Ashford, AL

Ashford is a city in southeast Houston County whose story is tied to a railroad depot that outlasted a town fire. The Alabama Midland Railway built the depot in 1888 as a waystation on the Bainbridge-to-Montgomery line, and Ashford incorporated in 1891. When fire destroyed most of the town in 1915, the depot was the only building left standing. Cotton, turpentine, pulpwood, and fertilizer moved through its sidings over the years, giving the place a working connection to the surrounding farms and timber country.

ATTRThe Bushranger / CC BY-SA 4.0

Today the Alabama Midland Railroad Depot and Museum stands downtown, while U.S. 84 runs through the southern part of town toward Dothan and the Chattahoochee River. Houston County Schools serve Ashford Elementary and Ashford High School, whose Yellow Jackets are known as Buzz. City recreation fields behind the high school host baseball, softball, soccer, and basketball. Ashford's map is compact: depot and downtown at the center, highway to the south, schools and fields nearby, and the Georgia line about twelve miles away.