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Urban Legends of the Shoals

lynnblountlynnblountHall of Famer
Since we're only a couple of days from Halloween, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the urban legends of the Shoals area. Some are true - some are not....but they're all stories that have circulated around the area for years.

Maybe you know the real story behind the legend...or maybe you just want to share one that you've heard. Here are a few stories that I can think of to get started:

1) Several men were buried alive in the concrete of Wilson Dam during it's construction..and their bodies are still there today.

2) The Florence Post Office was actually designed for the city of Florence, North Carolina and intended to be built there until
the blueprints for the post offices of the two cities were accidentally switched.

3) The Ritz Theatre, the auditorium at Florence High School (formerly Bradshaw High), and Norton Auditorium are all haunted by past performers.

What kind of legends do you recall about our area?
Original Post

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NashBamaNashBamaOld Faithful
Yes, Mountain Tom Clark is buried beneath E. Tennessee St. near the cemetery. That's historically accurate. He made a statement on the stand that no one would ever run over him, so after his lynching by an angry mob, he was buried under the street. Remember that this was before paved roads, so it wasn't that hard to do. I believe the other two men that were hung with him are buried in the cemetery.

Every dam has stories about people being buried in the cement. Reality is that it takes a long time for cement to set. It was also poured in small sections. Not really possible to be buried alive and just left there. The dam's construction did cost several lives. I don't remember the number off hand, but I believe it was slightly higher than other dams.

The other urban legends are new to me.
T tizzyHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by NashBama:
...Every dam has stories about people being buried in the cement. Reality is that it takes a long time for cement to set. It was also poured in small sections. Not really possible to be buried alive and just left there. The dam's construction did cost several lives. I don't remember the number off hand, but I believe it was slightly higher than other dams.

The other urban legends are new to me.


The uncle of a dear friend was killed during the dam construction. This was before she was born and she always heard the "buried in the concrete" story, but doubted it.
FirenzeVeritasFirenzeVeritasOld Faithful
1. Not sure why some people doubt the Tom Clark story, but some do.

2. TVA - my mother's brother-in-law's brother was killed during construction of the lock--a truck backed into him--mid-1950s.

3. A construction worker was supposedly killed during the work on Norton Auditorium--that should be easy enough to check.

4. TVA again - one or two workers fell in slag pits up to their waist and were given morphine since they couldn't be dug out in time. I assume the bodies were recovered.

Question: Did the state or Federal government get the Civil War gold bullion found in 1939 when they built the American Legion Home in Sheffield?
lynnblountlynnblountHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by budsfarm:
quote:
Originally posted by lynnblount:
...

2) The Florence Post Office was actually designed for the city of Florence, North Carolina and intended to be built there until
the blueprints for the post offices of the two cities were accidentally switched.


Florence, South Carolina maybe?


You are correct- my bad, thx for clarifying.

Firenze, I had read the debunking article, also...but it still makes for good storytelling!

Whiskey in the columns at the Forks of Cypress? Cool! Never heard that one. Although I did always hear that they made those columns with a mixture of plaster and horse/mule hair and also sometimes human hair - usually from slaves.

Like I said - some stories are true, some are not, and some we may never really know.

What about the stories of Devil Worshippers holding ceremonies near Ghost Bridge? I've heard that one many times and wondered if there was any truth to it. I know that there are stories about the Bridge itself being haunted and people seeing a light on it at certain times.
Psychomom63Psychomom63Small Talker
If anyone is interested in the history of Lauderdale Co. and surrounding area during the Civil War era there is a book entitled "The Bugger Saga" by Wade Pruitt. Alot of the urban legends we grew up with came from the stories told in this book. And as for the Forks of Cypress, I would recommend contacting Mr. Harry Wallace. His family was living at the Forks when it was burned down. He's got some great stories concerning the Forks and the strange goings on that have been reported there over the years. And as for Satanic rituals, a group of friends and I stumbled across one of their ceremonies while goofing around at Ghost Bridge back in the late 70's. Needless to say we never went back to the bridge after dark again!lol
O OriginalBamaHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by Psychomom63:
If anyone is interested in the history of Lauderdale Co. and surrounding area during the Civil War era there is a book entitled "The Bugger Saga" by Wade Pruitt. Alot of the urban legends we grew up with came from the stories told in this book. And as for the Forks of Cypress, I would recommend contacting Mr. Harry Wallace. His family was living at the Forks when it was burned down. He's got some great stories concerning the Forks and the strange goings on that have been reported there over the years. And as for Satanic rituals, a group of friends and I stumbled across one of their ceremonies while goofing around at Ghost Bridge back in the late 70's. Needless to say we never went back to the bridge after dark again!lol
We stumbled upon the rituals back in the 70's also. Near Ghost Bridge. We went through Heritage Village until the paved road turned to a chirt road. At this point it kind of overlooked Cypress Creek. I'm not even sure if that chirt road exists anymore.
FirenzeVeritasFirenzeVeritasOld Faithful
The Jacksons were from Ireland and the whiskey was supposed to bring good luck. I was invited to a ritual there in the late '70s. Politely declined, but think it was more kids having fun than anything. In the late '90s the subject came up with a patrol officer (FPD)--I asked hoping to debunk my friend's insistence that there were Satanic cults in Florence. The officer said there were currently three--one operated out of Burger King on Florence Boulevard. I found it hard to keep a straight face.

Post office mistakes--While this is not local, the town of Arab was named Arad originally, but the post office mis-christened it. Arad was the son of the man who founded the town.
smokey1smokey1Hall of Famer
Bookos a Million has a good section on local history. The Bugger Saga is one of my all time favorites.

I heard one time that Tom Clark is actually buried under East Mobile St. because back then Tennessee St. wasn't in existence yet and E. Mobile St. was actually the main road that people used in that part of the city. I don't know, but it kind of makes sense.
S SHELDIVRPost Master
quote:
Originally posted by lynnblount:
quote:
Originally posted by Larry Tate:
quote:
Originally posted by Veronica:
I heard there is still a satanic cult in this area. I pray that is a silly rumour.


It's true. They are the cult of the five hats. Witches, all.


I heard they all have curly white hair and drive like crazy people.



I never knew that...now I know I met one of the five on Wilson Dam today...WOW...!!!!!!!!
Wild Irish ProseWild Irish ProseHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by tizzy:
and LaGrange


I think there are more urban legends about LaGrange than anywhere else. Hmmm, did those friends of the devil ever find (and subsequently sacrifice) the perfect blue-eyed, blond-haired child on 6/6/86? I remember that rumor was in full swing around then. I also remember thinking it was a little scary (and probably half-believed it since I was a child myself). But since I didn't have blue eyes or blond hair, I didn't worry so much. Big Grin

I've also heard stories about "ghost bridge". Is it still closed to the public? In the late 80's you could still drive over it.

Fun thread, lynn.
I interventor1Post Master
quote:
Originally posted by NashBama:
Yes, Mountain Tom Clark is buried beneath E. Tennessee St. near the cemetery. That's historically accurate. He made a statement on the stand that no one would ever run over him, so after his lynching by an angry mob, he was buried under the street. Remember that this was before paved roads, so it wasn't that hard to do. I believe the other two men that were hung with him are buried in the cemetery.

Every dam has stories about people being buried in the cement. Reality is that it takes a long time for cement to set. It was also poured in small sections. Not really possible to be buried alive and just left there. The dam's construction did cost several lives. I don't remember the number off hand, but I believe it was slightly higher than other dams.

The other urban legends are new to me.


Disease caused many deaths. My grandmother described new workers getting off the train and many caskets being loaded during construction.
lynnblountlynnblountHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by Wild Irish Prose:
quote:
Originally posted by tizzy:
and LaGrange


I think there are more urban legends about LaGrange than anywhere else. Hmmm, did those friends of the devil ever find (and subsequently sacrifice) the perfect blue-eyed, blond-haired child on 6/6/86? I remember that rumor was in full swing around then. I also remember thinking it was a little scary (and probably half-believed it since I was a child myself). But since I didn't have blue eyes or blond hair, I didn't worry so much. Big Grin

I've also heard stories about "ghost bridge". Is it still closed to the public? In the late 80's you could still drive over it.

Fun thread, lynn.


Thx Wild.

Ghost bridge IS currently closed to the public unless you are canoeing down cypress creek. Actually the road leading to it is closed and you can't even see the bridge anymore from your car. I may be down that way next weekend on the creek...I'll post a pic. It looks a lot different if you haven't been out that way in a while.

True about LaGrange...lots of tales from that area. I'd love to hear some from someone more familiar with that area than myself. All I've heard are a few tales of ghosts (civil war era)
and yet more tales of Satanic cults.
Just_Just_Old Faithful
quote:
Originally posted by tizzy:
quote:
Originally posted by FirenzeVeritas:

Post office mistakes--While this is not local, the town of Arab was named Arad originally, but the post office mis-christened it. Arad was the son of the man who founded the town.


And a phone book mistake made Brindley Mountain into Brindlee Mountain.
Someone, please refresh my memory on how the city of Muscle Shoals was misspelled but has been accepted. It should have been Mussel. How or who decided to keep the mistake in the city's name?
T tizzyHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by Just_:
quote:
Originally posted by tizzy:
quote:
Originally posted by FirenzeVeritas:

Post office mistakes--While this is not local, the town of Arab was named Arad originally, but the post office mis-christened it. Arad was the son of the man who founded the town.


And a phone book mistake made Brindley Mountain into Brindlee Mountain.
Someone, please refresh my memory on how the city of Muscle Shoals was misspelled but has been accepted. It should have been Mussel. How or who decided to keep the mistake in the city's name?


Good question.

Many years ago, i knew some local body builders that had tshirts that read "Why do you think they call MUSCLE Shoals?"
buffalobuffaloPost Master
quote:
Originally posted by lynnblount:
quote:
Originally posted by budsfarm:
quote:
Originally posted by lynnblount:
...

2) The Florence Post Office was actually designed for the city of Florence, North Carolina and intended to be built there until
the blueprints for the post offices of the two cities were accidentally switched.


Florence, South Carolina maybe?


You are correct- my bad, thx for clarifying.

Firenze, I had read the debunking article, also...but it still makes for good storytelling!

Whiskey in the columns at the Forks of Cypress? Cool! Never heard that one. Although I did always hear that they made those columns with a mixture of plaster and horse/mule hair and also sometimes human hair - usually from slaves.

Like I said - some stories are true, some are not, and some we may never really know.

What about the stories of Devil Worshippers holding ceremonies near Ghost Bridge? I've heard that one many times and wondered if there was any truth to it. I know that there are stories about the Bridge itself being haunted and people seeing a light on it at certain times.


lynn,
...no whiskey or hair in Forks columns.

Swine hair, more abundent, was used in what few cases of "hair in plaster"found around here. Forks plaster more closely followed the Vitruvius recipe (1 BC)than any others of this area. as a matter to fact the Forks construction included several details that only a student of Vitruvious would know. The Forks was unique in this regard as apposed to other historic buildings in the Shoals and surrounding areas.
S SHELDIVRPost Master
quote:
Originally posted by tizzy:
quote:
Originally posted by Just_:
quote:
Originally posted by tizzy:
quote:
Originally posted by FirenzeVeritas:

Post office mistakes--While this is not local, the town of Arab was named Arad originally, but the post office mis-christened it. Arad was the son of the man who founded the town.


And a phone book mistake made Brindley Mountain into Brindlee Mountain.
Someone, please refresh my memory on how the city of Muscle Shoals was misspelled but has been accepted. It should have been Mussel. How or who decided to keep the mistake in the city's name?


Good question.

Many years ago, i knew some local body builders that had tshirts that read "Why do you think they call MUSCLE Shoals?"


TVA Archival film indicates MUSCLE is correct because when looking at the map of the "UN-DAMMED" Tennessee River, where the shallow SHOALS flared out resembled the MUSCLE (biceps) of a man's arm. The mussel thing has always been speculation.
LT Larry TateEverybody Knows My Name
quote:
Originally posted by Just_:

Someone, please refresh my memory on how the city of Muscle Shoals was misspelled but has been accepted. It should have been Mussel. How or who decided to keep the mistake in the city's name?


It was not misspelled. Before Wilson Dam and the other dams along the TN River were built, barge traffic had to be done by pushing the boats along with poles, thus, one had to use muscle power to get past the shoals.
Just_Just_Old Faithful
quote:
Originally posted by Larry Tate:
quote:
Originally posted by Just_:

Someone, please refresh my memory on how the city of Muscle Shoals was misspelled but has been accepted. It should have been Mussel. How or who decided to keep the mistake in the city's name?


It was not misspelled. Before Wilson Dam and the other dams along the TN River were built, barge traffic had to be done by pushing the boats along with poles, thus, one had to use muscle power to get past the shoals.
....Oh, my bad, I always thought shoals was where the river and the once sandy beach met. Many mussels made this place their home,and have thought all this time the name was originally intended to be Mussel Shoals. Well, so much for legends. LOL
Wild Irish ProseWild Irish ProseHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by Larry Tate:
Here's an urban legend I've always wondered about. Are there really catfish as big as VW bugs in Wilson Lake?


Oh, that's a good one. I've always wondered that myself. I've heard that since they're not very mobile fishies and can't go find food, they just sit at the bottom and wait for the food to come to them. Chomp! Big Grin
NashBamaNashBamaOld Faithful
quote:
Originally posted by Just_:
quote:
Originally posted by Larry Tate:
quote:
Originally posted by Just_:

Someone, please refresh my memory on how the city of Muscle Shoals was misspelled but has been accepted. It should have been Mussel. How or who decided to keep the mistake in the city's name?


It was not misspelled. Before Wilson Dam and the other dams along the TN River were built, barge traffic had to be done by pushing the boats along with poles, thus, one had to use muscle power to get past the shoals.
....Oh, my bad, I always thought shoals was where the river and the once sandy beach met. Many mussels made this place their home,and have thought all this time the name was originally intended to be Mussel Shoals. Well, so much for legends. LOL


You're right. The area is named for the river mussels. Native Americans used to harvest the mussels from the river shoals. At one time they were plentiful. However, the name was misspelled.
mislidjamislidjaHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by Just_:
quote:
Originally posted by tizzy:
quote:
Originally posted by PapaTim00:
yes, devil worshipers used to have black masses there


and LaGrange
.....Yes, I would like to hear more stories about LaGrange.


I like the story of the cemetary at LaGrange.
Suppost to contain all the chemicals necessary to petrify the bodies buried there.
If that's the case What kind of Grave recycling comes to mind?
Imagine the statue garden for Halloween!!!
LT Larry TateEverybody Knows My Name
Indians first inhabited the lands bordered by the Tennessee River that we call the Shoals area today. No one knows when the name Muscle Shoals was first used for this area, however, there are many theories of where the name originated. One theory is that at one time there were piles of mussel shells found along the shoals in the Tennessee River. Another theory is that the shape of the river looks like the muscle in a man’s arm, therefore, Muscle Shoals. The last theory comes from several booklets that were published before Muscle Shoals incorporated. This theory states: “Muscle Shoals, the Niagara of the South, derives its name from the Indians, who, attempting to navigate upstream, found the task almost impossible because of the strong current.” Thus came the word muscle, symbolic of the strength required to “paddle a canoe up the rapids.” The Shoals area, including Florence, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia, was first known as the Muscle Shoals district.
http://www.cityofmuscleshoals.com/Default.asp?ID=11
U uandurineOld Faithful
quote:
Originally posted by HARLEY FLSTS:
If it was, there had to be a hundred of them all with torches in their hands. And they always met on a certain day at the beginning of each month and they always circled around something. That was probably 25 years ago or so. They looked to big to be just kids.

Were they dressed in white queen size fitted sheets?
lynnblountlynnblountHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by Larry Tate:
If you want to know the real answer about the Forks, Lynn, ask Harry Wallace. I would say he is the regional expert on the place. An Athens historian named Faye Axford also researched the Forks of Cypress before it was struck by lightning in 1966.


I'll tell you an interesting story. My dad used to go out to Cypress Creek quite often. He was out there when the Forks was burning and actually stopped to see the flames. He had a camera lying in his car and never thought to take a picture until later. We're all still kicking him over that one.
mommermommerHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by tizzy:
quote:
Originally posted by PapaTim00:
yes, devil worshipers used to have black masses there


and LaGrange


On the river at the end of Lambs Ferry Road in Rogersville. When we were in highschool, late 70's there were devil worshipers there. It was a thing for the guys to leave Piggly Wiggly parking lot were we hung out and go throw rocks at them. It is said they were chased by them at times.
Hott_momaHott_momaFamiliar Face
in franklin county there are quiet a few....for instance
1) aunt jenny johnson a woman that lived in Bankhead national forest. her husband and sons were killed so she got revenge and killed all the people that harmed her family. it's said if u go there at night you will see her.
2) crybaby bridge in russellville they say if u put a candy bar on the bridge it will disappear and u can hear a baby crying.
3) Henry hill in mount hope if u park at the bottom of the hill your car will roll uphill...that's true i've did it before.
lynnblountlynnblountHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by Hott_moma:
in franklin county there are quiet a few....for instance
1) aunt jenny johnson a woman that lived in Bankhead national forest. her husband and sons were killed so she got revenge and killed all the people that harmed her family. it's said if u go there at night you will see her.
2) crybaby bridge in russellville they say if u put a candy bar on the bridge it will disappear and u can hear a baby crying.
3) Henry hill in mount hope if u park at the bottom of the hill your car will roll uphill...that's true i've did it before.


I've heard of that bridge. I'd be more interested in finding some free candy bars lying around,though...lol.
lynnblountlynnblountHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by Ed@Bama:
Heya, Just... hiya, Lynn! I've been... indisposed. Not to be confused with incarcerated, haha!

Speaking of adult beverage sales, I seem to remember a house across Florence Blvd and up the hill from the old Wendy's that had a teller window installed on the carport. Big Grin Not that I ever purchased anything there...


That was Jackie Bass...now deceased.

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