Lowndes County Historic Register Ride

[Guidedawg]

I had not been taking proper advantage of the beautiful weekends we've had lately, so I decided to get out on Saturday morning to photograph a needed National Historic Site for Montgomery Co. and all for neighboring Lowndes County.  I used Google to map out a route during the week and set off early on Saturday morning.

I tend to ride early in the day so I waited for the sun and took off.  I turned around fairly soon and added another layer because even though it would reach the upper 70's, it was still a cool morning.

My route would take me south of Montgomery on some rural roads before crossing I-65 for the other sites.



Instead of my normal method of notecards taped to the fuel tank, I had directions from Google in my jacket pocket.  Note to self and anyone else this may help:  Make sure you are consistent when you read multi-step directions and remember if the mileage is written above or below the step.  This can save you some time from going back and forth looking for a road that is actually much further away.  Okay, it only happened once but I still felt like an idiot.

My first stop was the Tankersley Rosenwald school and it is not in a location you will stumble across by accident.  After a few turns, narrow roads, and loose dogs, I was there.



That gave me the last of individual buildings for Montgomery Co.  I still need to photograph my bike in a few neighborhoods, but decided to move on and knock out Lowndes Co.  For the most part, the roads I traveled had very little traffic, but I was surprised at how busy Hwy 31 was just south of Montgomery.

I traveled from Hope Hull down to an area known as Sandy Ridge.  The home I was looking for is a private residence and since I was on a small dirt road early in the morning, I just grabbed a quick photo.



Once that was accomplished, I crossed the Interstate for areas west, but not before making a brief stop at a place that often calls out to many travelers on I-65



My next stop was at Lowndes County High School.



I hoped to photograph my bike in front of the Principal's House from the old Calhoun Colored School (1892-1945) but the building is on school grounds and both gates were locked.



I got what pictures I could and continued down the county road.  I saw a truck stopped in the road and turned around to check on the driver.  He appreciated the stop but was waiting on a buddy to meet him to go turkey hunting and figured he would be along soon.  This is Lowndes County, after all.

My road eventually came out to Hwy 21 which I travel fairly often when going to south Alabama.  I went through Hayneville until I came to the county courthouse which was next on my list.



Then instead of going back towards Montgomery, I continued north and went into the picturesque town of Lowndesboro with several homes on the historic register.  Those are posted in the Lowndes Co. section on this site but here are a few that aren't but were worth a pic anyway.









Although the route was to go back to Hwy 80 and into Montgomery, I continued north through Burkville and along river communities to travel some back roads.





The last time I was on a bike in this area, I stumbled across the "ghost town" of Robinson Switch https://www.al.com/living/2016/10/robinson_switch_an_eerily_sere.html but this time I chose to stick to the paved roads and made my way back to the Old Selma Hwy until I saw the familiar site of Maxwell AFB


I was back in the city and made my way home to take care of the errands, family, and always-present activities, but already wondering where my next quick trip might take me.

For more photos and information on the historic sites, go to the National Register of Historic Places section of this website.  You can find Lowndes Co. here
http://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?topic=2097.0

Go out and post pics of your bikes from those in your own or neighboring counties!

[Fencejumper09]

Looks like a great morning ride!

[klaviator]

Looks like a great day for a ride.