Wedowee, AL

Wedowee is the Randolph County seat in east-central Alabama, on the Piedmont plateau where the foothills of the Appalachians begin. The 2020 census counted 737 residents. U.S. 431 runs through town, with the courthouse, county offices, schools, churches, small businesses, and local parks gathered around the main route. Lake Wedowee and the Tallapoosa River sit to the east, adding boating, fishing, and lake traffic to a town whose regular work is still county government and farm-country service.

ATTRRivers A. Langley; SaveRivers / CC BY-SA 3.0

The county seat moved to Wedowee in 1834, and early court sessions were held in Chief Wedowee's hut before a log courthouse went up in 1836. Fires destroyed later courthouses in 1896 and 1940; the present courthouse dates to 1941 and was built through a New Deal-era WPA project. The lake was created by the R.L. Harris Dam, and Flat Rock Park brings swimming, hiking, and picnicking into the local calendar. Wedowee's Christmas parade and Art on the Median add seasonal gathering points. It is a courthouse town whose older Creek name, newer lake, and county offices all remain visible.