Browse Items (963 total)

The 1976 NR nomination documents a 400 foot unpaved section of the original Natchez Trace not covered by the Natchez Trace Parkway. The original Natchez Trace was a network of trails established by Native Americans that stretched roughly from what…

National Register property – Forks of Cypress

Forks of Cypress plantation house is now a ruin. A fire resulting from lightning destroyed the home in 1966. However, the 23 remaining standing brick columns are still significant for what they can…

The 1976 National Register nomination of the Robert M. Patton house states that the property is significant in terms of architecture as a classic example of a North Alabama Georgian plantation house, and for political history as the home of the first…

The 1889 Florence Wagon Works was the largest wooden wagon manufacturer in the United States producing 15,000 wagons a year. The most popular, the Florence Light Running Wagon helped settle the West, especially Texas, and was important in France…

Looking west towards the old Union Station train shed in Montgomery, Alabama

Oral interviewed recorded by Christy Anderson, Montgomery County Historical Society at Pintlala Baptist Church on Saturday, April 29. You can listen to the entire interview here.

Louis M. Faulk, who was born in 1839 in Prussia, who died in 1871, and who is buried in Cincinnati, Ohio, established a store and named the town for himself.

Falk's brother, Alexander, is the only Jewish individual buried in the Florence,…

Samuel J. Israel immigrated from Lithuania moving to Sheffield, Alabama in 1909. His first venture was a wholesale grocery. He eventually founded Paper and Chemical Supply of Sheffield.

He was known throughout the community for his charitable…

The Florence-Lauderdale Public Library's local history room has several large files devoted to the study of local places, organizations, and individuals. The Jewish History Collection offers a good cross-section of Jewish owned businesses, the…

The Alfred Huger Moses Room, which is located in the annex of the Sheffield Public Library (on Montgomery Avenue ), was made possible, in part, by funding from the descendants of Alfred Huger Moses (founder and first mayor of Sheffield).

The room…

Samuel J. Israel, who moved to Sheffield, Alabama in 1909 from Lithuania, wrote his memoirs at his daughter's (Beatrice Muhlendorf) request. The manuscript -- which is over thirty pages long -- is titled "From Northern Lithuania to Northern Alabama."…

Stanley Rosenbaum, who was a Florence, Alabama businessman, philanthropist, Civil Rights advocate, member of the University of North Alabama's English Department, and original owner of the Stanley Rosenbaum Frank Lloyd Wright House, was interested in…

The generator for WQLT Radio station, which is owned by Big River Broadcasting - founded by Sam Phillips and now under the management of his sons and grandchildren -- is, whimsically perhaps, painted gold and named Elvis for Elvis Presley, who Sam…

Jacob and Isaac Friedman, brothers who moved to Tuscumbia from Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1840s, established a dry goods store on the main street of Tuscumbia.

The North Alabama Hallelujah Trail features thirty one churches that are at least 100 years old, still stand on their original sites, still hold services, and are accessible to the public.

The churches represent various architectural designs, use…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

Douglas and Virginia Lambert, owners of Lambert Transfer (which was founded in 1953), chose Wilson Dam as the backdrop for their advertising

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…

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The Harvey Cemetery, located in Toonersville, Alabama (which is near the Whitehead Community and the town of Rogersville) is located off of the Bettie Anne Highway (aka Highway 51). Go north on Highway 51 for approximately three miles; at the…

WLAY-AM (1450 -AM) was one of the first broadcast radio stations in the Shoals. Licensed in 1933 (as WNRA), the station stopped broadcasting in 2014.

The station's original broadcast was a variety format featuring gospel, country, and "race music"…

The highest point in Oakwood Cemetery in Sheffield was given to the members of the Jewish Synagogue in appreciation for their contributions to the communities of Sheffield and Florence, Alabama.

Families who are interred there include: the…

Mars Hill Bible School is a private preparatory day school for boys and girls in Florence, Alabama. The school begins at pre-kindergarten goes through the twelfth grade.

Mars Hill Academy was opened by Thomas Brown Larimore in 1871. The academy,…

Heritage Christian University, located at 3625 Helton Drive, in Florence, Alabama, is a private Bible college affiliated with the Church of Christ.

Founded in 1971 as International Bible College. the school is co-educational, has approximately…