of Historic Places and the National Register of 19th Century Theaters in America. Completely restored, the Opera House is a cultural center of the community.

The Fort Payne Boom Town Historic District is a historic district in Fort Payne, Alabama. The district encompasses five properties built around 1889, when Fort Payne was undergoing huge growth owing to the area's mineral deposits. Included are the Alabama Great Southern Depot; the Fort Payne Opera House; the Sawyer Building, a two-story Victorian commercial building; City Park, which sat across from the (now-demolished) county courthouse; and Purdy Furniture, which built as the headquarters of the Fort Payne Coal and Iron Company. Another Victorian commercial building has since been demolished. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

The Confederate Monument is a Confederate memorial in Fort Payne, Alabama, in the United States. The monument was installed in 1913, "erected through the efforts of the Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy, with the assistance of other interested citizens. The monument was originally located in the center of town and was moved to its present location at a later time. .