Central Region - Hiking Alabama: A Guide to the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures - page 304

The trail itself is a myriad of fire lanes, old dirt and gravel roads, and dirt foot-
paths that wind their way around the grounds. There are several side roads you
can take to visit other areas not described here, all following similar wide paths.
While for the most part the trails are not marked, it's difficult to lose your way
since most loop back around toward the main path described there.
Before starting your hike, stop by the gift shop at the entrance of the museum
for a brochure that describes some of the history you will be passing. Many of the
features are numbered and correspond to a description in the handout.
The trail begins directly across the street from the museum. A sign reading
“Nature Trail” leads the way through a wooden gate. One of the impressive bits of
nature you will encounter on the trip is the second-largest yellow poplar tree in
Alabama. When last officially measured, the tree had a circumference of 174½
inches and stood 105 feet tall. The canopy of the tree is 70 feet wide. You will also
pass a spring that flows at a rate of 10 gallons per minute and was the source of
water for the home.
As for the history, the trail will take you past the remains of an old dam built in
1905, the Old Marbury Methodist Church, and the site's reservoir and pumping
station. The reservoir is an impressive large white structure that held 85,000 gal-
lons of water that was pumped to a tower and then pumped into the home.
The hike culminates with a visit to Cemetery #2, a beautiful and peaceful rest-
ing place atop a hill overlooking the valley. As you enter the gates of the
cemetery, the first grave you will pass is that of Jefferson Manly Falkner himself,
the man whose vision created this site to honor and care for Alabama's Confeder-
ate veterans.
Just what is Dixie? Shortly before the Civil War, the State of
Louisiana issued a note of currency worth $10 called a
dix—French for “ten”—and eventually the South became known
as “Dixie.” Montgomery, Alabama, was the first capital of the Con-
federacy, and Alabama is officially known as the Heart of Dixie.