Sloss Furnaces: The Ghosts of Birmingham’s Iron Empire

Entrance to Sloss Furnaces National Monument in Birmingham, Alabama, with rusted towers and catwalks visible beyond the gate

They say you can still hear the hammers ringing at Sloss Furnaces, echoing through the smoke and iron that built Birmingham’s name. But when Dusty and I first tried to visit, the only sound we heard was Murph laughing in the distance. Round One: When Murph Closed the Gates This stop was supposed to be … Read more

Little Nadine’s Playhouse Mausoleum

Small mausoleum known as Little Nadine’s Playhouse at Oakwood Cemetery in Lanett, Alabama, featuring a child-sized structure with a low roof and solemn, story-filled presence.

If you’ve ever wandered into a cemetery expecting silence and stone, you might be surprised by the sound of your own heartbeat quickening. That’s how it felt the first time I stepped up to Little Nadine’s Playhouse Mausoleum in Lanett, Alabama. It looks like something lifted straight out of a childhood storybook: a tiny brick … Read more

Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church – Malvern, Alabama

Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church

Tucked beneath the Alabama sky, off a quiet backroad in Malvern, stands a little white church with a whole lot of soul. Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church, established in 1874, may not look like much to those speeding past—but for generations of locals, it’s been the kind of place that anchors a community. Weathered wood. Hand-built … Read more