FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Karen Beasley, Vice President of Marketing & Communications
Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association
PHONE: 256.350.3500 / 800.648.5381
EMAIL: karen@northalabama.org
Recall LaGrange's Distillery Raid on the Mountain: Step Back in Time to the Prohibition Era with an Immersive Living History Experience
Decatur, Ala. (March 26, 2026) – The reenactment of a law enforcement raid on a moonshine still will take place the first Saturday in May at the LaGrange College Site Park located in Leighton. Set for May 2, 2026, Recall LaGrange’s Distillery Raid on the Mountain offers a day of living history events, Civil War displays and demonstrations, arts and crafts, musical entertainment and more. The event commemorates the 197th anniversary of the LaGrange College and Military Institute, Alabama’s first chartered college.
Recall LaGrange’s Distillery Raid on the Mountain features a period correct living history centering on a Prohibition Era raid on a suspected moonshine still. A group of lawmen will descend on the pioneer village of LaGrange and will engage in a brief skirmish with the locals. The skirmish is slated for 2 p.m.
While the highlight is the prohibition era raid on a moonshine still, the day-long event offers other important historical accounts, Civil War collections and fun activities for the family. The First Impression Cemetery Drama will take place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and there will be art/crafts demonstrations, a fundraiser bake sale, food trucks and displays of antiques and fragments of period moonshine stills. The observatory and the pioneer and log buildings located in the park will be open for tours and there will be tours of Dawson Distillery located near the park.
There will be antique buggy and wagon rides (donations accepted) to historic LaGrange Cemetery. This antebellum Civil War cemetery is listed on the Register of Landmarks and Heritage and is within walking distance of the LaGrange College Site. Of particular interest is the marker for the Petrified Lady, Annie Vinson Ford, who was discovered petrified after being removed from her burial plot to another plot in the cemetery.
Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donations will be accepted at the gate for up-keep of the historic park and cemetery.
Distillery Raid on the Mountain takes place at the LaGrange College site located in northwest Alabama, eight miles southeast of Muscle Shoals, off Highway 157 at 1491 LaGrange College Road, Leighton, Ala. For more information, visit https://www.lagrangehistoricsite.org/attractions/recall-lagrange/ or call (256) 702-6953 or contact Colbert County Tourism at (256) 383-0783.
###
About Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association (AMLA)
The official destination marketing organization for Visit North Alabama, AMLA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion and development of the $4.9 billion North Alabama travel industry within the 16 northernmost counties of the state. It is supported by 500-plus members consisting of chambers of commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureaus, attractions, campgrounds, festivals, communities, golf courses, restaurants, accommodations and vendors. Counties included within the AMLA region are Blount, Cherokee, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan and Winston. Additional information on North Alabama destinations, accommodations and special events is available by calling 800.648.5381, by visiting www.NorthAlabama.org and by following us on social media @VisitNorthAL.
