Alabama Department of Tourism, Mentone and B&B’s by John Dersham

We are very fortunate in Alabama to be an up and coming state in the area of tourism. When you think about tourism you often think about Orlando, Las Vegas, New York, Gatlinburg, New Orleans and the list goes on. People outside of Alabama have not traditionally thought of Alabama as a tourist state, until recent years. Tourism has become big business for our state. It is an enormous income generator and it produces jobs. Much of our success in recent years can be attributed to our State Director of Tourism, Lee Sentell and the Alabama Department of Tourism. Lee is a career tourism professional who was appointed by Governor Bob Riley in his first term. Lee has brought a lot to Alabama tourism through extensive advertising and by creating themed tourism related venues like “The Year of Alabama Food”, “The Year of Alabama Arts”, “The Year of Alabama Sports”, and now “The Year of Alabama History” and next year “The Year of Alabama Small Towns and Downtowns”. We have the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, the Birding Trails and a newly developed Wine Trail. All of these themed programs encourage tourism through a host of nationwide and worldwide adverting. They include extensive television and print ads including books and travel guides. Lee Sentell and the state Department of Tourism have won national recognition for their marketing and advertising plans. They have received top honors from various nationwide marketing organizations in the tourism industry. Lee loves DeKalb County and in an article published recently in the Birmingham News Lee was discussing tourism in Alabama and he mentioned that one of our true tourist gems in Alabama are the Bed and Breakfast Inns, in and around Mentone and the Lookout Mountain area.
Here is a little history…Mentone is a quaint mountain village on top of Lookout Mountain at an elevation of almost 2,000 feet. Mentone was founded by John Mason of New York City, who as a young man joined the U.S. Calvary and served a tour of duty in the Mid-West. In 1870, Mason moved his family to Mentone in hopes the pure mountain air would restore his ailing health. He lived until age 92. In 1884 Dr. Frank Caldwell from Pennsylvania whom was an associate of John Mason came to the yet unnamed Mentone destination because of the healing spring he heard about from Mason. Mason’s daughter Alice told of a news article she read talking about Queen Victoria having visited a place in France called Mentone. The article stated Mentone meant “Musical Spring”. Alice requested Dr Frank Caldwell, who was building a resort hotel at the healing springs, to name it Mentone Springs, thus the name Mentone. The Mentone Springs Hotel is the oldest hotel still standing in the state of Alabama. It is now a Bed and Breakfast Inn and has a restaurant called Caldwell’s in honor of Dr. Frank Caldwell. Other B&B’s in the Mentone area are Mountain Laurel Inn (recently featured on Alabama Public Television), Crystal Lake Lodge, Raven Haven, The Mentone Inn, The Antebellum Winston Place (c.1831 mansion) and The Secret. All of these locations offer there own special ambiance. They offer great breakfasts, scenic surroundings and wonderful hospitality from Inn Keepers who know the stories of the area and can give you all the information about where to go and what to do.
Alabama is still in its youth when it comes to tourism. This means we have many years of growth, of which, to look forward. DeKalb County and the Lookout Mountain area have always been tourist destinations dating back to our historical beginnings. With that said we are still unknown to many people inside our state and lesser known to those outside of our state. Everyday at our Tourist Information Center here in Fort Payne we hear our visitors tell us how beautiful our area is. They often seem surprised because they did not realize we had the mountains and the water falls and State Parks and the National Preserve with that beautiful deep canyon.
Thank you, Lee Sentell and the Alabama Department of Travel and Tourism for helping spread the word about our little niche of paradise.