Visitors Find Delight in Alabama Rock Zoo

The stone menagerie perched along a rural roadside near Fackler is hard to miss. The creatures of the Alabama Rock Zoo include everything from a skunk to a shark, and in the 5 decades since Leonard Dawson eyed a boulder and saw the shape of a bull, the unusual roadside attraction has continued to garner attention.

“He could just see it and picture an animal,” says Tammy Murphey, Dawson’s granddaughter and the attraction’s third-generation zookeeper.

Located on Jackson County Road 32, the Alabama Rock Zoo sees its share of curious visitors who just happen to drive by and pull off the road, as well as travelers who make a point to visit. Earlier this year, Murphey’s mother counted 82 motorcycles when the riders stopped at the zoo. Such large crowds happen every so often as people find the attraction listed on Google Maps. The Rock Zoo is a day trip for many visitors.

“We have about 800 to 1,000 people a month asking for directions to the Rock Zoo,” says John Murphey, Tammy’s husband.

The collection started in the 1970s when road crews developing County Road 32 pushed 2 big boulders onto the property of Dawson and his wife, Geneva. But Dawson saw more than stone. He saw the shape of a bull in 1 boulder and a rooster in the other. He used cement to attach 2 curved rocks for the bull’s horns. With more cement and a cardboard mold, he created a rooster’s comb on the second boulder.

Unable to find an artist to fully bring his stone creatures to life, Dawson painted the animals himself.

Tammy Murphey says her grandfather loved seeing the joy the attraction gave visitors.

“He would love sitting out on his front porch and watching people,” she says. “People come from all over, all the time, every day, and stop here. He loved to hear what people thought of the rocks.”

Today, the Alabama Rock Zoo stretches about 100 yards along the 2-lane county road.

The bull and rooster are the largest boulders and are located exactly where the road crew pushed them 50 years ago. Smaller stones were found and placed over the years to fill in the collection.

“The rest he found just in the pastures or in the mountain, and he would get the tractor and bring them and set them out here and paint them,” Murphey says of her grandfather.

Dawson died in 2003 at 90 years old. His son, Larry Dawson, who is Murphey’s father, then served as zookeeper. He died last year from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Now, the Murpheys take care of the rock animals. Their children, including 10-year-old Dawson and 8-year-old J.T., anticipate picking up the mantle when the time comes.

The zoo features an assortment of animals — a shark, deer, turtle, frog, duck, skunk, pig and penguin, just to name a few. There is an elephant as a nod to the University of Alabama. The turtle was the last stone animal placed by Larry Dawson. John Murphey painted it.

The current zookeepers admit that the animals may be open for interpretation. What 1 person sees as a shark another may see as a dolphin.

“My grandpa would always say half of the fun is just letting people guess what they are,” Tammy Murphey says.

There are also nonanimal creations at the Alabama Rock Zoo. Sliced stone watermelons sit next to the zoo’s stone sign, while another stone urges visitors to not feed the animals. There is an American flag, and 2 rock figures pay homage to Leonard and Geneva Dawson.

Kids love the bigger boulders like the rooster and the bull, John Murphey says. Visitors are also drawn to a chicken and the giraffe.

Every few years, the stone animals require repainting. A local 4-H group painted a seahawk and helped the family repaint all the animals in 2022.

Oil-based paint is used because it holds up the best. Weather takes a toll, and some of the animals are already in need of touch-ups.

“They’re limestone rock, so the harder winters just bust the paint off of them,” John Murphey says.

Visitors have even added their own stone animals, such as a small possum someone left behind. Sometimes the visiting artists will message the Rock Zoo after they leave a stone animal, or they will post a photo of their creation online.

“I think that’s fun, to walk through here and see what other people are leaving,” Tammy Murphey says.

The Alabama Rock Zoo is located at 3215 County Road 32, Fackler. Visitors can stop by and look, free of charge, every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit the Alabama Rock Zoo website. There is even an online store with souvenirs.

Murphey says she thinks her grandfather would be pleased the Rock Zoo is still open.

“He would be so tickled that it’s still here and so many people still come to see it,” she says. “I don’t think he ever realized that it would last this long and have so many people still come.”