Opp, Alabama: Home of the Rattlesnake Rodeo
Every spring, the city of Opp hosts the Rattlesnake Rodeo, an event that has been drawing crowds since 1960. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are displayed, handled, and auctioned, alongside arts and crafts vendors, food stalls, and live entertainment. The rodeo is the kind of regional oddity that puts a small town on the map -- Opp's population is only about 6,700, yet thousands of visitors arrive for the weekend event.
Opp sits in Covington County in southern Alabama, roughly 90 miles south of Montgomery and 80 miles north of the Gulf Coast. The town grew around the railroad in the late 1800s and served as a hub for the timber industry that cleared much of southern Alabama's longleaf pine forests during that era. Some reforestation efforts have restored pine stands in the surrounding area, and the Conecuh National Forest lies just to the south.
The local economy today includes small manufacturing, a few distribution centers, and the retail and service businesses that serve the county's rural population. Frank Jackson State Park, located just north of town on a 1,000-acre lake, provides fishing, camping, and boating access. The park is named for a former Alabama governor from Opp.
Like many southern Alabama towns of its size, Opp faces the ongoing challenge of population decline and economic stagnation. Young people leave for Mobile, Montgomery, or Dothan, where employment options are broader. The town works to maintain its infrastructure and services with a shrinking tax base, a familiar story across rural Alabama.
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Every spring, the city of Opp hosts the Rattlesnake Rodeo, an event that has been drawing crowds since 1960. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are displayed, handled, and auctioned, alongside arts and crafts vendors, food stalls, and live entertainment. The rodeo is the kind of regional oddity that puts a small town on the map -- Opp's population is only about 6,700, yet thousands of visitors arrive for the weekend event.
Opp sits in Covington County in southern Alabama, roughly 90 miles south of Montgomery and 80 miles north of the Gulf Coast. The town grew around the railroad in the late 1800s and served as a hub for the timber industry that cleared much of southern Alabama's longleaf pine forests during that era. Some reforestation efforts have restored pine stands in the surrounding area, and the Conecuh National Forest lies just to the south.
The local economy today includes small manufacturing, a few distribution centers, and the retail and service businesses that serve the county's rural population. Frank Jackson State Park, located just north of town on a 1,000-acre lake, provides fishing, camping, and boating access. The park is named for a former Alabama governor from Opp.
Like many southern Alabama towns of its size, Opp faces the ongoing challenge of population decline and economic stagnation. Young people leave for Mobile, Montgomery, or Dothan, where employment options are broader. The town works to maintain its infrastructure and services with a shrinking tax base, a familiar story across rural Alabama.
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