POWERGRAMS

28 ver since Native Americans began living along the bluffs above the Chattahoochee River, the fate of the place they called Eufaula has been shaped by the river. Nearly 55 years ago, the quaint town on the Alabama- Georgia line spread its wings with the birth of Lake Eufaula, quickly moving from a small shipping port to a major recreation destination. Indeed, the lake named for Eufaula has a 640-mile shoreline that exceeds the combined coastlines of Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago. It is difficult to go most anywhere in Eufaula without running into or over the lake and its bountiful bayous and backwaters. Equally accessible are the primary picturesque roadways divided by wide medians lined with huge oaks, iron fountains and marble statues. These streets eventually cross at the center of the Seth Lore Historic District. The downtown was saved as Union troops approaching Eufaula in 1865 learned the Civil War had ended, preserving for future generations many of the more than 700 properties that today form Alabama's largest grouping of 1800s commercial buildings. Eufaula is second only to Mobile in number of buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in one Alabama city. On a hot summer afternoon, booths are going up along the old downtown sidewalks for the monthly farmers market, as one man is selling watermelons for $2 from his rusty pickup. Nearby is Whitlock Jewelry Store, established in 1865. The Lewy Brothers building is stamped with the founders' name in large, white tile letters on a blue tile background, which stands just above their name in black letters on white stained glass amidst a wide banner of glass squares. Many of Eufaula's antebellum buildings have unique features from days gone by. The three-story Bluff City Inn built in 1885 now houses The Cajun Corner, where waitresses welcome diners to New Orleans-style meals and décor. The vintage building next door houses Barb's Country Kitchen, known for morning pancakes and lunchtime meat and three. A couple of blocks away, the Bread Basket offers its signature bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, which is one of the state tourism department's 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama, as are the circular sweets at The Donut King. Just beyond the old downtown is Phil's Barbecue, which boasts the "Best Butts in Alabama" and in 2013 won a state contest for best sauce. In the median across from the marquee of the shuttered Martin Theater stands a monument to Leroy Brown: "Most bass are just fish but Leroy Brown was something special." The 3-foot-tall block of marble was donated by local legends Tom Mann and Ray Scott as a salute to the world-famous pet bass that was a symbol of the industry those two entrepreneurs captured early on, that made Mann and Scott wealthy and Eufaula viable again after years of an economic ebb. Indeed, the city's biggest industry is fishing-related businesses and manufacturers, which employ more than 400 combined, led by Humminbird-Johnson Outdoors (220 workers), Southern Plastics (130) and Mann's Bait (35). continued City has Alabama's largest group of 1800s commercial buildings.

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