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Photo: Dystopos, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Historical park just outside Bessemer that takes visitors back in time to the turn of the century when central Alabama was the iron capital of the south. Here there are great numbers of deer roaming about, several rivers, creeks and a bubbling spring, a fully functioning corn mill (with fresh corn meal available to purchase seasonly) and the remains of an iron factory. Museum, full hookup RV and tent camping and primitive camping. 'Tannehill Tradedays' occur the third Saturday of every month, March through November. Lots of backwoods hiking and walking trails. A hidden gem of a park in exchange for a 25-minute drive from downtown.
The Tannehill Ironworks is the central feature of Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park near the unincorporated town of McCalla in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Tannehill Furnace, it was a major supplier of iron for Confederate ordnance. Remains of the old furnaces are located 12 miles (19 km) south of Bessemer off Interstate 59/Interstate 20 near the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. The 1,500-acre (610 ha) park includes: the John Wesley Hall Grist Mill; the May Plantation Cotton Gin House; and the Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama.
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Right on the outskirts of Birmingham is Alabama Splash Adventure. Formerly known as VisionLand, this adventure consists of both a theme park and a waterpark for those hot summer days. Alabama Splash Adventure has over 7 acres of land filled with over 25 main attractions, including Alabama's largest wooden roller coaster.
Hosts a variety of events.
Small local history museum located in a former train station. Includes an exhibit on the Civil Rights movement exhibit, including a jail cell door from the cell where Martin Luther King Jr. was held in Bessemer.