Foley, Ala. – (OBA) – Foley residents and visitors will get the chance to explore more than 100 years of local history this April during guided walking tours of the city’s historic downtown.

Foley is one of over 20 Alabama cities hosting these tours every Saturday in April.

The free tours in Foley will showcase historic parts of the city that date back to the early 1900s. Each tour will start at the Foley Welcome Center, located at the corner of Alabama 59 and U.S. 98.

The Welcome Center building was the site of the Foley Public Library from 1927 until 1984. The building was expanded and remodeled in 1962. The South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce later had its offices in the building before the structure became the city Welcome Center in 2013.

The tour will continue to the L&N Railroad Depot next to the Welcome Center. The depot was built in 1909, replacing a 1905 station that burned down in 1908. The depot was a center of South Baldwin commerce and travel for more than 60 years. The restored building is now a city museum.

Other highlights of the tours will include Centennial Plaza, the Holk Building, Magnolia Hotel, the Holmes Medical Museum – the site of Baldwin County’s first hospital, Foley Hotel building, Foley Bakery building, where the Colt Grill opened earlier this year, and other historic sites in the downtown area.

The tours begin at 10 a.m. and last about one hour. The walks cover about five city blocks and are conducted by local community members.

The first tour on April 5 will be conducted by retired Baldwin County Probate Judge Tim Russell, who was Foley’s mayor from 1996 until 2006, and his wife, Sandy, a retired long-time teacher at Foley High School. 

Other tours will be conducted on April 12, 19 and 26.

The Alabama Department of Tourism organizes the tours around the state each year. Alabama is the only state to conduct simultaneous statewide tours.

For more information about the Foley walking tours, call 251-943-1200.