The Peach Water Tower of Clanton, Alabama

A Juicy Detour at Sunset

There’s a certain kind of road-trip delirium that only shows up near the end of a long day—when the sky turns purple, the gas station lights hum awake, and everything starts to feel a little surreal.
That’s the exact moment Dusty and I rolled into Clanton, Alabama, chasing the most gloriously unnecessary landmark in the entire state: the Peach Water Tower.

Coming from West Blocton Coke Ovens Park, we’d planned to squeeze in two more stops before calling it a night, but nature had other plans.
So first… we hunted down a bathroom.
Because no matter how majestic a giant peach may be, nothing competes with an urgent pit stop.

The gas station across the street was our salvation, and when we walked back out into the cooling dusk, the view stopped us cold.
The sun was collapsing into the horizon, clouds streaked like watercolor, and in the middle of it all—glowing gold under a dozen parking-lot lights—was the Big Peach itself.

I grabbed my dashcam shot right there in the parking lot, the kind of unplanned photo that ends up being the best one.
There’s something poetic about a peach-shaped water tower watching over a row of pickup trucks like a fruity guardian angel.

Rolling Up on the Peach

Once we’d refueled both ourselves and the truck, we drove over for a closer look.
It’s huge up close—much taller than it looks from the road—and yes, Dusty was absolutely right:

“From the back,” she said, “it totally looks like an ass.”
Which, honestly, only made me love it more.

We took a few quick pictures, giggling like we were twelve, because sometimes the weirdest stops become the best memories.
And this one? Pure, peach-scented joy.

How a Peach Became a Water Tower

Back in the 1990s, Clanton decided that plain concrete cylinders were boring and that their town deserved something… juicier.
So they built a 500,000-gallon steel water tank, painted it bright peach, airbrushed on lifelike fuzz, and slapped on a leaf the size of a Honda Civic.

Price tag?
Two. Million. Dollars.

And honestly?
Worth every penny.
Drivers on I-65 slam on the brakes for it.
Tourists pose with it.
It’s become a full-blown identity for the town—peach ice cream, peach festivals, peach everything.

Clanton bet big on fruit-themed civic engineering, and it paid off.

When Plans Go Sideways (Murph Strikes Again)

Our last stop of the day was supposed to be the Cross Garden, but by the time we reached the area, it was pitch-dark and we couldn’t find the entrance.
No signs, no lights, no glowing crosses to guide us. Murph clearly tanked our Cross Garden plans the same we he did Sloss Furnaces.
So we shrugged, chalked it up to Murph, and headed for the hotel.

But honestly?
Ending the day with a giant sunset peach felt perfect.

Echo’s Corner

Clanton’s Peach Water Tower isn’t just roadside kitsch—it’s part of a tiny but proud Southern tradition of turning municipal water tanks into local icons.
Similar peaches exist in South Carolina and even Ontario, but the Clanton peach is the reigning champion of peachy persuasion.
It’s engineered to be 52 feet wide with steel panels curved like fruit skin, and yes—local lore insists the original paint job was modeled after an actual peach grown in Chilton County, the “peach capital of Alabama.”

If You Go

Location: Clanton, Alabama — right off I-65
Admission: Completely free
Best Time to Visit: Sunset, when the peach glows like a lantern over the highway
Parking: Pull into any of the nearby lots for a perfect view
Great For: Roadside oddities, fruit enthusiasts, and anyone who likes saying “giant peach butt” out loud

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