Tuscumbia is a small town in the Shoals area of northwest Alabama with a historic downtown full of family-owned shops and buildings that have stood for over a century. It is best known as the birthplace of Helen Keller.
Ivy Green, the Keller family home, was built in 1820 and is open to visitors. The annual Helen Keller Festival in late June is an excellent time to visit, with performances of "The Miracle Worker" staged on the grounds.
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame is also in Tuscumbia, honouring over 500 musicians from the state across rock, rhythm and blues, gospel, country, and opera. Combined with nearby Florence, the Shoals area offers a surprising concentration of cultural attractions for its size. The Rattlesnake Saloon, a bar built into a natural cave in a hillside north of town, is one of the more memorable drinking spots in Alabama.