Canoe, Alabama

Canoe is a small community in Escambia County, Alabama, USA. Originally called "Canoe Station", the settlement was a stop along the Mobile and Great Northern Railroad.

Civil War

During the American Civil War, Confederate forces operated out of the area and on March 27-March 28 1865 10,000 Union (American Civil War) forces camped in Canoe during the Canoe Rendezvous. During this 24 hour period several Union commanders brought together their forces which had been operating in the area and then moved on towards Blakely, Alabama. Gen. C.C. Andrews mentions this period in his book, "History of the Campaign of Mobile".

Prosperity and decline

The settlement grew into a town and prospered from the 1870s-1950s. New settlers came during the 1880s-early 1900s in search of cheap, cut over timberland on which to build homes and farms. The town was the site of 3 schools, a mineral spring, and a hotel, among other businesses. By the 1960s, Canoe was in an economic decline as store keepers aged, closed up shop, and as younger people moved from the town. The post office and public schools closed by the 1970s.

Present day

Today Canoe, Alabama has a population of several hundred with a half dozen shops and businesses, a private school, and a water system.