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I know that there are places in Alabama where secession was not favored - Fort Payne, Alabama still has a “Union Park” because the secession was generally not supported in that area.

I have been to Looney’s Tavern in Winston County, Alabama as well - they used to put on a show telling the story of Winston County’s secession from the state of Alabama over the secession issue. I bet that the “Free State of Winston” is not discussed much in today’s history books - would detract from the narrative that the South was uniformly racist and bigoted.

Both of the above areas were generally poor rural areas where there were not many slave holders.

I bet that the “Free State of Winston” is not discussed much in today’s history books - would detract from the narrative that the South was uniformly racist and bigoted.

That's the Democrats' game for sure. Southerners need to learn the true facts so as not to fall into the leftists' trap.

I know that there are places in Alabama where secession was not favored - Fort Payne, Alabama still has a “Union Park” because the secession was generally not supported in that area.

Fort Payne recently christened the park "City Park" so it is no longer "Union Park"... Also in that park is a huge statue of a confederate soldier... This was dedicated while most folks still rode horses to the event (I don't know the exact date)... Also they presented statues of the 4 Alabama (band) boys during this dedication (this summer).

So I guess Fort Payne has subcumbed to the political pressures of PCism renaming that park. I for one did not notice that the city slipped this under the door mat... Everyone was in favor of paying homage to the group Alabama that they didn't notice the city was changing the park title in the same slick event.

Having lived most my life here and from a long blue lintage in the area, I can concur there was lots of pro-union folks in this area.. and few slaves back in it's day. Valley Head had a small plantation with a slave quarters to it, but county wise not many did.

Fort Payne, Alabama still has a “Union Park” because the secession was generally not supported in that area.

"Union Park" was opened in 1910.. way after the civil war... in 1913 they put a huge confederate statue in the park...

Park is to the right area in this photo...

Most of the town by that time had huge influxes of people from the north that speculated that that town would be Birmingham (steel town)... The ingrediants were there (but they were inferior to B'ham, thus FP did not become Birmingham size wise)...

Why the name "Union Park" ? Well I don't know, but mom says the owner of that Hotel gave the property to make the park and he was a Yankee so perhaps he got to name it.. but it was named well after the war and after great Yankee influx in the area. It is odd that just 3 years after it's opening a huge statue of another one of my kinfolks was put up depicting a Confederate Officer.