Welcome to Cullman
County
Cullman
County and its central city, which shares the same name,
are the very embodiment of
laid-back Southern culture
and charm.
A small-town feel and
pleasant gentility are present in most all we do here.
Everyone from the hard-working
farmers to the business and industry
leaders will tell you Cullman County is a special place.
Cullman and Cullman County
share a strong German heritage that springs from its
founder,
Col. John G. Cullmann. Along with
that sense of history and identity comes a strong work
ethic and a pioneer spirit that is evident in the
people of Cullman County, who strive to make everything
here the
very best it can be.
Ranking among the highest
nationally and regionally in poultry, sweet potato and
agriculture
production, Cullman County is also
known for its school systems and parks, which are among
the best in the state.
Cullman County is
located in the heart of North Alabama and centrally positioned
on Interstate 65 between two of
the
state’s largest cities, Huntsville and Birmingham.
Cullman County is just close enough to the bustle of the
big city
for convenience and far enough away from the
bright lights to give residents peace of mind and a feel
for the slow, relaxed ways of life in the country.
Don’t let
the quaint, small-town ways of the place fool you, however.
Cullman County is among the fastest
growing counties in the state, new
industries and businesses as well as established ones
are expanding at a high rate.
Cullman County covers
743 square miles of land on the Cumberland Plateau, much
of it devoted to agricultural pursuits,
and has a population of over 73,000. Some of those people
were born here and come by their love
of Cullman County naturally, while others are transplanted
from locales spanning the globe, choosing to live and
work here because they have been charmed by the pastoral
beauty
of the land and the friendly, easygoing nature of its
people. Whether you are a native child or a newcomer
to Cullman
County, we hope this guide will be of service to you,
whether it
helps you get around easier or it just tells you something
you may not have known about your
hometown.
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Getting Around
Travel to, from, and around Cullman County is aided
by major roadways such as I-65, U.S. Highways 31 and
278, and Alabama
Highways 91, 69 and 157.
General aviation services are handled by Folsom
Field,
known to be one of the finest airports of its size
in the region.
Commercial air is handled by Huntsville and
Birmingham International
Airports. Cullman County also boasts a main line of
the CSX railway.
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History
Cullman was founded in 1873 by Colonel John G. Kullmann,
a refugee from the town of Frankweiler,
Germany, who came to America in
1866.
After settling for a while in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cullmann
moved south to Alabama with the dream of establishing
a colony for German immigrants like himself. He
purchased a plot of land some 180 miles long and 30
miles wide from the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
Making
the present site of Cullman his headquarters, he
brought five German families here in March of 1873.
The town
of Cullman was incorporated five years later.
The growth of the area was so significant that the state
created
Cullman County in 1877.
Cullman is an area very close to its German heritage,
celebrating a yearly Oktoberfest in the fall and maintaining
a close relationship with Col. Cullmann’s
home city of Frankweiler.
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Municipal
Governments
Cullman County contains
11 incorporated municipalities, which
include the cities of Cullman and Hanceville and the
towns of Baileyton, Colony, Dodge
City, Fairview, Garden
City, Good Hope, Holly
Pond, South Vinemont and West
Point.
Cullman County is
governed by the three-member Cullman
County Commission. Most county offices are
located at the Cullman County Courthouse
at 500 Second Avenue Southwest in Cullman or at
the county professional office building at 402 Arnold
Street
Northeast in Cullman. County offices can be reached
by dialing 739-3530.
The City of Cullman,
the largest city in Cullman County and
the county seat, is governed by a mayor and a five-member
council.
Most city offices
are located in the Cullman City Hall at
204 Second Avenue Northeast in Cullman. City offices
can be reached at 739-1212.
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Agriculture & Industry
Ranking among
the top five counties in the United States
for poultry production, Cullman County’s farms
are among the best anywhere.
Cullman County also ranks first in the state for sweet
potato and agriculture production.
The cattle industry is also very large here, Cullman County
ranking among the highest counties in the U.S. for
cattlemen’s
association membership. While agriculture
has put Cullman County on the map, industrial growth is
also spectacular. The
City of Cullman has experienced a 685-percent growth in
manufacturing capital investment over the past 10
years. Over
fifty major industries call Cullman County their home
and the
Cullman
Area Chamber of Commerce boasts one of the
strongest memberships around.
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Schools
Cullman County and City schools consistently rank among
the best in the state.
The Cullman County school system is comprised of 26
schools providing
education for over 9,400 students. Overseeing the
operation of the school system is the County School
Superintendent and
the seven-member Cullman
County Commission on Education.
Education in the City of Cullman falls under the auspices
of
the five-member Cullman
City Board of Education.
With over 2,735 students, the five-school system ranks
eighth
out of 127 systems in the state and graduates 90
percent of its seniors yearly.
Two strong private elementary
schools round out primary education
in Cullman County: St.
Paul’s Lutheran
School and Sacred Heart Catholic Elementary.
St. Bernard Preparatory
School is a private high school
located in Cullman on the campus of St. Bernard Benedictine
Abbey.
Wallace State College is a community college with an
enrollment of over 5,400 students
Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern
Association of Colleges since 1971, Wallace offers a wide
variety
of academic and vocational programs for students
from all over North Alabama.
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Healthcare Facilities
Cullman County is home to two major healthcare facilities,
one public and one private.
Cullman Regional Medical
Center is a 115-bed, full-service,
not-for-profit facility operated by the Health Care
Authority
of Cullman County and the Baptist Health System.
Serving all of Cullman County and parts of Blount,
Morgan, Winston
and other counties, CRMC has over 70 active staff
physicians and 700 employees. CRMC features an oncology
center,
pediatrics, rehabilitation services, emergency
care, outpatient services, maternity and women’s
centers, critical care, a sleep disorders
clinic and inpatient dialysis and
diagnostic imaging centers.
Woodland
Medical Center is a 100-bed acute care and medical
and surgical facility accredited by the Joint Commission
on Accreditation of Hospitals.
Woodland
features a 20-bed inpatient adult mental health
unit, intensive care, laser surgery, pain management,
obstetrics,
orthopedics, home health, diagnostic services,
physical therapy, cardiopulmonary care, mammography,
a sleep lab, and a 24-hour emergency care department.
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Recreation
The Cullman
County Park System includes Clarkson
Covered Bridge Park, Smith Lake Park and Sportsman’s
Lake Park. Clarkson Covered Bridge is the
site of the 1863 Battle of Hog Mountain.
The largest covered truss bridge in the
state, Clarkson is named in the National Register
of Historic
Places and is surrounded by picturesque hiking
trails and picnic facilities. Smith Lake
Park features a water slide, boat launch, picnic
areas, pavilions, fishing and 140 campsites ranging
from cabins
to primitive to full RV hookups.
Sportsman’s Lake in Cullman has train rides, fishing,
pavilions, carpet golf and a large duck population that
is a major draw for locals.
The City of
Cullman Park and Recreation system includes
Heritage Park, Nesmith Park, and Ingle Park Recreation
Center
and the recently acquired Hurricane Creek Park. Heritage
Park is a 70-acre complex in Cullman that features
championship soccer and softball fields, tennis and basketball
courts, a walking track, picnic shelters and
pavilions,
a children’s playground and multipurpose
fields which play host to such annual
festivities as Relay For Life and
A Day in The Park. Nesmith Park in
Cullman features lighted softball and
baseball fields, tennis and basketball courts, a picnic
area
and a playground. Ingle Park Recreation Complex in Cullman
features a wood-floor gymnasium with
fitness and weight rooms, and a game
room featuring table tennis. Hurricane
Creek Park, located north of Vinemont,
features scenic cliffs and bluffs, hiking
trails, a swinging bridge, and waterfalls.
The Ave
Maria Grotto at St. Bernard Abbey features
miniature renditions of famous churches, basilicas,
shrines and
buildings from all over the word, including a
representation of the city of Jerusalem. Built by
the abbey’s
Brother Joseph in 1934, the grotto is a major
tourist attraction for visitors from all over the
world.
Another major attraction in Cullman County is The Shrine
of the Most Blessed Sacrament at Our
Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville. Built by Mother Angelica and the
EWTN Network, the medieval-inspired monastery is home to
the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration.
Looney’s
Tavern at nearby Double Springs is an outdoor
amphitheater that produces the civil war drama “Incident
at Looneys Tavern.” A riverboat
and restaurant also make Looney’s
a popular draw.
Cullman
Municipal Golf Course in Cullman offers an 18-hole scenic
course complete with water hazards, sand bunkers, a
pro shop and clubhouse, a lighted driving range and
putting green. Chesley
Oaks Golf Club in Fairview is an 18-hole
championship course open to the public that also
features a pro shop and snack bar.
The Cullman
County Museum offers visitors a chance to see
the early history of the city and county through
artifacts including
Indian and pioneer tools and wares, and pictures
of early downtown Cullman.
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Webmaster's
Note: The above story, by Rich Partain, originally
ran in the 1998 issue of The Cullman Times'
Classic Cullman publication. Certain information
has been
updated and hyperlinks have been added to utilize
the article's publication on the web. The article
is
used here
with permission from The
Times. |
