Bluffton — Strange Alabama

In the latter part of the 1880's, a group of New England investors, lured by the plentiful natural resources of Bluffton, Alabama, decided to invest in the area and build a large city. Located in North Alabama, Bluffton was the only boom town in Cherokee County.

After securing the land, the investors went to work grading streets, installing sidewalks, developing a shingle mill, brick plant, an electric light plant and a large number of other attractive dwellings. Next came a Methodist church, a school and plans to build the Methodist Episcopal University but the town's centerpiece was the hotel. After it's completion, the New England investors boasted that the three-story Signal Hotel was 'the finest in Northern Alabama...lighted by electricity and furnished throughout with elegance and comfort'.

Unfortunately, the town's main resource, iron ore proved to be of inferior quality and while the city never grew much, it continued to thrive into the 30's. Today, little if any evidence exists that Bluffton ever existed. No buildings remain and oak trees now stand in place of the old railroad.