Oakman, AL

Oakman sits in southwest Walker County, where the town's circular limits make it one of Alabama's unusual municipal shapes. William Byrd Day settled the area in 1862, when it was known as Day's Gap. The name changed to Oakman in 1895, honoring a Georgia Pacific Railroad engineer, and the railroad helped connect the town to the region's industries. The 2020 census counted 771 residents. U.S. 78 and the routes through southern Walker County tie Oakman to Jasper and the wider Birmingham region.

ATTRRelated names: Price, Virginia Barrett, transmitter; Birmingham Historical Society, contractor; Dennis, Christopher, field team; Howell, Brenda, field team; Jones, Bill, field team; Slaughter, Carol, field team; White, Marjorie Lee, field team; Benz, Sue, transmitter; Anderson, Richard K, delineator; White, Marjorie J, historian; Lowe, Jet, photographer / Public domain

School grounds carry a large share of the town's shared activity. Oakman High School and the elementary school sit within the Walker County system, and the high school campus includes an auditorium, science and computer spaces, and lighted baseball and softball fields. The school's history reaches back to a 1935 WPA building that was replaced in 2006. Recreation also extends into nearby water areas, where residents fish, boat, and swim. Oakman's present shape is easy to trace: a compact town, a school campus with playing fields, and roads running through a county landscape marked by the transportation lines that gave the place its start.