When I write fantasy stories, I don’t just make things up out of thin air. I look around me — at the rivers, the old towns, the stories passed down — and those pieces of history help me imagine new worlds. One of the places that inspires me most is right here in Marengo County, Alabama. Its past is full of adventure, struggle, and faith.
The First People of the Land
Long before Alabama was a state, this land was home to the Choctaw Nation. They lived, hunted, and built villages across west Alabama. Sadly, through treaties like the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830, the Choctaw were forced to leave their homelands and move west. Some stayed, but many had to walk away from the places their families had lived for generations.
As a writer, I think about what it means to lose a home, and how people hold on to hope even when life changes forever.
The French Dreamers and Their “City of the People”
In 1817, a group of French settlers came here after Napoleon’s defeat in Europe. They started what they called the Vine and Olive Colony, hoping to grow grapes and olives. They gave the town a name that means “City of the People” in Greek: Demopolis.
The vines and olives didn’t really take off, but their dream left behind towns with French names and stories about bravery and starting over.
Cotton, Canebrakes, and the Black Belt
Marengo County sits in Alabama’s Black Belt — land with rich, dark soil perfect for growing cotton. In the 1800s, huge cotton plantations covered the land. These farms depended on the labor of enslaved people, who actually made up the majority of the county’s population before the Civil War.
It’s a painful part of history, but also one of courage. Out of that suffering came strength, faith, and communities that still shape the county today.
The land itself also has a story — once, the Black Belt was filled with tall stands of native river cane, so thick it was called the Canebrake. Today, you’ll still see that name around.
Rivers that Carried Stories
If you stand on the white bluffs of Demopolis, you can see where the Black Warrior River meets the Tombigbee River. These rivers were like highways before cars and trains, carrying people, goods, and ideas. Locks and dams built later made them even more important for connecting rural towns to the wider world.
Whenever I imagine rivers in my books, I think about these waters and all the lives that have flowed beside them.
Hard Times and New Beginnings
After the Civil War, life in rural Alabama was tough. Families worked as sharecroppers, farming land they didn’t own. Later, the boll weevil destroyed cotton crops, forcing people to change what they grew. By the mid-1900s, new industries came: paper mills, timber, and even catfish farms that made Alabama famous across the country.
Rural life also changed with electricity. In the 1940s, power lines spread across Marengo County thanks to the Rural Electrification program. Suddenly, homes had lights and farms had machines that made work easier.
Why This History Inspires My Stories
When I think about Marengo County, I see a place where dreamers and exiles, farmers and families, rivers and forests have all left their mark. It’s a land shaped by hardship but also by resilience.
That’s what I want in my stories: worlds where characters face trials, but find faith, courage, and hope to carry them through. Just like the people who lived in rural Alabama before us.
A Reflection
History isn’t just something in books — it’s all around us. Every field, every river bluff, every small town has a story. And when we remember those stories, it helps us see how God has been at work through every season, bringing new life even after hard times.