Fort Payne, Alabama

**Fort Payne** is a city in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877. The city is the county seat of DeKalb County.  The city calls itself the "Official Sock Capital of the World."

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred here in 2003.

## Local Attractions

Fort Payne has the headquarters for the nearby Little River Canyon National Preserve, a 14000 acre National Park Service facility.  The canyon itself is at Lookout Mountain outside the city limits.  Another attraction is DeSoto State Park, a smaller facility with a lodge, restaurant, cabins, and river access areas.

## Education

Fort Payne is served by the Fort Payne City Schools system which includes:
- Wills Valley Elementary (K-2)
- Williams Avenue Elementary (3-4)
- Fort Payne Middle School (5-8)
- Fort Payne High School (9-12)

Fort Payne is also served by the Northeast Alabama Community College which is in Rainsville.

## Health care

- DeKalb Regional Medical Center- 134 bed facility

## Media

- Radio stations
    - WFPA-AM 1400 (News/Talk)
    - WZOB-AM 1250 (Country)
- Newspapers
    - _The Times-Journal_
    - _The DeKalb Advertiser_

## Transportation

- Interstate 59
- U.S. Highway 11
- Alabama State Route 35
- Norfolk Southern Railway
- Isbell Field (municipal airport)

## Notable natives and residents

- Miles C. Allgood (1878–1977), United States Congressman
- Jeff Cook,  Teddy Gentry, and Randy Owen, founders of the Country music band Alabama
- Lt. Gen. Duward Crow (1919–1997), Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, USAF and Associate Deputy Administrator, NASA
- Howard Finster (1916–2001), religious folk artist and Baptist minister
- Flock Family (NASCAR drivers)
    - Bob Flock (1918–1964)
    - Fonty Flock (1921–1972)
    - Tim Flock (1924–1998)
    - Ethel Mobley (1920–1984)
- Milford W. Howard, United States Congressman and writer
- Lt. Gen. Forrest S. McCartney(ret.), USAF and director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center
- Larry Nelson, professional golfer
- Philip Ober (1902–1982), actor
- Lilius Bratton Rainey (1876–1959), United States Congressman
- Ron Sparks, Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nominee
- Katherine Stinson, pioneer female pilot, fourth woman in the U.S. to become a licensed pilot

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Fort Payne, Alabama
- **settlement type**: City
- **image skyline**: Gault Ave, Fort Payne, Alabama April 2018 1.jpg
- **image caption**: U.S. Route 11#Alabama, Gault Avenue in downtown Fort Payne
- **image map**: File:DeKalb County Alabama Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Fort Payne Highlighted 0127616.svg
- **mapsize**: 250px
- **map caption**: Location of Fort Payne in DeKalb County, Alabama.
- **nickname**: Official Sock Capital of the World
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in Alabama, County
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision name1**: Alabama
- **subdivision name2**: DeKalb County, Alabama, DeKalb
- **established date**: 1889
- **area total km2**: 147.01
- **area total sq mi**: 56.76
- **area land km2**: 146.09
- **area land sq mi**: 56.41
- **area water km2**: 0.92
- **area water sq mi**: 0.35
- **elevation ft**: 1079
- **population as of**: 2020 United States Census, 2020
- **population total**: 14877
- **population density km2**: 102
- **population density sq mi**: 264
- **timezone**: Central Time Zone (North America), Central (CST)
- **utc offset**: -6
- **timezone dst**: CDT
- **utc offset dst**: -5
- **postal code type**: ZIP code
- **postal code**: 35967-35968
- **area code**: Area code 256, 256
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 01-27616
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS feature ID
- **blank1 info**: 2403645
- **unit pref**: Imperial