HJR 225 Summary

• Recognizes Byler Road as a historic and scenic byway spanning Lauderdale, Colbert, Lawrence, Franklin, Winston, Walker, Fayette, and Tuscaloosa Counties in Alabama.

• Designates Byler Road as Alabama's first public road, enacted by the legislature and approved by Governor William W. Bibb on December 16, 1819, two days after statehood.

• Documents the road's evolution from buffalo and animal trail to Indian Trail to vital commerce and travel route connecting Mobile, Alabama to Nashville, Tennessee via the Mobile Trace and Jackson's Military Road.

• Associates Byler Road with prominent historical figures including Indian Chieftains Tuskaloosa, Doublehead, and George Colbert, as well as Jesse Owens, General Joseph Wheeler, Helen Keller, and Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Pope Walker.

• Identifies distinctive scenic locations including Shoals Creek, Wilson Lake, Bainbridge Loop, Byler Gap at Mount Hope (500-foot elevation change), Kinlock Falls, and Rocky Ravine Park.