Fort Payne, Alabama
Fort Payne is a city of 14,927 people in DeKalb County, Alabama, founded in 1889.
Why visit Fort Payne
Townapedia lists 14 museums and landmarks, 14 parks and trails, 38 places to eat, 9 places to stay and 12 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Little River Falls, Grace's High Falls, Cherokee Plantation and Fort Payne Boom Town Historic District.
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 91°F; January lows average 32°F.
Weather in Fort Payne
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About Fort Payne
Fort Payne is a city in and the county seat of DeKalb County, in northeastern Alabama, United States. It is near Lookout Mountain. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877.
From the Wikipedia article Fort Payne, Alabama (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do12
Grace's High Falls
Waterfall · 6.9 mi
Waterfall in Alabama, United States
Old Union Crossing Covered Bridge
Bridge · 7.4 mi
Bridge in United States of America
Museums and landmarks14
Cherokee Plantation
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 2.3 mi
Historic house and site
Fort Payne Boom Town Historic District
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 1.9 mi
Historic district in Alabama, United States
Fort Payne Main Street Historic District
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 2.2 mi
Historic district in Alabama, United States
Fort Payne Opera House
Cinema and theater · National Register of Historic Places · 2.0 mi
Theater and movie theater in Fort Payne, Alabama, United States
Fort Payne Residential Historic District
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 2.1 mi
Historic district in Alabama, United States
Fort Payne Depot Museum
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 1.9 mi
Railway station in Fort Payne, the United States of America
Vance C. Larmore House
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 5.4 mi
Historic house in Alabama, United States
W. B. Davis Hosiery Mill
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 1.7 mi
Historic factory complex in Fort Payne, Alabama, USA
Confederate Monument (Fort Payne)
Monument and historic site · 1.9 mi
Confederate monument in Fort Payne, Alabama, U.S.A.
2 more on the map.
Parks, trails and playgrounds14
Little River Canyon National Preserve
Park · 5.5 mi
14,000 acres in Alabama (US) managed by the National Park Service
2 more on the map.
Restaurants and cafes38
Applebee's
Diner · American · 3.6 mi
111 Airport Road West, Fort Payne
Mo-Th 11:00-23:00; Fr-Sa 11:00-24:00; Su 11:00-22:00
The Bar-B-Q Place
Restaurant · Barbecue · 3.3 mi
1502 Gault Avenue South, Fort Payne
Wildcats Nutrition
Cafe · Bubble Tea · 3.6 mi
Glenn Boulevard Southwest, Fort Payne
26 more on the map.
History
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, this was the site of Willstown, an important town of the Lower Cherokee. They had moved south along the Tennessee River and into what became Alabama in an effort to escape European-American pressure.
For a time this was the home of Sequoyah, a silversmith who by 1821 created the Cherokee syllabary, one of the few writing systems created by an individual from a pre-literate culture. In Alabama, his people soon started publishing the first newspaper in Cherokee and English, The Cherokee Phoenix.
This settlement was commonly called Willstown after its headman, Will Weber, who had striking red hair. He was the son of Cherokee and German parents and raised as Cherokee.
John Norton, a man born in Scotland about 1770 to Scottish and Cherokee parents, visited this area and other parts of the Cherokee homeland in 1809–1810. He had come to North America as a British soldier and became close to Mohawk people at the Grand River Reserve in Ontario, where he served as an interpreter.
During the 1830s prior to Indian removal, the US Army under command of Major John Payne built a fort near Willstown to intern Cherokee from Alabama until they were forcibly removed to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Their forced exile became known as the Trail of Tears. Only a chimney of Fort Payne still stands in the downtown of the city that developed around it.
From the History section of Fort Payne, Alabama on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay9
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Payne
Motel and hotel · 3.8 mi
112 Airport Road West, Fort Payne
Churches and places of worship38
Gault Avenue Baptist Church
Church · Baptist · 3.2 mi
Gault Avenue South, Fort Payne
Shopping15
Builders Supply Company, Inc.
Hardware store · 2.5 mi
611 Godfrey Avenue South, Fort Payne
Gas and EV charging6
Schools, colleges and libraries8
Healthcare5
Map of Fort Payne
159 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Climate by month
Monthly table
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52°F | 32°F | 5.3 in |
| Feb | 57°F | 36°F | 5.4 in |
| Mar | 65°F | 42°F | 5.3 in |
| Apr | 74°F | 50°F | 5.1 in |
| May | 81°F | 58°F | 5.0 in |
| Jun | 88°F | 67°F | 4.6 in |
| Jul | 91°F | 70°F | 5.4 in |
| Aug | 90°F | 69°F | 3.9 in |
| Sep | 86°F | 64°F | 4.4 in |
| Oct | 76°F | 52°F | 3.6 in |
| Nov | 64°F | 41°F | 4.5 in |
| Dec | 55°F | 35°F | 5.6 in |
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for Ft Payne (2 mi away), NOAA NCEI.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
DeKalb County has had 21 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for severe storms.
- 2024-09-26: Hurricane Helene (Hurricane)
- 2020-09-14: Hurricane Sally (Hurricane)
- 2020-07-10: Severe Thunderstorms (Severe Storm)
- 2020-03-29: Covid-19 Pandemic (Biological)
- 2020-03-13: Covid-19 (Biological)
- 2019-04-17: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Richard B Russell Airport (RMG) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 31 miles away.
- Pine Ridge 5 mi west, about 9 min by car
- Scottsboro 24 mi northwest, about 39 min by car
- Boaz 32 mi southwest, about 51 min by car
- Albertville 33 mi southwest, about 52 min by car
- Gadsden 36 mi southwest, about 58 min by car
- Rainbow City 43 mi southwest, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Jacksonville 45 mi south, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Chattanooga 49 mi northeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Saks 52 mi south, about 1 h 30 min by car
- Anniston 55 mi south, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Public domain): climate by month
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Great Southern Railroad Depot, Fort Payne, AL, US, Bubba73 (Jud McCranie), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Opera House, Fort Payne, AL, US, Bubba73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Cherokee Plantation, Fort Payne, AL, US, Bubba73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 308 Alabama Avenue Fort Payne Nov 2017, Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 4.0
- FT. PAYNE OPERA HOUSE, JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Cherokee Plantation Fort Payne Nov 2017 3, Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 100-112 1st Street SW Fort Payne Nov 2017, Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 4.0
- FORT PAYNE BOOMTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT, JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Vance C. Larmore House Nov 2017 2, Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Little River Falls, Jsfouche, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Little River Canyon National Park,Gaylesville,AL, Richard A. Weaver, CC BY-SA 4.0
- OLD UNION OR TALLAHATCHIE COVERED BRIDGE, JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ CB, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Northpointe - panoramio, Jordan Whiteside, CC BY 3.0
- Wikipedia wb davis hosiery mill2012-09-05, Mary Sievert, CC BY-SA 3.0
- DeKalb County Alabama Courthouse 20120329, Wmr36104, CC BY-SA 3.0
- ISS042-E-316752 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS023-E-14080 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS062-E-144236 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS053-E-170398 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS062-E-144235 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS042-E-312451 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS042-E-316751 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS042-E-312449 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS042-E-316749 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS041-E-65529 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS042-E-316750 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS042-E-312450 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS023-E-14081 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS042-E-312452 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS041-E-65530 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS065-E-213328 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-57297 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS043-E-240813 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-52793 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS043-E-240811 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS028-E-41569 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS043-E-240814 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS043-E-240812 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS053-E-170399 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS028-E-41336 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
Page built October 30, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.