Winston County High Point Trip Report
four areas (1,020 ft)
Date: September 26, 2003
Author: Bill Jacobs
Winston's four areas are located five miles northeast of Haleyville on H195.
Area One is to the east soon after passing the Union Hill Church. The map shows an oddly shaped,
manmade looking area. In reality, the site is undergoing extensive excavation and the foundation for a
commercial building is in place. Movement of earth for the construction project has lowered most of the contour.
Directly behind (east of) the microwave towers, is undisturbed land, which is probably the highest point.
The adjoining pasture lands south were also checked - to the displeasure of bucolic animals not
interested in sharing their homeland with an interloper.
Area Two is a third of a mile up the road, prior to a curve and across the street from two old, gray silos with
the faded inscription "Butler". You can easily wander this field without fearing you are infringing on
someone else's private property, although you probably are.
Area Three is due east of area two about 100 yards down road on south side. It's a small contour on the
topo and is between the road and the house (next to an auto repair garage), probably at the large tree in the yard.
Another half mile up H195, CR 93 breaks off left in a locale labeled "Forkville". Northeast of this
intersection is a small kidney shaped contour and can be misconstrued as one of Winston's high areas.
Closer examination reveals the area is a depression. Andy Martin's observations: "It is one of those funny
depressions made when a road cuts across a stream, and the road fill makes a small depression on the
upstream side. In this case, the inward spikes are sometimes only drawn along the road, which in this area is
the south side of the small area. The contour thickness is bigger than the 1020 contours, as the depression
contour is also an index contour." Field observation is non-revealing as the entire depression-contour has
undergone much movement of earth and there is no trace of a former depression. Kevin Williamson was the
first to correctly decipher the true meaning of this topographical puzzle.
The road to Area Four is outdated on the topo map. It now goes to the highpoint, benchmark 1023 feet,
and comes in from the west, branching off of H195 soon after the depression contour. Someone has built a
home nearby and indicated the highpoint, many years ago, became a gravel quarry losing 60 feet of its height.
The area is obviously flattened but I felt it was a stretch to say it had lost 60 feet. Kevin Williamson
says the property has now changed ownership and the new owners have debunked the quarry theory.