We took Bay Springs for granted. There were plans to create a waterway connecting the Tennessee River and the Tombigbee River as far back as Andrew Jackson's day. I never thought it would happen...until January 1974. Ken Christian and I drove out there and took photos of the old masonic lodge, lover's leap, the Gin Branch diversion ditch, and the first timber clearing north of highway 4. The next time I thought about Bay Springs was Christmas 1977 when John Hanley suggested to me that we should document the construction of this huge project photographically. Then in 1982 John and I actually began exploring and photographing the area from highway 30 to highway 4 on a regular basis for the next couple of years. It is now 2007 and I am compelled to make something out of the maps, photos, and stories that we collected. Feel free to correct me or add to this evolving project. The above illustration by William Hampton Adams shows the locations of archaeological sites at Bay Springs. Willie Weeks
Bay Springs 1974
Bay Springs 1982
Bay Springs 1983
Bay Springs 1984
Bay Springs 2008
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