Travels with KOKOMO II: Oct 12-13, Demopolis, AL

Today was a rainy day. Overcast and rainy. All day.

We moved south from Columbus, Mississippi, on the Tenn-Tom (downstream) and got a boost from the river flowing with us. The river is slightly swollen because of the recent rains and is flowing about two knots, sometimes three knots. There is lots of debris in the water so we are dilgilent in watching for the big logs. We see several big logs and piles of branches and clumps of water hyacinth but have no real problems. (We did not 'hit' anything!)

Army Corps of Engineers tug and barges at the entrance to one of the locks.
Lock is open ahead and ready for us to enter.

We transited three locks, Stennis drops us 27 feet, Bevill drops us 27 feet and the Heflin drops us 36 feet. No wait again today. We covered 120 miles all the way to Demopolis, Alabama.

Rainy day. All day.

Interesting bluff near Epes.

Thirty feet tall.

Bluff continues for about a mile.

Not much along this waterway except pretty scenery. Our most interesting sight today was two deer swimming across the waterway. One small head and one very small head out of the water (like a dog swimming) moving from east to west. They were moving along pretty well. The waterway was probably 500 feet wide at this point.

Tug pushing six barges takes up most of the channel.
We squeeze by on the 'one'.

We did see a few bass fishermen fishing today even in the rain. Passed two tugs and saw one power boat cruising north.

Demopolis Marina.

Tugs get fuel and make crew changes here.

Our marina tonight is Demopolis Marina, the only marina for a hundred miles in any direction. There is a restaurant, showers, 50 amp power and good high speed internet.

We decided to stay over and see the local sights. The marina has a loaner car with the usual two hour limit. Demopolis was founded by French Nepolianic refugees in 1817 who were given land grants to cultivate grapes and olives. The venture failed. Now a part of the 'old south', Demopolis is near Selma, Alabama, home of the Martin Luther King freedom march.

There is a 'historic theater district' began in 1902 and the 'Elks Theater' opened in 1915 to show silent movies. The town boasts an old fashioned square with the old business district built around the square. Not much left downtown.

Elk Theater had this palladium window in 1915.

Downtown Demopolis has only a few stores occupied.

The one store looking prosperous is the 'Gun and Pawn'.

There are two large old homes here, 'Bluff Hall' is located on a bluff overlooking the Tombigbee River was built in 1832 by the slaves of Allen Glover for his daughter, Sarah Serena and her husband Francis Strother Lyon, a planter and lawyer who served in the Confederate and US Congresses.

Bluff Hall - 1832

The second is 'Gaineswood', a Greek Revival Mansion that evolved from 1843-1861 for owner/architect, Nathan Bryan Whitfield, a cotton farmer and Renaissance man of his time. Rated one of the three or four most interesting houses in America according to the 'Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Deep South'. It features Doric columns outside and Ionic and Corinthian columns and details inside along with great plaster work, marble fireplaces and extensive wood panelling.