Last Saturday morning, Demopolis was visited by a group from out of town. Heads turned as the cars went through town, and understandably so, as one by one, the long line of Corvettes cruised down Walnut and parked in a line in front of City Hall.

The Mid-Alabama Corvette Club drove down en masse from Birmingham just to take a tour of the River City, prompted by one of its members who came to town in May for a wedding.

“Back in the middle of May, my nephew got married at that big Baptist Church down the road,” said Toby Truett of Maylene. “My husband and my daughter and I hung out in the park and took pictures on Main Street. We just thought it was so beautiful, we wanted everybody to come see how beautiful it was!”

About 15 people stepped out of their ’Vettes and began walking around the downtown area, walking around the park and up and down the streets and stopping at The Mustard Seed to talk with co-owner Joy Collins.

After their impromptu tour of the downtown area, the club members got back in their Corvettes to see Gaineswood, then headed for home.

“This was my first time in Demopolis in 37 years,” said club member Jack Kemph of Vestavia Hills. “It has changed a bit, but in some ways, it hasn’t changed. A nice, little, peaceful Southern town is what I remember it being.

“We all met at the Tannehill area, and then we drove down. We just came on in here and were able to just enjoy spending time wandering around and enjoying life!”

Kemph said the Mid-Alabama Corvette Club has something going on just about every weekend, and many of the club’s members complimented Demopolis on how nice it looked and how they enjoyed the visit.

“They told me that everything was so pretty and kept,” Collins said. “They said they were headed to Philadelphia, and they take back roads with those cars. We’ve had British cars in before, and they prefer going that way. People just come back to Demopolis because it is so appealing to them.”

Some of the members said that another Corvette Club, the Port City Corvette Club from Mobile, was also scheduled to come to Demopolis in the same day.

If other car owners get the word out, who knows? We may be seeing Peugeots and Lamborghinis and Porsches. It seems fitting, since Demopolis was founded by a group of French imports.