What to see and do near Pleasant Ridge
Alabama's beautiful Black Belt region is a band of fertile black soil that was ideal for raising cotton and became the hub of the antebellum Alabama's plantation economy. Once a center of slavery, it was a catalyst for the civil rights movement. Today, the Black Belt is the perfect place to explore Southern culture, history, civil rights, antebellum architecture, literature and food. We're happy to help you find your way and suggest great places to visit or eat. We're conveniently located near Gee's Bend and just an hour from Monroeville, home of To Kill a Mockingbird.
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Here are a few things that make Wilcox County worth the drive and worth a stay:
Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center in Camden is filled with the art and culture of our Black Belt region. This is a "must see" for any visitor.
Gee's Bend, directly across the river from Pleasant Ridge is one of the more photographed communities in all the region. During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) carefully studied and photographed this tiny isolated community. The Library of Congress has dozens of these images. You can browse them here. Today, most people know Gee's Bend for its quilts which have been exhibited in museums all over the world. We are just a short drive from the ferry across the Alabama River to Gee's Bend.
Black Belt Treasures guide to Gee's Bend.
More about Gee's Bend and its famous quilts.
Pecan on Broad in downtown Camden is a fascinating shopping and dining experience. It has become a destination for the region.
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Alabama Black Belt Adventures: Find more to do in the Black Belt, information on the Flavors of the Black Belt Trail as well as information on hunting, fishing, camping, birding, etc.
Wilcox County's Brittany House Antiques in the antebellum community of Oak Hill is the hot spot for antiques in the Black Belt.
Historic Structures in Wilcox County
Pleasant Ridge and Liberty Hall are the only historic homes in the county open to the public, but you can take a fascinating driving tour of other historic structures using the guide here.
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Liberty Hall remains one of the most unaltered antebellum mansions in the Black Belt. Tour this magnificent home with generations of family heirlooms and impressive one-of-a-kind plaster cornices. And don’t miss the mahogany sideboard from which General Lafayette was entertained during his 1825 tour of Alabama!
Monroeville and To Kill a Mockingbird
The Alabama Tourism Department suggests you make Gee's Bend and Monroeville a combo tour. The Monroe County Museum, in the historic courthouse that is the setting of the courtroom scenes in To Kill a Mockingbird, is the perfect place to learn about Harper Lee and her childhood friend and neighbor Truman Capote. Find out more here.
Explore the Black Belt
Rural Southwest Alabama and Alabama's Front Porches offer great guides for exploring the Black Belt. You may want to visit Selma for civil rights history and historic homes, Old Cahawba (Alabama's first capitol) and Demopolis to visit two remarkable plantation homes open to the public.
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Where to eat
We're happy to guide you in selecting from the dining options in our area. Or you can use this guide from the Wilcox County Chamber of Commerce.
Wilcox Historical Society
With a mission of preserving the history of Wilcox County, the society hosts one of Alabama's most popular annual homes tours.