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Going to town, in south Baldwin, means Foley. A planned city from its founding a century ago, its busy main intersection is the crossroads to all areas of the growing coastal region. The urban crossing with hanging flower baskets and landscaped corners has its landmarks intact, in keeping with a community commitment to retaining its downtown character. One corner is anchored by the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce headquarters set in the Foley Park, with aged palms and a fountain gracing the central parkway which ends a few miles away on the Gulf beaches.
As a central destination for business, dining and shopping, the "Forward City" of Foley has been the economic center of a widespread South Baldwin community from its beginning. It has a large library, the South Baldwin Regional Medical Center, civic center, high school and more museums, galleries and antique shops than most cities its size. It certainly has the most retail customers with 5.2 million shoppers per year at the Tanger Outlet Mall alone. The town of 10,000 is a mini-metropolis offering all the amenities of large city life but keeping small-town neighborliness. A downtown drugstore offers old-fashioned soda fountain treats and still delivers.
Foley's fertile setting brought its development in 1901 by the Magnolia Land Company. After the L&N Railroad Line was extended to Foley in 1905, the town became the center for shipping South Baldwin agricultural products and produce over the South.
The restored L&N Depot, the city's archives and history museum in the heart of town, displays antique train cars in commemoration of the old "Pine Knot Special." Its wood-burning engines moved timber from the area forests and its small coach car brought settlers from over the country. They began a rich tradition of community service in the economic hub which has an active spirit of volunteerism with South Baldwin County United Way supporting 30 area programs, a Salvation Army, South Baldwin Scouting Association and numerous civic organizations. There's always something to do in the town with a dozen movies always playing. The new Snook Family YMCA has a fully equipped weight and strength training complex and Foley also has a private health club.
The door is always open for new residents and business. The new Foley Expressway, planned to connect with I-10 to the north, will bring more growth and vitality to the municipality that issued nearly 4,000 building permits in the past year. Foley is indeed going to town.
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