Seeing things from a very different view
Story by Linda Long
Contributed photos
Sounds of a different sort fill downtown Gadsden streets these days.
The clip clop, clip clop of horseshoes against pavement, lend a staccato hoofbeat keeping a brisk pace this winter’s day.
Wheels on the jaunty orange-fringed carriage provide tickety-tick clicks on the hard surface. An occasional neigh and a whinny are appropriate sounds to take this scene straight to what could be another era.
It’s a scene that brings a smile to Gadsden businessman and former state Rep. Mack Butler’s face. He is the mover and shaker behind Historic Gadsden Carriage Tours, an idea which he says came to him as he toured other cities.
“In our travels, we love to visit historic cities, and we always take carriage rides if they’re available because you get such a unique perspective of the city, the ambience and the history. It’s just a passion of mine.”
He figured Gadsden would be a “perfect” city to offer such an attraction. “Here, we’ve got this unique history. We live in this beautiful historical town.”
Gadsden began in the 1840s as a stagecoach stop called Double Springs.
“Life was along the river. So, I kept reaching out to other people to try to get them to start this,” said Butler. “I kept on trying to get somebody else to do it.”
When there were no takers, Butler decided to take on the project himself. He reached out to friends, Emery and Emily Williamson, who run an animal farm in Cherokee County called Feathered Friends Cockatoo and Horse Sanctuary.
He asked if they would be interested in partnering with him and according to Butler, “they jumped at the chance. They have about 50 or 60 horses and know how to handle them. So, that’s how we got rolling. “
Butler is renovating a downtown building which he says is a perfect place to park carriages. “The Williamsons can trailer their horses here, hook them up, and we’re ready to tour.”
Perhaps the stars of the show are the four-legged critters who are often the main attraction, especially when children are passengers — Mr. Smack and Miss Betty.
“Mr. Smack is a horse from Amish country and Miss Betty is a mule,” he said.
They alternate pulling the carriage though Mr. Smack goes on most tours.
The carriage tour follows a route along Chestnut, Broad and Locust streets.
“We’ve done history tours and the carriage tours (and most recently Christmas tours), but the thing we get the most requests for is the ghost tour,” said Butler. “We pick you up and take you to as many spots as we can in 30 minutes, and we tell you the haunted history of Gadsden. We take you to what was originally the county jail and of course, there was the first execution there. That gentleman is rumored to haunt the building.”
Butler said the site of a Confederate hospital and cemetery are also on the tour. “The cemetery is said to be very haunted.”
Another stop, the Phoenix Hotel, was supposed to have been the site of “a grisly murder. I’ve had people tell me about the ghost they see there. We have a number of stops like that.”
There’s one building on the tour, he continued, that back in the 1800s used to be a hotel. Another, a house of ill repute and across the street was the medical clinic where they took care of the ladies of the evening.
“We have a very colorful past,” he added, “which makes for a great ghost tour as we offer these rides.”
Butler says he personally has never actually seen a ghost, “but I have talked to a number of people here in town that are well respected. They tell me they have actually seen ghosts in some of these buildings.”
According to Butler, the carriage rides complement what is already going on in downtown Gadsden. “We’re in total transformation now as the new administration (Mayor Craig Ford) is focusing on all the positive attributes we have that have not been utilized. There’s talk of creating green space and a new river walk. I’ve never before seen the spirit of cooperation we have right now between city and county and state. Everybody is holding hands and pushing in the same direction.”
Gadsden Economic Development Director John Moore agrees, saying the city is moving toward becoming “a destination spot, where visitors come to stay for a long weekend. That’s what we’re working on. The Falls (Noccalula Falls) gets 350 to 400 thousand visitors a year. We want to bring those visitors downtown. So, when people leave the Falls, they come right to the downtown area. They grab a a drink. They go out to eat. They shop at downtown shops on Broad Street, and then they go out and utilize the riverfront development,” which he said will include a boutique hotel.
“We’ve got amazing hiking trails. We’ve got rock climbing. We’ve got mountain biking, pretty much anything you want when it comes to outdoor enthusiasts,” Moore said. “So, I think you’re going to be seeing more people coming to Gadsden to enjoy those types of things, and the carriage rides are just something that’s going to entice more people to come into downtown.
“The Mayor and I did the carriage ride for Halloween. To go through Gadsden and get told some ghost stories and some stories of the different buildings in the city was pretty cool. They also had a Headless Horseman that chased you down Chestnut Street. I thought that was great,” Moore said.
“We never did see a ghost,” he laughed, “but I think you might see one next year. They’ve got some plans coming up.”
Plans call not only for the ghost tour, but across the board. According to Butler, “Looking to the future, we’re thinking maybe about Valentine’s and Valentine tours. Or a tour where we shuttle you out to dinner. Or maybe tours associated with prom season.”
The number of carriages and horses they have “is still to be determined based on demand. Of course, we’ll be willing to step up our game if the demand is there. Right now, it’s just a community that’s been booking the tours but down the road, with the new hotel and its rooftop bar and all kinds of neat stuff, I see Gadsden becoming like a Franklin,Tennessee, a town where they have festivals all the time and a lot of trendy shops and eateries.”
Editor’s Note: Tours are all weather dependent. Cost is $25 per person for a 30-minute ride. The carriages hold four people.
