Notasulga, AL

Notasulga straddles Macon and Lee counties in east-central Alabama, with most of the town in Macon County and the eastern side reaching into the Auburn metropolitan area. It began as Moore's Cross Roads, took its name from a nearby creek and a Muskogean word associated with the Bear clan, and gained a railroad connection in 1844. County roads lead toward Auburn, Tuskegee, and the farm country between them, so the county line is part of the town's daily geography.

ATTRRivers Langley / CC BY-SA 4.0

Zora Neale Hurston was born in Notasulga in 1891, and her return visits helped preserve local tales, songs, and memories that now connect the town to a much larger literary story. The present-day center is more practical: Town Hall on West Main handles municipal business, while homes, churches, small businesses, and county services fill out the streets. Notasulga has the scale of a rural Alabama town, but its two-county footprint and Hurston's legacy give the place a wider reach than its population suggests.