Zip City: Tourist Attraction

For those who complain that city fathers wish to turn Florence into a retirement community, you may now rejoice that the under thirty crowd has a new tourist mecca in Lauderdale County--Zip City. Yes, you read that correctly; the small unincorporated community just north of Florence has become a tourist destination in its own right.

Zip City, located at the intersection of Lauderdale 8 and Alabama 17, earned its name in the 1920s during the era of the noble experiment. A national ban on alcohol apparently meant less to our neighbors in Tennessee than it did to us more sedate Alabamians, but for those who did imbibe, a quick trip to the state-line bootlegger via what was then known as Chisholm Highway was in order.

According to Florence historian Bill McDonald, Alonzo Parker owned Parker's General Store during this era and became disgusted by the speeding traffic regularly passing his store. He began calling the community Zip City, and the moniker stuck.

For years Zip City was known for its western wear store, weekly antique auctions, and small out-of-the-way airport. Then in 2001, longtime resident Mike Cooley wrote the song "Zip City," and the Drive-By Truckers recorded it in 2002 for their Southern Rock Opera. The following lyrics have become something of a mantra for the group's many fans:

Zip City, it's a good thing that they built a wall around you.
Zip up to Tennessee, then back down to Alabama.

In a town that doesn't even boast a golf course, what more could you ask for?


For those who have asked, yes, our "Shoals" artwork is from a Drive-By Truckers' album.