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Story and photos by Carey Reeder

One of the most historic pieces of Chilton County recently received a much-needed revitalization, and the City of Jemison is not done there. Jemison’s historical Main Street received extensive improvements that revitalized the area and offers endless event possibilities for the strip of road. The project was made possible through the Alabama Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program (T.A.P.) after Jemison secured a grant for the Main Street improvements.

“We are so thankful for those (grants) because the sidewalks are now a huge step up from what we had before,” Tiffany Gaines, Main Street business owner, said. “It made a huge difference, and we have already had a few events out here. It has given us somewhere to be able to do all of that, and have a better space for everyone.”

The T.A.P. is a grant process that awards funds to projects around the State of Alabama that provide new ways, or improvements, to non-motorized forms of transportation. Eligible activities that fall under the T.A.P. grant included the “construction of on-road and off-road trail facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized forms of transportation, including sidewalks, bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian lighting, downtown streetscape (combination of sidewalks, pedestrian lighting and landscaping) and other transportation projects to achieve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,” as well as “construction of infrastructure-related projects and systems that will provide safe routes for non-drivers, including children, older adults, and individuals with disabilities to access daily needs” — both of which the Main Street project in Jemison fall under.

Jemison first applied for the grant in 2017, but was not awarded the funds. However, the city reapplied a few years later, and this time it was awarded with an 80-20 grant through T.A.P., meaning the federal and state governments will cover 80% of the funds for the project while Jemison provides the other 20%.

“We had an idea of what we wanted, so we hired an engineer to design it for us, and we went from there,” Shannon Welch, Jemison City Administrator, said. “We really just wanted to give it a little face lift. It is beginning to take shape, and we have some other things we want to do that are outside of the grant, and we are going to do that as well.”

Welch added that Jemison has been turning more towards community involvement in recent months. The city has always been about community involvement, but administration is now putting it as a focal point, and the Main Street improvements are a byproduct of that emphasis.

The project on Main Street ripped up all of the old sidewalks that were next to the strip of over 100-year-old houses that marked the birthplace of Jemison by the railroad tracks. The new sidewalks now have railings, and all sidewalks on Main Street are now ADA compliant. Other improvements from the project included repainting the parking lot, adding new trees and greenery and installing light poles to brighten the street in the evening and night hours. The improvements from the T.A.P. grant added to the growing storefronts on Main Street that have opened in recent years like Gaines’ Olde Town Scoops and Olde Town Boutique and Gifts.

Gaines has seen tons of people come into Olde Town Scoops and get ice cream and sit out on the new benches that were a part of the beautification of Main Street. Since the project, she has seen a huge spike in people coming into her stores and just traffic overall on Main Street.

“We are not trying to compete with other places, we just want to give the people of Jemison something to do, somewhere to go and things to see,” Gaines said.

The newly formed Jemison Event Planning Committee of Gaines, Lake Gilliland, Courtney Jackson, Jonna Jones, Donna Manasco, Jonathan Varden and Vickki Winslett are already getting details together for events in the space. The committee was formed in March, and other future plans for Main Street include a new stage, and select days where the street will be closed down for an evening of community and family fun.

“It is good to see (these improvements happen),” Welch said. “That is where Jemison started on Main Street right by the railroad tracks, and to have a project that we were able to get the funds to revitalize and preserve the city’s history is a cool thing. Hopefully, we can use that to put on events to create community involvement, and that is what we want. I want to thank ALDOT for their investment in Jemison, they are a great partner to work with.”

Other buildings on the Main Street strip are currently being worked on to hopefully bring even more businesses to the strip. Also, Gaines said the Jemison Event Planning Committee is currently in the process of bringing back Founder’s Day in Jemison, as well as planning more events for the newly revamped Main Street.