Pleasant Groves, AL

Pleasant Groves sits on a narrow ridge extending from the Cumberland Plateau in western Jackson County. County Road 8 bisects the town, while the Paint Rock River runs through the valley to the northwest; Woodville and Skyline mark the directions at the foot and along the plateau. The town incorporated in 1993, and that recent municipal history sits inside a much older Appalachian landform.

ATTRBrian Stansberry / CC BY 4.0

Present-day town life is organized around the municipal park and community center. The park has a pavilion, playground, walking trail, volleyball and basketball courts; the community center's dining hall can be reserved for group activities and town celebrations, including annual Fourth of July and Labor Day events. Students attend Jackson County schools, with no public school inside town limits. Stephens Gap gorge and cave system lies just north, adding a recognizable geological feature to the ridge-and-valley map. The local read is a small Alabama town where one county road links plateau neighborhoods to a river valley and town services gather around shared spaces.