Joanne Bland says that he was a local leader in the movement. He is toward the front of the march. Need to verify number because she identified him as #4 but #4 is Albert Turner.
Born in 1946 On February 18, 1965, Leroy Moton, a high school student, was arrested in Marion, Alabama for while walking down a city block and thrown in jail. He joined the march in Selma, Alabama, serving as a member of the leadership team, during what became known as Bloody Sunday. Moton was also in the car with Viola Liuzzo the night of her murder.
Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; African American Church; Lesley Temple CME Church; African American History
Lesley Temple CME church is a Methodist church first formed in 1880 under Pastor Lesley. The church was first located at a site called Gin Hill on what used to be Highway 43. The church was rebuilt in 1927. Because building paper which was placed on the outside of the building the church garnered the nickname “Black Paper Church.” The church is now located on High Street in Tuscumbia, Alabama. As of 2015, the church will be celebrating its 135th anniversary.
McWilliams, John L. Tuscumbia. Charleston, S.C., South Carolina: Arcadia Pub. 2012. 39
Letter to the Editor, Florence Newspaper, Undated
Jewish Settlement: Florence, Alabama; Northwest Alabama
A letter to the editor found in the files of the history of Temple B'Nai Israel at the Florence- Lauderdale Public Library suggests that Jewish immigrants to the area were encouraged and welcomed.
Pam Kingsbury, University of North Alabama
Special Collections, Local History Room, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Temple of B'nai Israel, 2-3.
On May 22, 1852, the Liberty Baptist Church congregation organized the oldest existing Baptist congregation in Lauderdale County. In fact, it was the only Baptist church erected in the county until the First Baptist Church of Florence was built over thirty years later in 1888. According to church records, during its first few years the church’s membership was approximately fifty people. These members constructed a white wooden sanctuary in which the congregation held service until the 1890s. The original wooden building had two doors—one for the men and one for the women. Also, the seating in the sanctuary was segregated by sexes. In the same year as its charter (1852), the congregation became a part of the Indian Creek Association and started Baptist missions in the surrounding area. During the beginning of the Civil War the church had a total of one hundred and twenty-eight members. However, due to the war, services were discontinued from 1863 to 1865. Shortly following the war, the first Sunday School was organized in 1877. The present day church building was constructed in 1892 when the congregation built a brick structure to take the place of the original wooden building.
Jesse Brock, University of North Alabama
Text: Lorene Frederick, “Church History Actually History of Community: Liberty Baptist Pastor Compiles Interesting Record of Both Church and The District,” Florence Times, April 22, 1960, located in in folder “McDonald Collection: Church Information Collection-Vol. 7: Other Denominations-Baptist, Churches 7.1” Bill McDonald Collection, Archives/Special Collections, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama
Located in Opelika along West Point Parkway. Coordinates: 32.6759664, -85.3241113
Cemetery; Rogersville, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
To reach Liberty Cemetery from Florence, head east on US 72 towards Rogersville. Then turn north on Al 207. At a four-way stop (Lee Street) turn left. Liberty Cemetery is on the left side of the road. The cemetery has a walled in area with 18 graves in it. The eastern side of the cemetery is recorded as the African-American section. A full list of records can be viewed within the source.
Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
"Liberty Cemetery."http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~allauder. Accessed September 9, 2015.
Professional Boxing Jim Crockett Charlotte, North Carolina
This article appeared in The Charlotte News (North Carolina) on March 27, 1941. The article reports on a recent exhibition boxing match promoted by Jim Crockett. Fans complained about the quality of the bout and threw coins into the ring to express their displeasure.
Archives; Athens, AL; Limestone County, AL
The Limestone County Archives was created in 1980 as a depository for the official records of Limestone County. Records preserved at the archives include those of the Circuit Court, Probate Court, Board of Registrars, Tax Assessor, County Commission, and Board of Education. The Archives also contains historical and genealogical material that deals with Northern Alabama and the Southern Tennessee Region. It also contains personal family histories, family photographs, and microfilmed newspapers. Limestone County purchased the 1905 L&N Depot in 2004 and remolded it to house the Archives today. The Limestone County Archives are open 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday
County, Ala. The Heritage of Limestone County, Alabama. Limited 1st ed. Clanton, AL: Heritage Pub. Consultants, 1998.
Drove the health mobile to Selma and aided marchers on Bloody Sunday according to 1965 MCHR newsletter.
Lindsay Historical Site: David Lindsay, A Revolutionary War Soldier
Shelby; American Revolution; Cemetery; DAR
David Lindsay was born 1750 in Washington County, Pennsylvania and died 1835 in Shelby County, Alabama. He was a private in the American Revolutionary War and a pioneer settler of Shelby County. He married Mary Casey and they had twelve children. On April 2, 1784, in reward for his service to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Lindsay was granted 100 acres of land in Green County, North Carolina. They settled in Shelby County before the 1820 census. He died about 1835 and Mary died about 1847. Both are buried with other family members on a son's former homestead in the Maylene community. The family graveyard has been preserved as the Lindsay Historical Site near Shelby County Highway 17. The David Lindsay Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was first chartered in Montevallo in 1927 with some members having descended from Lindsay through his daughters. In 2006 the group erected a memorial plaque on a native rock at American Village. In April 2008 they won official recognition of Lindsay's service and genealogy from the National Society of the DAR. David Lindsay Chapter, Alabama Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Lindsay Historical Site David Lindsay by Bobbie Joe Seales David Lindsay B'ham Wiki Clan Lindsay Site David Lindsay on Findagrave.com
Liz Clayton, Shelby County Historical Society
Cemeteries; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The Lindsey Chapel Cemetery is located just north of Florence on Highway 57 and one mile south of Cypress Inn, Tennessee on the west side of the road. David L Montgomery has this info on the cemetery and church, "The church was built approximately 55 years ago with donations from residents of the community. Mr. Albert Lindsey, buried here, spearheaded the move to build the church. The church was built as a community church with no particular denominational ties. The cemetery is well taken care of. There are Confederate, World War II, and Korean War veterans buried here. The oldest known grave dates from 1867. The oldest person buried here was born in 1836. There are 20 graves with no headstones or information. All names and dates were recorded from headstones and markers. They have been diligently checked for accuracy. This survey was completed Aug 02, 2003." There are 147 recorded burials within this cemetery. A full list of names and records can be viewed in the source below.
Macon County, Tuskegee, Music, Alabama Music Hall of Fame
Lionel Richie (June 20, 1949- ) Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. was born on June 20, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama. He grew up on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute where many members of his family had worked for two generations. While in college at Tuskegee, Richie joined the Commodores, the most successful group on the Motown label during the late 1970s. Richie was the group’s saxophonist, sometime vocalist, and wrote songs like “Easy,” “Three Times a Lady,” and “Still”; the last two became number one pop hits. In 1980, Richie wrote and produced “Lady” for country-pop singer Kenny Rogers, which became a number one hit across the board. The next year, his duet “Endless Love” with Diana Ross topped the charts for nine weeks, becoming the most successful single in Motown history. By the end of 1981, Richie decided to pursue a solo career. His first solo album "Lionel Richie" was released in 1982 and was an immediate success. His first solo, “Truly,” became a number one hit. His next album, "Can’t Slow Down", produced five top ten singles including “All Night Long” and “Hello.” The album sold over ten million copies and won the 1984 Grammy for Album of the Year. Richie was doing so well he was invited to perform at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1985, he worked with Michael Jackson to co-write “We Are the World” to help raise money for famine relief in Africa. By the end of the year, he released another hit single, “Say You, Say Me,” preceding his next album "Dancing on the Ceiling," which sold four million copies. Exhausted from two decades of recording and performing, Richie stepped back from making music in 1987. He also took time to care for his father. In 1992, he returned to music to release a compilation album including solo hits, Commodore tracks, and three new songs including the number one hit “Do It to Me.” Richie did not record again until 1996 following the loss of his father and the breakup of his marriage. The album, "Louder Than Words", was Richie’s attempt to update his sound; it reached the top 30 and went gold but did not produce any major singles. His 1998 album returned to his signature sound but did not do well. "Renaissance," released in the U.S. in 2001, did much better and went platinum in the U.K. Three years later, following a second divorce, he released "Just for You" which was also successful in the U.K. His 2006 album "Coming Home" included collaborations with an all-star cast and reached the Top 10 in pop and R&B. His album "Just Go", in 2009, featured collaborations with Stargate, Akon, and others. The album "Tuskegee", released in 2012, featured country versions of his past hits including “Easy,” “Hello,” and “Dancing on the Ceiling” and reached the top of the U. S. and country charts. Richie has won three Grammys, six American Music Awards, and a 1986 Oscar for Best Original Song. He has also been awarded two American Black Achievement Awards from Ebony magazine. He was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1997. Click the link to listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDZcqBgCS74 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqAvFx3NxUM
Joy Caitlin Monroe, University of North Alabama
Huey, Steve. “Lionel Richie Biography.” All Music. (2016) http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lionel-richie-mn0000243474/biography “Lionel Richie.” Alabama Music Hall of Fame. (2016) http://alamhof.org/inductees/timeline/1997/lionel-richie/
List of Local Selma Physicians, March 1965
Cemeteries; Rogersville, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
To reach Little Zion Cemetery from Rogersville, head south on County Road 91 and take a right on County Road 605. The cemetery is 1/2 mile on the left side of the roads. A list of records can be viewed in the source.
"Little Zion Cemetery." http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~allauder. Accessed September 9, 2015.
Education; Lee County, AL; Little Zion School; Opelika, AL; African American Schools; Tuskegee, AL; Owens, Gladys
Formerly located 4.5 miles south of Opelika on Highway 51, Little Zion School serviced Lee County African-American students starting around the turn of the century. Gladys Owens, a teacher from Tuskegee, commuted to Little Zion School to teach classes from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Text Source: The Heritage of Lee County Book Committee, The Heritage of Lee County, Alabama (Clanton, AL: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2000), 67.
Education; Lee County, AL; Loachapoka Academy; Loachapoka, AL; Antebellum Era; Yarborough, John Fletcher; Leftwitch, America Walton; Loachapoka High School
John Fletcher Yarborough established this one-room educational facility in 1854. He became the school’s first principal, while his wife, America Walton Leftwich, taught music. Contemporary Loachapoka High School resides on the site of the old academy, located roughly five miles west of Auburn on Lee County Road 61.
Text Source: The Heritage of Lee County Book Committee, The Heritage of Lee County, Alabama (Clanton, AL: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2000), 39.
Located in Loachapoka along Arrowhead Road. Coordinates: 32.6109672, -85.6049524
Education; Lee County, AL; Rosenwald Schools; Loachapoka, AL; African American Schools; Rosenwald, Julius; Pearson, Dr. Ann, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church; Lee County Historical Commission; Randolph, O.L.; Crittenden, Emogene Willis; Lee Crossroads School
In the spring of 1913, Loachapoka became the site of the first of over 5,300 rural black schools in the United States subsidized by Sears CEO Julius Rosenwald. Rosenwald, who grew up destitute, wanted to provide African Americans living in the South with the opportunity to acquire an education in the years before desegregation. He contributed $300 to the school’s building fund and the white and black citizens of Loachapoka raised the remaining $493. The two-room building contained a fireplace to accommodate its heating needs and glass-paned windows. The building initially lacked both electrical wiring and indoor plumbing. The elementary school serviced grades one, two, five, and six, while grades three and four were taught nearby at the Lee Crossroads School on Lee County Highway 188. Eventually, Loachapoka Rosenwald School closed as the town’s African-American children enrolled in other elementary schools, but the town continued to use the building as a community center. In 1960, a fire consumed the wooden structure. Now only a scant few bricks and a portion of the broken concrete foundation remain of the school, which is located on the property of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church at 2 Day Lily Street, Loachapoka. Dr. Ann Pearson, a former Auburn English professor, researched the Loachapoka Rosenwald School, determined that it was Rosenwald’s first rural school, and spearheaded an initiative to erect a historical marker at the former site. On November 11, 2011, the Lee County Historical Society hosted an event to commemorate the Loachapoka Rosenwald School at which several former students and teachers spoke. Emogene Willis Crittenden, a former student, remembered her principal, O.L. Randolph, as a mild-mannered father figure. Due to a lack of public visibility at the actual site of the school (which is located behind Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church), the Lee County Historical Commission decided to place the marker across Day Lily Street from the church.
Image Source: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMHPR8_First_Rosenwald_School_Loachapoka_AL “Loachapoka School,” Fisk University Rosenwald Fund Card Database, http://rosenwald.fisk.edu/?module=search.details&set_v=aWQ9MzE3&school_county=lee&school_state=AL&button=Search&o=0 Text Sources: Bradley Roberts, “Rosenwald Schools,” Chattahoochee Heritage Project, http://www.chattahoocheeheritage.org/2011/12/rosenwald-schools/ “Loachapoka School,” Fisk University Rosenwald Fund Card Database, http://rosenwald.fisk.edu/?module=search.details&set_v=aWQ9MzE3&school_county=lee&school_state=AL&button=Search&o=0 Natalie Wade, “Nation’s First Rosenwald School to be Recognized in Loachapoka; School Memorabilia Sought,” AL.com, http://blog.al.com/montgomery/2011/10/nations_first_rosenwald_school.html
Locust Dell Academy operated in Florence from 1834 to 1843. The all-girls school was owned and operated by Nicholas Marcellus Hentz and his wife Caroline Lee Hentz. Subjects taught included reading, math, composition, and painting. The name Locust Dell came from the grove of locust trees the school resided in. The school continued to operate after the Hentz's left Florence in 1843. The Florence Synodical Female College absorbed Locust Dell in 1855. Unfortunately, the original building burned down in 1929. The school was located where the University of North Alabama's Willingham Hall stands today.
Claire Eagle, University of North Alabama
Text: William Lindsey McDonald, A Walk Through The Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. (Bluewater Publications, 2003), 80. Elizabeth Walter. “Locust Dell Turned Girls” The Picture, Florence, Alabama, January 4, 1973. Images: University of North Alabama Archives and Special Collections
African American History; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Locust Dell Academy was established by Nicholas Hentz and his wife Caroline in the 1840s. The school for girls was built by two slaves, Charles Gray and Washington Farris, who had been "rented out" by their masters. The school was absorbed by Florence Female College in 1855. Willingham Hall now sits on its site.
Ashley Pentecost, University of North Alabama
Elizabeth McDonald, "History of Florence City Schools." University of North Alabama archives
Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
This historic marker is located in front of Locust Dell Academy, which is now the Department of History on the Campus of UNA. on N. Wood Avenue, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "On this site Nicholas Marcellus Hentz conducted a girls school, Native of Metz, France. Hentz was a painter, entomologist, author, and was once a professor at University of North Alabama. Experimenting with silkworms, he planted groves of mulberry trees around this section of town. His wife, Caroline Lee Whiting Hentz, native of Massachusetts, assisted in the academy. She also wrote plays, poems, stories, popular novels, and a significant diary of her years in Florence."
“Locust Dell Academy Marker”. Accessed 11/04/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
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.
This historic marker is located on Old Jackson Hwy, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Christians first met here in a log building which also served as a schoolhouse. In 1909 a frame building was constructed. Because of a single cedar tree in prominent view, it was given the name Lone Cedar by Wilbert M (Will) Behel, an early dedicated gospel preacher. In 1938 a more modern stone building was completed by these diligent christians. A larger auditorium was added in 1977. This early christian meeting place soon became a landmark and a vital part of the Greenhill Community."
“Lone Cedar Church of Christ 1898”. Accessed 11/04/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
On long island near Bridgeport. One of the Five Lower Creek towns.
Street, O.D. "Cherokee Towns and Villages." Publications of the Alabama Historical Society, Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 1.
Northeast Alabama Archives and Special Collections
Louis Rosenbaum; Jewish Leaders of Alabama; Florence, Alabama Business Owners; Philanthropy; Civil Rights Movement; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Louis Rosenbaum was born in Lublin, Poland on May 12, 1887. He, and his brother had "to flee" eastern Poland in 1893. He married Anna Block in 1910, and their only child, Stanley, was born later that year. The family lived in Caspar, Wyoming, Little Rock, Arkansas, Denver, Colorado, and Douglas, Wyoming before moving to Florence in 1918 during the building of the Wilson Dam. He opened the Princess Theatre on September 1, 1919. His business would grow to include movie houses in Florence, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, and Athens. Louis Rosenbaum was a leader of Temple B'Nai Israel, a Civil Rights advocate, and a generous donor to the community and the arts. He served as the Temple's president during the fundraising and construction of Temple B'Nai on Hawthorne Street. He and his wife supported creating a State of Israel and they hosted Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and his wife. His philanthropic works included donating $25,000 to help fund the building of the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library and giving land on West Alabama Street to create a park near E.C.M. Hospital. He had lived in Florence for over forty-three years upon his death on September 8, 1962.
Vertical Files, Rosenbaum Family. Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Florence, Alabama. Temple B'nai Israel Cemetery, Obits Compiled by Scott Dawsky, 2005. Vertical files, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Florence, Alabama.
From the Rosenbaum Papers, University Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama
Lee County, AL; Smiths Station, AL; National Register of Historic Places
The Lowther House Complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 16, 1993. The Lowther House Complex is located in Smiths Station, Lee County.
Keith S. Hebert, Rivers A. Langley, Photographer
This historic marker is located on Highttower Place, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "After flying more than 90 worldwide reconnaissance missions, in 1990 Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding set a coast to coast aircraft speed record of 67 minuets 54 seconds flying an SR-71 spy plane, which is now at the Smithsonian."
“Lt. Col. R. Edward Yeilding Marker”. Accessed 11/04/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
Lee County, AL; Native American History; Creek Indians; Loachapoka, AL; Trail of Tears
Lucv Pokv Tvise (translation: turtle sitting place) was a settlement of the Sawakee Creeks established in 1796. The residents had been forced out of South Carolina and Georgia by expanding white settlements. The village reached a peak population of 564 in 1830. After the signing of the Treaty of Cusetta in 1832, the area's economy was damaged by the influx of Creek refugees and seizure of land by white settlers. In 1835, the majority of the Sawakee residents decided to relocate to the Indian Territory, losing 83 members on the Trail of Tears. The new settlement they started on the Arkansas River, also called Lucv Pokv Tvise, would later be shortened to Tulsa. The former village site in Lee County would become the village of Loachapoka, a variation of its original Creek name.
Text: AccessGenealogy.com. "Native American History of Lee County, Alabama". http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/native-american-history-of-lee-county-alabama.htm Richard Thornton, People of One Fire, "Chattahoochee River Indians". http://peopleofonefire.com/chattahoochee-river-indians.html#more-2031
Education; Lee County, AL; Auburn University; Luther N. Duncan Hall; Duncan, Luther N.; Alabama Polytechnic Institute; Agricultural Extension Program; Alabama A&M; Auburn, AL
The three-story Georgian-style building located at 322 Mell Street was erected in 1928 for the sole purpose of housing Alabama Polytechnic Institute’s Agricultural Extension Program, the capacity in which in still serves today. Named after Luther N. Duncan, the influential director of the extension program and future API President, the building provided a setting for Alabama’s extension agents to prepare to disseminate cutting-edge scientific techniques to farmers statewide. In 1995, Auburn’s Agricultural Extension merged with the Alabama A&M’s Agricultural Extension Program, to form the consolidated Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Luther N. Duncan Hall also houses the administrative office of Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Duncan Text Sources: The Heritage of Lee County Book Committee, The Heritage of Lee County, Alabama (Clanton, AL: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2000), 72, 158. Alabama Cooperative Extension System, http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/E/EX-0038/EX-0038.pdf.
Robin Lightfoot; Lynching; Bushwhackers; Civil War; African American History; Lauderdale County, AL
Robin Lightfoot, a mixed blood slave, help to organize the first church of African Americans at Florence, Church Spring, in 1837. Reverend Lightfoot preached on the hope for eventual emancipation for his people. While Union General Don Carlos Buell occupied Florence in 1862, Reverend Lightfoot’s sermons were relayed to local Bushwhackers, pro-confederate guerillas. The Bushwhackers captured Reverend Lightfoot at the current location of Wood Avenue Church of Christ. They hauled him to Stewart Spring and lynched him in an oak tree.
Michael Williams, University of North Alabama
Debra Glass, Maed and Military Historian, Heath Mathews. n.d. "Civil War's Western Theater." armyoftennessee.wordpress.com. Accessed April 19, 2015. https://armyoftennessee.wordpress.com/two-martyrs-robin-lightfoot-and-w-h-mitchell/.
Located in Beauregard along Lee Road 133. Coordinates: 32.5151385, -85.2674422
The Macedonia Church of Christ cemetery is located in the western part of Lauderdale County. To reach the cemetery, travel Alabama Highway 20 west from Florence, AL. Immediately after crossing over the Natchez Trace Parkway, turn left onto County Rd. #5 and travel 1.4 miles, turning right onto County Rd. 158 and travel 0.4 mile. The cemetery is just past the church on the right. The marker at the cemetery reads, "The church dates its roots to the early 1800’s, the congregation met in homes with Joseph Fanning, visiting evangelist. The church was first organized as Macedonia Baptist Church. In 1834, J.W. Smith supervised a building on this site. In 1880, T.B. Larimore, a well known evangelist among Church of Christ churches in the area, was asked to preach. The congregation then changed to the present name. The church has made a powerful impact. The adjoining cemetery is the resting place for many of the county’s beloved sons & daughters." Full list of graves is located in the source.
Montgomery, David L. "Macedonia Church of Christ." Cemeteries Only. April 12, 2015. http://cemeteriesonly.com/MacedoniaCem.html. Accessed April 29, 2015.
This historic marker is located on County Road 158 west of Road 5, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Tracing its roots to the early 1800's. The Macedonia Baptist Church originally met in homes with Joseph Fanning, visiting evangelist. In 1834, J.W. Smith supervised a building on this site. In 1880, T.B. Larimore, an evangelsit among Churches of Christ was asked to preach. The group then changed its name to Macedonia Church of Christ. This church has made a powerful local and world~wide impact. Its adjoining cemetery is the resting place for many of the country's beloved sons and daughters."
“Macedonia Church of Christ Marker”. Accessed 11/04/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
This historic marker is located in River Heritage Park, near the Marriott Hotel in Florence, AL. Text on the marker reads: "In 1891, G.W. Goethals, in his role as supervisor of public works on the Tennessee River, reported directly to the Secretary of War. Later, he was Chief Engineer for the construction of the Panamal Canal."
“Maj. Gen. George W. Goethals Marker”. Accessed 11/04/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
Major General George Washington Goethals' Home — 1888-1907 Marker
This historic marker is located on North Wood Avenue north of East Irvine Avenue, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "The great engineering genius of the Panama Canal lived at this site from 1888 until 1907. As a young lieutenant, Gothals was sent to Florence to speed up the work on the Muscle Shoals Canal Project which effectively by-passed the serious river impediment known as the Muscle Shoals. His successful accomplishment here were considered as an apprenticeship that led to his renowned work in the building of the Panama Canal (1908~1914). Goethals later remarked that his work on the Muscle Shoals Canal loomed far larger in his memory than the canal in Panama."
“Major General George Washington Goethals' Home — 1888-1907 Marker”. Accessed 11/04/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
Mapleton; Civil War; Levi Todd; Robert McFarland; Colonel John Harlan; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The residence of Mapleton was built in the Federalist style under the direction of a South American architect. During the Civil War it was known as Todd’s Hill because it was the home of local physician Levi Todd. When the Union occupied Florence in 1862, Colonel John Harlan of the 10th Kentucky headquarter there. Colonel Harlan, who was famous in the area for arresting a local Presbyterian minister for praying for the Confederacy, would later become an associate justice of the US Supreme Court. After the war, Confederate Major Robert McFarland purchased the house. Robert McFarland was born in Londonderry County, Ireland, on August 6, 1836. He had been educated and prepared for a life in the British army. When he failed to get in the Crimean War, he left Britain for the United States in 1854. After graduating from Washington College, he studied law under John W. Brokenborough in Lexington, Virginia. He attained a Bachelor of Law in 1860 and moved to Florence in April of that year. In Florence he partnered with James B. Irvine. When the Civil War broke out McFarland volunteered in the Confederate Army and was made a captain in the 4th Alabama Infantry. He fought in the first battle of Manassas. After his first twelve month enlistment was up, he was tasked with recruiting a cavalry regiment. His new regiment joined General John H. Morgan and participated in the Ohio raid. When General Morgan was captured, McFarland’s regiment was transferred to General Cleburne’s command. He led a charge at Dug Gap for which his gallantry was cited by General Cleburne. At Villa Rica, Georgia, he was wounded severely when his horse was shot out from under him. McFarland was on station in Huntsville from December 1864 until Union forces drove him out of the city in January 1865. After the war, he returned to Florence and practicing law.
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). T. A. DeLand, A. Davis Smith. n.d. "genealogytrails.com." Alabama Trails Biographies. Accessed April 17, 2015. http://genealogytrails.com/ala/lauderdale/biomcfarland.html. Scott, Jaqueline E. 1990. "Major McFarland makes Florence his home." Times Daily, July 9: 4d.
Photo from following websites: http://genealogytrails.com/ala/lauderdale/biomcfarland.html Photo from following websites: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/116389971590120539/ Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, ALA,39-FLO,6-3
Mallard Fox Creek Wildlife Management Area
Recreation; Wildlife Management Area; Decatur, AL; Morgan County, AL
This wildlife management area contains over 1,483 acres of land along the southern shore of Wheeler Lake. It provides access to a number of habitats for wildlife. The site offers opportunities for viewing waterfowl, wading birds, and woodland songbirds. The area does have small game hunting for hunters. http://www.outdooralabama.com/wildlife-management-areas
“Mallard Fox Creek Wildlife Management Area.” Accessed July 9, 2015. http://msnha.una.edu/plan-a-visit
Opelika, AL; Lee County, AL; Industry; Manufacturing; Automotive
South-Korean-based Mando produces brake corner modules, brake calipers, suspension modules and steering systems. The business opened in 1996, and still operates today. The facility employs around 700 people, and is located at 4201 Northpark Dr., Opelika, AL.
Image: http://ltc4940.blogspot.com/2009/04/opelika-al.html
Talladega County, Sylacauga, Cemetery, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
In 1898, the Marble City Cemetery officially opened after the city of Sylacauga bought one acre from James T. Persons. Although there are earlier marked graves, it was originally a burial ground for the Pearson family. The original deed, notarized by J. W. Langley, was dated August 27, 1898. The land was divided into lots and numbered. Currently the cemetery contains 2,520 graves dating back to 1876. Over the years the cemetery has gone under renovations for cleaning and improvements. Eight Sylacauga mayors are interred at the cemetery along with a Union solider and Sylacauga’s first mayor. In 1995, the cemetery was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
10th grader at Hudson High School in 1964 The Selma Campaign 1963-1965 Wally G. Vaughn Near Tractor Equipment Company. Became Dean of Pharmacy at Xavier University
Montgomery County, Montgomery, Education, Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame
In 1914, Margaret Booth opened the Margaret Booth School as a college preparatory school for girls. This school occurred in Booth’s home. Margaret Booth was a longtime proponent of women’s education after receiving her own education in Montgomery public schools, the Agnes Scott Institute, and Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts. When she returned to Alabama, Booth became the first principal at the new Demopolis High School. She was also the founder of the Demopolis Public Library after donating a single volume. Booth is now a member of the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame Between 1914 and 1915, Miss Booth stated in the Margaret Booth school bulletin, “It is my hope to be the instrument in the hand of Providence of founding an institution which shall accomplish for young women in Alabama what our college preparatory schools are accomplishing for boys”. The school/home was located on 529 Sayre Street Montgomery, AL.
http://preserveala.org/pdfs/AR/AR_Property_Listing_4_9_15.pdf http://www.awhf.org/booth.html
Lola Sewell remembered that her brother, Marion Sewell, participated in Bloody Sunday.
Lauderdale County, Alabama; Florence, Alabama; Mars Hill Bible School; Church of Christ; Private Schools
Mars Hill Bible School is a private preparatory day school for boys and girls in Florence, Alabama. The school begins at pre-kindergarten goes through the twelfth grade. Mars Hill Academy was opened by Thomas Brown Larimore in 1871. The academy, which was later called Mars Hill College, operated as a boy's school for sixteen years. The college was closed in 1888. Mars Hill Bible School is located at 698 Cox Creek Parkway in Florence, Alabama. In 1947 several local churches of Christ reopened the school. Mars Hill Bible School is affiliated with the Church of Christ and is completely autonomous.
The Mars Hill Church of Christ, established in 1871, is one of twenty-nine Churches of Christ in Florence. The Church of Christ denomination emerged out of the American Restoration Movement, a movement to reestablish America’s Christianity on the teachings of the New Testament, which lasted from 1801 to 1906. Restoration followers were known as Stoneites and Campbellites, named after the two prominent leaders of the movement, Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell. Congregations set up by followers of Campbell called themselves Disciples of Christ, while those established by Stoneites were called Churches of Christ. The beliefs of the Restoration Movement made their way into the Shoals during the 1820s and 1830s through efforts of Restoration ministers, who ultimately shaped the religious culture in the region. The first two Restoration ministers to enter the Shoals were Ephraim D. Moore and James Evans Matthews. Moore, born in North Carolina in 1782, converted after he read and heard about Alexander Campbell’s teachings. Moore settled near Florence, Alabama, in 1823 and established the first Restoration church in the Shoals, known as the Republican Congregation. However, three years after its founding the congregation still had only ten members. In 1826, James Matthews, a Kentucky Christian minister, moved to Florence and helped Moore spread the movement. In the fall of 1827, Moore wrote to Barton Stone of the success he and Matthews had in growing converts in the Shoals region. Recounting a week-long camp which resulted in forty Shoals’ residents professing their faith in Christ, Moore reassured Stone that “the good work is moving on in almost every direction.” However, the Restoration Movement in the Shoals did not take place without opposition. Baptists and Presbyterians entered the Shoals during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and did not approve of the activists’ efforts. For example, in 1830 the Muscle Shoals Baptist Association printed a resolution that defined the Restoration Movement as a “divine operation of the Holy Spirit either disavowed or so obscurely avowed, as to amount to disavowal. We see experimental religion ridiculed and reprobated.” The resolution criticized the efforts of Stone and Campbell’s disciples as “effort(s) by man to pull down the old order of faith and practice taught by our Lord and His apostles, and establish on their ruins a new order.” After converting to a Restoration church, William Henry Wharton of Tuscumbia was “discarded…opposed, calumniated, misrepresented, abused, denied entrance into houses consecrated to the worship of the only living and true God” because of his support for Reformation ideology. In addition to the vocal opposition from various denominations, in his article “History of the Church of Christ in Northwest Alabama, 1866-1880,” Shoals historian Wayne Kilpatrick argued that the Civil War ultimately hindered the Restoration Movement in the Shoals region. Kilpatrick claimed that many churches in the Shoals, including Restoration congregations, experienced a drop in membership during the war, which Kilpatrick defined as the “silent years” of the Restoration Movement. Nevertheless, the silent years in the Shoals ended with the arrival of Theophilus Brown Larimore in 1868. T. B. Larimore was born on July 10, 1843, in Jefferson County, Tennessee, where he grew up fatherless and in poverty. Despite these challenges, Larimore enrolled in Mossey Creek Baptist College (present day Carson Newman University), a theological institution, at the age of sixteen. During his time at in college he did not experience a spiritual conversion. As a result of his lack of personal experience with religion while in college, when the war began Larimore enlisted in the Confederate army and served as a scout in the Company B of the 5th Tennessee Cavalry. After serving in the war, Larimore became a member of a Restoration church in 1864, and thereafter, the church became the center of his life. Shortly after becoming a member of a Restoration church, he taught theology at Franklin College in Nashville, Tennessee, for two years, and accepted a position as a teacher at Mountain Home Academy, a Restoration institution located in Lawrence County, Alabama, in 1868. Larimore’s early efforts to expand the Restoration Movement in the northwest region of Alabama, however, did not succeed. For example, as Larimore remembered, the congregation at Hopewell Church located in Lauderdale County, “let me try to preach once, and were so well pleased with that ‘sarmint’ that they let me off—suddenly!” Also in 1868, Larimore married Julia Esther Gresham, who had inherited twenty-nine acres in Lauderdale County from her family. On this land, Larimore established Mars Hill Church of Christ. Larimore and others purchased land for a new building and in 1904 a new structure was built. The congregation continued to worship in this building until the current building was completed in 1969. In addition to Larimore, some prominent ministers of Mars Hill Church of Christ were Paul Simon, Robert Walker, and Kenneth Davis.
Text: Wayne Kilpatrick, “History of the Church of Christ in Northwest Alabama, 1823-1861,” The Journal of Muscle Shoals History Vol. xi (1986), 32-34. Barton Stone, The Christian Messenger Vol.2, no. 1, 16-17. Kilpatrick, “History of the Church of Christ in Northwest Alabama, 1823-1861,” 36. Wayne Kilpatrick, “ History of the Church of Christ in Lauderdale County, 1866-1880,” The Journal of Muscle Shoals History Vol. xi (1986), 67-85. Lee Freeman, “A Brief Study of the Life of Elder Theophilus Brown Larimore “, in folder “McDonald Collection: Church Information Collection: Other Denomination-Church of Christ,” Box 37, Bill McDonald Collection, Archives/Special Collections, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama. Frank Richey, “T. B. Larimore—The Preacher,” The Alabama Restoration Journal Vol. 4, no. 2 (April, 2010), 3. Bill McDonald, “Story of Mars Hill’s first lady,” Time Daily, October 12, 2003, in folder “McDonald Collection: Church Information Collection: Other Denomination-Church of Christ,” Box 37, Bill McDonald Collection, Archives/Special Collections, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama. Mars Hill Church of Christ, “A Brief History,” Mars Hill Church of Christ, http://marshillcc.org/a-breif-history.html (accessed May 1, 2015).