Why the name "Shotgun Alley"?

Erik and I grew up across the way from Shotgun Alley. To my knowledge, that name never appeared on a map but people knew where you were talking about when you said "Shotgun Alley."

I had heard stories for years about goings-on down Shotgun Alley. And shotguns were indeed mentioned as involved. It was a place you weren't meant to be comfortable unless you lived there. Supposedly something was always going on down there, and it wasn't particularly good.

Interestingly, while researching the history of the area, I didn't find much substance behind the rumors. No one could verify the moonshining rumor, and the homes back in there were built well after the typical "moonshining period."

There were indeed some run-ins with the law, but that might have had more to do with how close the houses were built to each other back in there and the generally small sizes of the houses themselves. Add a cantankerous family or two in there and you've got the ingredients for conflict.

The most interesting story I heard about Shotgun Alley involved the era of CB radios and a then-common (but illegal) practice of boosting the output of the transmitters. The CB signal would bleed over into the television frequencies (no cable TV back then) and disrupt both the picture and sound all around the area. As the story goes, a certain person with a vigilante spirit had had enough of the interference one day and purportedly shot the top of the transmitting tower off. I haven't found out yet whether a shotgun was used.

The second closest link to notoriety involves the small cabins/barns/storage buildings located at what used to be the start of Shotgun Alley. The owner apparently got them from a relatively close mining town for a good price, the cabins previously having been used as prostitute quarters - being large enough only for a bed, a chair, a window, and a door.

Ultimately, the rumors and stories about Shotgun Alley and its battles tended to be larger than the reality behind it. Likewise, we feel that much of the controversy certain to be discussed in these forums exaggerates and highlights the differences between each other - differences that become small when real needs or tragedies occur. In the meantime though, have your say, have your battles. But don't forget to come back home to paradise.

Bill Boemanns
President, BoeBro Ventures, Inc.

BoeBro Ventures, Inc. is headed up by the brothers Bill Boemanns and Erik Boemanns, who together bring over thirty-four years of technology, website design, and website management experience to the company. Bill Boemanns currently resides in Blairsville, Georgia. Erik Boemanns currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.