Back when I used to drive from UGA to visit friends at Auburn, we used to sometimes pass through Phenix City. Back then it was known as the Las Vegas of the South for its gambling, prostitution, and drugs. Is that still the case?
“...Las Vegas of the South...”
“Sin City of the South” was a more common name. Back in WWII over one million men passed through Fort Benning. If 15 percent engaged in Phenix City vice you can just imagine that it was big business. A Baptist Sunday School teacher, Hugh Bentley founded the Russell Betterment Association in 1949 and campaigned for a cleanup at great risk to his life and limb.
It was not until the 1954 murder of the Alabama Attorney General-elect Albert Patterson that martial rule was declared, and the National Guard was sent in. The mobs had the mayor, the judges, the city police and the county police in their palm. The National Guard General assembled all the corrupt law enforcement and stated, “Turn in your patrol car keys, your badges, and your guns.” Thus, began something of a cleanup. Today, most of the vice is on the Columbus, Georgia side of the river.