When we set out to create this new community on the shores of Lake Martin, we knew we needed an interesting name to capture the exceptional character of the property. For many years, Kennebec had been known locally as “the fingers.” That’s because when viewed on a map or from above it looks like a series of fingers splayed out into the water. While that label may have been a good descriptor of the property, it didn’t evoke the sense of place we are creating on the forty-one lots or in the rich architecture that will be present on the site.
Naming a place is often best linked to some sort of local tradition or history. However, our location didn’t have an historic name and the local name was nothing more than a label that didn’t offer any sort of connectivity for future buyers. There is a tradition of Native American names in the area. In fact, the state of Alabama is named after a combination of Choctaw Indian words – “Alba” meaning vegetation and “Amo” meaning gatherer or “AlbaAmo.” This is an apt description for the Native Americans who used the land in the state for agricultural purposes. And in many ways, this is still appropriate today with Alabama being a leading agricultural and timber producing state.
While this brief history lesson is not specific to our site, it helps answer why Kennebec?
Since we didn’t have an historic place name, we did have this Native American tradition of place names. With research into Native American languages, we came across Kennebec – long place of water or great bay. Long place of water captures the fact that each “finger” of land winds its way out into the lake creating long peninsulas with exceptional water access and lake frontage. The great bay references the fact that Kennebec is located at the confluence of the two main channels of the lake offering long, deep water views from a majority of the lots.
And, that’s how Kennebec, the name, came to be.
Come see this long place of water on a great bay in person.
