(TUSCUMBIA, AL)-- In conjunction with Alabama’s Bicentennial, the town of Tuscumbia is remembering Alabama’s first railroad. Hail the Rail will be a historic event held on Saturday. There will be speakers, events for children, food vendors, historic programs, a celebration of railroad families, and live music between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Ninon Parker, a co-chair for the event is excited to commemorate and celebrate the history of railroads in the region.
“Tuscumbia had the first railroad in Alabama, and it was the first railroad west of the Appalachian Mountains,” Parker said. “So, it was a frontier ear railroad and we’re very proud of the fact that started here in Tuscumbia.”
Trains and railroads played an important role in development to the Shoals region. The railroad started in 1830 and later provided means of transportation around the Muscle Shoals area that brought in supplies and goods to open up northern Alabama for settlement and development. The railroad also played a significant role in Native American resettlement and during the Civil War.