off the beaten path Alabama

Brierfield Ironworks: The Confederate Forge That Armed a War

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Ruins of the main brick furnace at Brierfield Ironworks

Alabama Road Trip #2 There’s something about ruins that pull you in—the way time folds itself around stone and iron, how silence can still hum with memory. We hadn’t planned on finding Brierfield. It was one of those “Murph detours” that started with a roadside sign for the Absalom Pratt House and ended with Dusty … Read more

From Grist to Legend: The Old Mill of Mountain Brook

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Featured Image: The Old Mill

Tucked away in the leafy curves of Mountain Brook, Alabama, there’s a place that looks like it stepped out of a fairytale. A stone-and-timber mill beside a quiet creek, complete with waterwheel and footbridge—it’s the kind of stop that makes you slow down, breathe, and just take it in. Dusty and I didn’t plan to … Read more