Boom Town Historic District
Around 1889-1891 Fort Payne experienced a great industrial boom due to promotion by New England investors who speculated greatly on the area’s mineral deposits. During this period several highly ornate commercial and civic buildings, along with the planned park, were constructed along Gault Avenue. The Fort Payne Opera House and other buildings in the same block constructed by the Fort Payne Coal & Iron Co., together with the Sawyer Building, the Alabama Great Southern Railroad Depot & Union Park retain the integrity of the boom town era and comprise a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, the year of Fort Payne’s centennial.
Marker is on 5th Street south of Gault Avenue North (U.S. 11), on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
