Horse Pens 40 has a very rich human history that dates back to the earliest occupation of this area, with up to 15,000 years of human habitation and approximately 8,000 years of nearly constant use. The first humans to see the mountain would have considered it a huge fortress that could provide them protection, shelter, food, and water, throughout the year. There are numerous springs and streams all throughout the park. Many of the people who first came to this area lived under the overhangs along the streams at certain times of the year. They considered the ancient naturally carved rock formations to be unique and very special, the perfect place for their ceremonies and sacred rituals. Many times during the year they would climb the mountain to hold their ceremonies in the huge natural amphitheater or in the area next to the Big Horse Pen, known today as "the stone fort". Inside the stone fort is the Thunderbird rock, which was very sacred to some of the early Indian tribes, and is believed by some to be the origin of the chipped stone bird fetishes found throughout the Southeastern US.

     Our Spring Powwow continues an 8,000 to 10,000 year old tradition of ceremonial spring festivals here. Since it is a natural stone fortress atop a fortress-like mountain, it was used by the Native Americans as a protected village and ceremonial area for thousands of years. There are living and working areas as well as burial areas dating back to the Paleo (pre- Stone Age-12,000+ years ago) and Archaic (early Stone Age-10,000 years ago) periods up to more recent times throughout the park. We also have what may be the only remaining example in the United States of an ancient leaching pit that has seen actual historical use. It was used to remove the tannic acid from acorns and hickory nuts in order to render them edible for making meal for bread. This is an ancient high-volume food processing area that could produce about 150 lbs. of edible meal every day or so.

     (NOTE: While we encourage the use of the park for recreational, historical, nature study, and educational purposes, all areas of the park are strictly protected under Federal law as well as closely guarded by our family against looting, vandalism, and destruction. We allow no digging, artifact hunting or removal, or any disturbing of the ground, rocks, plants, or animals at any time. We have several rare and endangered species of plants, animals, and birds, as well as many unique rock formations throughout the park and all are strictly and strongly guarded and protected at all times.)

     In more recent times, it was constantly used and fought over by the Creek and Cherokee tribes and the only peace treaty ever made between the Creeks and the Cherokees was signed on this property. Some of the cleared fields in the park are known as "Cherokee old fields" due to their having been cleared and used for growing crops by the Native Americans. During the Cherokee removal (known as the Trail of Tears) many Cherokee left their homes and came here to hide from the military and civilian forces that were hunting and pursuing them. Some later settled in the rough and remote hill country nearby, eventually marrying into the local families, and even today many of their descendants still live in the nearby hills.

     Later during the War of Northern Aggression, it was used by the locals to hide their horses, children, and valuables from both the Northern troops as well as the Confederates. After the Confederates discovered it, it was used as a supply depot, staging area, and Home Guard outpost. (The Home Guard was mostly comprised of local young boys, older men, and others generally deemed physically unfit for service in the regular Confederate Army). Supplies stored in the Confederate Canyon area of the park were used by Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and his troops in their pursuit of the Yankee raiders under Gen. Abel Straight. (The 16-year-old heroine, Emma Sansom, aided Gen. Forrest in the hotly contested crossing of nearby Black Creek, enabling him to continue his pursuit.) Gen. Forrest, with only 420 poorly mounted and ill-equipped men, doggedly pursued and finally surrounded the 1,640 Union raiders under Gen. Straight, forcing the Union general to surrender himself and his entire command not far from here. This saved the city of Rome, Georgia (with its arsenals and stores of important war supplies) from destruction.

     A small skirmish also occurred near here between the Home Guard and a large local gang of notorious "bushwhackers" and outlaws known as The Springfield Gang. The gang, numbering up to 60 or more at times, attempted to steal an entire wagon train loaded with supplies and ammunition that had been stored here at Horse Pens. Capt. Joshua Smith and 42 men of the Home Guard drove off the outlaw gang, delivered the wagon train intact, and are said to have killed 13 of the bushwhackers while losing none of their own men.

    Later years brought the moonshiners and the outlaws who used the remoteness of the area to conceal their activities. There are two known outlaw hideouts in the park, while many of the rock shelters would have provided perfect hiding places for anyone who did not wish to be found. One of the hideouts, said to have been used by the famous Alabama outlaw Rube Burrow whenever he was in the area, contains a stable area connected by hidden passages to a room with a viewing port and a stone door escape route.

     A young couple named John and Hattie Hyatt finally settled on this land during the late 1800's. He came from Georgia with his 'stolen wife', a horse, and all his earthly possessions in a flour sack. Looking for a place of refuge, the Horse Pens was a natural choice. Years later, he filed on the property, referring to it as "the home 40, the farming 40, and the horse pens 40, each tract containing 40 acres of land". This is how Horse Pens 40 got its name. This is one of the last homesteads filed in the state of Alabama. The land patent and original title was actually signed by the President of the United States. (Actually, the signatures of two U.S. presidents turned up on documents pertaining to the title during the title search)

     In the 1950's, a newspaper reporter named Warren Musgrove came to do a story on the tomato farming on the mountain, and was told of the magnificent wonder of nature located nearby. While exploring the ancient stone fortress, he noticed the natural amphitheater in the rocks, and got the idea to put on bluegrass festivals, country food fairs, and craft shows here. This was one of the first outdoor bluegrass music festivals in the United States, and by the 1970s it had become known as one of the largest bluegrass festivals in the world. Later, the park was recognized by the Alabama State Legislature in House/Senate Joint Resolution 177 (HJR177) as "The Home of the Souths Bluegrass Music". Many famous musicians got their start here, including EmmyLou Harris (who made her first public appearance here at 16 years old), Three On A String, Marty Stewart (at 17 years old), and more. Almost every famous bluegrass music personality has made an appearance here, including Bill Monroe, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Doc Watson, Deacon Dan Crary, Ace Weems and the Fat Meat Boys, The Osbourne Brothers, Sam McGee, The Red Clay Ramblers, Norman Blake, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Charlie Daniels, Ricky Skaggs, Allison Krause, and many more. The festivals grew so large that tickets were available by invitation only. The crowds sometimes numbered around 10,000, and there were very few of the modern facilities that we have here today. Now we are much better equipped to handle large crowds, although we intend to limit the numbers as necessary to protect the natural areas of the park.

     Chandler Mountain is like a flat-topped mesa rising up out of the ground, attached to no other mountains, and completely overhung with bluffs and cliffs. There are only two roads up the mountain even today. It is about two miles wide, six miles long, 1500 feet high, and is said to be the third highest mountain in Alabama. It has a large lake on top as well as many smaller ones (there are two small lakes here in the park) and lots of mountain streams with beautiful cascades and waterfalls. The climate is very moderate year-round being cooler and more breezy in the spring and summer, and with more hours of sunlight in the fall and winter due to our exposed elevation. On occasion though, the wind does blow pretty good up here on the mountain.

     Atop the southwestern end of the mountain is the Horse Pens, a hidden majestic stone fortress of ancient erosion carved sandstone, which is said to be one of the most concentrated boulder fields in the world. The geology in the park is unique, with unusual stone formations like Mushroom Rock, Turtle Rock, Dinosaur Rock, the Headless Hen, the Big Slipper, Little Elephant Rock and Big Elephant Rock, Groundhog Rock, Sea Turtle Rock, The Creek Garden, and hundreds of other weird shapes and faces in the rocks. The rocks in the park generally range from 400 to 600 million years old with one small outcropping of rock that scientists say may possibly date back over a billion years old.

     Today, the wind and water carved rocks attract climbers known as boulderers, who come from all over the U.S. and all around the world to try their skill at climbing the rocks using no ropes at all, only their fingers and toes and a pad to fall on. There are hundreds of climbs with names and difficulty ratings, as well as hundreds more unnamed climbs and projects. There are climbing guides to the park available online, as well as here at the park, and also several videos and DVDs made here highlighting the climbing in the park. There is also an Alabama Public Television special (in the Discovering Alabama series with Dr. Doug Phillips), detailing many natural and historical aspects of the park.

     What makes Horse Pens 40 completely unusual are our services and facilities. We have a restaurant, a camp store, clean restrooms, a 50 x 110 covered pavilion, a natural amphitheater with performance stages, RV hookups (water and elec.), a primitive campground with picnic tables, campfire rings (with firewood delivered to your campsite at reasonable prices, or you may bring your own), hot showers for our campers, and dont forget that the Horse Pens 40 is only a small part of the 120 acre nature park that offers the most unique rock formations in the world, with hiking, camping, picnicking, bouldering, and of course, our various festivals. There are many types of rare plants and trees here, along with animals from field mice to mountain lions, including foxes, badgers, black bear, coyotes, raccoons, deer, groundhogs, and squirrels. We also have hawks, owls, turkeys and turkey vultures, the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, the red piliated woodpecker, and almost every other kind of bird that you can think of.

     We are open for day use and camping 7 days a week, almost every day of the year. We are closed for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and very little else. Special arrangements can be made to camp or use the park through those holidays, and we have a self check-in area for early and late arrivals.

     My family purchased Horse Pens 40 in order to save it from development and destruction. There were developers interested in building a gated community here. It would have completely closed Horse Pens 40 to the public, and would have restricted its use to a privileged few. That has happened in many places nearby where I spent time in the mountains and rocks as I grew up, and my family and I did not want it to happen here. The property and buildings were in terrible condition and extremely overpriced, but Horse Pens 40 is far too important to too many people for anyone to close it away from all of us.

     We live her year round, so Horse Pens 40 is open 7 days a week. We had to move up here in order to protect the property, get the place cleaned up, and maintain it. The park had been shut down for nearly a year, and the gates had been broken down, so the place had been vandalized and was pretty well trashed out. All of the buildings had been broken into, and the whole place was completely overgrown with weeds and brush, and covered in garbage and broken glass. For over two months my wife, our three children, and I were living here with no water and no electricity, so it was quite a job to get things under control. Now it works kind of like an old time family farm. We all work here (sometimes 18 - 20 hours a day) to make a place for ourselves to live. None of us get a paycheck, so all of the money that comes into the park goes to pay the bills and to maintain the park. We rarely hire out any work, almost everything that gets done is done by a member of our family or by a member of our volunteer staff, including plumbing, building, remodeling, maintenance, and electrical work, as well as grass-cutting, picking up the trash, digging ditches, and even cleaning the bathrooms and the toilets (over 30 in all). I’m told that we are the first family to spend the winter here in over 70 years, so there is constantly work to be done. Also, with us living here, there is almost always someone available to help you with whatever you need, and to take care of any problem that arises.

     I've always loved to come up to Horse Pens 40 to walk, camp, or just spend the afternoon in the rocks and watch the sunset from Lookout Point. It was always one of my favorite stops for my wife and I when we were out riding my old Harley. Now I get to see it a lot more often, but I don’t have time to enjoy it as much as I used to, due to the fact that there is always so much work to be done. There seems to be very little time to get out in the rocks just for pleasure. Operating, maintaining and improving the park can be a 24/7 job for all of us, and even with everybody helping out, you can never get it all done.

     We are working with our promoters to help make all of our events successful, as well as getting more promoters to come in and put on more top quality events, such as music concerts, Civil War reenactments, Indian pow-wows, motorcycle rallies, renaissance fairs, mountain man rendezvous, historical drama and plays, and anything else that is educational, historical, and family oriented.

     Of course, Horse Pens 40 is world famous for its bluegrass music and we always have at least three or more bluegrass music festivals scheduled each year, along with various other types of music featured at our different festivals.

     We are also actively promoting climbing here in the park, and each year we host the Triple Crown Bouldering Competition Series. This is one of the largest outdoor bouldering competitions in the world, with 1000+ in attendance. We also host the one-of-a-kind event, BoulderGrass @ Horse Pens 40. This is a bouldering competition combined with a bluegrass music concert that benefits the Multiple Sclerosis Society. This is one of the largest bouldering related gatherings in the world as well, with 1200+ attending in 2005. 

     Also, we host Native American gatherings, ceremonies, and cultural events several times a year that help keep the old ways alive, with the goal of helping to promote awareness of Native American history in our state. At these events you can come participate in a tradition dating back some 10,000 years or so on this very site.

     We really appreciate the visitors who come to the park to hike, camp, climb, picnic, or enjoy our many festivals. They usually are somewhat earth-conscious, so they help us keep the park clean and in good shape. You can come in pretty much anytime and we should be available to check you in. Early or late arrivals or Mon./Wed. group visits please e-mail or call if possible, but if not, just come on, well be here. Remember, everyone who enters the park must be signed in at the camp store or with one of us. Check the rest of this website for park services, contact and schedule info, rules and more. Thanks to you all, take care, and we hope to see you soon up on the mountain.

The Schultz Family

and the Staff of

Horse Pens 40