In years past I’d heard of a Confederate Memorial Park somewhere in Marbury, but assumed it was something like we have in Selma: a place where the dead were buried and a placard or statue put up. After the tornado struck, though, one of the aid workers who came into town from Boston proved to be a Civil War enthusiast who was determined to make the most of his time in the South — and discovered that the ‘park’ was a museum and library on the site of what had been a rest home for aging and indigent veterans of the War. (Or, as one visitor called them, “indignant”.) I was intrigued by the library, as my new friend was impressed by its collection, and made my way there this past Saturday to check the place out. Although I wasn’t able to access the library, it being staffed solely by volunteers who had hung up their hats at noon, I was most impressed by the museum and enjoyed my walk through the grounds. At its height, the place had 22 buildings which included communal places like a galley, as well as smaller cabins for veterans and their wives to live in. It was made possible by a donation of land by Jefferson Manly Falkner (lord, what a southern name), and donations from others — including Union veterans, who directly paid for the “Blue and Grey Cottage”. Although there are no extant buildings from the original complex, there are still foundations present as well as parts of the water and gas infrastructure that made life possible and comfortable for the aging veterans. My visit coincided with Santa holding court in the old Mountain Creek post office and taking photos with kiddies. I’m including a few shots below, but this place was loaded with rifles, shotguns, and handguns. It’s really quite the collection, the best I’ve seen in Alabama. It’s still very rural, a place of streams and piny hills, and made for quite a nice mild hike into the woods.