This cemetery is located off County Road 21 north of Waterloo, Alabama. From Waterloo, travel north on County Road 14 for 1.07 miles and turn right onto County Road 90. Go 2.2 miles to County Road 21. Turn left and keep right, following County Rd. 21 2.23 miles. The cemetery is across the road. There once was a church near Mt. Hebron, the stone footings are located near the cemetery. There are at least 12 unknown graves in the cemetery.
Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
Bob, Torbert. "Mt Hebron Cemetery." Rootsweb. June 1, 2002. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~allauder/cem-mthebron.htm. Accessed April 11, 2015.
Cemeteries; Waterloo, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The Mt. Olive Cemetery is located in the far western area of Lauderdale Co., Alabama. To reach the cemetery, from Waterloo, AL, travel County Road #45 for 4.1 miles. Turn left onto Union Hollow Rd. Keep continuing left as Union Hollow Rd. begins to curve. The largest part of the cemetery is on the left and a smaller portion on the right side. Mt. Olive Church was established around 1881. The graves in the cemetery predate the establishment of the church. List of graves are located in sources.
Montgomery, David L. "Mt. Olive Cemetery." Cemeteries Only. April 24, 2015. http://cemeteriesonly.com/MtOliveCem.html. Accessed April 29, 2015.
Mt. Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Colbert County, Alabama; Mount Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery; Mount Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church; Old Brick Presbyterian Church; Cemeteries
Mt. Cumberland Presbyterian Church was established by a faction which split from nearby Old Brick Presbyterian Church. The earliest burial in the cemetery is Josephine "Josie" Davidson Kerby (1870-1916). The RootsWeb source linked below contains a complete list of burials. To reach the Mt. Cumberland Presbyterian Church and cemetery from AL-157 in Muscle Shoals, head east on River Road and turn right onto County Line Road. After one mile, the church and cemetery are on the right.
Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
"Mt. Pleasant Cumberland Prebyterian Church Cemetery," RootsWeb, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maury/AlabamaCemeteriesWeb/ColbertCounty/MtPleasantCPChurchCem/MtPleasantCumb.PresbyterianChurchyardCemListingFAG.htm (accessed December 5, 2015).
Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
Colbert County, Alabama; Leighton, Alabama; Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery; Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church; Cemeteries
To reach the Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery from AL-157 in Muscle Shoals, head east on 2nd Street/AL-184 and after 6 miles, turn right onto County Line Road. The church and cemetery are on the left.
Murphy's Chapel Cemetery is located ½ mile east of Alabama Highway 20, on Lauderdale County Road 8 at Murphy's Chapel Free Will Baptist Church northwest of Florence, Alabama. The oldest known grave is that of a Confederate soldier buried in 1861. A woman by the name of Katie K. Jones is the oldest known person buried here, having been born in 1792. Some graves are probably much older than those listed. There are war veterans from the Civil War to the Korean War. The cemetery has a record of 738 graves. A full list of graves is located in the source.
Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama.
Montgomery, David L. "Murphy's Chapel." Rootsweb. January 5, 2005. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~allauder/cem-murphychapel-2005.htm. Accessed April 7, 2015.
Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Colbert County; Tennessee River
The Muscle Shoals is a section of the Tennessee River in North Alabama. This is the shoals that gives the surrounding area its name. The section on the river totals 37 miles in length. This was once an impassable barrier along the river. It made navigation extremely difficult for people. The Shoals was named after either the mussels found along the banks or the muscles needed to canoe across the river there. Both are disputed explanations for the naming of the shoals. Along this stretch the river had shoals, reefs, gravel, sand bars, swift currents, and uncertain depths. Until the canal was built in the early 1800s the area could only be navigated by small man-propelled crafts, such as canoes and rafts. The increasing problem of navigation through the area eventually gained the notice of Congress and they provided land for sale to generate funds to build a canal. This original canal was little help and was never intended to be used as a high traffic waterway. Coal barges could barely, if at all, fit down the canal. It was also a very slow option to naviagte along the river, as it could take up to 11 hours to fully travel down the river.
Carrie Keener, University of North Alabama
Young, Ronald. 1976. 'History Of US Facilities At Muscle Shoals, Alabama, And Origins Of The TVA'. Paper. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. Peyton, John Howe. 1916. 'America's Gibraltar Muscle Shoals'. Paper. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. 'FDR, TVA, And CCC Federal Influence In The Shoals: The Journal Of Muscle Shoals History Volume XIX'. 2015. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives.
Historic Markers; Killen, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
This historic marker is located at the intersection of U.S. 72, Killen, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Lock Six, headquarters of Muscle Shoals Canal, was located 1.3 miles south of here. An 1836 attempt to build a bypass canal around the shoals proved unsuccessful. On November 10, 1890 the canal from Rogersville to Florence was successfully completed. The river fell 85 feet in 14 1/2 miles requiring nine locks. Canal was closed in 1918 and later covered by backwaters from Wilson and Wheeler Dams. Jesse James robbed the U.S. Payroll near Lock Six in 1881."
“Muscle Shoals Canal Marker”. Accessed 11/04/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
Muscle Shoals Career Academy/ Muscle Shoals Center for Technology
Muscle Shoals Career Academy; Muscle Shoals Center for Technology; Vocational School; Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Colbert County, Alabama; School; Education
In 1975, The Muscle Shoals Board of Education conducted a needs assessment in conjunction with the Alabama State Department of Education to determine the business and industry employment needs in the Shoals area. As a result of the needs assessment survey the following occupational programs were initially implemented at the vocational school: Auto Body, Auto Mechanics, Business and Office Education, Carpentry, Distributive Education, Health Occupations, Horticulture, Industrial Electricity, Radio and TV repair, Trowel Trades, and Welding. Since the original opening of the school in 1977, Cosmetology, Engineering Graphics, Electronics/Robotics, Principles of Technology, Technology Education, Family and Consumer Science, and Cisco Academy programs were approved by the Alabama Department of Education and implemented at the Muscle Shoals Area Vocational School. Due to economic shifts in the local economy Trowel Trades and Horticulture were eliminated from the vocational curriculum. The Industrial Electricity program was eliminated due to low student enrollment. In 2000, the faculty and staff requested a school name change to reflect the curriculum changes that represented the technology and computer skills required for today's labor force. In October 2000, the name of the Muscle Shoals Area Vocational School changed to the Muscle Shoals Center for Technology.
Thomas Hale, University of North Alabama
“About the School: School History”, Accessed on November 26, 2015, http://muscleshoals.al.mst.schoolinsites.com/?PageName=‘AboutTheSchool’
Muscle Shoals Middle School; Muscle Shoals School System; Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Colbert County, Alabama; Middle School; School; Education
At its opening in 1970, the current MSMS building housed grades nine through twelve. These grades remained in this building until 1999 when the new high school was built. Middle school students previously attended McBride Middle School (now McBride Elementary School). Muscle Shoals Middle School was created fall 1999 for grades six through eight. In 2008, a new ten room addition was added to house the sixth grade students.
“About the School: Facility”, Accessed on November 26, 2015, http://muscleshoals.al.msm.schoolinsites.com/?PageName=‘AboutTheSchool’
The Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area (MSNHA) encompasses the six counties of North Alabama’s Tennessee River water basin, which includes Lauderdale County. An act of Congress established the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area in 2009. Since that time, MSNHA has worked hard to help preserve and promote the history of the Muscle Shoals Region. It is the only Heritage Area in the state of Alabama. MSNHA is sponsored by the University of North Alabama and operates under the National Park Service. MSNHA partnered with UNA to sponsor a successful Civil War conference in 2014. Other partnerships include living history events that were co-sponsored by the Florence-Lauderdale County Public Library. University of North Alabama graduate students help to create educational resource packets, driving tours, walking tours, brochures, and other educational materials for the Heritage Area. MSNHA and UNA Public History Center share offices near UNA’s campus in Florence, Alabama.
Kayla Scott, University of North Alabama
Public Libraries; Muscle Shoals; Colbert County; Alabama
The Muscle Shoals Public Library is located at 1918 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Colbert County, next to Muscle Shoals High School. It contains approximately 52,000 volumes and offers DVD's, audiobooks, computers, and free wifi to the public. It also offers a homebound delivery service free of charge. It is open Mondays 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and is closed on Sundays.
Jacob Grandstaff, University of North Alabama
“Muscle Shoals Public Library,” libraries.org: A directory of libraries throughout the world, March 6, 2015, Accessed November 16, 2015, http://librarytechnology.org/libraries/library.pl?id=4642. Image provided by: http://helenkellerhealth.com/the-shoals/muscle-shoals/ “Muscle Shoals Public Library,” http://www1.youseemore.com/muscleshoals/contentpages.asp?loc=35, Accessed November 16, 2015
Colbert County, Alabama; Sheffield, Alabama; Muscle Shoals Sound Studio; Performing Arts; Music; National Register of Historic Places
The modest exterior of the one-story concrete structure at 3614 North Jackson Highway stands in deceptively stark contrast to the majesty of the music produced therein. The building once housed the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, where some of the most influential popular music of the 20th century was recorded and produced. Between 1969 and 1978, the studio and its versatile Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, affectionately known as "the Swampers," turned out "over 50 gold and platinum hits and hundreds of albums for pop, rock, blues, funk, soul, reggae, and even country music superstars," and in the process made the Shoals area famous the world over. Having played on some of the biggest pop, rock and soul hits of the 1960s as the house band for Rick Hall's FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, the four-man MSRS struck out on their own in 1969 and, with the financial backing of Atlantic Records president Jerry Wexler, opened their own studio in the neighboring town of Sheffield. After an inauspicious start, a number-one single recorded with R.B. Greaves ("Take a Letter Maria") and a visit from the Rolling Stones (immortalized in the documentary film Gimme Shelter) inaugurated the studio's decade-long gold and platinum winning streak. The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
National Register of Historic Places, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #06000437.
Muscle Shoals Street Rod Festival; Street Rod Festival; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Colbert County, Alabama; Cars; Car Festival; Festival
The Muscle Shoals Street Rod Festival is held every year in Spring Park, Tuscumbia, Alabama. It is a show of over 200 gleaming street rods and classics dating from 1972 and older. The festival is held on the 1st Sat. in June. Admission is free.
“Muscle Shoals Street Rod Festival”, Accessed on November 29, 2015, http://www.colbertcountytourism.org/index.php/2012-11-08-15-07-00/annual-events
Movies; Florence Downtown Businesses; Louis Rosenbaum; Stanley Rosenbaum; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Louis Rosenbaum, who moved to Florence from Douglas, Wyoming (in 1918) during the building of Wilson Dam and the TVA government plants, opened the Princess Theatre on September 1, 1919. He lived and worked in Florence for over forty three years. At one time, he and his son Stanley owned and operated nine movie houses in North Alabama: the Princess, Majestic, and Shoals in Florence; the Colbert and Ritz in Sheffield; the Strand and the Tuscumbian in Tuscumbia; and the Ritz and the Plaza in Athens. Jonathan Rosenbaum, who was a movie critic for the Chicago Reader, wrote about growing up in and around movie houses owned by his grandfather in Moving Places (1980). The Shoals Theatre, 123 N. Seminary Street, continues to be used for community events.
Pam Kingsbury, University of North Alabama
Coleman, Edwin M., A History of Temple B'nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration, 1996-2006. Privately Printed. 2006.
Photographs courtesy of the Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Listed as a nurse from New York in 1965 MCHR newsletter.
Montgomery, Montgomery County, Jazz, Blues, Swing Music, Radio, WWII, Television Shows, Alabama Music Hall of Fame
Nat "King" Cole (March 17. 1919 - February 15, 1965) Born Nathaniel Adams Coles, on March 17, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, crooner Nat Cole was known for his smooth, soft baritone and easygoing nature. When Nat was four years old, his father, Edward Coles, a Baptist minister, moved the family north to Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Perlina, who played the organ in her husband’s church, was one of his musical influences. As Chicago was a magnet for jazz musicians, Nat was also influenced by such artists as Louis Armstrong, and Earl “Fatha” Hines, who he would sneak out of his house to go listen to at the various clubs around the city. Dropping out of high school before graduation, Nat first played piano for his brother’s group, Eddie Cole’s Solid Swingers. Settling in Los Angeles after a national tour that he was part off failed, Nat joined with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Price in the late 1930s to form the King Cole trio, as Nat had acquired the moniker “King,” due in part to the Mother Goose nursery rhyme, ‘Old King Cole,” as well as a nod to his musical prowess. Originally, the group focused on instrumental tunes, with Nat offering vocals on occasion. Legend has it that Nat’s singing career took off when a drunken patron insisted that he sing “Sweet Lorraine.” While this story has been discounted, mainly by Cole himself, he nevertheless didn’t discourage it. Nat’s explanation of his transformation in simpler terms, stating, “I started out to become a jazz pianist; in the meantime I started singing and I sang the way I felt and that's just the way it came out.” By 1943, with the help of appearances on such radio shows as Swing Soiree, the Chesterfield Supper Club, and Kraft Music Hall, The King Cole Trio had scored their first major hit with Nat’s own composition, Straighten Up and Fly Right.” Later hits like “The Christmas Song” (1946), “Route 66” (1946), “Nature Boy” (1948, and “Mona Lisa” (1950), solidified Nat’s place as a solo act and moved him away from his jazz roots with The King Cole Trio. In 1956, Nat made history by becoming the first African American to host a show on American television, The Nat “King” Cole Show on NBC. The show lasted for just over a year, ending when the show’s producers were unable to find a national sponsor, due in part to reluctance to advance a show hosted by, and featuring, African American entertainers. Although not overtly vocal regarding the civil rights battle going on in America in the 1950s and 1960s, Nat was an advocate for equality, contributing money to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and bringing lawsuits against hotels that hired him to entertain, but refused to serve him. Nat’s career kept moving forward, as he combined his singing with a fledgling acting career, the highlight being the role of W.C. Handy in 1958’s “St. Louis Blues”, based on the life of Handy. It was around this time that Nat ventured into another new genre, Latin music, recording three albums exclusively in Spanish and Portuguese from 1958 to 1962. In December of 1964, after having experienced back pain and weight loss over the previous few months, Nat was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. A heavy smoker for most of his life, Nat continued to work in spite of the diagnosis and pain, releasing his final album L-O-V-E, as well as filming his last movie, “Cat Ballou,” starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin. Nat succumbed to lung cancer on February 15, 1965. Nat’s popularity has remained strong long after his death, aided in part by his daughter Natalie’s recording of her father’s 1951 hit, “Unforgettable,” which combined new vocal from Natalie with those of her father’s. Posthumously, Nat has been enshrined in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame (1985), the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (1993), the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame (1997), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2000), and the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame (2013), as well as being featured on a United States postage stamp in 1994. Long after his passing, Nat’s sound is still influencing new generations of singers and finding new listeners. Watch & Listen: "Nat King Cole - Unforgettable" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy_JRGjc1To "Nat King Cole - When I Fall In Love (From Movie - Istanbul 1957)" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8lNgdpVakY "Memphis Blues Scene from 'St. Louis Blues' (1958)" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvd76QiRs-4 "Nat Cole and early family interview" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_oXfIwSXIc "Nat 'King' Cole Interview" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3F5N3PSKik
John Griffin, University of North Alabama
Epstein, Daniel Mark. Nat King Cole. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999 Santelli, Robert. The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia. New York: Penguin Books, 1993 “Nat ‘King’ Cole.” http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1552. Accessed November 29, 2016. Gilliland, John. Show 22 - Smack Dab in the Middle on Route 66: A skinny dip in the easy listening mainstream. [Part 1]. UNT Digital Library. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19775/. Accessed November 29, 2016. All images courtesy of Mr. George Lair and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, unless otherwise noted.
Natchez Trace; Colbert County; Muscle Shoals; Tuscumbia; Sheffield; Parkway
The Nathchez Trace was once a path used by Native Americans in the region, including the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians. It was a popular path for pioneers and settlers to take as well. Once there was better navigation on the river, with the invention of steamboats, use of the Trace decreased. The Trace runs from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. It is a 444 mile parkway managed by the National Park Service now that crosses Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. A compact was formed in 1999 to create and maintain the Trace parkway. The primary object of this pact is to bring visitors to the Natchez Trace Parkway and to encourage people to explore the Trace. In the Shoals area the Trace goes through Tuscumbia, Sheffield, Muscle Shoals, and Florence.
'Explore The Natchez Trace'. Florence. Florence City. UNA Special Archives.
New Bethel Elementary; Colbert County School System; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Colbert County, Alabama; Elementary School; School; Education
New Bethel Elementary is part of the Colbert County School System. New Bethel was built on its present site in 1915. The original structure was a two room wood constructed building. The original building burned in February, 1924. A new building was constructed but again was destroyed by fire in the 1950's. The current school is located on New Bethel Road, Tuscumbia, Alabama.
“About the School: History of New Bethel”, Accessed on November 27, 2015, nbes.colbert.k12.al.us/?PageName=‘AboutTheSchool’
New Style in Wrestling Originated Down In Texas
New Wrestling Promoters To Ask For Permit
Professional Wrestling Boxing Commission Jim Crockett Irish Horan Charlotte, North Carolina
This article appeared in the Charlotte News (Charlotte, North Carolina) on April 23, 1934. Jim Crockett appears before the Charlotte boxing commission requesting permission to organize professional wrestling matches locally.
The Charlotte News (Charlotte, North Carolina), 29 April 1934
Newspaper clipping on the beating of Fonny Calhoun in November 1960
Vol. 88, No. 9, November 18, 1960 issue of The Plainsman, the student newspaper of Auburn University.
Auburn University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives
Newspaper Clipping, Kirk Newell's History of "War Eagle"
1944 Opelika-Auburn Newspaper Article on Kirk Newell's perspective of where and how "War Eagle" originated for Auburn University.
Colbert County, Alabama; Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Sheffield, Alabama; Nitrate
The Tennessee Valley is filled with minerals, including the materials needed to produce nitrates. Nitrates can be used for many things, most importantly for TVA to help add nutrients to fertilizer. This helped to increase crop production. Another use for a nitrate plant can be for producing nitric acid during times of war to create explosives. These two important factors helped lead the US government to initially start building the Wilson Dam in 1918 and susbequently in 1933 give the TVA control of one of the two nitrate plants in the area of the Shoals. During the early twentieth century, only a small amount of nitrate used in the US came from the country. Most was imported from South America. The top priority of the TVA was to improve soil and prevent erosion. By employing nitrogen from the plant, the TVA could improve farmland. Before the introduction of nitrogen back into the land by the TVA, farmers were exhausting the land and creating barren fallow fields of mud that eroded away into the river. With the plant came a village to house the many workers brought into the area by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This was called Village No. 2 and existed for 32 years. The plant was built by the American Cyanmid Company, with the overall goal of producing 40,000 tons of nitrogen. The plant and Wilson Dam, then referred to as Dam No. 2, were commissioned and built by the federal government, with the help of the state of Alabama. The plant was to produce ammonium nitrate by the cynamid process of nitrogen fixation. It cost about $12 million dollars to build.
'FDR, TVA, And CCC Federal Influence In The Shoals: The Journal Of Muscle Shoals History Volume XIX'. 2015. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. Gunther, John. 1953. 'The Story Of The TVA'. Book. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. 'Sheffield History And Recollections: Journal Of Muscle Shoals History Volume XVIII'. 2011. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Colleciton. UNA Special Archives. Carle, J.F. 'US Nitrate Plant No. 2, Muscle Shoals, Alabama'. Paper. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. Young, Ronald. 1976. 'History Of US Facilities At Muscle Shoals, Alabama, And Origins Of The TVA'. Paper. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives.
Colbert County, Alabama; Sheffield, Alabama; Fire Department
The Tennessee Valley is filled with minerals, including the materials needed to produce nitrates. Nitrates can be used for many things, most importantly for TVA to help add nutrients to fertilizer. This helped to increase crop production. Another use for a nitrate plant can be for producing nitric acid during times of war to create explosives. These two important factors helped lead the US government to initially start building the Wilson Dam in 1918 and susbequently in 1933 give the TVA control of one of the two nitrate plants in the area of the Shoals. During the early twentieth century, only a small amount of nitrate used in the US came from the country. Most was imported from South America. The top priority of the TVA was to improve soil and prevent erosion. By employing nitrogen from the plant, the TVA could improve farmland. Before the introduction of nitrogen back into the land by the TVA, farmers were exhausting the land and creating barren fallow fields of mud that eroded away into the river. With the plant came a village to house the many workers brought into the area by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This was called Village No. 2 and existed for 32 years. The plant was built by the American Cyanmid Company, with the overall goal of producing 40,000 tons of nitrogen. The plant and Wilson Dam, then referred to as Dam No. 2, were commissioned and built by the federal government, with the help of the state of Alabama. The plant was to produce ammonium nitrate by the cynamid process of nitrogen fixation. It cost about $12 million dollars to build. The village was constructed around the same time as the dam. The village itself housed many of the workers and their families. The village housed a local school for younger ages, a fire department, and even book mobiles to allow greater access to books. The houses came in prefabricated styles, ranging from three to seven rooms. Every house had complete sewer, water, and electrical connections, a rare thing at the time. There were 42 permanent houses, 1 mess hall, three office buildings, a post office, and even an ice plant that produced 6 tons of ice a day.
'Sheffield History And Recollections: Journal Of Muscle Shoals History Volume XVIII'. 2011. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Colleciton. UNA Special Archives. Woodhouse, Henry. 1926. 'Muscle Shoals Industrial Possibilities And Actualities'. Newspaper. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives.
Mess Hall; Colbert County; Muscle Shoals; Nitrate Plant; TVA; Mess hall
The Tennessee Valley is filled with minerals, including the materials needed to produce nitrates. Nitrates can be used for many things, most importantly for TVA to help add nutrients to fertilizer. This helped to increase crop production. Another use for a nitrate plant can be for producing nitric acid during times of war to create explosives. These two important factors helped lead the US government to initially start building the Wilson Dam in 1918 and susbequently in 1933 give the TVA control of one of the two nitrate plants in the area of the Shoals. During the early twentieth century, only a small amount of nitrate used in the US came from the country. Most was imported from South America. The top priority of the TVA was to improve soil and prevent erosion. By employing nitrogen from the plant, the TVA could improve farmland. Before the introduction of nitrogen back into the land by the TVA, farmers were exhausting the land and creating barren fallow fields of mud that eroded away into the river. With the plant came a village to house the many workers brought into the area by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This was called Village No. 2 and existed for 32 years. The plant was built by the American Cyanmid Company, with the overall goal of producing 40,000 tons of nitrogen. The plant and Wilson Dam, then referred to as Dam No. 2, were commissioned and built by the federal government, with the help of the state of Alabama. The plant was to produce ammonium nitrate by the cynamid process of nitrogen fixation. It cost about $12 million dollars to build. With the influx of workers, mainly from the CCC, mess halls were built in the villages to help feed all of the men. Village No. 2 housed one mess hall.
FDR, TVA, And CCC Federal Influence In The Shoals: The Journal Of Muscle Shoals History Volume XIX'. 2015. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. Gunther, John. 1953. 'The Story Of The TVA'. Book. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. 'Sheffield History And Recollections: Journal Of Muscle Shoals History Volume XVIII'. 2011. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Colleciton. UNA Special Archives. Carle, J.F. 'US Nitrate Plant No. 2, Muscle Shoals, Alabama'. Paper. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. Young, Ronald. 1976. 'History Of US Facilities At Muscle Shoals, Alabama, And Origins Of The TVA'. Paper. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives.
Colbert County, Alabama; Sheffield, Alabama; Nitrate; Village
'FDR, TVA, And CCC Federal Influence In The Shoals: The Journal Of Muscle Shoals History Volume XIX'. 2015. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. KIng, Gail. 2010. 'Wilson Village No. 2 1918-1950'. Book. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives.
Colbert County, Alabama; Sheffield, Alabama; Nitrate Village No. 1 Historic District; Woodrow Wilson; Franklin D. Roosevelt; New Deal; National Defense Act; Wilson Dam; Tennessee Valley Authority; National Register of Historic Places; Historical American Engineering Record
The Nitrate Village No. 1 Historic District encompasses 112 family homes, two school buildings and one apartment complex, situated near the south bank of the Tennessee River in Sheffield, Alabama. The village was constructed in 1918 to house workers and their families after President Woodrow Wilson designated Sheffield as the site for a new nitrate plant, where the experimental German "Haber" process would be utilized in an (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to extract weapons-grade nitrate from the atmosphere. Designed by the Ewing and Allen architectural firm, and constructed by New York's J.G. White Engineering Corporation, the village street plan has a distinctive "liberty bell" shape, and the unifying architectural aesthetic is similarly distinctive. The village is typical of government-sponsored "planned communities" of the period in that all materials used in its construction were standardized and prefabricated to minimize costs and construction time. Likewise, all of the village's buildings share the same Bungalow-style architecture, with stuccoed walls and terracotta roofs. Nitrate Village No. 1 was deeded to the city of Sheffield in 1949, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
National Register of Historic Places, Nitrate Village No. 1 Historic District, Sheffield, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #84000603. Historic American Engineering Record, HAER AL-46, http://loc.gov/pictures/item/al1051 (accessed November 9, 2015).
Auburn, AL; Lee County, AL; Civil War; Slavery; Antebellum South; Education; National Register of Historic Places; Auburn University; Alabama Polytechnic Institute; Luther Noble Duncan; Greek Revival Style
Wealthy planter Addison Frazer built the home in 1854 in a two-story Greek Revival style. Frazer owned over 100 slaves and grew cotton on 2,000 acres of land. He served on the board of the Auburn Masonic Female College and the East Alabama Male College. Located approximately 2.5 miles from the town center of Auburn, the property was a massive plantation that according to legend, became a makeshift hospital when Ms. Frazer took in sick and wounded soldiers. One later tale recounted that as Union soldiers reached the Addison Frazer home, Ms. Frazer gave them the Masonic sign which saved her home and her provisions from being looted. After the collapse of cotton prices in the 1920s the home changed hands numerous times until it was bought and restored in 1932 by J.V. Brown, superintendent of buildings and grounds at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University). He sold the property in 1941, to Dr. Luther Noble Duncan, president of the school, director of the Alabama Extension Service, and pioneer in the founding of the National 4-H Youth Program. The home was named in his honor by his daughter, Elizabeth Pearson. Additional structures that have been preserved are the original separate kitchen, carriage house, and smoke house. Some remains of slave quarters are found in four locations on the property.Located at 1433 Shelton Road in Auburn, Noble Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, the first site from Lee County to be added to the register. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Hall
Keith S. Hebert, Evan Isaac, Joshua Shiver
Images: Home: Rivers A. Langley, Photographer Auburn University Library, http://www.lib.auburn.edu/archive/aghy/aces/aceshead/duncan.jpg Text: Lee County Heritage Book Committee, The Heritage of Lee County (Clanton, AL: Heritage Publishing Consultants: 2000), 23. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Hall
Janice P. Hand: National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Auburn Heritage Association: Noble Hall Marker
North Alabama Abstract & Guaranty Company
Historic Buildings; Businesses; Tuscumbia Historic District; Downtown Tuscumbia; Clark House; Colbert County; Colbert County Courthouse; Alabama
The building that currently houses the North Alabama Abstract is known as the Clark Building. It is a part of the Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District. The district is part of the National Register of Historic Places. This brick building was built in 1926. The photo of the old smokehouse is taken from behind the building.
"Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District," Accessed December 7, 2015, http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Colbert_County_Courthouse_Square_Historic_District.
Colbert County, Muscle Shoals, Birding, Hiking
The North Alabama Birding Trail consists of fifty birding sites across the northern part of the state. There are currently 397 species known to have been seen along the trail. The fifty sites were carefully selected by a group of biologists, bird enthusiasts, and conservationists. The criteria used to determine the sites were: probability of birds, ecological significance, site resiliency, physical and legal access, economic significance, maintenance support, and parking availability. The trial has a wide array of habitats, such as, wetlands, grasslands, and forests. It is suggested to dress for the season. There is a possibility of seeing birds from inside a vehicle. Binoculars are a useful tool to carry along on the trail.
"North Alabama Birding Trail - Frequently Asked Questions." North Alabama Birding Trail - Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed December 1, 2015. http://www.northalabamabirdingtrail.com/about_the_trail/faq.aspx. 'Explore The Shoals'. 2014. Florence. Florence City. UNA Special Archives.
Newspapers; Captain Arthur H. Keller; Jewish settlement
The North Alabamian and Times, now the Standard and Times and the Colbert County Reporter, was published by Captain Arthur H. Keller (who may now be better known as Helen Keller's father). Local Jewish merchants routinely advertised with Captain Keller and he published wedding announcements, social events, and promoted lecturers and speakers on the Talmud and Jewish history who were sponsored by the Jewish Community. Several memoirs by members of the Jewish Congregation mention meeting Helen Keller and several descendants of the founding Jewish families have had children included in the local production of "The Miracle Worker" at Ivy Green.
Coleman, Erwin M., A History of Temple B'Nai Israel, Florence, Alabama: Centennial Celebration, 1906 - 2006.
Jackson County, Dekalb County, Rainsville, Sand Mountain, Education
Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC) is a comprehensive, public two-year college within the Alabama Community College System; it is one of 12 junior colleges created by the Alabama State Legislature during the administration of Gov. George C. Wallace. NACC is located on State Highway 35 approximately five miles from Rainsville, DeKalb County; its grounds straddle the county line between DeKalb and Jackson counties. - See more at: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2611#sthash.adCiCsrn.dpuf
Northwest-Shoals Community College; Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Colbert County, Alabama; Two-Year College; Community College; Education
Northwest-Shoals Community College was formed in 1993 by the Alabama State Board of Education through the merger of Northwest Alabama Community College's Phil Campbell Campus and Shoals Community College. The merger was enacted in order to provide more effective and efficient educational services to residents of rural northwest Alabama and the Shoals area. Northwest-Shoals Community College is a comprehensive two-year public institution of higher learning providing vocational, technical, academic and lifelong educational opportunities for the northwest Alabama Region. The College is part of the Alabama College System, a statewide system of post-secondary colleges, governed by the Alabama Board of Education. Northwest-Shoals derives its original charter from the Alabama legislature through the Alabama Trade School and Junior College Authority Act of 1963.
“NW-SCC History”, Accessed on November 29, 2015, http://www.nwscc.edu/history.shtml
Architectural drawings; Watercolors; Houses; Dwellings; Doors & doorways; Windows; Shutters; Porches; Columns; Roofs; Chimneys; Moldings; Women; Trees; Landscapes (Representations)
This image is a watercolor painting of the Nunn-Winston Home, also known as the Neva-Winston House, in Auburn, Alabama done by W.C. Baker, Jr. in 1934. The house was built in 1850. The painting shows the front exterior of the home with its double doors, windows, shutters, columned porch, steps, sloped roof, and chimneys flanked by trees and landscaping. There is a woman in period dress standing by the door. The house is placed within framing art showing its architectural features including a floor plan and a close-up of the columns and the molding under the roof. In the lower right corner, there is an Alabama Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture stamp with the handwritten inscription "1st H. Mention"? and a sticker which reads: "W.C. Baker, Jr., Alabama Polytechnic Institute, measured problem, major problem no." The painting is in excellent condition and is encapsulated.
Auburn University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives Dept. Architecture, School of -- Architectural Renderings Student Projects
This image is the property of the Auburn University Libraries and is intended for non-commercial use. Users of the image are asked to acknowledge the Auburn University Libraries. For information about obtaining high-resolution copies of this and other images in this collection, please contact the Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department at archive@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1732.
City of Auburn: http://www.auburnalabama.org/parks/Default.aspx?PageID=663 ; Panoramio: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/9204425
Auburn -- Lee County -- Alabama ; 520 Chadwick Lane, Kiesel Park (moved from South Gay Street), Auburn, Lee County, AL
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)
Oak Grove Cemetery is located in Lauderdale County, Alabama. From Florence, Alabama, take Savannah Hwy west to Waterloo Rd. Turn west onto County Road 14, go approx. 17 miles. Turn right onto Bitter Branch Rd. Turn left onto County Road 121. The cemetery is 1.5 miles on right at top of hill. The cemetery is still in good condition today. It has a record of 31 graves. List of graves is located in the source.
Wood, Sharon L. "Oak Grove Cemetery." Rootsweb. January 13, 2001. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~allauder/cem-oakgrove.htm. Accessed April 12, 2015.
Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Oakwood Cemetery; Felix Grundy Norman; Cemeteries
Tuscumbia's Oakwood Cemetery was mapped and designated as a burial ground in General John Coffee's 1817 survey "Plan of a Town at Coldwater Spring," and the cemetery's oldest burial dates from 1821. Hundreds of military veterans are buried in Oakwood, including veterans of the Revolutionary War and dozens of unknown soldiers killed fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Among the noteworthy burials at Oakwood are one-time Tuscumbia mayor Felix Grundy Norman and Captain Arthur H. Keller, C.S.A., publisher of Tuscumbia's North Alabamian newspaper, and father of Helen Keller. To reach Oakwood Cemetery from Muscle Shoals, head south on Highway 72, turn right onto 6th Street, then turn left onto East Commons Street. Continue for five blocks and the cemetery is on the right.
Mary McWilliams, "Oakwood Cemetery," in The Heritage of Colbert County, Alabama (Clanton, AL: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 1999). Carolyn Murray Greer, "One of Our Best, Most Respected Citizens," Remembering the Shoals, https://rememberingtheshoals.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/one-of-our-best-most-respected-citizens (accessed December 6, 2015).
Colbert County Alabama; Tuscumbia Alabama; Native American History
Ococoposa, also known as Cold Water, was the site of a French trading post and was the home of Chickasaws and the Cherokees. The Chickasaw’s lived at the top of a hill near the Ocacapoosa spring. The Cherokees lived in the western portion of the area. The area would later be known for a battle that took place between the Native Americans and the United States military.
Colbert County Heritage Book Committee (Colbert County, Ala.). 1999. The Heritage of Colbert County, Alabama. Clanton, AL: Heritage Pub. Consultants.
Office of Sheffield Land, Iron and Coal Company
Sheffield, Alabama; Colbert County; Jewish History; Alfred Huger Moses
Alfred Huger Moses, founder and first mayor of Sheffield, Alabama (along with his brother, Mordecai) was the owner of the Sheffield Land, Iron and Coal Company, located on Montgomery Avenue.
Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Festival; Native American History; Oka Kapassa; Spring Park Tuscumbia
Oka Kapassa festival is a festival held every year to remember the Native American presence in Tuscumbia. The festival is allows visitors to learn about Native American culture both past and present during. The festival is free to the public on both days. However, the first day is primarily geared towards schoolchildren. The festival has a myriad of booths that explore both the story of the Native Americans in Tuscumbia as well as their culture. Examples of Native American culture that is on display at this festival includes: music, artistry, craftsmanship, food, language, and many other cultural aspects of their heritage. The festival is located in Spring Park in the city of Tuscumbia.
Oka Kapassa. Accessed December 1, 2015. http://okakapassa.org/.
Festival; Arts; Culture; St. Florian, AL
The town of Saint Florian, Alabama, has a strong German heritage. It was established in 1872 by a Catholic priest named J. H. Hueser. Hueser, the director of the Homeland Security of Cincinnati, Ohio, purchased over two thousand acres of land in north Alabama, hoping to spread Catholicism into the region. He sold the purchased land for eight dollars per acre to German Catholic families. The German residents established the Saint Michael’s Catholic Church, and the town was named after Mrs. Florian Rasch because she donated the bell for the newly established church. Saint Michael’s Catholic Church also acted as a school. The wife of the first preacher at Saint Michael’s Catholic Church, Annie Merz, taught German classes at the school during the 1870s. In addition to the church, the town had a blacksmith, a boarding house, a post office, a shoe shop, a brick yard, and a cotton gin. Nearly one hundred years after its establishment, on August 18, 1970 the resident’s in St. Florian decided to incorporate the town. Beginning in 2002, the residents in St. Florian celebrated their town’s German heritage with the establishment of the Oktoberfest festival, which takes place during the first weekend in October. The two day festival is located at the St. Florian Community Park. Many attendees wear traditional German clothing, listen to music, drink from the beer garden, and eat German food such as brats and potato balls. The proceeds from the festival goes toward the town’s operating capital for the senior center.
Jesse Brock, University of North Alabama
Text: Tennessee Valley Historical Society, “St. Florian,” Journal of Muscle Shoals Vol. X (1983), 143-144. Jill Garrett, “First Catholic Church in County,” in folder “McDonald Collection: Church Information-Vol. 7: Other Denomination-Catholic, Churches 7.2,” Box 37, Bill McDonald Collection, Archives/Special Collections, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama. Bobby Bozeman, “St. Florian Celebrates German Heritage with 12th Annual Oktoberfest,” Times Daily, October 2, 2014.
Architectural drawings; Watercolors; Fire stations; Wooden buildings; Doors & doorways; Windows; Shutters; Porches; Columns; Balconies; Hand railings; Ironwork; Roofs; Streets; Carriages & coaches; Men; Women; Trees
This image is a watercolor painting of an old fire house in Mobile, Alabama done by Darcy Tatum, Jr. sometime between 1917 and 1942. The fire house was built in 1823. The painting shows the front exterior of the firehouse with its doors, windows, shutters, columned porch, balcony with iron railing, and peaked roof with the number "5." The firehouse is situated on a street with buildings on either side and a tree in the background. There is a horse-drawn carriage with driver, two men and a woman on the street. The firehouse is placed within framing art showing its architectural features including close-ups of the door and iron railing, a floor plan and various scales. In the lower right corner, there is an Alabama Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture stamp with a handwritten inscription "2nd Medal." The painting is in good condition with minor edge wear and is encapsulated.
Tatum, Darcy, Jr. (rendering); Unknown (building)
Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/item/al0609/ ; Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Firehouse_No._5
Mobile -- Mobile County -- Alabama ; 7 North Lawrence Street, Mobile, Mobile County, AL (between St. Francis and Dauphin Streets; off Government Street)
Historic Buildings; Athens, AL; Limestone County, AL
The Old Main Post Office in Athens, Alabama was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Also known as Washington Street Courthouse Annex, the Neoclassical building was constructed in 1933 by the Works Progress Administration. The lobby of the post office features marble floors and door trim. In 1979 the post office was converted to a courthouse annex.
National Register Information System. Accessed August 5, 2015.
Colbert County, Alabama; Leighton, Alabama; Old Brick Cemetery; Old Brick Presbyterian Church; Cemeteries
The origins of Leighton's Old Brick Presbyterian Church can be traced back to 1812, when traveling minister Carson P. Reed staged a two-week revival in the Brick community. 45 men baptized during the revival were inspired to establish a congregation of their own, with Reed as preacher, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was born. Nearly a century later, in the early 1900s, a split within the congregation led to the departure of one faction (which formed the nearby Mt. Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church), and a switch to the "Old Brick" name still in use today. To reach the Old Brick church and cemetery from AL-157 in Muscle Shoals, head east on River Road and turn right onto County Line Road. After one mile, turn left onto Mount Pleasant Road, and look for the cemetery on the right. See the RootsWeb source below for a complete list of burials.
"Old Brick Church Cemetery," RootsWeb, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maury/AlabamaCemeteriesWeb/ColbertCounty/OldBrickChurchCem/Old_Brick_Church_Cem_Listing.htm (accessed November 20, 2015).
Colbert County, Alabama; Leighton, Alabama; Old Brick Presbyterian Church; Architecture; Churches; National Register of Historic Places; Historic American Buildings Survey
According to church tradition, Leighton's Old Brick Presbyterian Church building was constructed in 1828, although architectural evidence suggests a later date during the 1830s or 1840s. Its distinctive, kiln-fired exterior bricks and sun-dried interior bricks were drawn from a pit still visible today near the church's southwest corner, and may be the products of slave labor. The church's interior, meanwhile, retains its original plaster walls and hand-crafted pews, divided down the middle to establish separate seating for male and female congregants. The original slave gallery also remains intact, reflecting the further segregation of worshippers among racial lines. In addition to its enforcement of race and gender norms through segregated seating, the church played "an important judicial role" in rural Bricksville by "policing... moral standards." Members accused of sins were called before the congregation and given a choice: confess or be "removed from the church." The origins of the Old Brick church can be traced back to 1812, when traveling minister Carson P. Reed staged a two-week revival in the Brick community. 45 men baptized during the revival were inspired to establish a congregation of their own, with Reed as preacher, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was born. Nearly a century later, in the early 1900s, a split within the congregation led to the departure of one faction (which formed the nearby Mt. Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church), and a switch to the "Old Brick" name still in use today.
National Register of Historic Places, Old Brick Presbyterian Church, Leighton, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #88003078.
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.
Michael Williams, University of North Alabama
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
Lexington Alabama; Lauderdale County Alabama; Post Offices
The old Lexington Post Office (circa 1940) had fallen into dis-repair and disuse after the new post office was built. Several businesses attempted to make the space usable without major updates. When Dr. Paul Corfman, who grew up in North Alabama, wanted to make an investment in his community, he and his wife, Nicole, renovated the building turning it into usable space.They incorporated the details of the post office - most notably the high ceilings - to turn the building into a comfortable and welcoming space for patients. Located on Highway 101 the building is now a model for a small, rural community hoping to attract new businesses.
Old Lexington Alabama Post Office; Corfman Chiropractic
Education; Lee County, AL; Auburn University; East Alabama Male College; Button, Stephen Decatur; Civil War; General Lovell Rousseau; Morrill Act; Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College; Old Main Hall; William J. Samford Hall
After the state awarded East Alabama Male College its charter on February 7, 1856, the Board of Trustees set about securing funds to build an administrative and educational building. The trustees initially allocated $25,000 for the facility, but the building that came to be known as Old Main Hall required an expenditure of approximately $60,000 to complete. Stephen Decatur Button, a nationally prominent architect, designed and built the four-story Italianate-style academic building. Old Main Hall was the primary building of the East Alabama Male College from 1856 until 1887. During the Civil War, EAMC suspended operations like so many of the country’s other academic institutions. As faculty, staff, and students left school to join the Confederate war effort, the EAMC shuttered its doors from 1861 to 1864 when Old Main Hall, Langdon Hall, and the Chapel were converted into makeshift hospitals for wounded soldiers arriving from Atlanta. In 1864, Texas’s state legislature paid to convert Old Main Hall into a convalescent hospital that they dubbed Texas Hospital. The ramshackle hospital housed over four hundred Confederate soldiers, many of whom never saw their homes again and were buried in nearby Pine Hill Cemetery. Old Main also acted as a parade ground where soldiers from nearby Camp Beauregard and Camp Johnson marched and drilled during the war. In July 1864, Major General Lovell H. Rousseau and his force of approximately 2,500 Union cavalrymen raided the cities of Auburn and Opelika where they destroyed thirty-five miles of railroad tracks, the local post office, and Pebble Hill. In an effort to defend the city, sixteen-year old John Hodges Drake and approximately thirty or forty convalescents from the Texas Hospital offered some token resistance to Rousseau's raid, to little avail. The Federal cavalrymen left the bedridden and newly minted prisoners alone and did little damage to civilian property. In fall 1866, students returned to attend classes in a building ravaged by the elements and war. In the early morning of June 24, 1887, a fire broke out in Old Main Hall’s lower basement chemistry lab. The ensuing conflagration consumed the entire building. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the students met for classes in the Chapel. In 1888, the school erected a new administration building, William J. Samford Hall, on Old Main Hall’s original foundation. Old Main Hall’s cornerstone is still visible at the base of the northeast corner of Samford Hall. Old Main Hall’s building originally occupied the space that is now 182 South College Street, Auburn University.
Image Source: http://www.auburn.edu/communications_marketing/150/lecture.html Text Source: Ralph Draughon, Jr., Delos Hughes, and Ann Pearson, Lost Auburn: A Village Remembered in Period Photographs (Montgomery: NewSouth Books, 2012), 9-11.