- [Announcer] This program is supported by grants from the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation, The Steiner Foundation, and the Alabama Wildlife Federation, working for wildlife since 1935.

"Discovering Alabama" is a production of the Alabama Museum of Natural History.

(no audio) (gentle music) - Newcomers to Alabama are often amazed at finding a land of so much beauty, of so much natural wonder, (water trickling) and often, they're surprised to discover that Alabama has impressive mountains.

(hawk screaming) Wherever there are impressive mountains, there likely are some grand valleys, and wherever impress mountains are joined with grand valleys, likely, there also flow some glorious waters, (water trickling) (gentle music continues) sometimes through woods and wilds of untrammeled nature.

In Alabama, one such special collusion of nature is found in a place not far from the thoroughfares of the modern world, and yet still quite removed from the hurried pace of the modern world.

(lid clanks) (gentle music continues) (insects buzzing) I'm Doug Phillips.

Join me for a visit to Alabama's Chandler Mountain, a peaceful world of Alabama nature and Alabama history that remains undisturbed by the rush and the clatter of the hurried world.

(gentle music) This program is about a land unknown to many people, a land that in many ways has maintained its native nat wonders, a place of bountiful backcountry, forests, streams, and wildlife more diverse than can be found in much of the inhabited world.

Come along with me as we explore the wild wonders of this land.

Come along as we discover Alabama.

(no audio) (insects buzzing) - Welcome to "Discovering Alabama," and welcome to Alabama's Chandler Mountain, and in the big valley over there, Big Canoe Creek.

In the valley over here, Little Canoe Creek, and all around in this area, a great variety of Alabama's natural appeal.

I've long enjoyed a sense of friendship for this place, having been raised not far from here and I share with local folks the deep appreciation they feel for the area, best expressed in their own words.

- My grandparents started up here.

They revered it as nearly a holy land.

- It's everything we've ever known, everything we've ever done.

Most of everybody at farms here, it's family ties for generations and generations and there's just no place like home.

- Chandler Mountain's a really good community.

Everybody's like family.

Our neighbors are like our family.

We've known 'em so long and everybody cares for one another.

(bird chirping) (insects buzzing) - The sunrise and the sunsets and you can see rain from just coming across the valley and lightning.

The weather sounds different up here.

You're up in the clouds and you hear the thunder.

When I moved to the valley, it's just, it's different.

(birds chirping) - I love nature.

I'm a forestry major, and so I just naturally love trees and nature.

I planted this tree, believe it or not, so I've watched, and that tree.

I've watched several of my trees grow up to be adults and my brother is buried here and all my horses and dogs and cats, and so, to me, my family is right here.

(insects buzzing) (birds chirping) - Chandler Mountain is a plateau mountain, so it's more of a flat top.

So, you drive up the mountain, it's very vertical, and when you get to the top, it's basically flat and you can drive from one side to the other fairly easily, but there are caves, there are springs.

Chandler Mountain is known for the springs and its water that's in the ground, because it's such a pure area.

- What actually brought me to this mountain is the rock climbing and the recreational activities, which of course, are closely tied to the topography and the stone structure.

If you start on the south end of the mountain, where Horse Pens 40 is situated, you have large sloper-style boulders and a lifetime of rock climbing there.

That place was used prior to corral horses, as it is named, and as you come around the mountain, you have Chandler Mountain Lake, which brings water from the top of the mountain all the way down through the canyon, Gulf Creek Canyon, Jake Creek converge, and then they ultimately feed Big Canoe Creek, which is one of the larger, more popular paddling rivers in Alabama.

- Of course, the mountain's topography and array of natural features are largely due to the mountain's particular geology.

- A lot of it's the region.

It's one mountain in itself.

It's not like a lot of your other mountains that's like just chains that's attached to each other.

It's basically one plateau by itself.

It's about eight miles long, couple miles wide and it's also one of the oldest mountains that there is around, too.

Just the formation of it's different than all the other mountains nearby.

(insects buzzing) (birds cing) - The geology is interesting, because it's related to the creation of the Appalachian Mountains, which began to form about 500 million years ago and ended up about 300 million years ago.

These rocks have been affected by mountain building, and so there's been some downwarping and upturning of the rock units.

Even though the rocks are downturned, the upper most rock unit is very resistant to weathering and that's the Pottsville sandstone.

Because the pottsville sandstone is the cap rock of Chandler Mountain, it's very permeable being a sandstone.

So, rain, when it hits that unit, soaks through it, and then it hits the next unit under the sandstone, which is a shale.

It's called the Parkwood or Floyd Shale and the water cannot soak through shale.

It's very impermeable, so it has to go sideways and what happens is that water then forms springs at the edge, at the contact between the Pottsville and the underlying shales.

Now, that spring water is a wonderful pure water source for watering crops.

- [Doug] Another thing about Chandler Mountain geology is the upper layer of sandstone contributes to a sandy soil, especially suitable for tomato crops.

- A lot of it's the climate.

Being up on a mountain, you get the taller elevation, so you have the cooler temperatures.

The majority of it's the dirt, the soil, the soil type.

It has to be a real sandy soil and Chandler Mountain's just very unique for just that perfect mixture of all that.

- Not only is this place so rich in natural qualities, it's a setting rich in evidence of human presence going way back.

- There are several locations of what is believed to be native burial mounds.

We have long-running stacked walls on different parts of the mountain.

Down in the bottom on the north end, there's a wall that's about 2,000 feet.

There are on the mountain examples of what are believed to be pre-woodlands pictographs.

It's a red ochre panel that's about 10 feet by 30 feet.

- You're talking sites that aren't just hundreds of years old.

Some of these are thousands of years old.

You're talking a deep rich history here of indigenous people that is well documented through rock formations, through cave art and things along those lines and also a rich oral history, and then once Europeans came here and paper became a thing, there's documents, as well, to support that from then on, as well.

- And speaking of the past, around this area occurred some of the most notable events and stories cited in Alabama history books.

- What I've come to learn is that this area is very steeped in history from modern times all the way back to pre-woodlands Native American habitations.

There's layers of native history, layers of artifacts and activity that spans basically all the way back to the beginning of recorded history and was very involved during the Indian relocation with Andrew Jackson.

He circumnavigated the mountain, was involved with both the Choctaw and the Creeks at the time.

(grass crunching) (birds chirping) - And this is a place of where territories met and what I mean by that is this is a place where many tribes have ancestral ties to this area.

This was a place where the Cherokees, the Chickasaws, and the Muskogean people, we all come together here.

- With the Civil War, this mountain was not homesteaded until...

I saw where somebody said 1848 was the first person up here, but I've also seen 1855.

So, here, we had the valley here in front of us was all homesteaded in cultivation, but this was a wild place up here, still virgin timber and they said bears and panthers and and such up here and people would come up here hunting.

So, here comes the Civil War and these were very independent people who lived around the foot of this mountain and there were a number of them who did not wanna fight for the...

They didn't take up the Confederate cause.

There were like 25 people in this area right here who joined the Union Army.

People here respect in the past what happened here in the past and there's these stories that they carry forth with them, too.

So, to me, that's very important to know where you came from.

and you see what we have here is just a natural, a place of nature here.

(insects buzzing) - The mountain, the natural richness, the history, all are reflected in the culture of this place today.

(bird squawks) - It's an old-fashioned feeling here.

I feel safe, I feel loved.

It's just a lovely place to be and the people are fabulous.

- [Resident] Hardworking farmers that's been passed down three generations.

Granddaddy did it, daddy did it.

Now, I'm doing it.

(birds chirping) - To me, it's good that we're carrying on our parents' legacy.

They started it with 20 to 30 acres at first growing, and now, we do about 120 acres in tomatoes.

We just watched them work hard all of our lives to build this business and it's just nice to be able to carry on that legacy and pass it on to our children.

- The people up here are more of a laid back variety.

We leave me alone and we'll all get along, you know?

(engine purring softly) - Now, there's one thing about Chandler Mountain that adds a little kick to being laid back and that's the music.

(bluegrass music) Whether a big show at Horse Pens 40 or just some old friends gathering to play a few tunes, the tradition of bluegrass music sort of brings together local nature, history, and culture resoundingly.

(bluegrass music continues) ♪ I'm gonna leave me Chandler Mountain ♪ ♪ Where they have that jamboree ♪ ♪ I'm gonna leave me Horse Pens 40 ♪ ♪ That's where I long to be ♪ - The first time I went there, I was so impressed with some folks.

There was some local folks that I'd heard of all my life that played music there, and then, well, for instance, when I seen the Lester Flatt Band, the Lester Flatt and the Nashville Grass, and some of those things stick in my mind, and today, they're a lot more important than they were when I was a kid, but things like that made me grow to love music.

(person vocalizing) (bluegrass music) (person vocalizing) (bluegrass music continues) - During the history of Horse Pens 40, Mr. Musgrove started the events here.

He had a dream to preserve the Appalachian Bluegrass music.

He brought in some of the biggest stars, Bill Monroe, the king of Bluegrass, Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs, who started here as a young man.

Emmylou Harris played her early performances here.

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs played here.

Every big name bluegrass person that you can imagine has played here in the past.

It has wonderful acoustics.

It has a wonderful background.

Once you get up here, you're in a very special place and that's why they came.

- [Doug] While local folks have long delighted in the appeal of bluegrass, the mountain itself evokes a symphonic charm of its own.

(inspiring music) (inspiring music continues) (inspiring music continues) (inspiring music continues) (inspiring music continues) All things together, local folks would say this Chandler Mountain area is a special haven, providing opportunity for a lifestyle and the quality of life they prefer.

- For me, it's just being out in this environment, being in the woods and really living in the woods.

We can walk right out the door, right off the porch, and we're in the woods and that was really something that was important to both of us to be close to nature, and then our daughter came along and it was even more important, and now, it's important for us to spend this time here with her and let her get to enjoy being in the woods.

- But the question is, how long can it remain free from the kinds of disruptive land offering changes that can come with the ever-spreading growth and development in our world today?

Already, this rural part of the state can see the reach of new growth extendout from urban centers and already, the mountain itself has been in the target zone of a proposed development with the potential to significantly alter the area, a development involving some major new dam building and reservoir construction, something many locals did not welcome.

- When I got this letter, I started calling my neighbors and I said, "Listen, we've gotta get together and do something about this."

But I can't tell you how many people said, "There's nothing we can do about it.

It's the power company.

There's nothing we can do about it."

- The concept was almost insulting, because the expectation would be that then there would be more development here.

In addition to flooding half the top of the mountain and destroying Little Canoe Creek, it just meant that it's like robbing from the future for children, for our children, and the future of this mountain, which is a unique piece of natural history, does not need to be spoiled and does not need extreme development.

Whereas we've seen Birmingham and Atlanta expand to almost taking over each state.

There needs to be places that are protected.

There's no better example, in my opinion, in Alabama than a place like this that should be.

- We come from this land.

Many of us have deep roots to this place, whether you're indigenous or not.

Many people have called this area home for a long time now.

With the Chandler Mountain dam project, you're talking consequences to the land, to ecological features, historical features, and to just the local community, as well, and unfortunately, we as indigenous people very much know what that's like, but now, other people are finding out what that's like, too, and so I hope that through our unfortunate common ground we have now found of what it's like to be in fear of losing your land, of losing your home, let's talk about that and let's realize what we have in common and let's work together.

- It would've probably took at least 1/3 of the production off of Chandler Mountain.

Of course, it would've took homes away.

It would've took generational property away and I understand progress, I understand things have to be done.

I just don't think it was the necessary thing to be done here, to take away what's been so historic, and not just that, but so important, being food, being something that everybody has to have.

I just feel like there's other opportunities for 'em to gain that power somewhere else.

- Of course, in today's world, as populations are increasing and as development spreads, also comes the demand to support this growth by providing reliable sources of electricity, which was an aim of the Alabama Power Project, but as it so happened, the plans for their impoundment project were canceled.

- And I think they understood that the people wereinst this and I appreciated that and I wrote them a thank you note.

- So, for now, local worries have been put at ease, but concerns remain about possible impacts that could come with changes in the future.

- I am terrified that industry will take over.

It's so lovely to live here now and everybody wants growth, growth, growth, of course, but I feel like we have to be so careful with our environment, with our history, with our archeology and I think people just don't think about that.

They're always just thinking about money.

- The biggest threat to Chandler Mountain is development, either industrial or suburban sprawl.

Growth is a natural part.

It is what it is, but are we doing it in the best methods?

Are we, are we fostering this growth through ways that are truly beneficial to our communities?

Or are we just doing it to do it?

And that's the biggest threat to the rural way of life in Alabama.

- Well, I'm a nature person and there's so much here, like the native trees and native plants and animals.

I think some of it has to be protected.

I mean, we can't lose all this.

It's just... (birds chirping) (insects buzzing) Okay, I am about to get emotional.

- Well, there has to be an equilibrium between progress and saving what we have been given on this earth.

There has to be thought put into it and I don't think a lot of people think about that.

- I've said for many, many years, anyone that ever wanted to do something to this mountain, all they need to do is go sit here.

Either sit over the canyon and listen to the creek, sit on the edge of the bluffs and take on the view.

It has a voice, and sometimes, when it's threatened, it can't speak for itself, and so we have to be the good steward of the land.

We have to be the people that stand up and say that this is acceptable or this is not and when people don't make a point and don't stand for what they believe in, it erodes our foundation and our core, our grounding, if you will.

It takes it and lessens it.

- If we lost this area, this mountain, these valleys, (birds chirping) it would just be a tremendous theft from our children.

We, and I think especially as Alabamians, we get caught up so much in being a dutiful descendant that we forget to be a good ancestor and to set aside and preserve things for the next generations.

- Such are the sentiments of those who know and love Chandler Mountain, but don't get the wrong impression.

These are people who fully recognize that Alabama's growth and development over the decades have been very beneficial.

It's just that now, questions arise about some of the ways our world is changing today and questions about how much more environmentally disruptive change is desirable for the future.

(inspiring music) And as we consider the mountain's future, as we consider Alabama's future, maybe these Chandler Mountain folks bring a timely reminder for us.

There are important values associated with our state's natural heritage and cultural heritage that should be protected if we wish an Alabama future undesecrated by environmental losses from an ever-sprawling and hurried world.

(inspiring music continues) - I think it's a blessing that we don't have to worry about outside intervention right now.

Mountain's always been a place where you could unwind, don't have to worry about too much, know all your neighbors.

We feel peaceful right now.

It's pretty good up here.

(birds chirping) (uplifting music) (birds chirping) (water trickling) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (people clapping) - [Musician] Thank you.

- [Announcer] "Discovering Alabama" is produced in partnership with Alabama Public Television.

"Discovering Alabama" is a production of the Alabama Museum of Natural History.

(no audio) This program is supported by grants from the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation, the Steiner Foundation, and the Alabama Wildlife Federation, working for wildlife since 1935.