Stouts Road
Stouts Road was a north-south toll road from Gandy's Cove, North of Cullman in Morgan County to the Warrior River near Kimberly, from whence it joined with the Huntsville Road to Elyton and Montgomery. The road was developed by Abraham Stout in 1823 with the permission of the Alabama legislature. The extension to Tuscaloosa was approved in 1827.
A few sections of the road in Kimberly, Morris, Fultondale and Birmingham are still called Stouts Road. Other sections have been renamed or obscured. The Gardendale Historical Society has identified the historic road's route through that city and asked the Gardendale City Council to approve special signs marking its location.
Route
From Gandy's Cove the route is believed to have run through Cullman, around Stout Mountain, which is east of I-65 near Hanceville, and then across the Mulberry Fork at Baltimore, a frontier settlement at a ford in the river near I-65.
Kimberly
Stouts Road begins at U. S. Highway 31 in Kimberly about a half mile south of the Locust Fork bridge and continues through town to the South, connecting Kimberly to Morris.
Morris
As the route enters Morris it becomes 1st Avenue through the center of town before breaking off to the west south of Francis Street and paralleling Old Highway 31 to Reno Drive just short of Turkey Creek.
Gardendale
According to the Gardendale Historical Society, the historic route of Stouts Road paralleled the west side of what is now Highway 31 from Horse Branch Hill to Snow Rodgers Road (where a small section called Stouts Road connects Snow Rodgers to Edwards Cemetery Road. From there it bent back southwest and followed the current North Road, which becomes Moncrief Road as it crosses Mount Olive Road. A stagecoach stop was located where Moncrief meets Pinehurst Drive.
As it entered Gardendale proper the route followed the present Main Street and split off on a loop following the currently-discontinuous King Road and Jamestown Manor Drive. There is documentation that a toll booth was located at the Price Plantation in the vicinity of the present Rogers Building of Gardendale High School.
Fultondale
As Gardendale's Main Street enters into Fultondale the name of Stouts Road reappears, continuing south and making a jog to the east at Walker Chapel Road shortly before it rejoins Highway 31 just north of Whaley Road.
Birmingham
Another section of Stouts Road appears in Norwood south of Village Creek and running southeast toward F. L. Shuttlesworth Drive (formerly Huntsville Road).
References
- Martin, Wayne (July 23, 2008) "Gardendale, Alabama historians want historic road identified." Birmingham News