Southern Legends — Stories from Northeast Alabama

The Farm at the End of the Hard Thing

She spent 30 years in sales. Her son Justin died by suicide on their property in 2017. What she built on that land is a nonprofit farm with 120 animals and a monthly grief group for bereaved parents.

Michele Hornsby · Anniston, Alabama

The Burning Bus

On Mother's Day 1961, a mob firebombed a Greyhound bus full of Freedom Riders outside Anniston. The National Monument preserves both sites where it happened.

Freedom Riders National Monument · Anniston, Alabama

He Bought Flowers Every Week

 · Anniston, Alabama

The View from the Boat

The Music Box. Mom-To-Go. A classically trained soprano who knows what it feels like when the floor gives out.

Jean Ellison · Anniston, Alabama

Chief Ladiga, 1832

Ladiga's Story & Ours

Chief Ladiga Trail · Anniston to Piedmont, Alabama

1030 Gurnee

Lewis Downing runs Downing and Sons on Gurnee Avenue in downtown Anniston. His grandfather bought the building in 1963.

Lewis Downing · Anniston, Alabama