Eclectic, AL

Eclectic is an Elmore County town on Alabama State Route 170, about fifteen miles northeast of Wetumpka, the county seat, and just south of Lake Martin. Montgomery supplies the metro connection, but the local frame is Main Street, Route 170, the Fielder Municipal Complex, and the roads that lead toward the lake. Elmore County Public School System serves the town. Route 170 is the road that keeps Eclectic connected to the county seat and the lake country.

ATTRRivers Langley; SaveRivers / CC BY-SA 3.0

The name is the giveaway. Dr. M. L. Fielder founded Eclectic as a practitioner of eclectic medicine, and the first post office opened in 1879; the town incorporated in 1907. The current municipal page lists Aaron Park, Panther Palace, and the town baseball complex among the places the public works department maintains. That mix of an unusual name, medical history, and small-town facilities gives Eclectic a clear identity beyond its size. Put it between Wetumpka and Lake Martin, then remember the doctor whose practice supplied the name.