Bear Meat Cabin Road

Beginning as an ancient Indian trail, the north-south road through Arab was known in 1816 as Bear Meat Cabin Road. By 1818 it had become an important Federal trade route through the Alabama Territory called the St. Stephens – Huntsville Road. After being designated a post road in 1822, it became the main mail route between New Orleans and Cincinnati, and Alabama's first stage line traveled over it. Philip Clack received a state charter to operate the section through Arab as Clack's Turnpike. With the opening of the Tennessee River Bridge at Whitesburg in 1929, the road again became an important north-south route through Alabama. During the 1940's it was known as the Florida Short Route. By 1945 it was paved and became Federal Highway 231, known as the "Heart of Dixie Highway." The Arab by-pass was built in 1960, and the highway from Arab to Whitesburg was widened to four lanes in 1970.

Arab, Alabama · United States