Wilcox County, Furman, Religion, Christianity, Church building, African-American, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
The Hope Well Church was established in 1864. The church was a foundation for the black community. Originally African-American and Caucasian-American congregants worshiped together in the time but over time African-Americans asked for a place to worship for themselves and Hope Well was established. The church was originally known as Hope Well AME Zion. During this time, the Hope Well Burial Ground and the Hope Well School were also established. Architecturally, the church has twin towers, an element typical of early twentieth-century rural black churches. Hope Well Church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1999.
Wilcox County, Catherine, Cemetery, Cooper Cemetery, Plantation, Thomas Bevin Creagh, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
The Creagh Family Cemetery is believed to have been established in 1826 after the death of the patriarch’s fourth son. Over the years, many Creagh family members were interred at the cemetery including the patriarch, Thomas Bevin Creagh. Mr. Creagh contributed significantly to the early development of Alabama. Creagh was one of the eleven trustees who established the first chartered school in the state. In 1827, Creagh and his family moved to Wilcox County to the plantation where the Creagh Family Cemetery is located. The cemetery now contains 22 graves, monuments, and markers. The Creagh Family Cemetery was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1991.
Washington County, Wagarville, Religion, Christianity, Baptist, cemetery, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
The Washington Church was established in 1883; however, the present church building was not built until 1916. The building itself is a one room church, common in the rural south. The church is one of the few remaining that were built in the 19th century and then remodeled and modernized over time. However the church still does not have a steeple, water, heating, or air conditioning. Behind the church building is a cemetery that is over a hundred years old and holds over a hundred graves. Near the church entrance is a large maker that commemorated the five charter members of the church in 1883- Clem and Sarah Henson, Augustus Kirkland, Sally and Dr. Obadiah Lynes, the first pastor. The oldest death date on a headstone is 1901. The cemetery is still active as is the church. The church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 2010.
Baldwin County, Point Clear, Religion, Protestant, Church, St. Francis at the Point Church, Mrs. Ben Hamel, Traditional Protestant Episcopal Church, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
St. Luke’s church, commonly known as St. Francis at the Point Church, was constructed in 1898. The building was modeled in a vernacular interpretation of the late Gothic Revival style. St. Luke’s church was the first Episcopal Church on the eastern shore of Mobile bay. St. Luke’s congregation assembled in 1896, two years before the church was built. The church was active until 1947. The congregation had diminished during WWII so the church was vacant from 1947 to 1956. In 1957, Mrs. Ben Hamel bought the building and converted it into a gift shop. Eventually the Traditional Protestant Episcopal Church acquired the property and religious services resumed in 1984. St. Luke’s Church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1997.
Bullock County, Cahauba, Religion, Christianity, Baptist, Church, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
The Sardis Baptist Church is one of the oldest Baptist church building still standing in Alabama. The church was constructed after Greek Revival architecture. Because of the buildings condition, the church is currently inactive. The church was organized in 1837. The church building is believed to have been constructed in 1841. In 1860 an additional two acres were acquired for the church cemetery. The original families who settled in the Sardis community and established the church were from Edgefield, South Carolina and were crucial to the county’s growth and development. Sardis Baptist Church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1991.
Walker County, Oakman, Religion, Christianity, Tubbs Church of Christ, Daniel Tubbs, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1992
Tubbs Cemetery is adjacent to the Tubbs Church of Christ. The oldest markers date back to burials in the Tubbs family as early as 1842. The patriarch of the family, Daniel Tubbs, had enlisted in the war of 1812 and fought in the Battle of New Orleans. He moved his family to Walker County in 1835. Tubbs and his family donated a portion of their land for community use such as for religious and educational purposes. The family owned the property until 1953 when it was bought by the Tubbs Church of Christ. About 200 persons are interred at Tubbs Cemetery today. Tubbs Cemetery was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in
Barbour County, Midway, Religion, Baptist, Church, Solomon G. Burke, Francis T. Burke, American Civil War, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
The Ramah Baptist Church was constructed around 1840. The interior of the church is one large room with two columns in the pew area. In 1857 Solomon G. and Frances T. Burke gave the deed for the present building and cemetery. During the civil war, Ramah Church was the focal point for military roads, used by both the confederacy and the union, leading to Midway, Enon, Hartville, and Ft. Browder. In 1963, arrangements were made to preserve Ramah Church and the adjoining cemetery. The church is now under the care of the Ramah Church Memorial Association. Ramah Baptist Church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 2011.
Walker County, Jasper, Religion, Methodist, Church, American Civil War, Rev. L. J. Morris, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
The present building of the First United Methodist Church was built in 1914 although the congregation dates back almost a hundred years prior. The Methodist church is the oldest church in Jasper, Alabama with the first formal organization occurring in 1833. Around 1858, a frame building was built on the site of the present building. This frame building was burnt during the American Civil War by Union soldiers. In 1888 the congregants began to build a new church; however, plans changed and in 1912, Reverend J. L. Morris petitioned to build a new church. This church was finished and dedicated in 1921. The First United Methodist Church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1983.
Jefferson County, Birmingham, Religion, Baptist, Civil Rights Movement, African American, National historic landmark, Ku Klux Klan
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, located in Birmingham, became a national symbol during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. Having been built in 1873, the church was the first Colored Baptist Church. In the early twentieth century, the church would become a fixture in the African American community and would host many notable figures including W. E. B. Dubois, Mary Mcleod Bethune, Paul Robeson, and Ralph Bunche. As the church moved on in to the twentieth century, it became a center for African American activism. Rallies and demonstrations were held frequently at the church to support integration and equal rights; however these rallies would also be responsible for increasing racial tension dramatically in the neighborhood. On September 5, 1963, the tension culminated in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church right before the 11 a.m. service. The blast killed four young girls and injured twenty-three other churchgoers. This incident would shock the nation and help propel landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The FBI would investigate and find four men affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan responsible for the bombing; however, charges would not be filed until 1977 against one man, 1997 for the second, and 2002 for the third. The fourth would die in custody before charges could be filed. In 2006, the church became a national historical landmark. In 2013, the four girls who died were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the United States highest civilian honor.
Mascots; University of North Alabama; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
On October 7, 2002, University of North Alabama had the ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for the brand new lion habitat. The habitat was named after a long time contributor to the university, George H. Carroll. After the death of the previous mascot Leo II, animal rights activists did not want UNA to have another mascot. There were concerns that having a lion on campus would drain money meant for academics. However, all money, labor and equipment needed to build habitat for the new mascots were donated by corporations and individuals. The 12,764 square foot habitat met USDA and the American Zoo and Aquarium standards. The habitat is located between Willingham Hall and the university president’s home on campus. It is equipped with a simulated waterfall and rock wall, separate climate controlled sleeping quarters for both of the lions, a quarantine area for when they get sick, a squeeze cage that allows veterinarians to work on the lions, and two visitor observation areas. The George H. Carroll Lion Habitat is currently the home of Leo III and Una.
Malik Emmett, University of North Alabama
“UNA to dedicate lion habitat, but without new cubs,” Birmingham News, Oct 6, 2002, Lion Habitat Collection, University of North Alabama Archives. “UNA’s Lion Habitat Finally A Reality,” Courier Journal, Oct 16, 2002, Lion Habitat Collection. University of North Alabama Archives.
Article defending original origins of "War Eagle" belonging to Auburn
2005.36.397: Mary K. Jones to her sister, 1860 April 26
1860; Mary K. Jones; Beaufort; South Carolina; Dr. Robert M. Young; Elizabeth Caroline Young; family conditions
Mary is writing to thank her sister for writing to confirm the arrival of Louisa.
P.M.B Young Collection, Bartow History Museum
2005.36.396: Sister Mary to Sister, Unknown April 3
P.M.B. Young Collection, Bartow History Museum
2005.36.121: Mary (Jones) Thompson to Louisa Young, Unknown March 29
Greenville; South Carolina; Uncle John; Butler; Colonel Harris; Gabe Kyne; Mr. Moon; Carrie Earle; Father (Robert M. Young Sr.); Mother (Caroline Jones) Young; Weather; Health; Courtship; Marriage; Criminal Activity; Family Visitation; Transcription
News on family health and well-being along with advice and encouragement on making courtship and marriage decisions. Requests that the family make a trip to SC for a visit. Includes a warning to Robert M. Young, Sr. to be watchful for a fugitive named Gabe Kyne, who may try to impose on the family. Original letter has 7 handwritten pages.
2005.36.166: Mary (Jones) Thompson to Pierce M.B. Young, 1857 May 13
1857; Greenville SC; West Point NY; United States Military Academy; Grandmother; John; Uncle Judge Butler; Miss Thompson; Flo; Advice; Encouragement; Illness; Matchmaking
A letter of encouragement from Aunt Mary to Pierce. She offered admonishment and advice to Pierce as he embarked on his commission to attend West Point. She shared news of Uncle Butler being very ill with mumps, and of Miss Thompson, a beautiful girl who spent a great deal of time with Aunt Mary. She enticed him to meet Miss Thompson. She asked Pierce to come to Greenville for a visit as soon as he could. 4 handwritten pages.
An oral history with Mary Kitts, a graduate student of Auburn University, concerning her participation in the Women's March on Washington that occurred on January 21, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Her testimony provides context for those women graduate students who traveled great distances to participate in the national march. She also expounds on her political ideology, including her lifelong admiration for Hillary Clinton, and how she came to espouse her liberal views as a resident of Florida.
Heather M. Haley, Ph.D. candidate, Department of History, Auburn University, in cooperation with the University Archives and Special Collections
All files are the property of the Auburn University Libraries and are intended for non-commercial use. Users of these materials are asked to acknowledge the Auburn University Libraries. For information about obtaining high-resolution copies of this and other items in this collection, please contact Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department at archives@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1732.
2005.36.186: Mary Thompson to Caroline Young, Unknown November 18
1858; Mary Thompson; Caroline Young; Cartersville; Bartow County; Georgia; White Oak
2005.36.106: Mary to Elizabeth Caroline Young
Mary; Elizabeth Caroline Young; Memories; Childhood; Illness; Sickness; Visit; Sisters
Letter from Mary to her sister, Elizabeth Caroline Young. Mary inquires about Elizabeth's health, noted it as poor. Mary also mentions a proposed family visit, and reminisces about memories between the two sisters.
Guntersville; Marshall County, Alabama; Commercial Business
Located right next door to 2310 Taylor Street, 2312 Taylor Street is a one-story stucco façade building located in the heart of downtown Guntersville, Alabama. This building is more rectangular in shape on the façade, whereas, 2310 Taylor was distinctly squared. Underneath the stucco façade, the building has a masonry construction. The roof is flat and planed like 2310 Taylor Street. The usage of the building at 2312 Taylor Street is commercial. When the building is constructed in the early 1920s, the purpose for it was commercial as well. It has continued serving a commercial role in downtown Guntersville.
Matthew C. Fesmire, The University of North Alabama
Text: Alabama Historical Commission, David B. Schneider Photo: Alabama Historical Commission, David B. Schneider
Guntersville; Marshall County Alabama; Commercial Business
A commercial building located in downtown Guntersville, Alabama, 2316 Taylor Street is a brick building with two stories and a flat roof. The original construction of the building dates to the mid-1930s as a one-story commercial building. The addition of a second floor occurred between the mid-1930s and late 1940s according to a Sanborn map created in 1948. The building was remodeled around 1985 into what it looks like today. Currently, the building is the Sand Mountain Bureau office for local north Alabama TV affiliate WAFF-48 TV.
A two-story brick building located in downtown Guntersville, Alabama that was utilized as a retail establishment, but now looks unused. The building is the largest located on Taylor Street. The construction of the building dates to the early 1930s for commercial purposes. The 1948 Sanborn map also shows that the building housed a single retail establishment. The building was remodeled in the mid-1980s. The building is privately owned and is currently not used. The façade of the building has several windows scattered throughout the masonry. Each of the windows are 9:6 replacement windows, with four on the second level and two on the first level. There are two doors for entry in the front as well. The roof, like all the other Taylor Street buildings, is flat. On the back of the building are concrete blocks.
Compared to the other buildings located on Taylor Street in downtown Guntersville, Alabama, this is a relatively new building. Constructed in the early 1950s with brick and concrete blocks, the building is easily twenty to thirty years newer than the other Taylor Street commercial buildings. It is built in the similar city block style as the other Taylor Street buildings. The roof is flat and planed like the other Taylor Street buildings and the façade of the building is a light colored brick. When originally constructed, the building just had the two windows and center entryway. In an addition added in the early 1960s, a two-bay construction of a window and entryway was built. The building was also remodeled in the mid-1970s.
Before the city of Florence, Alabama gained renown for its world famous Florence Wagon Works, the wagon company operated in the area of Atlanta, Georgia. One reason why the company moved to Florence was the infrastructure of industry within the Muscle Shoals region, with about sixty different plants and businesses located in the city of Florence. Dr. Alfred David Bellamy, a New York native and owner of the Atlanta Wagon Company, moved the company to Florence in 1889 when the new buildings for the new Florence Wagon Company were completed in 1888/1889. At the height of the Florence Wagon Works’ production the company manufactured enough wagons to be second in North America behind the Canadian wagon company Studebaker. In February of 1890, the Florence Wagon Works employed about seventy-five laborers. By October of 1890, the number of employees expanded to 125, then to 160 by 1897. There is a discrepancy in different sources as to how many people Florence Wagon Works employed at its apex, one source says 175 , whereas another says 250. Regardless of the exact numbers, Florence Wagon Works had a serious impact on employment in the Florence area. Production of the “Light Running” Florence Wagons increased yearly from 1889 into the early twentieth century, to the point where the factory would turn out twenty to twenty-five wagons per day, a very high number for a custom wagon in the pre-assembly line era. At their peak, Florence Wagon Works used an average of two million feet of hardwood per year to produce between ten to fifteen thousand “Light Running” Florence Wagons per year. The “Light Running” Florence Wagon was a casualty to its era. With the invention of the automobile, including the utilitarian pick-up truck, and the advancement in tractor machinery, the “Light Running” Florence Wagon began to meet its demise in the early twentieth century. The diminished necessity of horse-drawn transportation sent the wagon into decline. The greatest decline in business for the Florence Wagon Works was in the 1920s and 1930s when people were able to buy affordable gasoline powered vehicles in the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Florence Wagon Works tried to survive the declining demand for horse-drawn vehicles by turning to building lawn furniture in the 1930s. But the company could not survive and was sold in 1941 to a company from Chattanooga called Trenholm & Starr, Inc. who continued the Florence operation for a short period. Eventually, the new ownership moved all operations to Hickory, North Carolina in 1941, leaving open warehouses at the Florence Wagon Works that were used for the storage of cotton, and thus was the end of Florence Wagon Works in North Alabama. There was hope the deserted factory would be used in World War II for defense purposes, but that never materialized.
Matthew C. Fesmire, University of North Alabama
Text Sources: Florence/Lauderdale Public Library. Vertical History File. Local History & Genealogy. Freeman, Lee. “A Brief History of the Florence Wagon Factory.” Florence, Lauderdale County, AL. Florence Wagon Works 2-2. Florence/Lauderdale Public Library. Vertical History File. Local History & Genealogy. Freeman, Lee. “A Tribute to the Men and Women of the Florence Wagon Works.” Florence, Lauderdale County, AL. Florence Wagon Works 2-2. McDonald, William L. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2001. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collections. William B. McDonald Collection. “Florence Wagons.” c. 1938, Florence, AL.
Late Nineteenth Century-Early Twentieth Century
Bellamy Planning Mill Company/Acme Lumber Company
The Bellamy Planning Mills of the East Florence area of Sweetwater was incorporated on May 1st, 1901. The founders chose to situate Bellamy Planning Mills near Sweetwater Creek on present day Veterans Drive. The founders of the Bellamy Planning Mill were President, A.D. Bellamy (also the founder of Florence Wagon Works); Secretary, W.M. Richardson (who would own his own lumberyard in Florence eventually); and Attorney, John T. Ashcraft, who was one of several founders of the Ashcraft Cotton Mill. By 1903, the Bellamy Planning Mill was doing about seventy-five thousand dollars’ worth of business per year while using about three million feet of lumber per year and employing a force of thirty men. Bellamy’s mill did business across the South and Midwest selling building materials for framing, ceilings, porch columns, and balusters to name a few. They also sold Sherwin Williams Paints and Acme Cement Plaster in addition to the wood products. Eventually, Bellamy sold the planning mill to a partnership of Lewellen and Robbins. When A.M. Lewellen and Robbins bought the Bellamy Planning Mill, they renamed it Acme Lumber Company. Acme Lumber Company had an important, albeit tragic, role in Florence during the 1918 Spanish influenza outbreak that occurred while Wilson Dam was under construction. Because of the influenza outbreak, Acme ran three full shifts a day to build enough coffins for the countless numbers of deceased workers since the lumberyard was located across the river from the camps of the workers building Wilson Dam. The majority of the deceased were immigrant Cuban workers buried in common graves, and most had no known immediate relatives or survivors. After the end of the Spanish influenza, not much information can be found on Acme Lumber Company on the fate of the lumber company itself.
Text Sources: "Florence As She Is." The Florence Times. 1903. McDonald, William Lindsey. "Sweetwater: The Story of East Florence." Florence, Ala.: Florence Historical Board, 1989. McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." photos by L.D. Staggs, Jr. Killen, Bluewater Publications, 2002. Garrett, Jill Knight. "A History of Lauderdale County, Alabama." Columbia, Tenn., Privately Published, 1968. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Bellamy Planning Mill/Acme Lumber Company.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-32.
Florence Cotton Oil Company/Ashcraft Cotton Mill/Florence Cotton Mill
The Ashcraft Cotton Mill began not as a cotton mill for the weaving of textiles, but as a refinery for cotton oil. In the spring of 1898, C.W. and Erister Ashcraft founded and incorporated the Florence Cotton Oil Company. The distance of other similar facilities in Nashville, Memphis, and Birmingham, made for a lengthy treks for local farmers, hence the formation of the company and the refinery. In 1898, cottonseed had a going rate of five dollars per ton. So the elimination of distance created a rise of about 500 percent in the amount paid for local cottonseed to process into cotton oil. In the single year of operation for Florence Cotton Oil, they employed in between 50 to 75 workers. About a year later, the Ashcraft clan decided to stop producing cotton oil and start producing cotton textiles. John T., C.W., Lee, Erister, and Fletcher Ashcraft, all brothers, in addition to Andrew J. Ashcraft, their father, formed a partnership in creating the Ashcraft Cotton Mill. The mill was located at the intersection of South Cherry and Terrace Streets in the Sweetwater area of Florence. At the time of incorporation in 1899, Ashcraft had an organized capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, then in 1900 one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, giving the company a well-capitalized beginning. One of the largest cotton mills operating in Lauderdale County, the mill had over 3,600 spindles and 100 looms ready for operation in 1899. Upon the opening of the mill in 1900, the city of Florence celebrated in grand fashion, having a large celebration for the local citizens and dignitaries with a big brass band to boot. By 1903, the Ashcraft mill was valued at two hundred thousand dollars. By 1903, Ashcraft Cotton Mill employed at least 250 men and women and provided housing for the employees. The production of the workers helped the mill use 4,000 bales of locally grown cotton annually, which the finished product was sent across North America. In 1927, the Ashcraft Cotton Mill was renamed the Florence Cotton Mill. The Florence Cotton Mill survived the Great Depression and paid a decent wage during the economic depression at about fifteen dollars per week. Even though the mill survived the Great Depression, it could not survive the foreign textile industry and closed its doors at the end of World War II.
Text Sources: McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." photos by L.D. Staggs, Jr. Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002. McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003. “Florence As She Is.” "The Florence Times." 1903. Image Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Ashcraft Cotton Mill." Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-36.
The Cherry Cotton Mill was one of the largest cotton mills in Lauderdale County at the turn of the twentieth century. Cherry Cotton Mill has an industrial genealogy in Lauderdale County that is traceable to before the Civil War. Cypress Mills Company and the Mountain Mills were both precursors to the Cherry Cotton Mill. Cherry Cotton Mill came to Florence in the Sweetwater area by way of Barton, Alabama and Colbert County and the movement of Mountain Mills to east Florence. Located in Sweetwater at the sight of where an old cotton mill used to be in 1832, Colonel Noel F. Cherry (and primary stock holder), Nial C. Elting (founder of First National Bank of Florence), and Charles M. Brandon (who the Brandon School was named after) founded Cherry Cotton Mill in 1893. The Cherry Cotton Mill produced high quality yarns, amongst other textiles, until the doors of the mill closed during the Great Depression. During the boom years of the early twentieth century, the Cherry Cotton Mill employed over 400 people and had a running capacity of 12,000 spoolers. Just before the turn of the twentieth century, the average wage for the common worker at Cherry was fifteen to seventy-five cents a day. Specialized mechanics and skilled craftsman would earn anywhere from a dollar to a dollar fifty a day. A master mechanic would make a dollar fifty a day and a supervisor two dollars a day. Even children were employed at the mill at as young as six years old. The majority of the employees at the mill were women, but both the children and women tended to be paid the lowest, which is indicative of factory work at the beginning of the 1900s. The mill did provide housing to its employees on close by Cherry Hill in Sweetwater. From 1893 to 1929, Cherry Cotton Mill is said to have consumed 150,000 bales of local cotton in production. Prosperous until the Great Depression, the number of people employed in 1936 by Cherry Cotton Mill was 300 workers, a strong number for an economic downturn. The payroll by 1936 averaged two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars annually. Unfortunately, Cherry Cotton Mill did not last much past 1936 and the Great Depression claimed the largest cotton mill in Florence.
Text Sources: McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003. McDonald, William Lindsey. "Sweetwater: The Story of East Florence." Florence, Ala.: Florence Historical Board, 1989. McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." photos by L.D. Staggs, Jr. Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Cherry Cotton Mill.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-29.
Coca-Cola Bottling Plant/Pratt Bottling Company
In 1907, two men named Russell and Arthur Pratt of Huntsville, Alabama moved a Coca-Cola bottling facility from Sheffield to downtown Florence. The Pratt Bottling Company bottled Coca-Cola in addition to creating and manufacturing their own soft drinks and ice cream flavors. Two years later in 1909, Russell Pratt became the main distributor for Coca-Cola on the West Coast; meanwhile, Arthur Pratt left Florence to pursue Coca-Cola distribution in Newark, New Jersey and New York City, New York. Julia Pratt and manager Burt Snyder took over the operations at the Pratt Bottling Company until 1940 when the Pratt Bottling Company was sold to Walter Matthews Sr. in 1940. Eventually, the Coca-Cola bottling operations moved from downtown Florence to the Florence Industrial Park. Comcast Cable owns the old Pratt Bottling Company building located off of Court Street today.
Text Source: Barske, Carolyn. "Images of America: Florence." Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2014. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Coca-Cola Bottling Plant/Pratt Bottling Company.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-56.
Early Twentieth-Mid to Late Twentieth Century
The Cypress Mill was located on Cypress Creek in Florence. The Cypress Mill was rebuilt from the old skeletal remains of the pre-Civil War cotton mill known as the Globe Factory. After Union Colonel Florence M. Cornyn of the 10th Missouri Calvary set the mill ablaze in 1863, it took several years for James Martin to get Cypress Mill back up and running. He advertised for at least forty able-bodied men to help in the rebuild of one of the old Globe Factory factories in 1866. But it was not until 1873 that operations were commenced at Cypress Mills, after the heirs of James Martin conveyed all their interest to the Cypress Mills Corporation in 1873. At the commencement of operation, Cypress Mill had a capital stock of seventy-five thousand dollars, 3,000 spindles, 60 looms. 50 employees, and consumed about 600 bales of cotton annually. The mill used hydropower from a thirty-five foot dam on Cypress Creek and that dam powered the three-story facility that sat at the edge of the Cypress. Cypress Mills Company purchased about 1,500 acres for their workers and built a mill village for them on the tract of land. Just over fifteen years later, when Cypress Mill was sold to the Cherry brothers in 1889, Cypress Mills production was drastically cut, and many of the employees followed the Cherry brothers when they relocated the mill in Barton, Alabama. In 1892, Cypress Mill had 2,500 spindles, 60 looms, and 9 cards. By 1893, Cypress Mill had ceased production and closed its doors.
Text Sources: McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003. Wilhelm, Dwight M. "A History of the Cotton Textile Industry of Alabama 1809 to 1950." Montgomery: Privately Published, 1950. McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Cypress Mill.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-03.
The Florence Lumber Company was established in the early 1910s. Today, Florence Lumber Company is located on East Tennessee Street in downtown Florence. The company has been a mainstay in Florence for around a century and is one of the earliest lumber businesses in Florence to be in operation. The lumber company is operated by Uhland O. Redd III, a descendant of one of the original founders of the Florence Lumber Company. In the early twentieth century, Florence Lumber Company was at the center of a local controversy involving the construction of the Bungalow style home in downtown Florence. The controversy centered around the bungalow home being an uncommon home in contrast to the traditional homes in northwestern Alabama area since the style was a transplant from California. Many in the downtown Florence community complained about the bungalow controversy, but, in the end, the bungalow style homes were built. Florence Lumber Company built a number of bungalows, as well as houses of other styles, around Florence.
Text Sources: McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Florence Lumber Company.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-06.
This company was founded in the East Florence area of Sweetwater. The initial founders of the company were R.M. Martin, President, Colonel Noel F. Cherry, Vice-President (and founder of the Mountain Mills and Cherry Cotton Mill), and S.S. Broadus, Secretary and Treasurer (founder of the short lived Broadus [Cotton] Mill in the Sweetwater area located close to present day Veterans Drive and Wilson Dam Road, also treasurer of the Merchant’s Bank in Florence as well ). Located along the railroad tracks in Sweetwater, the Florence Machine Company served as a manufacturing spur along the railroad line through east Florence. When it was founded, the capital investment within the company was ten thousand dollars.
Text Sources: McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Florence Machine Works.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-33.
F.H. Foster Manufacturing served a multitude of roles in manufacturing in the Florence area. The F.H. Foster complex was built in between Sweetwater Creek and the Tennessee River along the Louisville and Nashville railroad tracks that ran through the heart of Sweetwater. The various structures located at the F.H. Foster Manufacturing Company included a building for the iron foundry, a building for a brass foundry, a building for wood tumbling, a Japan room, a working area, and an area for packing and machine works.
Text Sources: McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “F.H. Foster Manufacturing Company.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-31.
Florence Gas Light and Fuel Company/Florence Gas Works
This company was the leader in fuel production for the people of Florence. The old Florence Gas Light and Fuel Company/Florence Gas Works operated on Old Huntsville Road, west of the Florence Steam Laundry in Sweetwater. The main office of the company that ran the Florence Gas Works had its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Production at the facility began in 1903, a year after the company was established in east Florence in 1902. The gas plant produced about 75,000 cubic feet of gas that was used for lighting of street lamps and homes, heating within homes, and cooking as well. The people of Florence had to pay two dollars a thousand cubic feet for lighting in their homes and four dollars and fifty cents per thousand cubic feet for heating and cooking in 1903. The company also sold Welsbach incandescent light appliances and gas stoves for heating and cooking.
Text Sources: McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003. McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Florence Gas Light and Fuel Company/Florence Gas Works.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-02.
Florence Ice and Coal Company/Central Ice Company
Two separate ice and coal companies merged to create the Florence Ice and Coal Company. The first company was Chapin Ice and Coal Company. The second company was H.J. Moore Coal Company. Chapin, before the merger, boasted that the company could produce up to 25 tons of ice per day. In 1902, the two companies merged to create the largest manufacturer of ice and provider of coal in Florence. The water used for the manufacturing of the ice at Florence Ice and Coal was pumped from a pure spring in the Sweetwater area, fortunately, multiple springs existed in Sweetwater. The company owned its own purification plant to help clean the water from the mineral free spring. In addition to the purification plant, the company owned over a dozen horses to transport the heavy loads of ice to the people of Florence daily. How the workers of Florence Ice and Coal knew to replenish their customers with a fresh block of ice was a placard system instituted by the company and a set of four cards given to customers. The customers would have the option of 25, 50, 75, and 100 pound blocks of ice to be delivered to their ice boxes daily by the route runners of Florence Ice and Coal. The placards had to be upright to have any ice delivered to their home on a daily basis. After twenty-six years, Florence Ice and Coal Company became Central Ice Company, eliminating coal from their services.
Text Sources: McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003. McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002. McDonald, William Lindsey. "Sweetwater: The Story of East Florence." Florence: Florence Historical Board, 1989. Picture Source: UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Florence Ice and Coal Company/Central Ice Company.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-31.
A small one-story building that resides in downtown Guntersville, Alabama at 2310 Taylor Street. The original construction of the building dates back to the 1920s. It is a small, simple building with a stucco façade. The addition of the stucco dates to the early 2000s and an aluminum frame accompanies the stucco façade. The underneath construction of the stucco is brick. The pitch of the roof is flat too. Today, the building is utilized as a local bakery. When constructed in the 1920s the building was used for commercial purposes. According to a 1930 Sanborn map, two retail establishments used the building. By the late 1940s, it was converted into a restaurant.
O'Neal Hall, University of North Alabama
Lauderdale County, Alabama; Florence, Alabama; Education; Florence State College; University of North Alabama; Edward A. O'Neal
O’Neal Hall was the “The Dormitory for Women” at the Florence State College, known now as the University of North Alabama. Completed and occupied by September 1st, 1913, the total cost of the building was $91,000. At its time, it was one of the best equipped dormitories in the South. A beautiful brick structure with stone trimmings, O’Neal Hall was located on Wesleyan Avenue, overlooking the campus, facing Wesleyan Hall and the Annex. O’Neal Hall received its name after Edward A. O’Neal, president of the Alabama Farm Bureau in 1930. The 4-story building was constructed to board 125 students. In addition to bedrooms, baths, and other usual dormitory facilities, O’Neal Hall consisted of a cafeteria on the first floor, a reception hall, a lounge, and offices. O’Neal Hall was unfortunately torn down to accommodate room for the expansion of a Student Union Building, but the steps that once lead to O’Neal Hall are still visible from Wesleyan Avenue. The dormitory was located where the University of North Alabama’s Guillot University Center stands today.
Megan Statom, University of North Alabama
"Buildings." In Bulletin of the State Normal School, 10. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Florence, AL: State Normal School, Florence, Ala., 1914. Images: UNA Archives, University Photo Collection, File: University. Architecture. ONeal, Photo# O.1. “O’Neal Hall.” UNA.edu. www.una.edu/historicUNA/oneal-hall.html (accessed November 11, 2015)
Mary Wallace Kirk; Historic Homes; Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama
Locust Hill, a historic home located in Tuscumbia, Alabama on the corner of Seventh and Cave streets, was built in 1823 by Col. William Winters. The large 14 room mansion stretches across nearly three-fourths of a city block and features striking architecture that gives it a distinct look. Its deep set windows and one of a kind woodworking designed and made by a local wood worker named Braden, make Locust Hill a house like no other. The 13-inch thick, white, hand-crafted bricks, were created on site. In fact, it is believed to be the oldest surviving brick home in the State of Alabama. The two story home is surrounded by trees and plants of various species, the most notable being the Locust trees from which Locust Hill derives its name. During the Civil War, the home was occupied by a dentist named Dr. Chisholm. As war times continued, the home experienced its fair share of wear and tear. It was used as headquarters for the commander of the federal forces, Colonel Florence N. Cornyn, in 1863, as well as a hospital for Confederate troops. The home was destroyed, trashed from the inside out. Blood stained the floors, the insides were washed white, and the landscape was left desolate. In December of 1865, Captain John Taylor Rather and his family of ten, his son and daughter-in-law as well as their 6 children, later to be seven, purchased the property. After having his home, located in Decatur Alabama, burned by federal troops, Rather used what money he had left, both that which he had buried as well as that which he had snuck in stockings tied inside the hoop skirts of his daughter-in-law and her maid, to purchase the property. The total was $3000 in gold. Rather’s wife’s first purchase for the new home was thick red curtains. Being that there was a price on Rather’s head, the family thought it best to keep the curtains drawn to prevent anyone who sought to harm Rather from being able to get a clear shot. The tradition of drawing the curtains is a practice that lasted at Locust Hill for generations to come. Rather’s son General John D. Rather and his wife Letitia Pearsall worked towards fixing the landscape of the home, planting the beautiful trees and plants that gave Locust Hill its iconic look. The name “Locust Hill” comes from the stunning Locust trees on the property. Rather and his wife had seven children: Hal, Anne, Courtenay, Pearsall, John D. Jr., Mary Wallace, and Ella. The latter, Ella, married James T. Kirk, and their daughter Mary Wallace Kirk would later become the last of their family to have possession of the home. Mary Wallace Kirk was the fourth generation of her family to live at Locust Hill. Mary Wallace Kirk, lovingly known as “Miss May Wallace”, was born in the only other home located on the same block as Locust hill. It was a colonial style cottage that featured a beautiful garden with paths lined with flowers. Her family occupied this home during the first few years of their marriage. At age four, Kirk’s grandparents passed and the possession of Locust Hill fell to the Kirk family. Following the death of her parents, the property then fell into the hands of Kirk herself. Kirk fondly recalls her time spent in Locust Hill in her book, Locust Hill, published by the University of Alabama press in 1975. In her memoir, Kirk discusses many aspects of Locust Hill including not only the history of the home itself, but her own family history as well. The book also includes many of Kirk’s happiest childhood memories of the home. Today, the home is owned by Eli Harper and Laura Gayle Smith who purchased the home with intent to “put it back on the map”. Through continuation of the renovations that began with the previous owner, Harper and Smith have given the home new life. Now, the home is open to the public as a venue for various activities including weddings.
Melanie Hodges, University of North Alabama
University of North Alabama Archives and Special Collections Delinski, Bernie. "Locust Hill." Times Daily, December 28, 2014. Kirk, Mary Wallace. Locust Hill. University: University of Alabama Press, 1975. McDaniel, Mary Jane. "Locust Hill." In Historic Muscle Shoals: Buildings and Sites, 38-39. Tennessee Valley Hist. Society, 1983. Metcalf, Doris. "They Call Him Mr. Tip." In Tuscumbia: The Journal of Muscle Shoals History, 108-109. Vol. 16. Tennessee Valley Historical Society, 2001. Pitman, Mary Ann. "Locust Hill- a Visit into the Past." The Florence times, June 19, 1977.
Colonel Florence M. Cornyn; General Sterling A.M. Wood; Civil War; Captain Risden Deford; Globe Cotton Mills; Lauderdale County, AL
A Union force of 1380 men under the command of Colonel Florence M. Cornyn left Corinth, Mississippi on May 26, 1863. Colonel Cornyn’s mission was to destroy the industrial capacity of Lauderdale County. The county was a leading producer of cotton and wool cloth, leather, and food for the Confederate Army of the Tennessee. Among Colonel Cornyn’s officers was Captain Risden Deford, who knew the area from his youth. Captain Deford’s father had been a Methodist circuit riding preacher in the area, often staying in the homes of the local citizens. Captain Deford knowing the locations of the mills, tanneries, and foundries; guided the Union forces to them. The Union forces met the small number of confederate units commanded by General Sterling A.M. Wood on Coffee Road near Cox Creek. After a brief engagement Wood’s troops were driven back into the city. Cornyn’s forces then accomplished their major objective and burned the Globe Cotton Mills on Cypress Creek. The destruction of the mills was valued around one million dollars.
Michael Williams, University of North Alabama
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama Hisory." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMHGR1_Ante_Bellum_Cotton_Mills_1840_Florence_AL Photo from following websites: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/49815934 Photo from following websites: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11114 Photo from following websites: http://civilwartalk.com/threads/corinth-ms-court-martial-and-murder-of-colonel-francis-cornyn-10th-missouri-cavalry.108468/
Civil War; Andrew Jackson; Military Road; Lauderdale County, AL
Jackson’s Military Road was constructed from 1816 to 1820 under the direction of Andrew Jackson. The original purpose of the road was to serve as a conduit for military supplies in the southeast. The mail route from New Orleans to Nashville was transferred to the Military Road from the Natchez Trace in 1819. This shortened the mail route by 200 miles. During the Civil War, the Military Road was used by Confederate and Union forces on many occasions. The largest troop movement on the road in Lauderdale County occurred in the fall of 1864. After a three inch snow fall on November 20, the Confederate Army of the Tennessee under General Hood moved out of Florence to Franklin and Nashville in Tennessee. General Benjamin Cheatham’s corps moved down Coffee Road. General Stephen Lee’s corps took Chisholm road. General Alexander Stewart’s corps left via the Military Road.
McDonald, William Lindsey. A walk through the past : people and places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Pub., 2003., 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Groundspeak, Incorporated. 2015. "Jackson’s Military Road - Alabama Historical Markers on Waymarking.com." Waymarking.com. Accessed April 16, 2015. http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1PNX. n.d. "Jackson's Military Road." rootsweb. Accessed April 16, 2015. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tqpeiffer/Documents/Ancestral%20Migration%20Archives/Migration%20Webpage%20Folder/%285%29%20SOUTHEASTERN%20GULF%20PLAINS/Jackson%27s%20Military%20Road.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdjack.htm Photo from following websites: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tqpeiffer/Documents/Ancestral%20Migration%20Archives/Migration%20Photo%20Galleries/(5)%20SOUTHEASTERN%20GULF%20PLAINS/JACKSONS%20MILITARY%20ROAD/JacksonsMilitaryRoadmap.jpg
Civil War, Rogersville, Lambs Ferry, skirmish
Lamb’s Ferry was one of the oldest ferries crossing the Tennessee River in Lauderdale County. The ferry was built by John Lamb from Giles County Tennessee in 1809 four miles south of where the town of Rogersville is now located. The traffic involved in cross river trade on the road to Lamb’s Ferry was instrumental in the founding of Rogersville in 1827. The Ferry was the site of a skirmish between Union and Confederate forces on May 10 and 14 1862. On May 9 1862, the brigade of Confederate Colonel John Adams crossed the Tennessee River at Lamb’s Ferry to harass the Union forces. On May 11, Colonel Adams took a force of 850 men on an attempted raid of wagon trains traveling the road from Pulaski to Elkton in Tennessee. Meanwhile, Union forces under Colonel Lytle crossed Elk River from Athens and met with forces under the command of General Negley, moving down form Pulaski. The two forces converged on Rogersville with Colonel Lytle moving on Lamb’s Ferry south of the town. The main body of Confederate forces retreated across the river. Colonel Lytle’s cavalry opened fire on a ferry load of Confederates, killing several men and horses. Confederate forces on the opposite bank returned fire, wounding one man and killing 2 horses. The Confederate forces were driven off the opposite bank by the arrival of artillery under the command of Lieutenant Sypher. One ferryboat was destroyed by artillery, one was burned by Union forces and the third was commandeered and turned into a gunboat for the Union.
McDonald, William Lindsey. A walk through the past : people and places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Pub., 2003., 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Crane, Gregory R. n.d. "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Chapter XXII: Operations in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Mississippi, North Alabama, and Southwest Virginia. March 4-June 10, 1862. ." Perseus Digital Library. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2001.05.0057%3Achapter%3D45. Government, Lauderdale County Alabama. 2011. "The History of Lauderdale County." Lauderdale County Online. Accessed April 19, 2015. http://lauderdalecountyonline.com/New_Website/About_LauderdaleCounty/index.html. Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama History." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://www.civilwararchive.com/RESEARCH1/1863/Chickamaugausa4.htm Photo from following websites: http://www.rdonmcleod.org/brigadeer-general-john-adams.html
Hood's Narrow Escape Across the Tennessee
General Hood's Confederate Army of the Tennessee retreats across the Tennessee River
The Bainbridge Ferry was the sight that Confederate General Hood’s Army of the Tennessee used to escape from the Union forces of General George Thomas who was pursuing them from Nashville. General Hood’s forces left Pulaski for Bainbridge to cross the Tennessee River on December 22, 1864. The army arrived on December 25. Lieutenant Colonel Presstman began what was accounted to be his crowning achievement as a military engineer. Presstman quickly reconstructed a pontoon bridge across the Tennessee River in half the time it had taken for the same project nearly two months earlier. The bridge was finished in the early morning hours of December 26. The Army began crossing the bridge that morning and finished on December 28 removing the pontoons to complete the escape. General Forrest’s cavalry harassed the Union forces following from Pulaski to allow Hood the time to finish the bridge. The two corps under General Benjamin Cheatham and Stephen D. Lee crossed the bridge after the wagon trains had crossed. General Alexander P. Stewart’s forces crossed the next day to be followed by General Edward C. Walthall and General Forrest’s cavalry. Union Admiral SP Lee’s “Brown Water Navy” attempted to steam up the river with a flotilla of gunboats. The larger boats were unable to pass the shoals at Florence and only two lighter boats continued toward Bainbridge. Admiral Lee’s boats exchanged fire with Confederate artillery on the two miles upriver from Florence. The boats were unable to navigate the shoals before Bainbridge and were forced to retreat down river.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Eric. 2014. "HOOD’S BATTERED ARMY RECROSSES THE TENNESSEE." Civil War Daily Gazette. December 26. Accessed April 11, 2015. http://civilwardailygazette.com/2014/12/26/hoods-battered-army-recrosses-the-tennessee/. n.d. "Civilwarhome.com." Journal of the Army of Tennessee. Accessed April 13, 2015. http://www.civilwarhome.com/journalaotnashville.html.
Photo from following websites: http://civilwardailygazette.com/2014/12/26/hoods-battered-army-recrosses-the-tennessee/ Photo from following websites: http://bshc-granbury.org/wp/the-stories/the-civil-war-era/john-bell-hood
Wilson's 1865 Raid stages at Gravely Springs.
Union General James H. Wilson, Civil War, Raid
Gravely Springs near Oakland in Lauderdale County was the site of Union General James H. Wilson’s headquarters and camp in the winter of 1865. The final Union raid into Alabama was staged in this camp in the early spring of 1865. In January of 1865, General Wilson began assembling his 22,000 man cavalry. Advanced forces began preparatory raids at the end of February. On March 22, 1865, General Wilson’s main forces set out on the largest cavalry raid of the Civil War. The raid destroyed the remaining productive industrial capacity of Alabama at Birmingham and Selma. The raid also burned the University of Alabama and captured Montgomery.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Hubbs, G. Ward. 2008. "Civil War in Alabama." Encyclopedia of Alabama. January 10. Accessed April 15, 2015. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1429.
Photo from following websites: http://www.sonstoglory.com/newsletters/pictures/GravellySpringsHistoricMarker.jpg Photo from following websites: http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu/lizardtech/iserv/calcrgn?cat=Special%20Topics&item=Civil%20War/CivilWarWilson.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl Photo from following websites: https://battleoffranklin.wordpress.com/category/james-h-wilson/
Josiah Higgins; Civil War; USS Cottage; Waterloo, AL; Lauderdale County, AL; Gunboats
The city of Waterloo was shelled by Union gunboats in July 1862. Near the end of July 1862, older men from the town of Waterloo fired on the USS Cottage a transport vessel. The escorting gunboats returned fire, shelling the town. Union soldiers disembarked and arrested several men from the town led by resident Josiah Higgins. The men were sent to federal prison in Alton, Illinois. A member of the group, riverboat captain John Thomas Humphrey died in a makeshift prison camp at McDowell College in St. Louis, Missouri. Higgins was subsequently released and returned to Waterloo.
McDonald, William Lindsey. A walk through the past : people and places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Pub., 2003., 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015).
Photo from following websites: http://www.altonweb.com/history/civilwar/confed/prison.jpg Photo from following websites: http://records.ancestry.com/josiah_higgins_records.ashx?pid=36523890
Confederate Fort; General Daniel Ruggles; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL; Civil War; General Philip Dale Roddey; Dunbar; General Grenville M. Dodge; Colonel George Gibbs Dribrell
The Old Confederate fort in Florence was constructed by Confederate forces under General Daniel Ruggles in 1862. General Ruggles was born in Massachusetts and graduated from West Point married into a wealthy Virginia family. After the fall of Fort Henry which guarded the Tennessee River from Union forces on the Mississippi River, General Ruggles was placed in charge of the defense of Florence. Control of the fort was vital for either side to cross the river at the shoals. Confederate General Philip Dale Roddey, “Defender of North Alabama,” used the fort as his base in early 1863. During this period, General Roddey used the Port of Florence to repair boats for the Confederate river boats, including the raising of the Dunbar. General Nathan B. Forrest ordered an artillery battery at the fort in the spring of 1863. The battery was commanded by Colonel George Gibbs Dribrell. In last April of 1863, Union General Grenville M. Dodge took Tuscumbia and moved toward the river. Colonel Dribrell’s artillery fire from the fort persuaded the union general to withdraw back to Tuscumbia. The last action at the fort occurred in 1864 as General Hood’s forces were retreating from the battle of Nashville. Union gunboats shelled the fort on their way to try and stop Hood’s army from crossing the Tennessee at Bainbridge. Presently, the Florence Coliseum occupies the former location of the fort.
McDonald, William Lindsey. A walk through the past : people and places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Pub., 2003., 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). McDonald, William Lindsey, and L. D. Staggs. 2002. Remembering Sweetwater : the mansions, the mills, the people. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Publications, [2002], 2002. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). City of Florence, Alabama. n.d. "Historical Markers." Florenceal.org. Accessed April 17, 2015. http://florenceal.org/At_a_Glance/Historical_Markers/index.html.
Photo from following websites: http://florenceal.org/At_a_Glance/Historical_Markers/index.html Photo from following websites: http://www.ranger95.com/civil_war/generals_confederacy/daniel_ruggles.htm Photo from following websites: http://www.civilwarsignals.org/pages/spy/pages/dodge.html
10th Alabama Infantry; Civil War; Colonel Richard Oric Pickett; Tidewater Architecture; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Colonel Pickett Place, Home of Richard Oric Pickett a Colonel of the 10th Alabama Infantry under the “Defender of North Alabama” Confederate General Philip Roddey. The house is a “double-pile cottage” and rare example of Tidewater architecture in Alabama. The style originated on the southern coast during the colonial period. The house was built in 1833 by Thomas Crowe for his new bride, Elizabeth Hooks, as a wedding present. Richard Oric Pickett’s father, from a Virginia planter family, had moved to Limestone County Alabama in 1829 when Richard was six years old. Richard moved to Florence to begin his study of law in the office of James Irvine. He married Fannie Boggs a sister of Irvine and cousin to Union General Ulysses Grant. The couple moved into what is now known as Pickett Place. Pickett began his own law practice in Moulton. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Pickett organized a group of volunteers for the Confederate army as Company H of the 35th Alabama Infantry. He led the company in the Battles of Baton Rouge and Champion Hill. Pickett was given command of the 10th Alabama Infantry and promoted to Colonel in November 1863.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). City of Florence, Alabama. n.d. "Historical Markers." Florenceal.org. Accessed April 17, 2015. http://florenceal.org/At_a_Glance/Historical_Markers/index.html.
Photo from following websites: http://florenceal.org/At_a_Glance/Historical_Markers/index.html Photo from following websites: http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=39-040&MarkerTitle=Colonel%20Pickett%20Place%201833%20
Civil War; Commander Andrew H. Foote; USS Contestoga; USS Tyler; USS Lexington; CSS Robb; CSS Dunbar; Cypress Creek; General Roddy; Gunboats; Gunwaleford Road; Lauderdale County, AL
Gunwaleford Road earned its name because of a Confederate gunboat becoming lodged in between sand bars on Cypress Creek. After the fall of Fort Henry at the mouth of the Tennessee River, Union gunboats under the command of Commander Andrew H. Foote were sent on a probing mission up the Tennessee River. The USS Contestoga, Tyler, and Lexington steamed up the river toward Florence on February 6, 1862. The major objective of Foote’s sortie upriver was to destroy the Confederate gunboats Robb and Dunbar. The CSS Robb and Dunbar were hiding in Cypress Creek. On April 21, 1862, the CSS Robb was captured by Foote’s forces, and the Dunbar had become stuck on sand bars in Cypress Creek. The Union presuming the Dunbar destroyed and unsalvageable left the wreck in Cypress Creek. While the vessel remained lodged in the creek, local residents used it as a make shift bridge. The road leading to and from the vessel became known as Gunwaleford road. Later in 1862, General Roddy ordered the Dunbar raised and floated upriver past the shoals. The vessel was later captured by Union forces near the end of their campaign in Chattanooga.
Tucker, Spencer C. 2009. "Myron J. Smith, Jr. The Timberclads in the Civil War: The Lexington, Conestoga and Tyler on the Western Waters. Jefferson, NC: McFarland." North & South: The Official Magazine Of The Civil War Society 11, no. 4: 79. America: History and Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Hannings, Bud. 2013. Every day of the Civil War : a chronological encyclopedia. n.p.: Boston, Massachusetts : Credo Reference, 2013., 2013. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Government, Lauderdale County Alabama. 2011. "The History of Lauderdale County." Lauderdale County Online. Accessed April 19, 2015. http://lauderdalecountyonline.com/New_Website/About_LauderdaleCounty/index.html. Hubbs, G. Ward. 2008. "Civil War in Alabama." Encyclopedia of Alabama. January 10. Accessed April 15, 2015. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1429.
Photo from following websites: http://alabamascenicrivertrail.com/events/?eventID=37&date=09/10/2011 Photo from following websites: http://www.civilwarphotos.net/files/naval_officers.htm Photo from following websites: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Conestoga_h55321.jpg#/media/File:USS_Conestoga_h55321.jpg
Florence Bridge Company; Memphis and Charleston Railroad; Civil War; Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston; Colonel Benjamin Hardin Helms; Double Decker Bridge; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The oldest river bridge in Alabama connected Florence to Sheffield for more than one hundred and fifty years. The Florence Bridge Company was authorized by the Alabama legislature in 1832. It was founded for the purpose of realizing a dream for the citizen of Florence, to construct a bridge connecting the city with the south side of the river and eventually the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The site for the bridge was chosen as the ferry crossing on Jackson’s Military Road. The company raised the money for a bridge spanning the Tennessee River just below the shoals. The construction was completed in 1840, with eight stone spans atop six stone piers and was constructed of wood. It opened as a toll bridge. In 1854, the southern spans were destroyed by a series of tornados and the bridge would not be rebuilt for four years. In 1857, the Charleston Railroad Company purchased the spans and rebuilt the bridge. Completed in 1858, the new bridge had two levels: the top for trains and a lower level for wagons or foot traffic supported by additional piers. The bridge escaped destruction by Union gunboats in February of 1862 only to be burned by Confederate troops on March 18 of that same year. Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston order Colonel Benjamin Hardin Helms to have his troops burn the bridge to prevent its use by Grant’s Union forces. The bridge was not rebuilt until 1870 and was upgraded to a draw bridge in 1892, after train crashed through both decks and plummeted into the river. The bridge remained in service until 1988 and was donated to the Old Railroad Bridge Company in 1993. It has now been converted to a walking trail since the lift from the draw bridge was sold to Hannibal Missouri in 1993.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Hubbs, G. Ward. 2008. "Civil War in Alabama." Encyclopedia of Alabama. January 10. Accessed April 15, 2015. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1429. Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama History." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://www.washingtonky.com/civilwar.html Photo from following websites: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/Moments08RS/46_web_leg_moments.htm Photo from following websites: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/333336809893643376/ Photo from following websites: http://oldrailroadbridge.com/old-railroad-bridge-landmark/
Jack Peters; Plantations; Civil War; 9th Ohio Cavalry; Colonel James Jackson, Jr.; Captain Joseph N. Hetzler; Colonel Samuel Ives; Confederate Army of the Tennessee; 27th Alabama; 35th Alabama; Lauderdale County, AL
The battle at the Peters’ Plantation took place just before daylight on April 12, 1864. The 9th Ohio Cavalry known to the local in North Alabama as “The White Horse Company” had been foraging the local area from their base camp at the plantation of Jack Peters. The 27th and 35th Alabama regiments of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee were in nearby Lawrence County recruiting. There, they received news from family members in Lauderdale County of the Union cavalry unit. The two commanders of the regiments on hand decided to lead a raid on the Union camp. Colonel James Jackson Jr. of the 27th Alabama was a neighbor of Jack Peters, and Colonel Samuel Ives of the 35th Alabama was a native of Center Star. The commanders chose to lead the attack jointly and picked 150 of the best soldiers from the two regiments. The small Confederate force crossed the Tennessee at Seven Mile Island during the night of the 11th. The Confederate commanders achieved a tactical surprise in the early morning hours of the 12th. According to the 9th Ohio’s records, two privates were killed and thirty-five others were captured including the company’s commanding officer Captain Joseph N. Hetzler. The remainder of 147 members of the 9th Ohio escaped to Florence under the leadership of three lieutenants raising the alarm that “General Forrest” was attacking. In response to the late night attack the Union forces evacuated Florence. Meanwhile, Jackson and Ives returned to Franklin County with the prisoners in tow. The Confederate force also captured food and livestock which had been taken from the local population by the 9th Ohio. All those captured except for Captain Hetzler were sent to the prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia. Twenty-one of the thirty-five died as a result of their imprisonment.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama History." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm
General Forrest Hides on Seven Mile Island
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest; Civil War; Colonel W.H. Morgan; Lauderdale County, AL
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest hid his men on Seven Mile Island in Florence October 5-6, 1864. General Forrest’s cavalry crossed into Lauderdale County at Colbert Shoal and rode down the Huntsville Road toward Athens. After raiding Athens and then disrupting the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, Forrest’s cavalry were chased back into Alabama by Union cavalry under Colonel W.H. Morgan. With the river flooded, Forrest’s hopes to use the Bainbridge Ferry were dashed, and he had to improvise. Forrest’s troops located and used a barge to ferry the men across while the horses swam. Lieutenant Colonel Windes regiment of the 4th Alabama Cavalry was left to provide cover as Colonel Morgan’s forces bore down on the Confederates. Forrest then camped on Seven Mile Island with no fires in the chill of the fall nights until the covering regiment was able to reunite with his command.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Pitts, Alan. 2005. "The Alabama in the Civil War Message Board - Archive." History-sites.com. August 8. Accessed April 17, 2015. http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/alcwmb/arch_config.pl?md=read;id=19361. Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama History." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://battleofselma.com/?page_id=1208
Civil War; General Philip Roddey; Union General Granville Dodge; Confederate Colonel William A. Johnson; 9th Illinois Cavalry; 4th Alabama Cavalry; Lamb’s Ferry; Rogersville, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The first skirmish at four mile branch in Lauderdale County during 1864. January 25, Confederate Colonel William A. Johnson’s 4th Alabama Cavalry was dispatched to forage in Lauderdale County by General Philip Roddey from his headquarters at Bainbridge. A Union spy in Florence sent word of Colonel Johnson’s mission to Union General Granville Dodge’s headquarters at Pulaski Tennessee. General Dodge sent Colonel A. O. Miller’s 2nd Cavalry from Pulaski and Lieutenant Colonel Jesse J. Phillips with the 9th Illinois Cavalry from Athens to join the 18th Missouri. The combined Union forces were tasked with intercepting Johnson’s expedition. Johnson’s Confederates avoided Phillips’ Union cavalry but encountered Miller’s forces at the crossroads of Huntsville and Byler Roads. The ensuing skirmish lasted for a couple of hours until dark. Miller withdrew to the east bank of Shoal Creek and Johnson’s forces held the field for the night. The following day Johnson went on the offensive and caught Miller’s forces at Lamb’s Ferry in Rogersville. Miller’s 2nd Cavalry suffered two casualties in that engagement. Meanwhile, General Roddey took advantage of Phillips’ forces leaving Athens and attacked the garrison there. In the raid, Roddey’s forces captured prisoners and supplies. Miller’s forces suffered fifteen killed and twenty-five wounded in the two days of skirmishing. The Confederate forces under Johnson suffered seven deaths.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015).
Photo from following websites: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7217181 Photo from following websites: http://www.oocities.org/bourbonstreet/Delta/3843/johnson.htm