Noccalula Falls Park

Noccalula Falls

Noccalula Falls Park^[p] is a 250-acre (101-ha) public park located in Gadsden, Alabama (USA).

The falls are located on land once owned by R.A. Mitchell, who gave the site to the city of Gadsden, so that the area could be improved, and everyone could enjoy the majestic falls. Across the street from the falls you will find R.A. Mitchell Elementary School, named in his honor. The main feature of the park is a notable 90-foot (27-m) waterfall with a gorge trail^[1] winding through its basin and past caves, an aboriginal fort, an abandoned dam, pioneer homestead, and Civil War carvings. The park also features a petting zoo, mini-golf course, the Gilliland-Reese Covered Bridge (built 1899) and a replica 1863 C. P. Huntington train ride. It was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on May 12, 1976.^[2]

The Noccalula Falls Botanical Gardens is an extensive botanical garden displaying over 25,000 azaleas.

Statue and Legend

Noccalula Falls at a lower ebb in July 1975

Noccalula Falls, which drops into the Black Creek ravine, is marked with a bronze statue^[1] of Cherokee princess Noccalula who, according to local legends, plunged to her death after being ordered by her father to marry a man she didn't love. The bronze statue of Noccalula was, at the time of its creation, the first statue of a person jumping off a cliff. The bronze used in the statue was made from pennies collected from local school children in the mid-1960s.

Although no peer-reviewed historic journals have evaluated the veracity of the legend, at least one independent researcher^[3] has published evidence suggesting that the story is apocryphal.

See also

• Natural Bridge, Alabama
• List of botanical gardens in the United States

References

[p] - The word "Noccalula" is pronounced as "Nock-cah-loo-lah".

1. ^ ^{a b} "The World's Longest Yard Sale", Peter Greenberg, AARP Magazine, May 2009, webpage: AARP-yardsale.
2. ^ "Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks & Heritage". Alabama Historical Commission. www.preserveala.org. May 31, 2011. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5zFoCCAPl. Retrieved 6 June 2011. 
3. ^ "The Truth About Noccalula Falls", February 2011, webpage: [1]

External links

• Noccalula Falls Park official Website

Coordinates: 34°02′29″N 86°01′17″W / 34.04149°N 86.02128°W / 34.04149; -86.02128 May 12, 1976