Tom Hendrix Is Gone, But His Wall Lives On In Alabama

By Anne Kristoff

There have been a lot of rock stars with ties to the Shoals area of Alabama, but none quite like Tom Hendrix. But unlike the Rolling Stones and the Black Keys, Hendrix’s medium was not rock music but rocks themselves. Or, more accurately, stones.

Hendrix garnered worldwide recognition for building a wall to honor his great-great grandmother, Te-lah-nay. She was a Yuchi Indian forced to leave her north Alabama home and walk the Trail of Tears path to Oklahoma. Leaving Alabama meant leaving her beloved Tennessee River. The Native Americans believed a woman lived in the river and sang to them, hence the nickname “The Singing River.” When Te-lah-nay didn’t hear singing in any of the waters in Oklahoma, she knew she had to return home.

Trace Hendrix shares his father’s legacy: The Wachahpi Commemorative Stone Wall in north Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

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