Foley History
The City of Foley's founder and namesake John B. Foley originally purchased 50,000 acres of land in 1902 to expand the railroad in the area. He became an instrumental part in the creation of an efficient railway system that would be used to transport both people and produce or other merchandise. The first train station was completed in 1909 and was the center of the city's activity for approximately 60 years and was part of the L&N (Louisville and Nashville) Railroad. The original build of the station burned before 1909 but it was rebuilt and is the same building that now acts as the Foley history museum.
The original railroad in Baldwin county belonged to the Bay Minette and Fort Morgan Railroad company until it was leased to The Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company. The track was a standard gauge track that stretched 36.5 miles from Bay Minette to Foley with stops in Loxley and Summerdale (as shown to the left).
Foley was the hub of the railway because of their warehousing and shipping of local farms. Their main exports were potatoes and cotton. The agricultural part of Foley's heritage is still very strong and Foley is full of farm land.
In 2005, the Foley History museum added an extra building to their museum that houses a large model train exhibit that is 60 by 20 feet. It includes 84 model trains and many model building of some buildings that actually exist or existed in Foley. It is full of automated cars and model people in or near the buildings.
They also have several actual train cars that you can explore and a small train for kids to ride around the park on. All in all, this is an amazing museum with a cute little park that has a clock tower and a fountain plus a rose trail to walk on. Foley is a cute town that would be very good for a day trip as they also have an old soda shop called Stacy's that offers diner food, Ice cream, and more. Foley is one of my favorite cities in Baldwin County, I hope you get the chance to visit it.
Click the button below to visit Foley's official website!