Fort Payne, Alabama

Fort Payne and DeKalb County: farm sales, cabin rentals and mill history

Fort Payne is about 59 miles, or an hour and a half, from our Arab office. Please call first so we can set a time and make sure the trip is worth it.

Call 256-586-4635 Contact us

We have one office, in Arab. We do not have an office in Fort Payne.

The Sock Capital of the World

Fort Payne, the DeKalb County seat, called itself the Sock Capital of the World after hosiery mills took hold here from 1907; most of those mills later closed under foreign competition. The 1889 coal-and-iron boom left behind the Fort Payne Opera House, the oldest theater in Alabama still in use. Mill work is a large part of the town’s story, and the employers here still need their payroll and bookkeeping kept in good order.^[2,3]

Little River Canyon National Preserve, where the river runs along the top of Lookout Mountain, has its office in town, and DeKalb County leads Alabama in farm sales. Farming and the visitors drawn to the canyon both shape the returns we see from Fort Payne, from farm families tracking income, expenses and equipment to owners who rent out cabins.^[4,5]

What shows up on DeKalb County returns

Farm income: DeKalb is first in the state in total farm sales.^[5]
Tourism: the canyon and Lookout Mountain draw visitors, and some owners rent out cabins.^[4]
14,877 residents at the 2020 Census.^[1]

Little River Falls in Little River Canyon National Preserve — Little River Falls, near Fort Payne

Fort Payne questions

This is general information, not advice for your return. Every return is different, so please call us to talk about yours.

We rent a cabin near the canyon to visitors. What do we report?

Rental income, and the expenses that go with it: cleaning, repairs, supplies, a share of insurance and utilities, and depreciation on the building. The number of days you use the property yourself matters too, so keep a calendar.

Tax planning

I still work at one of the hosiery mills. My hours changed a lot this year.

Big swings in hours can leave your withholding too high or too low. Bring your most recent pay stub and we will check it before the year ends.

Income tax services

We raise poultry and cattle. How do we handle the new equipment?

Farm equipment is usually written off over several years, and in some years it can be written off faster. The choice affects this year and the next several, so it is worth planning ahead rather than guessing.

Tax planning

Help for DeKalb County

Farm families Farm income, expenses and equipment, reviewed with the whole year in view. Cabin and rental owners Rental income, expenses and the records behind them. Mill and plant employers Payroll and bookkeeping for local employers.

Worth the drive to Arab

Call 256-586-4635 first and we will set a time, so your drive to our Arab office is well spent.

Call 256-586-4635 Other towns we serve

Sources

Local details on this page come from these public sources, checked in September 2026.