Sousa In Ft Payne

Sousa at Ft Payne Opera House 1908. one of the most famous band leaders in history paid a visit to DeKalb County

Fort Payne Journal

This is the front page from a 1909 issue of the Journal.
Much more news with less pictures than today. 
Community news took center stage.

Fort Payne Spelling Bee 1912

Another Jewel from a February 1912 issue of the Fort Payne Journal.
The spelling bee at the Old Courthouse had been postponed due to weather and was rescheduled. The winner was to receive a homemade box of candy

The DeKalb Hotel

The DeKalb Hotel was built in 1889 at the height of Fort Payne's boom period. The three-story Hotel had 125 room running water and electricity and was intended to house New England executives and their families who would be visiting the Fort Payne area. The park across the street from the hotel was named Union Park to make the northern visitors feel more at home. The Boom was short-lived and when the northern investors left town the hotel fell on Hard Tunes and eventually became low rent apartments. In February 1918 a fire started in one of the rooms and the Dekalb Hotel burned to the ground. Today nothing remains of the hotel except one of the French fountains which is displayed across the street in the park. The site of the hotel itself is now better known as the Salvation Army parking lot.