Confederate General John Bell Hood; Civil War; General Hatch; Lieutenant Colonel Stephen W. Presstman; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL; Tennessee River
After Union General Williams T. Sherman captured Atlanta in September of 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood devised a plan to aide General Lee in Virginia by going through Ohio. The plan necessitated a crossing of the Tennessee River. Hood’s forces were blocked by strong union positions at Guntersville and Decatur. This left Florence as the only viable option for a large force to cross the river. Florence was occupied at the time by a force of Union cavalry numbering about four thousand under the command of General Hatch. The Confederate army arrived at Bainbridge, Tuscumbia, Leighton, and South Port on October 27th. The Union forces placed a strong picket at the destroyed railroad bridge. Hood ordered a nighttime boat crossing of the flooded river at two points, South Port and two and half miles upriver for October 29. The crossing at South Port under General Clayton went smoothly with covering fire from artillery batteries stationed on the south bank. Colonel Gibson’s brigade landed and drove the Union forces from banks of the Tennessee. Meanwhile, the landing force upriver under General Johnson found the shoals to be treacherous. After some delay, Johnson took one brigade and moved inland to attempt to cut off the union retreat. Johnson’s forces engaged part of the retreating Union cavalry. Although the Union cavalry lost forty men they were able to slip by Johnson’s brigade and make it across Shoal Creek. With the north bank secured, Hood’s chief engineer, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen W. Presstman, was placed in charge of the crossing. Because the river was flooded, Presstman decided to make use of the piers from the destroyed railroad bridge across the Tennessee. The pontoons were anchored to the piers for superior stability. The pontoon bridge was completed early the next evening. Johnson and Clayton’s divisions were the first across the pontoon bridge in order to reunite their respective commands. As Hood’s crossing continued General Hatch reformed his men and retreated north to Waynesborough Tennessee. After several delays caused by weather, Hood’s force of 32,000 were finally reconstituted in Lauderdale County on November 20.
Michael Williams, University of North Alabama
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Edgar D. Byler, III. n.d. "GENERAL JOHN BELL HOOD'S INVASION OF TENNESSEE." tngenweb.org. Accessed April 11, 2015. http://www.tngenweb.org/wayne/Hood.htm. Eric. 2014. "HOOD’S BATTERED ARMY RECROSSES THE TENNESSEE." Civil War Daily Gazette. December 26. Accessed April 11, 2015. http://civilwardailygazette.com/2014/12/26/hoods-battered-army-recrosses-the-tennessee/. Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama History." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://civilwardailygazette.com/2014/10/30/hoods-confederates-finally-cross-the-tennessee/ Photo from following websites: http://bshc-granbury.org/wp/the-stories/the-civil-war-era/john-bell-hood
Civil War; General Philip Roddey; Union General Granville Dodge; Confederate Colonel William A. Johnson; 9th Illinois Cavalry; 4th Alabama Cavalry; Lamb’s Ferry; Rogersville, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The first skirmish at four mile branch in Lauderdale County during 1864. January 25, Confederate Colonel William A. Johnson’s 4th Alabama Cavalry was dispatched to forage in Lauderdale County by General Philip Roddey from his headquarters at Bainbridge. A Union spy in Florence sent word of Colonel Johnson’s mission to Union General Granville Dodge’s headquarters at Pulaski Tennessee. General Dodge sent Colonel A. O. Miller’s 2nd Cavalry from Pulaski and Lieutenant Colonel Jesse J. Phillips with the 9th Illinois Cavalry from Athens to join the 18th Missouri. The combined Union forces were tasked with intercepting Johnson’s expedition. Johnson’s Confederates avoided Phillips’ Union cavalry but encountered Miller’s forces at the crossroads of Huntsville and Byler Roads. The ensuing skirmish lasted for a couple of hours until dark. Miller withdrew to the east bank of Shoal Creek and Johnson’s forces held the field for the night. The following day Johnson went on the offensive and caught Miller’s forces at Lamb’s Ferry in Rogersville. Miller’s 2nd Cavalry suffered two casualties in that engagement. Meanwhile, General Roddey took advantage of Phillips’ forces leaving Athens and attacked the garrison there. In the raid, Roddey’s forces captured prisoners and supplies. Miller’s forces suffered fifteen killed and twenty-five wounded in the two days of skirmishing. The Confederate forces under Johnson suffered seven deaths.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015).
Photo from following websites: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7217181 Photo from following websites: http://www.oocities.org/bourbonstreet/Delta/3843/johnson.htm
General Forrest Hides on Seven Mile Island
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest; Civil War; Colonel W.H. Morgan; Lauderdale County, AL
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest hid his men on Seven Mile Island in Florence October 5-6, 1864. General Forrest’s cavalry crossed into Lauderdale County at Colbert Shoal and rode down the Huntsville Road toward Athens. After raiding Athens and then disrupting the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, Forrest’s cavalry were chased back into Alabama by Union cavalry under Colonel W.H. Morgan. With the river flooded, Forrest’s hopes to use the Bainbridge Ferry were dashed, and he had to improvise. Forrest’s troops located and used a barge to ferry the men across while the horses swam. Lieutenant Colonel Windes regiment of the 4th Alabama Cavalry was left to provide cover as Colonel Morgan’s forces bore down on the Confederates. Forrest then camped on Seven Mile Island with no fires in the chill of the fall nights until the covering regiment was able to reunite with his command.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Pitts, Alan. 2005. "The Alabama in the Civil War Message Board - Archive." History-sites.com. August 8. Accessed April 17, 2015. http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/alcwmb/arch_config.pl?md=read;id=19361. Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama History." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://battleofselma.com/?page_id=1208
Jack Peters; Plantations; Civil War; 9th Ohio Cavalry; Colonel James Jackson, Jr.; Captain Joseph N. Hetzler; Colonel Samuel Ives; Confederate Army of the Tennessee; 27th Alabama; 35th Alabama; Lauderdale County, AL
The battle at the Peters’ Plantation took place just before daylight on April 12, 1864. The 9th Ohio Cavalry known to the local in North Alabama as “The White Horse Company” had been foraging the local area from their base camp at the plantation of Jack Peters. The 27th and 35th Alabama regiments of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee were in nearby Lawrence County recruiting. There, they received news from family members in Lauderdale County of the Union cavalry unit. The two commanders of the regiments on hand decided to lead a raid on the Union camp. Colonel James Jackson Jr. of the 27th Alabama was a neighbor of Jack Peters, and Colonel Samuel Ives of the 35th Alabama was a native of Center Star. The commanders chose to lead the attack jointly and picked 150 of the best soldiers from the two regiments. The small Confederate force crossed the Tennessee at Seven Mile Island during the night of the 11th. The Confederate commanders achieved a tactical surprise in the early morning hours of the 12th. According to the 9th Ohio’s records, two privates were killed and thirty-five others were captured including the company’s commanding officer Captain Joseph N. Hetzler. The remainder of 147 members of the 9th Ohio escaped to Florence under the leadership of three lieutenants raising the alarm that “General Forrest” was attacking. In response to the late night attack the Union forces evacuated Florence. Meanwhile, Jackson and Ives returned to Franklin County with the prisoners in tow. The Confederate force also captured food and livestock which had been taken from the local population by the 9th Ohio. All those captured except for Captain Hetzler were sent to the prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia. Twenty-one of the thirty-five died as a result of their imprisonment.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama History." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm
Florence Bridge Company; Memphis and Charleston Railroad; Civil War; Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston; Colonel Benjamin Hardin Helms; Double Decker Bridge; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The oldest river bridge in Alabama connected Florence to Sheffield for more than one hundred and fifty years. The Florence Bridge Company was authorized by the Alabama legislature in 1832. It was founded for the purpose of realizing a dream for the citizen of Florence, to construct a bridge connecting the city with the south side of the river and eventually the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The site for the bridge was chosen as the ferry crossing on Jackson’s Military Road. The company raised the money for a bridge spanning the Tennessee River just below the shoals. The construction was completed in 1840, with eight stone spans atop six stone piers and was constructed of wood. It opened as a toll bridge. In 1854, the southern spans were destroyed by a series of tornados and the bridge would not be rebuilt for four years. In 1857, the Charleston Railroad Company purchased the spans and rebuilt the bridge. Completed in 1858, the new bridge had two levels: the top for trains and a lower level for wagons or foot traffic supported by additional piers. The bridge escaped destruction by Union gunboats in February of 1862 only to be burned by Confederate troops on March 18 of that same year. Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston order Colonel Benjamin Hardin Helms to have his troops burn the bridge to prevent its use by Grant’s Union forces. The bridge was not rebuilt until 1870 and was upgraded to a draw bridge in 1892, after train crashed through both decks and plummeted into the river. The bridge remained in service until 1988 and was donated to the Old Railroad Bridge Company in 1993. It has now been converted to a walking trail since the lift from the draw bridge was sold to Hannibal Missouri in 1993.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Hubbs, G. Ward. 2008. "Civil War in Alabama." Encyclopedia of Alabama. January 10. Accessed April 15, 2015. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1429. Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama History." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://www.washingtonky.com/civilwar.html Photo from following websites: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/Moments08RS/46_web_leg_moments.htm Photo from following websites: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/333336809893643376/ Photo from following websites: http://oldrailroadbridge.com/old-railroad-bridge-landmark/
Civil War; Commander Andrew H. Foote; USS Contestoga; USS Tyler; USS Lexington; CSS Robb; CSS Dunbar; Cypress Creek; General Roddy; Gunboats; Gunwaleford Road; Lauderdale County, AL
Gunwaleford Road earned its name because of a Confederate gunboat becoming lodged in between sand bars on Cypress Creek. After the fall of Fort Henry at the mouth of the Tennessee River, Union gunboats under the command of Commander Andrew H. Foote were sent on a probing mission up the Tennessee River. The USS Contestoga, Tyler, and Lexington steamed up the river toward Florence on February 6, 1862. The major objective of Foote’s sortie upriver was to destroy the Confederate gunboats Robb and Dunbar. The CSS Robb and Dunbar were hiding in Cypress Creek. On April 21, 1862, the CSS Robb was captured by Foote’s forces, and the Dunbar had become stuck on sand bars in Cypress Creek. The Union presuming the Dunbar destroyed and unsalvageable left the wreck in Cypress Creek. While the vessel remained lodged in the creek, local residents used it as a make shift bridge. The road leading to and from the vessel became known as Gunwaleford road. Later in 1862, General Roddy ordered the Dunbar raised and floated upriver past the shoals. The vessel was later captured by Union forces near the end of their campaign in Chattanooga.
Tucker, Spencer C. 2009. "Myron J. Smith, Jr. The Timberclads in the Civil War: The Lexington, Conestoga and Tyler on the Western Waters. Jefferson, NC: McFarland." North & South: The Official Magazine Of The Civil War Society 11, no. 4: 79. America: History and Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Hannings, Bud. 2013. Every day of the Civil War : a chronological encyclopedia. n.p.: Boston, Massachusetts : Credo Reference, 2013., 2013. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Government, Lauderdale County Alabama. 2011. "The History of Lauderdale County." Lauderdale County Online. Accessed April 19, 2015. http://lauderdalecountyonline.com/New_Website/About_LauderdaleCounty/index.html. Hubbs, G. Ward. 2008. "Civil War in Alabama." Encyclopedia of Alabama. January 10. Accessed April 15, 2015. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1429.
Photo from following websites: http://alabamascenicrivertrail.com/events/?eventID=37&date=09/10/2011 Photo from following websites: http://www.civilwarphotos.net/files/naval_officers.htm Photo from following websites: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Conestoga_h55321.jpg#/media/File:USS_Conestoga_h55321.jpg
Colonel Florence M. Cornyn; General Sterling A.M. Wood; Civil War; Captain Risden Deford; Globe Cotton Mills; Lauderdale County, AL
A Union force of 1380 men under the command of Colonel Florence M. Cornyn left Corinth, Mississippi on May 26, 1863. Colonel Cornyn’s mission was to destroy the industrial capacity of Lauderdale County. The county was a leading producer of cotton and wool cloth, leather, and food for the Confederate Army of the Tennessee. Among Colonel Cornyn’s officers was Captain Risden Deford, who knew the area from his youth. Captain Deford’s father had been a Methodist circuit riding preacher in the area, often staying in the homes of the local citizens. Captain Deford knowing the locations of the mills, tanneries, and foundries; guided the Union forces to them. The Union forces met the small number of confederate units commanded by General Sterling A.M. Wood on Coffee Road near Cox Creek. After a brief engagement Wood’s troops were driven back into the city. Cornyn’s forces then accomplished their major objective and burned the Globe Cotton Mills on Cypress Creek. The destruction of the mills was valued around one million dollars.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Wallace, Harry E. n.d. "Lauderdale County, Alabama Hisory." algw.org. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://www.algw.org/lauderdale/historyshoals4.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMHGR1_Ante_Bellum_Cotton_Mills_1840_Florence_AL Photo from following websites: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/49815934 Photo from following websites: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11114 Photo from following websites: http://civilwartalk.com/threads/corinth-ms-court-martial-and-murder-of-colonel-francis-cornyn-10th-missouri-cavalry.108468/
10th Alabama Infantry; Civil War; Colonel Richard Oric Pickett; Tidewater Architecture; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Colonel Pickett Place, Home of Richard Oric Pickett a Colonel of the 10th Alabama Infantry under the “Defender of North Alabama” Confederate General Philip Roddey. The house is a “double-pile cottage” and rare example of Tidewater architecture in Alabama. The style originated on the southern coast during the colonial period. The house was built in 1833 by Thomas Crowe for his new bride, Elizabeth Hooks, as a wedding present. Richard Oric Pickett’s father, from a Virginia planter family, had moved to Limestone County Alabama in 1829 when Richard was six years old. Richard moved to Florence to begin his study of law in the office of James Irvine. He married Fannie Boggs a sister of Irvine and cousin to Union General Ulysses Grant. The couple moved into what is now known as Pickett Place. Pickett began his own law practice in Moulton. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Pickett organized a group of volunteers for the Confederate army as Company H of the 35th Alabama Infantry. He led the company in the Battles of Baton Rouge and Champion Hill. Pickett was given command of the 10th Alabama Infantry and promoted to Colonel in November 1863.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). City of Florence, Alabama. n.d. "Historical Markers." Florenceal.org. Accessed April 17, 2015. http://florenceal.org/At_a_Glance/Historical_Markers/index.html.
Photo from following websites: http://florenceal.org/At_a_Glance/Historical_Markers/index.html Photo from following websites: http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=39-040&MarkerTitle=Colonel%20Pickett%20Place%201833%20
Confederate Fort; General Daniel Ruggles; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL; Civil War; General Philip Dale Roddey; Dunbar; General Grenville M. Dodge; Colonel George Gibbs Dribrell
The Old Confederate fort in Florence was constructed by Confederate forces under General Daniel Ruggles in 1862. General Ruggles was born in Massachusetts and graduated from West Point married into a wealthy Virginia family. After the fall of Fort Henry which guarded the Tennessee River from Union forces on the Mississippi River, General Ruggles was placed in charge of the defense of Florence. Control of the fort was vital for either side to cross the river at the shoals. Confederate General Philip Dale Roddey, “Defender of North Alabama,” used the fort as his base in early 1863. During this period, General Roddey used the Port of Florence to repair boats for the Confederate river boats, including the raising of the Dunbar. General Nathan B. Forrest ordered an artillery battery at the fort in the spring of 1863. The battery was commanded by Colonel George Gibbs Dribrell. In last April of 1863, Union General Grenville M. Dodge took Tuscumbia and moved toward the river. Colonel Dribrell’s artillery fire from the fort persuaded the union general to withdraw back to Tuscumbia. The last action at the fort occurred in 1864 as General Hood’s forces were retreating from the battle of Nashville. Union gunboats shelled the fort on their way to try and stop Hood’s army from crossing the Tennessee at Bainbridge. Presently, the Florence Coliseum occupies the former location of the fort.
McDonald, William Lindsey. A walk through the past : people and places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Pub., 2003., 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). McDonald, William Lindsey, and L. D. Staggs. 2002. Remembering Sweetwater : the mansions, the mills, the people. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Publications, [2002], 2002. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). City of Florence, Alabama. n.d. "Historical Markers." Florenceal.org. Accessed April 17, 2015. http://florenceal.org/At_a_Glance/Historical_Markers/index.html.
Photo from following websites: http://florenceal.org/At_a_Glance/Historical_Markers/index.html Photo from following websites: http://www.ranger95.com/civil_war/generals_confederacy/daniel_ruggles.htm Photo from following websites: http://www.civilwarsignals.org/pages/spy/pages/dodge.html
Josiah Higgins; Civil War; USS Cottage; Waterloo, AL; Lauderdale County, AL; Gunboats
The city of Waterloo was shelled by Union gunboats in July 1862. Near the end of July 1862, older men from the town of Waterloo fired on the USS Cottage a transport vessel. The escorting gunboats returned fire, shelling the town. Union soldiers disembarked and arrested several men from the town led by resident Josiah Higgins. The men were sent to federal prison in Alton, Illinois. A member of the group, riverboat captain John Thomas Humphrey died in a makeshift prison camp at McDowell College in St. Louis, Missouri. Higgins was subsequently released and returned to Waterloo.
McDonald, William Lindsey. A walk through the past : people and places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Pub., 2003., 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015).
Photo from following websites: http://www.altonweb.com/history/civilwar/confed/prison.jpg Photo from following websites: http://records.ancestry.com/josiah_higgins_records.ashx?pid=36523890
Writers; Architecture; Jewish Families in Florence, Alabama; Lauderdale County, AL
Alvin Rosenbaum, who was born on January 14, 1945, has worked as a research scholar, conducted tourism and opportunity studies and workshops, and is the author of several books, including: A White House Christmas, The Complete Home Office:Planning for Maximum Efficiency, and A White House Christmas.
Pam Kingsbury, University of North Alabama
Writers and Critics; Jewish Community of Florence, Alabama; Lauderdale County, AL
Jonathan Rosenbaum, who was the head film critic of the Chicago Reader from 1987 to 2008, has had a lifelong interest in movies and the arts. Born in Florence, Alabama on February 27, 1943, his grandfather and father ran a small chain of movie houses, an experience he chronicles in Moving Places (1980). His parents, Stanley and Mildred, commissioned the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in Alabama which he associates with the sense "that a horizontal line is both dynamic and restful." A graduate of the Putney School of Vermont and Bard, he intended to be a writer. Moving to New York, where one of his first jobs was editing a collection of essays on film, led to his career as a film critic, essayist, and memoirist. Jean-Luc Godard, says of Jonathan Rosenbaum, "I think there is a very good film critic in the United States today, as a successor of James Agee, and that is Jonathan Rosenbaum. He's one of the best."
Smirnoff, Marc. "Film Critic of the Month: Interview with Jonathan Rosenbaum," Oxford American. June 5, 2009. Website
Writers; Journalists; Civil Rights Movement; Jewish Community of Florence, Alabama; Lauderdale County, AL
Hank Klibanoff, the former managing editor of the Atlanta-Constitution and the James M. Cox Jr. Professor of Journalism, was born in Florence, Alabama. Klibanoff, who co-wrote The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation, with former New York Times managing editor. The book - which won a Pulitzer in 2007 - covers specifically Alabama events, including: the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the threats against the first black student at the University of Alabama, the freedom riders, the Selma to Montgomery marches, the Birmingham church bombing, and George Wallace's "stand in the schoolhouse door."
Carvalho, John. "Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hank Kilbanoff to Neil O. and Henrietta Davis Lecturer April 15." Auburn HomePage: The Newsroom. April 4, 2015.
John D. Chisholm; Lauderdale County, AL; Chief Doublehead
John D. Chisholm (1737 -1742?, d. 1818), who was Chief Doublehead's legal counsel and liaison, arrived in North America around 1777. He was involved in multiple land scams before and after his partnership with Chief Doublehead. After Doublehead's death, he and his Cherokee wife followed the Cherokee tribe to Arkansas.
University Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama.
Alexander Falk; Jewish Community of Florence, Alabama; Lauderdale County, AL
Alexander Falk was born in Prussia on October 14, 1811. He moved to England at the age of fourteen, where he learned the jewelry business. After a brief trip to his homeland in 1841, he left for America. He arrived in New Orleans and lived in Vicksburg (where he married) before moving to Florence in 1843 where he became a well-respected businessmen. At his death (on or around July 21, 1871), the Board of Mayor and Alderman issued a tribute of respect. He is buried in the Florence Cemetery.
Coleman, Erwin M., "A History of Temple B'nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration: 1906 - 2006, p. 4-6.
Jean Schulman, artist and art teacher, has been working in clay and batik since the 1970s. Originally from Russellville, Alabama, she lives in Florence, and retired from teaching at Muscle Shoals. Her most recent exhibit was with Robin Wade.
Downtown Florence Businesses; Jewish Community in Florence, Alabama; Klibanoff Family; Lauderdale County, AL
The Bootery, which was located on 111 North Court Street, was a locally owned business and landmark for eight decades in Florence. (The last incarnation of the store was Kaye's Shoes in Regency Square Mall.) Owned by Morris Klibanoff and Melburn Zeff, the store specialized in "shoes, accessories, sportswear, and lingerie." Hymen Klibanoff (October 20, 1886 - June 10, 1947), who was married to Lillie A. Klibanoff (August 1, 1890 - February 13, 1969) founded The Bootery in 1918. Born in Russia, he came to the United States as a young man. Morris (January 29, 1917 - December 13, 1996) and Rosalyn Klibanoff (August 8, 1919 - December 6, 2003), worked together and were married for over fifty-six years. Morris Klibanoff, a native of Jackson, Tennessee, graduated from Coffee High School, attended Vanderbilt, and graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois with a degree in Business Administration and Commerce. Rosalyn Bookholtz attended Hunter College and moved to Florence, Alabama (the home of her sister Mildred Rosenbaum) in 1940 to marry Morris Kilbanoff. They were the parents of five children: Judy Klibanoff Engle, Ruth Klibanoff Berg, Henry ("Hank") Klibanoff, Deborah Klibanoff, and Danie Klibanoff. The couple was active in the community and Temple B'nai Israel. Mrs. Klibanoff was instrumental in founding two local theatre groups - in 1949, she was a founding member of The Little Theatre, and she worked toward founding the Zodiac Theatre (which was, at that time, located on Hermitage Drive).
From the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library Archives, vertical files. Temple B'nai Israel Cemetery Obituaries, Compiled by Scott Dawsey, 2005.
Collier Library Archives, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Jewish Owned Businesses in Downtown Florence, Circa 1900
Jewish Owned Downtown Businesses; Florence, Alabama; Lauderdale County, AL
The Tri-Cities Professional Directory of 1900 listed the following Jewish businesses in Florence, Alabama: M. Coplan, Grocer F. Cohn, Clothing H. Kreisman, Grocer A. Kreisman, Gents' Furnishings Frank Perry, Grocer Charles Perry, Gents' Furnishings M. Reisman, Dry Goods
Pam Kingsbury, Universsity of North Alabama
Coleman, Edwin M., "A History of Temple B'nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration, !906 - 2006. Private Printing. Florence, Alabama. 2006.
Photograph courtesy of the Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Judaism; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
A significant Jewish community has existed in the Shoals area since the 1840s. One of the earliest references to the Jewish community in Florence, Alabama was in September 1882 (Rosh Hashanah) in the Florence Gazette reminding readers that “our citizens of that belief generally observed by closing their places of business.” Various rabbis from Birmingham and Huntsville performed wedding ceremonies and funerals until the congregation decided the time had come to build a temple and to hire a Rabbi. The Florence-Standard Journal reported that Rosh Hashanah services had been conducted in the Masonic Hall on Court Street (which, in addition to the homes of various members, would appear to have been the usual meeting place for the group that became Temple B’Nai Israel. Many of the male congregants were Masons.) The Florence Herald reported in March of 1899 that “there were about twenty-five children who needed instruction in their faith.” In June of 1900, the Times reported that plans were being made to build a Temple in Florence. Mark Reisman and M. (believed to stand for Mose) Coplan led the building project. The Times reported, “some of our best citizens are Hebrews and they form quite a considerable portion of our community, they are law abiding and prosperous and always found on the right side of every question leading to the upbuilding and prosperity of the city’s growth.” In July of 1900, The Times reported that $800 had been raised toward the building of a Temple and that, a board of trustees had been elected at a meeting in the home of Morris Coplan: President, Mark Reisman; Vice President, A. E. Bresler; Secretary, H. Weinbaum (of Sheffield); Treasurer, H. Miller. Philip Olim, H. Goldman, A. Kreisman, and Joe P. May were elected as Trustees. On January 22, 1906, the Congregation incorporated in Colbert County under the name of Congregation B’nai Israel of the Tri-Cities. The first permanent meeting place of Temple B’nai Israel was in Sheffield, Alabama, (from 1906 until 1953) where the congregants were active religiously and socially. In January 1953, at the annual (business) meeting of the group, Louis Rosenbaum (then president) announced that the purpose of the meeting was to make a final decision on the new building. An architect had estimated that it would cost $3,500 to repair the old building, and an attorney opined that the old building could be sold. The group discussed a sketch of the new building and voted that lots on Hawthorne Street in Florence be purchased. It was agreed that the auditorium and the portion of the building that would house religious school rooms be built immediately with the auditorium serving as the sanctuary until that time. The sum of $10,000 was taken from the surplus Federation funds to place into a building fund. The Lt. Alvin Rosenbaum Foundation conveyed almost all of lots 1, 2, and 3 in Block 427 of the City of Florence to the Congregation B’nai Israel of the Tri-Cities. The Temple still stands at 201 Hawthorne Street. The cornerstone of the Temple was laid in 1953. An addition to the building, which added three classrooms and enclosing the arcade, were added in 1958. The building, in essence, remains the same today. Rabbi Joseph Gallinger of Birmingham, came to the Temple in 1957 and stayed for nineteen years, instituting many of the traditions that are still followed by the congregants. A twelve tribes memorial plaque, an etched glass memorial, and tree of life doors have been added to the interior of the building. The Temple B’nai Israel hosted a centennial celebration in 2006.
Coleman, Edwin M., A History of Temple B'nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration, 1906 - 2006. Private Printing. Florence, Alabama. 2006.
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.
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.
Florence Owned Businesses; Wilson Dam; Advertising; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Douglas and Virginia Lambert, owners of Lambert Transfer (which was founded in 1953), chose Wilson Dam as the backdrop for their advertising
Postcard courtesy of Duel and Imogene James
Key Caves; Archaeology; Nature; Native Americans; Lauderdale County, AL
Several caves, located 1.5 miles apart, via Gunwaleford Road were included in archaeological digs in the late 1980s. It was believed that the artifacts of indigenous people had been stored in the area. At one time William Key owned the property, which included a slave cemetery, that has now been designated as Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge. The caves are closed to the public to protect their integrity.
Historic Marker. Gunwaleford Road, Lauderdale County, Alabama
Document courtesy of Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama
Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL; Jewish Owned Businesses
During the 1960s many of the individually owned businesses in downtown Florence were owned by Jewish merchants. Most were incorporated with family members as officers of the corporations. The opening of Regency Square Mall (in 1978) was a reason for some businesses to relocate or close. Best Jewelry Company, located at 100 East Tennessee Street, was owned by Melvin L. Korman and Dorothy Korman. The store specialized in "Keepsake diamonds, China, Crystal, and Silver." Brother and Sister Shop, located at 108 East Tennessee Street, was owned by Erwin M. Coleman and Mrs. Rebecca W. Sebulsky. They advertised "Quality Clothing for Children - Infants Through Teens," and "Smart in Style." They also owned Junior Deb which was located next door. The Gift Box, located at 224 N. Court Street, was owned by John J. Jacobson, Fred J. Jacobson, and Gertrude S. Jacobson. S.S. L., located at 114 and 116 Court Street, was owned by the Levinsons. D. Max Levinson, Helen O. Levinson, and the Olim Levinson Company built and managed the First Federal Savings and Loan on Court Street. Davis (owned by Coleman Brodsky) and Shirley's (owned by Irving Bertell) were located from Mobile and Court, going south, on the east side of Court Street. City Drug Store, which was owned by Dr. Samuel Lischkoff, was located at the northeast corner of Tennessee and Seminary streets on 127 N. Seminary Street. The Shoals Theatre, owned by Louis and Stanley Rosenbaum, was located at 123 N. Seminary Street. Shipper and Company, Inc., Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds, owned by Stanley Shipper, was located on 212 E. Alabama Street.
Coleman, Edwin M., A History of Temple B'nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration, 1906 - 2006. Private Printing, Florence, Alabama, 2006 Shoals Directory, 1967. The R. K. Polk Company, Detroit, Michigan.
Photograph courtesy of the Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama
Polk City Directory, 1965. R. L. Polk and Company, Detroit, Michigan.
Civil War; Andrew Jackson; Military Road; Lauderdale County, AL
Jackson’s Military Road was constructed from 1816 to 1820 under the direction of Andrew Jackson. The original purpose of the road was to serve as a conduit for military supplies in the southeast. The mail route from New Orleans to Nashville was transferred to the Military Road from the Natchez Trace in 1819. This shortened the mail route by 200 miles. During the Civil War, the Military Road was used by Confederate and Union forces on many occasions. The largest troop movement on the road in Lauderdale County occurred in the fall of 1864. After a three inch snow fall on November 20, the Confederate Army of the Tennessee under General Hood moved out of Florence to Franklin and Nashville in Tennessee. General Benjamin Cheatham’s corps moved down Coffee Road. General Stephen Lee’s corps took Chisholm road. General Alexander Stewart’s corps left via the Military Road.
McDonald, William Lindsey. A walk through the past : people and places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Pub., 2003., 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015). Groundspeak, Incorporated. 2015. "Jackson’s Military Road - Alabama Historical Markers on Waymarking.com." Waymarking.com. Accessed April 16, 2015. http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1PNX. n.d. "Jackson's Military Road." rootsweb. Accessed April 16, 2015. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tqpeiffer/Documents/Ancestral%20Migration%20Archives/Migration%20Webpage%20Folder/%285%29%20SOUTHEASTERN%20GULF%20PLAINS/Jackson%27s%20Military%20Road.htm.
Photo from following websites: http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdjack.htm Photo from following websites: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tqpeiffer/Documents/Ancestral%20Migration%20Archives/Migration%20Photo%20Galleries/(5)%20SOUTHEASTERN%20GULF%20PLAINS/JACKSONS%20MILITARY%20ROAD/JacksonsMilitaryRoadmap.jpg
Downtown Florence Businesses; Florence, AL; Jewish Owned Businesses; Lauderdale County, AL
The Florence Shoe Company, located at 122 North Court Street in Florence, was owned by Milburn Zeff (November 10, 1913 to April 2, 1989) and Morris Klibanoff (January 29, 1917 - December 13, 1996). Milburn was married to Bertha ("Betty") Klibanoff Zeff (1913 - 1965). He was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana; lived in Cincinnati, Ohio; and moved to the Forence area after World War II. He was a former partner in the Bootery and Kaye's. The Zeffs and the Klibanoffs were active in Temple B'nai Israel and involved in community organizations.
Coleman, Edwin M., A History of Temple B'nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration, 1906 - 2006. Private Printing. Florence, Alabama. 2006
Photograph courtesy of the Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama.
Sweetwater Creek, located between Huntsville Road and Florence Boulevard, was given its name by the indigenous people for the pure, clear water of the creek. The Sweetwater Mansion takes its name from the creek as did Sweetwater Mills. The area was also a popular swimming hole for the young men of East Florence.
Photographs courtesy of the Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama
Rosenbaum Family; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Anna Block Rosenbaum, a native of Lithuania, was born on April 8, 1889, and was brought to the United States at the age of six months. She married Louis Rosenbaum in 1910 and they had one son, Stanley. After living in Denver, Colorado, Casper, Wyoming, and Little Rock, Arkansas, the family moved to Florence, Alabama during the Wilson Dam Boom. Louis opened The Princess Theatre in 1919. Mrs. Rosenbaum, along with her husband, were active in Temple B'nai Israel. They were part of a drive to support the new State of Israel through the purchase of bonds. The couple accompanied Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and his wife when they came to tour TVA. She, along with the Sisterhood of the Temple sent clothing and food packages to its citizens. The Sisterhood also involved in helping the victims of Nazi persecution through the adoption of war orphans. Anna Rosenbaum died on August 9th, 1975.
Coleman, Erwin M., A History of Temple B'nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration, 1906-2006, Private Printing. Florence, Alabama. 2006
Chief Doublehead; John Chisholm; Lauderdale County, AL; Bluewater Creek
The Doublehead Company was a development agency that leased thousands of acres of land in the area between Elk River and Cypress Creek to more than fifty white settlers. The Company was founded by Chief Doublehead, his fellow Cherokee named Checkout, and John D. Chisholm who served as the company’s agent, legal counselor, and had Doublehead’s power of attorney. The area was not officially open for settlement and the sale or transfer of the land was not sanctioned by the Cherokee Nation. The lease holders started having problems with their claims after Doublehead’s death in 1807, and, by 1809, a petition to drive out the white settlers was circulating. The Cherokee Agent Meigs started evicting the intruders in 1811. According to documents in the W. S. Hooie Special Collections at the University of Alabama Library, the families were still attempting to recover their land or their investment as late at 1827.
McDonald, William Lindsey, "The Lore of Chief Doublehead and His Home at Muscle Shoals." William Lindsey McDonald papers. Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama. Florence, Alabama.
Lee County, AL; Opelika, AL; Government; National Register of Historic Places
Lee County, AL; Beulah, AL; National Register of Historic Places; Commerce
Franklin Yarborough, Jr. Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 29, 1989.
Annual Historical Fair: Syrup Sopping Saturdays
Lee County, AL; Loachapoka, AL; Festival
Annual festival celebrating local food, music, and crafts. http://www.leecountyhistoricalsociety.org/fair/index.html
Lee County, AL; Loachapoka, AL; Festival; Lee County Historical Society
Annual festival organized by Lee County Historical Society celebrating old-time music, storytelling, dance, food, and crafts. http://www.leecountyhistoricalsociety.org/leecountygathering/main.html
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
Lee County, AL; Dupree. AL; Agriculture; National Register of Historic Places
The Jenkins Farm House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 15, 2008. The house is located in Dupree, Lee County, Alabama.
University of North Alabama; Willingham Hall; Historic Buildings; Preservation; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The site of Willingham Hall, which is located on the University of North Alabama’s campus in Florence, Alabama, and Willingham Hall (One Harrison Plaza) itself have many stories to tell. Willingham Hall is located on the site of what was once private property with a private home, and later, the site of Locust Dell Academy for Girls. The land on which the building is located was first developed in the early 1800s (pre dating Alabama’s statehood, 1819) by an anonymous Florentine. The house was purchased in 1830s by Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Marcelius Hentz, an educated couple who moved to Florence from the Chapel Hill, North Carolina area where he had been a Professor of Modern Languages at the University. Mrs. (Caroline Lee) Hentz was a writer. The couple opened the Locust Dell Academy for Girls, which was named for the locust trees on the property, in 1834. The Academy was closed “with the coming of the War for Southern Independence.” The Hentzs sold the house which was used as a private home by various owners until 1871. Major Henry Wood, for whom Wood Avenue is named and one of the first mayors of Florence, purchased the house in 1871. He owned the house for several years prior to the purchase of the home by the University of North Alabama (which was, at the time, the first state supported teachers college and first co-educational college south of the Ohio River). Shortly after the University acquired the house, (around the 1900s), it burned to the ground. Willingham Hall, which was located on Morrison Avenue, was built in 1939, with renovations in 1977, and 2007/08. The building was originally used as a dormitory for men and named for Dr. Henry J. Willingham, who was President of the University from 1913 through 1958, when the dorm housed women. The building, which houses the offices of the English, History and Political Science and Criminal Departments, is a three story, masonry, and steel structure.The building contains 20,464 square feet, 10,827 net assignable. Willingham Hall was constructed with funds and labor provided by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Work Projects Administration. At the time of construction the building was described as “a three-storied, fireproof building, ‘modern in every way’.” Willingham Hall is architecturally important to UNA’s campus because it is one of the oldest buildings on campus. The University – under a Green Campus Initiative – updated the building in 2007/2008. Willingham Hall is historically important to UNA’s campus because it was built on the site of one of the fine girls’ academies; it is architecturally important to the campus because it is one of the oldest buildings on campus and was built by the WPA; and it remains academically important because the English, History, Political Science, and Criminal Justice Departments are housed there.
Historic Marker, Willingham Hall, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Photograph, circa 1981, is courtesy of the Archives at the Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Locally Owned Businesses; Foodways; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Trowbridge’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop (nee Bar), located at 316 North Court Street, is a truly a Florence, Alabama landmark. Opened in 1918, Trowbridge’s is the oldest business still operating in its original location in Florence. Still owned by the Trowbridge family (third generation, Paul’s grandson, Don), the shop seats fifty, and the menu features sandwiches, chili, ice cream, milkshakes, and Wednesdays are bean day. An unassuming building and restaurant with large windows that face Court Street, the eight stools at the food counter allow customers to watch their sandwiches being assembled or their ice cream being dipped. Booths line the wall on the left and various artworks (photographs, newspaper clippings, and a few original pieces by local artists) are hung around the restaurant giving the customer an impromptu history of place; both Florence’s and Trowbridge’s. Locals of a certain age will recognize the waitresses of yesteryear in the oil painting on the back wall. Several small tables are scattered between the booths and the counter. The green vinyl padding on the stools and the chairs, alongside the 1950s style formica tables, give the place a completely unassuming retro feel. According to the Official Travel Site of Alabama, in 1917 Paul Trowbridge, who was on his way to a dairy convention in North Carolina, stopped in Florence and liked the area so much that he returned to Texas, packed his family and moved to Florence. A year later, he opened the Trowbridge Creamery where he developed the recipe for orange pineapple ice cream. He added hot dogs and chili to the menu in the 1940s. Trowbridge’s has long ceased making all ice cream by hand but the recipe for orange pineapple ice cream has become a Southern classic. It was named by Travel and Leisure magazine as one of “50 Reasons to Love the U.S.A. Now,” is included in the cookbook Alabama’s Historic Restaurants and Their Recipes (by Gay N. Martin, 2004), and is discussed and reviewed on websites as prosiac as Yelp, Trip Advisor, and Facebook; as Southern as Deep Fried Kudzu; and as commercial as Remax and Alabama Chanin’s Journal. Trowbridge’s, which has never been pretentious or had any aspirations to go more upscale, is a tradition for locals and a delight for visitors.
The John McKinley Federal Building and the United States Post Office
Federal Buildings; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The John McKinley Federal Building, which was built on the former site of the Florence Synodical Female College (which closed in 1893), occupies a city block. The main entrance to the building is on 210 North Seminary Street, a second, smaller, public entrance is on East Tombigbee Street, and entrances for employees and deliveries are the sides facing East Mobile Street and North Wood Avenue. The main post office for the city of Florence is located on the first floor and the United States District Court uses the remainder of the building (court rooms are on the second floor and offices are on the third floor). At one time, the building’s basement was designated as a civil defense fallout shelter with a capacity for approximately 1235 people. The United States Post Office and Courthouse was built and completed in 1913. The Times Daily, the local afternoon newspaper (at that time), praised the supervising architect James K. Taylor, for his use of Neo-Classical architecture, Georgia marble tiles, the oak that was used for the trim (inside and out), and the massive doors. The building was described as “the finest in the South.” In 1999, the 105th Congress of the United States renamed the post office to honor andcommemorate John McKinley’s contributions to the city of Florence. McKinley, who was born in Virginia and lived in Florence from 1821 – 1842, was Alabama’s first United States Supreme Court Justice. As befits a Supreme Court Justice, the sign in front of the post office was erected by the Alabama State Bar Association. Judge McKinley was part of the Cypress Land Company and one of the seven founding fathers of Florence, Alabama. His contributions to the area include; building one of the first schools in the state (Athens State University), building the First Presbyterian Church in Florence, and he is credited with being “the spiritual father of the Tennessee Valley Authority” for his work on behalf of the first Florence Canal. He became the 23rd Associate Justice of the Supreme Court while he was living in Florence. The building remains in service as a post office and federal district court and it has seen several renovations since 1913. The building is a still vital part of downtown life in that it is within walking distance of several of the first churches in the city (First Presbyterian, First Baptist, First Methodist, Wood Avenue Church of Christ {no longer in an original building}, and Trinity Episcopal Church), the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, the University of North Alabama, Wilson Park, Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, the Shoals Theatre, and Wilson Park.
Historic Marker, 210 North Seminary Street, Florence, Alabama.
Downtown Florence; Jewish Owned Businesses; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Kreisman's Women's Apparel, which was located at 103 N. Court Street, promoted itself as having "Nationally advertised Women's Clothing and Accessories." Kreisman's Menswear, located at 101 North Court Street, was owned by Mrs. H.K. Levin and Mrs. F. K. Brostoff. Their wares included "men's furnishings."
Diorama, 1965, (Florence State University, now the University of North Alabama yearbook), Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Pam Kingsbury . University of North Alabama
Trail of Tears; Waterloo, Alabama; Lauderdale County, AL
During the forced removal of the indigenous people from the eastern United States to Oklahoma, Waterloo was a stop for the Cherokees who came by boat, from Tuscumbia, after having walked from the homelands in the Appalachians in the winter of 1838/39. Approximately 17,000 people were removed. Though a few managed to escape, there were over 4,000 deaths.
Trail of Tears Marker, Waterloo, Alabama
Photograph of Waterloo, Alabama, c. 1900, courtesy of the Archives at Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Stanley Rosenbaum; Business; Philanthropy; Civil Rights Movement; Education; Frank Lloyd Wright; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Stanley Rosenbaum was born on October 1, 1910 in Denver, Colorado. His parents, Louis and Anna, moved to Florence, Alabama while Wilson Dam was under construction to open the Princess Movie Theatre. He enrolled in Harvard at the age of sixteen and graduated with honors in 1931. He earned his M.A. in English at the University of Denver in 1932. Upon graduation Stanley returned to Florence to work with his father in the movie theatre business. Stanley married Mildred (Bookholtz) on November 27, 1938 at the Netherlands Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio. After a honeymoon trip to Cuba and Denver, the couple returned to Florence. Stanley's parents gave the couple a lot and the financing to build a house as a wedding gift. Their friend Aaron Green suggested that they commission Frank Lloyd Wright to design their home. They moved into the house in September 1940. The couple's four children - David, Jonathan, Alvin, and Michael - were born over a six year period (from 1941 - 1947). Stanley and his father Louis participated in the formation of a local chapter of the Alabama Council on Human Relations, a bi-racial group that worked to solve discrimination issues without fanfare. The Rosenbaums were instrumental in consolidating the African-Amercan and white public libraries in Florence. Mr. Rosenbaum's employment at the Florence State College - now the University of North Alabama - was featured in the Times Daily on November 20, 1960. His specialties were British Literature and Linguistics. He retired from UNA in 1980. Stanley Rosenbaum died on December 1, 1988.
Coleman, Erwin M., A History of Temple B'Nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration, 1906 - 2006, Private Printing, Florence, Alabama 2006
Photograph Courtesy of Collier Library Archives, University of North Alabama
Rosenbaum House and Museum; Frank Lloyd Wright; Usonian Architecture; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
601 Riverview, Florence, Alabama The Rosenbaum House is the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Alabama. Louis and Anna Rosenbaum's wedding gift to their son, Stanley, and his wife, Mildred (known as "Mimi") was a two acre lot with a view of the Tennessee River and $7,500 to build a house. The Rosenbaums, who did not see themselves living in a "Colonial style" house, had read about Frank Lloyd Wright. After discussing their vision for a home with Aaron Green, they commissioned a Usonian style house (one of twenty-six pre World War II Usonian style houses designed by Wright). The house was built in an L-shape, using natural materials, cypress wood, brick and glass. It features low-rising steel cantilevered roofs on the house and carport. The original plan called for the house to be 1540 square feet. By the time the house was completed, with overruns, the house cost approximately $14,000. After the births of four sons in six years, the Rosenbaums approached Wright about adding an extension to the house. He agreed, designing a dorm space for the children. a larger kitchen for the family, a guest room, and a second carport, adding 1048 (a second L shape) to the house. The costs for the additions exceeded $40,000. The house was added to the National Historic Register of Houses in 1978. After Stanley's death in 1978, Mildred devoted her energies to giving tours of the house and preserving Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. Mildred lived in the house until 1999 (longer than any other Wright clients) when she sold the house to the city of Florence with the intention that it would be turned into a museum. After extensive restoration and renovation, the house was opened to the public as a museum in 2003. John Sargeant describes the house as "the purest example of Usonian style."
Broach, Barbara Kimberlin, Frank Lloyd Wright's Rosenbaum House: The Birth and Rebirth of an American Treasure. San Francisco; Pomegranate, 2006. Rosenbaum, Alvin, Usonia: Frank Lloyd Wright's Design for America. Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1993.
Photograph Courtesy of Archives at Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama
Mildred Rosenbaum; Rosenbaum House and Museum; Historic Preservation; Frank Lloyd Wright; Architecture; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Mildred (“Mimi”) Bookholz Rosenbaum was born in New York City on June 30, 1917, the daughter of Isador and Gussie Bookholz. She attended the New York public schools, Hunter College, and Columbia Teachers College where she pursued degrees in music and art. She worked as a fashion model for the John Powers Agency where she was featured in Vogue magazine. Mildred married Stanley Rosenbaum, a Harvard graduate, who had returned to his hometown of Florence, Alabama to work in the family’s movie theatre business. Louis and Anna Rosenbaum gave the couple funds and upon which to build a house as a wedding gift. The couple “who didn’t want anything with a colonial connotation” because “neither of us could identify with it,” consulted their friend Aaron Green who suggested that they consider contacting Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for them. The couple moved into the house in September 1940. The couple had four son– David Hillel (born 1941; died 1981), Jonathan Daniel (1943), Alvin Robert (born 1945), and Michael Joseph (1947). Mr. and Mrs. Rosenbaum enjoyed entertaining and the arts. They were also committed to the ideals of civil rights for everyone. Their home became a gathering place for artists who were visiting the South. Their visitors included: Beverly Sills, Mercedes McCambridge, Norman Cousins, Issac Stern, and John Mason Brown. After the death of Mrs. Rosenbaum’s husband in 1982, she became a “live in curator/tour guide” for the future stewardship of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and the preservation of the Rosenbaum house as a public space. The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy recognized her work in pioneering strategies for protecting historic residential properties with the first Wright Spirit Award. In 1990, Mildred Rosenbaum hosted an open house for the general public – which was organized by Heritage Preservation, Incorporated of Florence , to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the completion of her home. Over 1,000 guest visited in a single day. From 1993 – 1998, Mildred Rosenbaum conducted tours of the house. Over 5000 people signed the guest registries helping to contribute to the maintenance of the house and its preparation as a public historic site. The National Trust for Historic Preservation published a book on the house and a documentary for public television. In 1999, Mrs. Rosenbaum and her family worked with Mayor Eddie Frost to reach a long-term stewardship agreement between the City of Florence, the Rosenbaum House in cooperation with the Rosenbaum Family, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Rosenbaum House Foundation. Mildred Rosenbaum died on October 12, 2006 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Sheffield, Alabama.
From the Mary Lancaster Collection at the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Florence, Alabama. Fuqua. C.S. "Alabama's Only Frank Lloyd Wright House," Alabama Magazine, June 1990, p. 28. Gorham, Melinda. "Rosenbaum House," The Flor-Ala. Volume 47, Number 13, p 1. Times Daily Archives; "Mildred Rosenbaum," http://www.timesdaily.com/archives/mildred-rosenbaum/article
Photo courtesy of the Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama.
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
110 W. College St. Florence, Alabama 35630
Indian Mounds; Indigenous Cultures; Archaeology; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The Indian Mound is the largest platform mound in the Tennessee Valley. The size and the shape of the earthwork are designated as Mississippian. However, artifacts and radio carbon evidence suggest that the mound is from the Middle Woodland period, A.D. 100 – 500, and is non-mortuary in purpose. The mound is located on the north side of the Tennessee River in Southern Lauderdale County. In 1914, Charles B. Moore drilled thirty-four trial holes in the mound hoping to discover what the purpose of the mound might have been. The Alabama Museum of Natural History explored the mound in 1932. The Mound, which had been part of the farm owned by Dutch Kachelman, was donated to the City of Florence in 1945 by the Dabney Family. Research undertaken in 1996 and 1997 suggests that the mound was used for tool production and use; and the preparation and consumption of food; and possible regional interaction and exchange.
Futato, Eugene, editor. Journal of Alabama Archaelogy. The Alabama Archaeological Soceity, Volume 46, number 2, December 2000, p. 90.
Photographs courtesy of the Archives at Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Libraries; Philanthropy; Civil Rights Movement; Louis Rosenbaum; Stanley Rosenbaum; Jewish Community of Lauderdale County; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Louis and Stanley Rosenbaum were instrumental in building and integrating the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library. In August of 1945, Louis Rosenbaum gave $25,000 toward the building of a new library. They also pledged, at the onset of the public fundraising campaign, an additional $15,000 if the campaign goal of $56,000 was not met. The library building was completed in 1948. While Stanley Rosenbaum was treasurer for the public library, a position he held for over thirty plus years, he worked toward consolidating the African-American and white libraries into one library for all Lauderdale County residents. A bronze plaque, which was moved from the old library location at 218 North Wood Avenue to the library's new location at 350 North Wood Avenue in 2004, commemorates the Rosenbaum's generosity.
Coleman, Erwin M., A History of Temple B'nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration, 1906-2006, Private Printing, Florence, Alabama 2006.
Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Methodist Churches; Louis Rosenbaum; Jewish Community; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
The First United Methodist Church, located at 415 N. Seminary Street in Florence, Alabama, almost fell victim to the Great Depression. A devastating fire in 1920 caused the congregation to have to design, reconstruct, and refinance the church. The doors of the church were reopened on Easter Sunday, April 20, 1924. Economic changes in the community – construction of Wilson Dam was completed, the iron furnaces over east Florence were closed, and the cottons mills were closing – caused economic uncertainty. By 1937, the United Methodist Church – in arrears for five years due to the construction of the building – was in serious financial trouble. The holder of the mortgage had instigated court action and the Methodist congregation was faced with losing its place of worship. The congregation tried various campaigns and programs to raise money but to little avail. While the money did help, it was not enough to pay off the debts. The First United Methodist Church was faced with foreclosure and a public auction of the building. Louis B. Rosenbaum, an influential businessman and member of Temple B’nai Israel, contacted the church leaders offering to help negotiate with the mortgage holder. Mr. Rosenbaum called the National Bank of New York asking the bank officials to give the congregation another opportunity to raise the money to catch up on their mortgage. The congregation worked very hard during the grace period to raise the remaining funds to pay down their burdensome debt. When the First United Methodist Church was unable to raise the money, Mr. Rosenbaum stepped in, writing a check on a private loan to the congregation to save the building. William Lindsey McDonald, a local historian, described the occasion “as one of the most beautiful accounts in the annals of Christian and Jewish relationships.”
Coleman, Erwin M. A History of Temple B'Nai Israel, Florence, Alabama, Centennial Celebration:1906-2006. Privately Printed. Florence, Alabama, 2006.
Photograph Courtesy of University of North Alabama Archives, Collier Library, Florence, Alabama.
Chief Doublehead; Cherokee Tribe; Lauderdale County, AL; Bluewater Creek
1774 – 1807 Doublehead, who was also known as “Talo Tiske” (meaning two heads) and sometimes “Autowee,” was a member of a prominent Cherokee family. “Tassel” or “Old Tassel” was a beloved statesman and principal chief of the Cherokee Nation whose name became synonymous with integrity and truth. One of his sisters, Wurteh, married Nathan Gist, who was white and who married into the tribe, choosing to live with the Cherokees. Gist acted as an intermediary on behalf of the Cherokees in their dealings with the white. Wurteh and Nathan Gist were the parents of Sequoya. John Watts, who at one time was counted as the Chief of Chiefs among all Cherokees, was Doublehead’s nephew. Doublehead was without any noted influence in his family until around 1790, the year he established a town near Muscle Shoals. He later moved his town to the north bank of the Tennessee River near the mouth of Blue Water Creek in Lauderdale County. There are legends, and some evidence, that Doublehead lived in other places in Lauderdale County before settling at Blue Water Creek, which is located near Center Star. (Tahleitoiskee, his brother-in-law, had lived there). Tahleitoiskee’s people had made the land inhabitable for farmers. Approximately forty “mostly cast-offs from other Cherokee and Creek villages,” moved to Blue Water with Doublehead. Though the original settlers were “infamous in Tennessee history as “the ravagers of the Cumberlands,” in time, they were joined by other Cherokees. For over two hundred years, the area Doublehead claimed kept as a hunting reserve for both Chickasaws and Cherokees. Doublehead’s settlement was thought to be a test to see if he could regain title to the lands. With the death of Old Tassel in 1788, Doublehead’s position in the tribe started to rise within the Cherokee tribe. He attended important conferences and exerted “considerable influence in the treaties between the United States government and the Indian Nations.” Doublehead, taking twenty-eight members of a “hunting party” with him, set out to avenge Old Tassel’s – his brother’s death – seeking revenge upon the whites who had ambushed Old Tassel and two others. Doublehead and his band would spend six years leading excursions designed to carry out retaliation against the whites. In June of 1794, Doublehead became a delegate to a party of chiefs visiting Philadelphia; there, he met President George Washington and Secretary of War Henry Knox. It is believed that Doublehead and the other chiefs negotiated between $1,500 and $5,000 each in annuities from the newly formed government. It is believed that John D. Chisholm, a half-breed Cherokee trader and Doublehead’s newly acquired wealth, made Doublehead determined to live more like the whites. Doublehead built a story and a half log house on the hill overlooking Blue Water Creek. He emerged as a spokesman for the Cherokee nation, living a quieter life after the wars that raged between 1791 through 1796. Doublehead and other Cherokee leaders met with Secretary of War Henry Dearborn on January 7, 1806; a large tract of land was reserved for Chief Doublehead. The end of Doublehead’s life was marked by violence. There were conspiracies to assassinate him as a traitor to his people and there were personal animosities against Doublehead for his underhanded business dealings. Doublehead died as he had lived. Several of his enemies ambushed and killed him but not without a fight. There has been speculation by historians and legends handed down from generation to generation that the Doublehead’s death was evidence of a growing sense of unity among the Cherokee. After Doublehead’s death, it came to light that he and Colonel Meigs had colluded to include much more land than had been ceded by the Cherokee.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "The Lore of Chief Doublehead and His Home at Muscle Shoals." The WIlliam McDonald Lindsey Collection. Archives, Collier Library. University of North Alabama.
Archives. Collier Library. The University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama.
Photograph. Courtesy of Collier Library.
Jewish Community in Florence; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
Founded by Luke Abroms (December 1, 1897 - April 26, 1981), Abroms, located at 118 North Court, specialized in women's clothing. Luke and his wife Reba (February 28, 1901 - August 31, 1984) were members of Temple B'Nai Israel. Their son, Adolph, and his wife, Sybil, ran the business until it closed.
Photograph courtesy of the UNA Archives, Collier Library.
2010: Montgomery, Union Station Train Shed
Montgomery, AL; Union Station; Railroad Stations; Montgomery County, AL
Looking west towards the old Union Station train shed in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, AL; Riverfront; Union Station
Trains; Railroads; Depots; Transportation; Browns, AL; Dallas County, AL
This photograph depicts Browns, Alabama's train station. Browns, Alabama is an unincorporated town in Dallas County, Alabama.