The Fitzpatrick Baptist Church was established in 1897 in Fitzpatrick, Alabama. The current structure was built in 1909 after a 1908 storm swept through Bullock County and destroyed the congregation’s first church. The church no longer holds services but can be rented out for special occasions.
The Travelers Rest CME Church is just south of Montezuma, Georgia. Once completely overgrown, efforts have been made to clean up the cemetery and the brush around the building. Unfortunately, the building is likely too far gone to be preserved unless someone with very deep pockets comes forward.
The Travelers Rest CME Church was built on land deeded to it by the Travelers Rest Methodist Church in 1884. The church remained active until 1994.
Wayman Chapel AME Church was founded in May 1867 and built in 1882. It is named after Bishop Alexander Wayman, the seventh bishop of the AME Church.
The church’s striking architecture, featuring classic Gothic Revival elements, honors “Mother Bethel,” the founding AME church in Philadelphia. The church is still active today.
An island in the Alabama River hosts a tribe of friendly goats and a movie set for the film Big Fish. Not far from Montgomery, the town of Sceptre, Alabama, is actually Jackson Lake Island. In 2003, Tim directed the movie where part of the storyline take place in a magical town known as Sceptre, where the grass is so lush you don’t need shoes.
The movie’s premise is that the father is known to tell tall tales, and on the day of his son’s birth, he lured the biggest fish with his wedding ring. This is just one of the tales he tells his son over the years. It stars Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham Carter, Albert Finney, and other notable actors. The town of Sceptre stretches along Main Street with houses and commercial structures. Today, only a few of the houses remain. In 2023, one of the prop structures caught on fire after a lightning strike. A tornado in 2021 caused damage, too.
The island is privately owned by former Montgomery mayor and US Congressman Bobby Bright and his wife, retired judge Lynn Bright, and it has been in their family for years. The goats had roamed the island for years before Big Fish came to town. Unfortunately, the trip of goats was lost to coyotes. The Brights decided to bring the goats back to the island. They are very used to humans. (One tried to climb into my car while I was packing my camera gear.) Unfortunately, in 2020, two baby goats disappeared, and it was believed that someone smuggled them off the island.
I highly recommend taking a trip to the island. There is a charge per person. If you are there for the day, the goats and the walk down Main Street would make a good day. Bring lunch, and you might have goat visitors. You can boat and fish in Gun Island Chute, the water surrounding the island. There is also RV Parking for overnight stays. I highly recommend visiting in the winter. The leafless trees add to the Southern Gothic appeal that is part of Big Fish. Fall would be a great time, too, because beautiful trees surround the lake.
Scroll down to see the original movie trailer.
If you’ve never seen the movie, it can be streamed. For those who have seen it, here is the original trailer; you can see the trees and the town featured here.
Originally the home of Wesleyan Methodist Church, the now vacant church served as the spiritual home for the True Faith COGIC church and the Higher Ground Ministries.
Built in 1950, the Hillcrest United Methodist Church was active until at least 2006. It is now vacant.
