Jasper is only a little over three hours away from Nashville which makes it a super easy drive, for the most part straight down I-65. We left in the late afternoon. And passed the welcome to Alabama center with the giant Saturn Rocket that was built in Huntsville, I thought about how that was a town I still need to get too.
Jasper is the county seat of Walker county and dates its founding back to the early 1800's when Lorenzo Dow, an eccentric traveling preacher, set up a trading post in the area. In 1815 the Musgrove family settled Jasper and Dr. Edward Gordon Musgrave became the first settler and first physician. In 1822 Dr. Musgrove donated the land that the town would eventually sit on and a log cabin was built to be the first court house, school, and church. The town was incorporated in 1887 and named after Revolutionary war hero William Jasper. He rose to fame after the Battle of Fort Sullivan (now called Fort Moultrie). During the battle on June 28, 1776 the fort's banner was shot and fell outside the fort. Jasper, a sergeant in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, saw the flag fall and realized the negative effect it was having on soldiers and so jumped from the fort and retrieved it. He then made a make-shift pole to fly it from. Jasper would go on to serve under Francis Marion "Swamp Fox" where Colonel Moultrie described his work as "to harass and perplex the enemy in that state." His roving commission was to take a small group and scour supplies and information. One story tells of a time when Jasper went to the British at Savannah claiming to be a deserter and was welcomed in. He stayed for several days and took note of the army size and positioning before returning to the American side with his information. Jasper was severely injured during the Battle of Savannah and died shortly after the battle but not before he carried the flag to safety. Lots of towns have been named in his honor and there is a statue of him in Savannah and South Carolina. An image of him also appeared on the 2016 quarter.
I had messaged a couple of breweries in Jasper to ask if they were dog friendly, if they served food, and if they sold growlers with their logo on it. Both answered yes to all three so I went with the one who answered first: Twisted Barley Brewing. We parked out front and went inside. The brewery was very welcoming and we were quickly greeted. We sat down down to get the dogs settled and look over the beer selection. They had a lot of different options so we narrowed down to nine choices. We ordered the pretzel and wings from their menu. The employees had also recommended Warehouse 319 which is a local restaurant that offers carry out. We also learned that it was "nineties night" in the entertainment district where we were and that multiple bars and restaurants were participating.
So I walked over to Warehouse 319 to order their burger which comes with white cheddar cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, onion, and a smoked bacon aioli to go. Inside the restaurant was open with a bar at the back center and seating in a horseshoe around it. The place was already packed and lots of people were dressed up for the nineties... or maybe some eighties looks going on too but it was all for fun. There was definitely some nineties punk going on and a lot of track suits. Sweat shirts were tied around wastes and flannel was everywhere.
I walked outside to explore the town plaza while my order was cooked. I discovered they have a strange collection of painted donkeys. I'm not sure how many but I found four.
As I walked over I saw a shop called the Cigar Box and I went inside to see if they sold Nat Sherman Cigarettes. They didn't but they had a stack of cigar boxes in the corner and they were on sale for $5 each so I bought one. Across from Warehouse 319 the light-poles in the square had speakers on them playing classics like Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." They had a couple of Veterans' Memorials and a memorial to Law Enforcement Officers who had passed in the line of duty.
After picking up our food I went back to Twisted Barley for some great brews and burgers.
The beers were all very different and the most interesting one style wise to me was a vanilla white stout. As we sat there more and more people came in with their best 90s throwback costumes including someone on roller blades. I wish I had known about the themed night because I have a Guess Jeans shirt circa 1992.After eating our burgers we broke into the delicious pretzel with creole mustard and honey mustard.
On the way out of town we passed an old armored vehicle- basically Jasper was full of surprises and we will be going back to this fun little town.
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