RED BAY MUSEUM
While visiting Red Bay during your Tiffin travels, we encourage you to take an afternoon and tour the Red Bay Museum located at 110 Fourth St SE, Red Bay. The museum is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM with a $5.00 admission charge. The museum is a labor of love of the Red Bay Civitan Club.
The museum houses displays that are re-creations of landmarks from Red Bay’s past. When you enter the museum, you are greeted with a replica of the hotel lobby with the actual furnishings of the old Hotel Red Bay. From there you will discover the soda fountain from the drug store, the Bay Theater, the original bank teller windows from Red Bay’s first bank, the Medical Clinic, re-creation of church interiors, and many items from the Red Bay Depot. In additional to these are displays depicting what home life was like from the living areas to the working areas, including the kitchens of old homes.
Although two school buildings have burned in Red Bay, there are still many items from the schools showing the education aspect of Red Bay and surrounding rural schools. Included in the service aspects of Red Bay businesses is a jewelry and watch repair display, beautician items, restaurants and café, appliance stores, television and radio repair items as well as service station and automobile displays. The tour ends with the largest exhibit at this time on country music icon Tammy Wynette, born, raised and schooled just across the state line in Mississippi. Tammy called Red Bay her hometown because it was the closest town she lived to where she would go to shop, to the doctor, visit relatives, go to the movies,… Tammy also did five benefit concerts for Red Bay through the years, as well as serving as Grand Marshall for the Red Bay Christmas parade. Items have been loaned or donated by friends, fans and family members of Tammy’s.
A mission statement for the museum would include “preserving a way of life that is no longer here, so that young people can be made aware of what life was like many years ago here in Red Bay and to remind those older of the life they lived”. Red Bay is so fortunate that people through the years saw the importance of keeping these artifacts that now occupy the museum and have been so instrumental in educating thousands of people of what life in Red Bay, AL was like. During the recent Smithsonian exhibit held in Red Bay, which over 6000 people attended, the museum was the highlight of all the venues associated with the exhibit.
Many of the visitors to the museum are owners of Tiffin Motorhome coaches who stay at the campground while having their motorhomes repaired. These visitors, from every state in the union as well as some from other countries, have marveled at the quality and content of such a museum in such a small rural town as ours. Many saying it is the best small town museum they have ever visited in their travels. The museum continues to grow with new items constantly and displays are changed to keep the tour fresh and different for those returning.
Sally Moore
Co-President
Tiffin Allegro Club
902A Gates St.
Red Bay, AL 35582
256-356-8661 ext 3320
Cell # 256-668-0666
