Lake Martin's Centennial Year Winds Down: What's on the Water and Shore This November and December

"Every loafing stream is loafing at the public expense and every kilowatt of power means less work for someone, more freedom and a richer chance for life."

Alabama Power president Thomas Martin said that on November 7, 1925, at the cornerstone ceremony for the dam at Cherokee Bluffs. According to the history published by the Lake Martin Centennial, nearly 3,000 people came, Governor William Brandon among them. The same history dates the moment Martin Dam and Lake Martin became operational to December 31, 1926. That puts the lake's 100th year in the same months as the annual drawdown.

The summer events of the centennial happened on the water. There was a dragon boat race at Wind Creek State Park in April and the Songwriters Festival in July. The last two months are different. As the water drops, the calendar moves to the newly exposed shoreline, to the woods and coves at Wind Creek, and into Russell Crossroads and downtown Alexander City.

Cleanup weekend falls on the cornerstone anniversary

Renew Our Rivers is this Friday and Saturday, November 6 and 7. The Saturday date is 101 years to the day after Thomas Martin's cornerstone speech. The Lake Martin Resource Association coordinates the cleanup with Alabama Power, Russell Lands, Advanced Disposal, Wind Creek Park, TowBoat US Lake Martin and Lake Martin Dock Company. LMRA says the cleanup has pulled more than 160 tons of trash and more than 600 tires from the shoreline and nearby roads over the years.

This year's focus is littered shoreline, the roads leading to public boat ramps, and getting more neighborhoods around the lake involved. Volunteers work on their own schedule, and the setup is simple:

1. Pick up supplies at any dumpster site from 8:00 a.m. Friday or Saturday.
2. Clean a stretch of shoreline, a roadside or your own neighborhood.
3. Bring the bagged trash back between 8:00 a.m. and noon on either day. Volunteers at each site help unload boats and vehicles.

Drop-off dumpsters will be at Kowaliga Public Ramp, Real Island Marina, Wind Creek Park Marina, Siggers Grocery and the Union Public Boat Ramp, among other spots. Everyone who drops off trash gets a custom T-shirt with the Lake Martin centennial logo. Lake Magazine reports that LMRA will also give participants Lake Martin and national commemorative gifts to mark the centennial. Questions go to Steve Robinson at (256) 654-0047.

The water is still dropping

Cleanup weekend comes while the lake is still falling. Alabama Power's Shorelines update from September 16 put Martin Dam at 489.11 feet as of September 15. On October 26, the company's Lake Martin page read just under 487 feet, about two feet lower in roughly six weeks. Alabama Power says the drawdown required by its federal license happens over several months and usually wraps up in mid-November.

The end point and timing aren't the same every year. In its October 2025 notice, Alabama Power gave 484 feet as the drawdown target and said it would finish by the third week of November. The Lake Martin Resource Association's lake level page says the lake gets to 484 feet in December. Weather is part of the reason. In its September update, Alabama Power said 75 percent of Alabama was in some level of drought, compared with 8 percent two months before. The U.S. Drought Monitor map for October 20, 2026, still showed 71.30 percent of the state abnormally dry or in drought.

Alabama Power says the drawdown leaves room to store winter and spring rain. It asks anyone with a boat or dock to keep an eye on changing conditions and be ready to protect their property. Under its standard schedule, the lake starts coming back up in early spring and reaches summer pool around the end of April. Spring refill is part of the lake's story from the start. Explore Lake Martin notes that the lake didn't reach full capacity until April 23, 1928, more than a year after the dam was finished.

Wind Creek's programs follow the shoreline and the birds

With the water down and the leaves turning, Wind Creek State Park's November calendar is mostly birds, trails and the water's edge. Each program has its own registration page on the park's site.

Book the eco tours early. The November 14 tour had sold out by late October, and the December 13 tour's registration page had only a few spots left. The cleanup weekend and the November 7 birding walk overlap, so a Saturday morning drop-off at Wind Creek Park Marina before noon still leaves time for the 2:00 p.m. wreath class.

Russell Crossroads and Alexander City carry the holidays

The Naturalist Cabin at Russell Crossroads is hosting "Let's Talk Turkey" on Saturday, November 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with live domestic turkeys and natural-history displays. Admission is free. The day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 27, Crossroads has two events:

• Holiday Bazaar, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with handmade goods from local and regional artisans.
• Christmas at Crossroads, with Santa arriving by carriage around 10:00 a.m. and staying until about 2:00 p.m., plus crafts and games for kids.

In Alexander City, the Alexander City Chamber's Holiday Open House is Sunday, November 15, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The list of participating retailers hadn't been posted yet. The Chamber Christmas Parade is Monday, December 7, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. It starts on Comer Street and runs along Cherokee Road, Church Street and AL-22/Tallapoosa Street. According to Lake Magazine, Alexander City is pairing the centennial with the nation's 250th anniversary this year, so the year has two things to mark.

What December 31 marks

Building the lake took more than a dam. Over a hundred miles of road were going to end up underwater, and local officials pressed Alabama Power to replace them. The result was the Kowaliga Creek Bridge. Work on it started in November 1925, and it opened in August 1926.

The centennial history gives December 31, 1926, as the day Martin Dam and Lake Martin went into operation. For the full story of the first hundred years, Alabama Power and Russell Lands published a hardcover book, Lake Martin: A Centennial Reflection, built from historical photos, maps, blueprints, local art and memorabilia. This Is Alabama reports it sells for $95 through the centennial website.

If low water has exposed something you've been meaning to look at along your own shoreline, or you're picturing a place on the lake for its next hundred years, the Lake Martin team at Oak & Rail Real Estate Collective is happy to talk it through over coffee or on the dock. Contact Us whenever you're ready.