Most of us learn in elementary school that all of Alabama is located in the Central Time Zone. And that's true, according to the federal government, which set standard time zones in 1918.

However, at some unknown point in history, four Alabama cities unofficially agreed to use the Eastern Time Zone, which is an hour later than the rest of the state. They are Phenix City, population 35,750; Valley, population 9,464; Lanett, population 6,452; and Smiths Station, population 5,300.

These cities border the Chattahoochee River and the state of Georgia. Some online references say the change was made because the cities are included in the Columbus, Ga., Metropolitan Area, which is located in the Eastern Time Zone.

According to Barbara Brooks, assistant treasurer for the City of Valley, the reason for the change had to do with the location of West Point Pepperell textile mills.

She repeated the story she'd heard: "We used to be part of West Point Pepperell textile industry. The mills were in Alabama but the corporate office was in West Point, Ga. There was just a consensus and everybody went on eastern time."

Mills began closing in the 1990s, and the majority were no longer in operation by the 2000s. However, the time zones remain unchanged.

"We did try to change it at one time, a couple of years ago," Brooks said. "But residents voted to stay on Eastern time."