Lake Martin — Attraction in Alexander City

Turns out, Alabama’s Lake Martin is built on the previous majority-Black town of Kowaliga. It is home to the first Black-owned railroad started by William E. Benson and the Black school Kowaligia Academic & Industrial Institute.

William is the son of John Benson, who was enslaved and then freed. He went on a journey to rescue his sister in Florida, who was separated during slavery, and they made their way back to Alabama. John purchased thousands of acres of land sold to Black families, where he formed a community.

William helped his dad expand the family business.

After William’s death and the closing of the school, Kowaligia was destroyed to make room for Lake Martin. Another black owned towned covered by water, Haunted ancestors will be claiming all who...

If you've never been it's an eye-opener. Hundreds of VERY nice homes on the shore. Plenty of islands and lots of woods left too. Really big lake with a convoluted shoreline. There are a number of marinas and some have restaurants. Vendors on shore and on pontoon boats sell everything from boiled peanuts to ice cream. Why? Because there's a MILLION boats crammed full of people here every weekend or holiday in warm weather. If you have a boat smaller than 20' its a real issue with waves, wakes and traffic. Very difficult to ski unless you get up early. Fishing not...

Lake Martin is a huge and beautiful manmade lake that is worth visiting in the state of Alabama. Even though the Lake is huge it doesn’t have a well structured public access beaches or facilities. I couldn’t come across any spot with seating/picnic areas or restrooms and many of the spots you find on google maps are restricted access or private properties. You can find several restaurants on the lake shore but it would be best experienced if you stay at a house on the lake. There is several boat rental places if you want to spend your time...