Tuscumbia Historic District
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Tuscumbia Historic District; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places; Historic American Buildings Survey
description: The Tuscumbia Historic District encompasses a substantial portion of the city's 1817 street plan, including Spring Park, the North Commons, and the entirety of the Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District, which is itself listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The district and the city have served as the seat of Colbert County governance since the county's creation in February 1867 (excluding the two-year period between November 1867 and December 1869 when the county was abolished by the State Constitutional Convention). Significant political figures associated with the district include Scottish-born Alabama governor Robert Burns Lindsay and U.S. representative Edward B. Almon, the latter known for his role in establishing the Federal Highway System and the Tennessee Valley Authority. In all, 461 of the district's 639 properties contribute to its historic character and significance. These include several examples of Tidewater cottages dating from the 1820s and 1830s, along with homes built in the Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Tudor and Bungalow styles. Most of the district's commercial properties, meanwhile, reflect architectural trends of the late Victorian period, with the Palace Drugstore being a particularly noteworthy example.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Tuscumbia Historic District, Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #85001158. Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS AL-360, http://loc.gov/pictures/item/al0087 (accessed November 12, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 12, 2015
format: text, image

Sheffield Residential Historic District
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Sheffield, Alabama; Sheffield Residential Historic District; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places
description: Covering 160 acres and encompassing 678 properties, the Sheffield Residential Historic District reflects development in the city of Sheffield from its establishment in 1883 through the mid-20th-century. Like the Colbert County Courthouse Square District in neighboring Tuscumbia, significant properties in the Sheffield historic district include both commercial and residential buildings, as well as a number of churches. Alfred Moses, a banker from Montgomery and founder of the Sheffield Land, Iron and Coal Company, designed the city's original street plan. This, along with the construction of docks and landings along the Tennessee River, opened the door for the entry of other businesses and industries into the area. After the Panic of 1893 devastated the Shoals economy, the Southern Railway Company established its headquarters in Sheffield, initiating a second wave of economic development. Following the construction of Wilson Dam and a pair of nitrate manufacturing plants in 1916, a number of apartment complexes sprung up in Sheffield, along with several Bungalow and Colonial-Revival-style houses. The Sheffield Residential Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Sheffield Residential Historic District, Sheffield, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #02000481.
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 12, 2015
format: text, image

Washington Baptist Church
subject: Washington County, Wagarville, Religion, Christianity, Baptist, cemetery, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
description: The Washington Church was established in 1883; however, the present church building was not built until 1916. The building itself is a one room church, common in the rural south. The church is one of the few remaining that were built in the 19th century and then remodeled and modernized over time. However the church still does not have a steeple, water, heating, or air conditioning. Behind the church building is a cemetery that is over a hundred years old and holds over a hundred graves. Near the church entrance is a large maker that commemorated the five charter members of the church in 1883- Clem and Sarah Henson, Augustus Kirkland, Sally and Dr. Obadiah Lynes, the first pastor. The oldest death date on a headstone is 1901. The cemetery is still active as is the church. The church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 2010.
creator: Makayla Melvin
source: http://preserveala.org/ARdigital/Washington/AL.WashingtonCounty.WashingtonBaptistChurch.pdf
publisher: Makayla Melvin; MSM0041@auburn.edu

Creagh Family Cemetery
subject: Wilcox County, Catherine, Cemetery, Cooper Cemetery, Plantation, Thomas Bevin Creagh, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
description: The Creagh Family Cemetery is believed to have been established in 1826 after the death of the patriarch’s fourth son. Over the years, many Creagh family members were interred at the cemetery including the patriarch, Thomas Bevin Creagh. Mr. Creagh contributed significantly to the early development of Alabama. Creagh was one of the eleven trustees who established the first chartered school in the state. In 1827, Creagh and his family moved to Wilcox County to the plantation where the Creagh Family Cemetery is located. The cemetery now contains 22 graves, monuments, and markers. The Creagh Family Cemetery was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1991.
creator: Makayla Melvin
source: http://preserveala.org/ARdigital/Wilcox/AL.WilcoxCounty.Creagh-GloverCemetery.pdf
publisher: Makayla Melvin; MSM0041@auburn.edu

Hope Well Church
subject: Wilcox County, Furman, Religion, Christianity, Church building, African-American, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
description: The Hope Well Church was established in 1864. The church was a foundation for the black community. Originally African-American and Caucasian-American congregants worshiped together in the time but over time African-Americans asked for a place to worship for themselves and Hope Well was established. The church was originally known as Hope Well AME Zion. During this time, the Hope Well Burial Ground and the Hope Well School were also established. Architecturally, the church has twin towers, an element typical of early twentieth-century rural black churches. Hope Well Church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1999.
creator: Makayla Melvin
source: http://preserveala.org/ARdigital/Wilcox/AL.WilcoxCounty.HopeWellChurch.pdf
publisher: Makayla Melvin; MSM0041@auburn.edu

Wilson's Headquarters and Camp - Gravelly Springs, Alabama Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Waterloo, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located at the intersection of County Route 14 and County Route 2, Waterloo, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "At this site from mid-January to mid-March 1865, Maj. Gen. James Harrison Wilson, U.S. Army, assembled the largest cavalry force ever massed in the western hemisphere. Five divisions totaling 22,000 camped from Gravelly Springs westward to Waterloo. Wilson made headquarters a mile east of the springs at Wildwood plantation, the boyhood home of Alabama senator and governor, George Houston. After intensive training Wilson's Cavalry crossed the Tennessee to invade South Alabama and Georgia, a campaign which included burning the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and the capture of Pres. Jefferson Davis at Irwinville, Georgia, in May 1865, after Lee's surrender."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Wilson's Headquarters and Camp - Gravelly Springs, Alabama Marker”. Accessed 11/11/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Wesleyan Hall Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located on Cramer Way, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Chartered 1856 as Florence Wesleyan University, R.H. Rivers, President. Regarded as North Alabama's most eminent landmark, this Gothic Revival Structure was designed by Adolphus Heiman, Nashville, And built by Zebulon Pike Morrison, Florence, as new home for LaGrange College (organized 1830 by Methodists). Used by both armies at various times during Civil War. Deeded to State of Alabama, 1872, as first coeducational teacher training institution south of Ohio River. School expanded to become University of North Alabama in 1974. Listed National Register of Historic Places."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Wesleyan Hall Marker”. Accessed 11/11/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Wesleyan Bell Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located in front of Wesleyan Bell next to Wesleyan Hall on the UNA campus, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "The Wesleyan Bell was manufactured by the C.S. Bell Company in Hillsboro, Ohio, it is made of alloy steel, has a diameter of 38 inches, and is 24 inches high (not including its yoke). The weight of the bell is 660 pounds. When 350- pounds mountings are added, the total weight is 1,010 pounds. The bell was mounted atop Wesleyan Hall after the school was donated to the state by the Methodist Church in 1873, at which time the school became State Normal College. The bell was used to call students to class, for ceremonial purposes, and other uses. Around 1910, the bell was removed from Wesleyan Hall and placed in storage. In 1951, the bell was discovered and unsuccessful efforts were made by alumni to display it on campus. During the summer of 2002, the 130-year-old Wesleyan Bell was rediscovered after having been in storage for over 90 years. Construction of the Smith Bell Tower began in March of 2003, and was completed during the summer of 2004. The Smith Bell Tower, present home of the Wesleyan Bell, was dedicated during a ceremony on September 17, 2004."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Wesleyan Bell Marker”. Accessed 11/11/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Weeden Heights - Early 1900s Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located at the intersection of N. Broadway Street and Mahogany Ave, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "This Twentieth century business and residential area was developed by John D. Weeden Jr. during the building of Wilson Dam and the World War I Defense Plants. Weeden Heights was carved from 3,800-acre Sweetwater Plantation, the former home of his grandfather, Governor Robert M. Patton. The slave village, with its 23 small cabins facing a community square, was located north of the Broadway Recreation Center. An unmarked slave cemetery is nearby. In 1871 the Pattons gifted a 25-acre farm in this area to a former slave. Edmund Patton. 'In consideration of his faithfulness and fidelity'."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Weeden Heights - Early 1900s Marker”. Accessed 11/11/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Waterloo - Settled 1819 - Incorporated 1832 Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Waterloo, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located at the entrance of Waterloo on Hwy 14, Waterloo, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "One of Alabama's oldest incorporated towns. Waterloo was an important Tennessee river ports during the steamboat ear. In low~ water season after large boats from Louisville, Cincinnati and other places downriver unloaded here: smaller craft transported goods and passengers upriver to Florence at the foot of the Muscle Shoals. Following a disastrous flood in 1847, the town was moved from its location on the riverbank, now under Pickwick Lake, to present higher ground. Union gunboats shelled it July 1862. Gen. William T. Sherman crossed the river here, November 1863, and made temporary headquarters in Dr. O.B. Sullivan's home."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: ”Waterloo - Settled 1819 - Incorporated 1832". Accessed 11/11/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Walnut Street Historic District Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located on North Walnut Street near East Tuscaloosa Street, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Walnut Street began as a residential area in the national economic boom of the 1880s and 1890s and continued its development through the 1920s. Industries and businesses grew in Florence, the population of the city increased, and business and professional people built their homes in this typical residential neighborhood. The street remains intact and reflects the changes in architectural styles form 1890s Victorian to the 1920s bungalow. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Walnut Street Historic District Marker”. Accessed 11/11/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Vietnam War Memorial Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located behind the Florence/Lauderdale Veterans Memorial on veterans Park Dr, Florence, AL. The text on the marker reads: "The following men from Lauderdale County made the supreme sacrifice for our Nation during the War with Vietnam: Jimmy Rex Ball • Chadwick McFall Barber • Howard Wayne Bramlett, Jr. • Paul O'Neal Brown • Edward Lee Brock • Roger Jerrell Bryant • Virgil L. Castle • Phillip Don Childers • Samuel Earl Coker • Thomas Cotten • Charles Edward Cox • James Larry Evans • Joel Wayne Forrester • Richard J. Glenn • Jerry Dewayne Hill • James Dale Hodges • Alfred W. Hubbard • Jerry Reed Johnson • Albert J. Jones • Felix D. King, Jr. • Robert Burton LeCates • Larry Luster • George Thomas Mangrum • Robert Lee McCaig • Danny Albert McGee • James Daniel McKelvey • William Newton McMurtery • Don Leslie Michael • Donald Lee Montgomery • John Runyon Neary, II • Charles Terry • Jimmy Lee Thompson • Gary Frank Wallace."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Vietnam War Memorial Marker”. Accessed 11/11/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Trinity Episcopal Church 1984 Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located on N. Pine Street at E Tuscaloosa St, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Episcopal services in Florence began in 1824. Rev. Thomas Armstrong Cook organized Trinity Episcopal Church in 1836. The original building, on the northwest corner of College and Cedar Streets, was consecrated Feb. 23, 1845, by Bishop Nicholas Hamner Cobbs. It burned in 1893, and this building was constructed in 1894, using the tower bell from the old church. Services have been held here since Easter Day, 1895. Building Consecrated by Bishop Richard Hooker Wilmer June 12, 1898. Parish Hall added in 1929. Education building and Mullen Hall erected 1967."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Trinity Episcopal Church 1894 Marker”. Accessed 11/11/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Trail of Tears Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Waterloo, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located on Main Street, Waterloo, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Thousands of Cherokee Indians passed through Waterloo in the 1830s when they were forced by the U.S. government to move West on the "Trail of Tears". Most came by boat from Tuscumbia and camped here to await transfer to larger steamboats. During the encampment several births, deaths, and escapes occurred. One party of 1,070 Cherokees traveled overland from Ross Landing in Tennessee due to low water in the upper river. Following the general route of U.S. Hwy. 72 to Florence, they arrived here July 10, 1838, in miserable condition after a 23~ day journey. About 17,000 Cherokees were driven from their homeland in the southern Appalachian Mtns. Most traveled by land thought Tennessee and on to Oklahoma. Great suffering and about 4,000 deaths occurred along the trail, especially during the winter of 1838-39."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Trail of Tears Marker”. Accessed 11/11/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Town of Killen Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Killen, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located on J.C. Mauldin Highway west of Poplar Street, Killen, Alabama. The text on side one of the marker reads: "The area known as Killen in Lauderdale County, was settled in the early 1800s. In 1826, Joseph Mason was appointed the first postmaster of the new community called Masonville, later to become Killen. The post office existed until 1866. In the 1830s the construction of the Alabama Canal brought growth to the area. The canal was built to solve the navigation problems created by the shoals in the Tennessee River. Construction on the new canal began in 1875 and the 14 1/2 - mile canal, with nine locks with a lift of 85 feet, opened November 10, 1890. The canal was renamed the Muscle Shoals Canal. Lock six served as the headquarters and was located just 1/2- mile south of Killen. The canal system had a major economic impact on the development of Killen. Many of the citizens were employed on the canal and others supplied raw materials and food for the operation." The text on side two reads:"In 1885, 200 men were employed by the Corps of Engineers. Many of these men built homes near their work. In 1895, Mr. James Sharp Killen built a general store and applied for a post office. He sent in three possible names with the application and Killen was chosen. The post office opened on August 22, 1896 and the Town of Killen was founded. Killen was incorporated and established a police department in 1957. A fire department was started in 1962 and a town park was added in 1976. The town library was established in 1985. Killen has grown because of the good citizens of this community and the moral fortitude established by our local churches. The Killen Lions Club was chartered in 1957 and is a major community asset. Other sources of pride for the Killen area are Brooks Elementary, dating to 1908, and Brooks High School which opened in 1968."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Town of Killen Marker”. Accessed 11/10/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
date: 11/11/2015
type: Text

Green Pond Presbyterian Pond and Cemetery
subject: Bibb County, Green Pound, Religion, Christianity, Church, Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
description: In the community of Green Pond in Bibb County, a complex of 4.5 acres houses the Green Pond Presbyterian Church and Cemetery. The church dates back from 1884. Behind the church building is a cemetery dating from the time of the construction. Over 650 bodies are interred there. In the cemetery are notable markers from the Victorian period and the early -20th century. Historically, the congregation dates back to 1871 in Birmingham with the founding of the 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church. The present day Mountain Brook Presbyterian congregation was formed from this church. The Green Pond Church merged with the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) in 1906. Green Pond Presbyterian Pond and Cemetery was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1999.
creator: Makayla Melvin
source: http://preserveala.org/ARdigital/Bibb/AL.BibbCounty.BethanyCumberlandPresbyterianChurch.ARNom.pdf
publisher: Makayla Melvin; MSM0041@auburn.edu

Thomas Sigismund Stribling Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located in Florence's Walk of Honor located in River Heritage Park. The text on the marker reads: "In 1934, T.S. Stribling won the Pulitzer Prize for The Store, part of a trilogy set in Florence. His story "Birthright" was produced in Hollywood as a silent movie and, later, with sound. Inducted 2007."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Thomas Sigismund Stribling Marker. Accessed 11/10/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/10/2015
type: Text

The University of North Alabama Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located near the UNA Football Practice Field on Pine Street, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "The University of North Alabama became the first school in the history of NCAA scholarship football to win three consecutive national championships (1993,1994,1995). Under Coach Bobby Wallace, UNA posted a 41~1 record over the same three ~ year period to become the first collegiate football team at any level to win as many as 40 games over a three ~ year period. UNA also became the first Division II school to win a football national championship on its home field in three consecutive games at Florence's Braly Municipal Stadium."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “The University of North Alabama Marker”. Accessed 11/10/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/10/2015
type: Text

The Father of Rock 'N' Roll / Sam Phillips in Florence Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located at Hightower Pl., Florence, Alabama. The text on side one of the marker reads: "Sam Phillips fell in love with the miracle of sound and the unifying power of music. Moving to Memphis, Tennessee, he embraced the beauty of the blues with his early recordings of Howlin Wolf, B.B. King and other delta artists. In 1951 the maverick producer cut the first “Rock ’N’ Roll” record, “Rocket 88.” Three years later he revolutionized American music with his discovery of the dynamic Elvis Presley. His credo was passionate conviction, originality, and individuality in the extreme. His Sun Record label unleashed the earth shaking rule-breaking sounds of Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbinson and Charlie Rich. “Rock ’N’ Roll is the freedom of the rhythm of the soul.” He once said, “And I was looking for that little piece of soul magic.” The text on side two reads: "Sam Phillips had a vision. It sprang from the land. It sprang from the river. Long after he had achieved fame and worldwide recognition he always spoke of Florence as the birthplace of his inspiration. He pointed towards the people he had grown up with, the family upbringing he had enjoyed, the freedom he had learned to cherish in Alabama. His great heroes were from the place of his birth and often of the humblest origins. He loved, as he always said, “the soil, the water, the trees, and the beautiful Tennessee River.” He learned from his father how to plow behind a mule, but he told the world to always seek that unplowed row."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “The Father of Rock 'N' Roll / Sam Phillips in Florence Marker”. Accessed 11/10/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/10/2015
type: Text

The American Legion - 1919 Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located at the intersection of S. Court Street and Dr Hicks Blvd., Florence, Alabama. The text on side one of the marker reads: "The American Legion, an organization of U.S. War Veterans was founded in Paris, France, March 15~17, 1919 by delegates from combat and service units of the American Expeditionary Force assembled in response to a call by a committee headed by Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. A national charter was granted by Congress on September 16, 1919. The charter has been amended over the years to admit veterans of all American Wars to its membership. Nonsectarian and nonpolitical, the American Legion membership requirement is an honorable service and an honorable discharge." The text on side two reads: "On July 15, 1919, following a petition signed by fifteen charter members, the American Legion Post Number II, Florence, Alabama was organized, with Albert McFarland, commander, Bob Eastep, vice-commander, and George Bowen, adjutant. This post held its first meetings on West Tennessee Street, across from the location of the original court house. Construction of the original wing of this historic home of Post Number II, 318 South Court Street, commenced on March 15, 1936. This building is dedicated to the memory of those from Lauderdale County who paid the supreme sacrifice in World War I."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “The American Legion - 1919 Marker”. Accessed 11/10/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/10/2015
type: Text

Sweetwater 1828 Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located at the intersection of Florence Boulevard (U.S. 43) and Sweetwater Avenue, Florence, AL. The text on the marker reads: "Home of Major John Brahan, veteran of War of 1812, Major General, Alabama Militia, who owned 4,000 acres here. Built of bricks made on the place, marble mantels imported from Italy, boxwood hedge from London. Named for spring nearby. Federals and Confederates quartered here at various times during the Civil War. Home of Brahan's son-in-law, Robert M. Patton, Governor of Alabama, 1865-1868."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Sweetwater 1828 Marker”. Accessed 11/10/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/10/2015
type: Text

John Daniel Rather House / Locust Hill
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; John Daniel Rather House; Locust Hill; Civil War; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places; Historic American Buildings Survey; Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
description: One of the oldest surviving domestic structures in Tuscumbia, the John Daniel Rather House, or Locust Hill, was built in 1823 for planter William Hooe and his wife, Catherine Winter. It was occupied briefly during the Civil War by Union troops under the command of General Florence N. Cornyn, who used the building as a headquarters. After the war, in 1865, Capt. John Taylor Rather acquired the house, and it reverted to its prior function as a residence. Among the earliest white settlers of Alabama, Rather had twice served as deputy sheriff of Madison County before being elected as a state representative for Morgan County. His son, General John Daniel Rather, also served in the state legislature, and was, for a time, president of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The two-story Federal-style brick house remained in the Rather family until the death of the general's granddaughter, Mary Wallace Kirk, in 1978.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, John Daniel Rather House, Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #82001603. Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS AL-318, http://loc.gov/pictures/item/al0100 (accessed November 10, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 10, 2015
format: text, image

Preuit Oaks
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Leighton, Alabama; Preuit Oaks; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places; Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
description: Preuit Oaks is a plantation complex once owned and operated by W. Richard Preuit, one of the most successful cotton planters of the so-called "Town Creek Triangle" area during the mid-19th century. Family tradition holds that the central cottage was built in 1847 by Dr. John S. Napier and acquired by Preuit, a native of North Carolina, during the 1850s. In addition to the one-and-a-half-story cottage with gable roofs, the plantation encompasses ten supporting wood structures constructed between 1850 and 1890, along with a family cemetery and slave cemetery. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Preuit Oaks, Leighton, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #86000997.
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 10, 2015
format: text, image

Old Brick Presbyterian Church
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Leighton, Alabama; Old Brick Presbyterian Church; Architecture; Churches; National Register of Historic Places; Historic American Buildings Survey
description: 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.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Old Brick Presbyterian Church, Leighton, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #88003078.
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 10, 2015
format: text, image

St. Michael's Catholic Church Marker
subject: Historic Markers; St. Florian, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located on Church Road (County Road 30) west of Old Jackson Highway (County Road 61), St Florian, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "In 1872, Catholics of German ancestry settled on the former Wilson Plantation and established the town of St. Florian. St. Michael's Church was built south of the road, moved to the present site in 1878, and replaced the present building in 1916. The stained-glass windows, ordered from Munich, Bavaria, weren't installed until the 1920's. The rectory was built in 1872, burned and was rebuilt in 1934. The first pastor, Fr. Michael Merz, a German priest, died in 1876. He was replaced by Fr. Gabriel Guester, O.S.B. from Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Benedictine priest have served the parish since that time."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “St. Michael's Catholic Church Marker”. Accessed 11/06/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/09/2015
type: Text

The Oaks / Abraham Ricks House
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; The Oaks; Abraham Ricks House; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places; Historic American Buildings Survey
description: The Oaks, also known as the Abraham Ricks Plantation, is actually two houses in one: a one-and-a-half story log building connected to a two-story late-Georgian plantation home by a one-story dining room. The log structure, which predates its Georgian counterpart by about ten years, is described as being among "the finest and best preserved... weatherboarded, story-and-a-half log structures" in North Alabama. Planter Abraham Ricks moved to Tuscumbia with his family and slaves during the early 1820s, purchasing the log cabin and property which would become The Oaks in 1826. Over the course of the two decades which followed the completion of the house in 1832, Ricks became one of the wealthiest planters in the region, and The Oaks became a major center of social activity. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, The Oaks, Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #76000319. Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS AL-362, http://loc.gov/pictures/item/al0077 (accessed November 9, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 9, 2015
format: text, image

Felix Grundy Norman House
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Felix Grundy Norman House; Felix Grundy Norman; Architecture; Native American History; Barton Hall; Tuscumbia Historic District; National Register of Historic Places
description: Situated on the corner of North Main Street and Second Street in Tuscumbia, the Felix Grundy Norman House is one of the few single-story Greek-revival-style cottages remaining in a city where such structures were once commonplace. The house was constructed in 1851 as a home for Felix Grundy Norman, a prominent Tuscumbia attorney who became the city's mayor after serving in the state legislature during the 1840s. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Felix Grundy Norman House, Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #84000749. 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). "Felix Grundy Norman House," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Grundy_Norman_House (accessed November 9, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 9, 2015
format: text, image

Nitrate Village No. 1 Historic District
subject: 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
description: 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.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: 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).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 9, 2015
format: text, image

Johnson's Woods
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Johnson's Woods; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places; Historic American Buildings Survey
description: Johnson's Woods in Tuscumbia is one of the earliest surviving examples of Classical Revival-style architecture in the Tennessee Valley, and is among "the best preserved collections of mid-nineteenth-century agricultural architecture" in the state of Alabama. It was commissioned by one of Colbert County's earliest and most successful large-scale planters, Maryland-born George W. Carroll, and constructed between 1835 and 1837. Two decades later, Carroll relocated to Arkansas and sold the plantation to William Mahoon. Upon Mahoon's death in 1869, the estate passed to Colonel William A. Johnson, who had operated a steamboat along the Tennessee River before enlisting in the Confederate army and serving as an aide to General Nathan Bedford Forrest. In addition to the main house, the 160-acre plantation complex includes eight outbuildings, all of which survive and contribute to the property's historic significance: a smokehouse, a plantation office, a cotton shed, a barn, a corn crib, a carriage house, a commissary, and an animal shelter. Johnson's Woods was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Johnson's Woods, Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #88000511. Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS AL-322, http://loc.gov/pictures/item/al0086 (accessed November 9, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 9, 2015
format: text, image

Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places
description: The 22 buildings which comprise Tuscumbia's Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District reflect a broad range of architectural styles, including Victorian, Gothic, and Greek Revival. The most distinctive architectural example is the courthouse itself, a Greek Revival structure designed by Nashville architect Edward Laurent, and built by William Dowling of Chattanooga in 1881. The seven buildings known collectively as Commercial Row date from the 1840s, and have been utilized by a wide variety of businesses over the years. One notable example was the North Alabamian newspaper, published by Captain A.H. Keller, father of Helen Keller, from an office on the corner of Main and Fifth Streets. In addition to the courthouse and seven commercial buildings, the Courthouse Square district encompasses four churches, eight historic homes, Spring Park and the Tuscumbia Railroad Depot. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District, Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #73000338. "Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District," Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Colbert_County_Courthouse_Square_Historic_District (accessed November 9, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 9, 2015
format: text, image

St. Florian Historic District Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located at the intersection of Old Jackson Hwy and Co Rd 47, St. Florian, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "In 1872, Father A. J. Houser, Director of the Homestead Society of Cincinnati, Ohio founded St. Florian. He subdivided the land for German immigrants who became independent landowners, built homes and reared their families. Many of the descendants from that small group of immigrants still live in the community, some in the original homes. Other descendants are scattered throughout the United States. The St. Florian Historic District was included in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in September 2007."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “St. Florian Historic District Marker”. Accessed 11/09/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/09/2015
type: Text

St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located at the intersection of Burrell Street and White Street, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "In early 1840s about 14 African-American members from First Methodist formed own congregation “Church Springs” near South Court Street. In 1857, a nearby brick cow shed was converted for its use under Rev. Robin Lightfoot who became a martyr during the Civil War. Site of American Missionary School after Emancipation. Organized as St. Paul AME in 1879. Relocated to Court and Alabama Streets in 1895. Charles B. Handy was early pastor and William W. Handy was early leader (father and grandfather to W.C. Handy.) St. Paul relocated again in 1968 to present site."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: ”St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church Marker". Accessed 11/09/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/09/2015
type: Text

Southern Female University/Florence University for Women Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located on Seymore Avenue, Florence, Alabama. The text on side one of the marker reads: "The Southern Female University located in this vicinity was created in 1889 by Florence businessmen led by Judge William B. Wood and Alabama Baptist led by Rev. Dr. J.B. Hawthorne. The church connection was discontinued by a vote of the Alabama Baptist Association prior to opening date. The SFU was housed in a five-story Renaissance style building 220 feet long and 121 feet wide. It contained a chapel that could seat 750 people, sixteen recitation rooms, fifty bedrooms, a gymnasium, and thirty-eight classrooms. SFU opened on September 15, 1891, with 19 faculty members and about 125 students drawn from most Southern states. The students were offered five academic programs, three of which led to degrees, and two to certificates. Despite a successful first year, the University began the second year with major problems. It was located about one mile from downtown. Streets and sidewalks from Seven Points were unpaved, no streetcar service existed and the water supply was inadequate. On October 14, 1892, the University left Florence and moved to Birmingham which had offered significant support to encourage the move." The text on side two reads: "The SFU building stood vacant from 1892 to 1908. In the spring of 1908 N. C. Elting, Florence banker, announced that the Florence University for Women with a music conservatory would be established. The building was refurbished. A faculty was employed and a catalog was issued announcing that classes would begin in September. Fifty students enrolled the first day. The curriculum was a blend of old and new courses. Young ladies who wanted to prepare for the traditional role in the home could study classical and modern language, literature, music, art, elocution, history and science along with dressmaking, sewing, cooking, and household economics. Students who wanted to train for employment outside the home could take cour…
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Southern Female University/Florence University for Women Marker”. Accessed 11/06/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/09/2015
type: Text

Southall Drugs Marker
subject: Historic Marker; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located at the intersection of North Court Street and East Mobile Street, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Charles Morton Southall (1864-1952) constructed this Commercial Italianate style building in 1900 of the finest materials for his wholesale/retail drug business. The elegant interior by Charles Hester, New York City, contained the area's first rubber tile floor. In addition to health wares: window glass, paints, seeds, musical instruments and other sundries were dispensed. The building remained a pharmacy until 1979. In 1982 it was renovated by the Southall family and Byron Bower for combined commercial/residential use with John Mott, AIA, Ft. Smith, Arkansas, architect. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Southall Drugs”. Accessed 11/06/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/09/2015
type: Text

Soldier's Rest - 1862 Marker
subject: Historic Marker; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County
description: This historical marker is located on South Magnolia Street, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "This area is the military cemetery for Confederate Soldiers. After an 1862 skirmish in the streets of Florence, it was used to bury casualties until the end of the Civil War. Many unknown Confederates and a few unknown Union soldiers rest here. After the war it was reserved for Confederate veterans and their families. In 1977, the historic plot was deeded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to insure its preservation and perpetual care."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Soldier's Rest - 1862 Marker”. Accessed 11/09/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/9/2015
type: Text

Simpson House-Irvine Place-Coby Hall
subject: Education; University of North Alabama; Historic Marker; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: Coby Hall is located on North Court Street in Florence, Alabama. Funds for its purchase in 1990 were provided by Mr. David Brubaker. Brubaker purchased what was then Irvine place for $375,000. At a ceremony on December 7, 1990 Brubaker donated the house to the University of North Alabama under the new name, Coby Hall, in honor of his late wife, Coby Stockard Brubaker. After many years of heavy use and lack of maintenance funding, Coby Hall had fallen into disrepair. Dissatisfied with the condition of the house, Brubaker donated a sum of money for repairs which sparked a “Campaign for Coby” which set out to raise money for more repairs. At the end of the campaign enough money had been raised for a total rehabilitation. Many repairs took place at this time but the most significant were the addition of a full copper roof, gutters, charger, and downspouts. The same was done for the carriage house. The result was a fully restored Coby Hall, which now houses the University of North Alabama Office of Admissions. There is a historic marker is located on Court, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Built by John Simpson in 1843, on the site of his earlier home, this residence was occupied at various times by both armies during the Civil War. Purchased in 1867 by George W. Foster, builder of Courtview, for his daughter, Virginia, and her husband, James B. Irvine. Their daughter, Virginia, left the home to her great-niece Harriett Rogers King in 1939. Mrs. King and her husband, Madding restored Irvine Place in 1948. Acquired in 1990 by David Brubaker, and donated to the University of North Alabama in memory of his wife, Coby Stockard Brubaker. Listed: National Register of Historical Places." David Brubaker, in presenting his gift to the University of North Alabama, stated: "Coby Stockard Brubaker was a giver, a lady who lived her life the same way she faced her death- with humor, honesty, courage, and the devout conviction that her experience was part of God’s plan…
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama Brian Peden, University of North Alabama
source: “Simpson House-Irvine Place-Colby Hall Marker”. Accessed 11/06/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/ Prelude, History of Simpson House-Irvine House-Coby Hall On the Campus of the University of North Alabama, Archieves/Special Collection, Collier Library,University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama Section Four, Coby Hall- 1990-2005, History of Simpson House-Irvine House-Coby Hall On the Campus of the University of North Alabama, Archieves/Special Collection, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/09/2015
type: Text

Seminary-O' Neal Historic District Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located on N Seminary St., Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Named for the O’Neal family which produced two Alabama governors and for seminary the street on which Synodical Female College was located, the Seminary-O’Neal Historic District was added to the Nation Register of Historic Places in 1995. Built between 1908 and 1943, the houses in the district reflect the variety of architectural styles of those years. Two Sears~Roebuck houses called “American Four-Squares”, add interest and distinction. The district opens onto the impressive campus of the University of North Alabama."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Seminary-O' Neal Historic District". Accessed 11/09/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/09/2015
type: Text

Scripture Relief Books and Learning Marker
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located in front of Florence Public Library between E. Tuscalossa and E. Tombigbee Sts., Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "This sculpture relief was created by James W. Stoves and placed above the entrance to Gilbert Elementary School in 1921. In 1980, following the demolition of Gilbert school, it was moved to Hibbet Middle School. Because of its theme which relates to the teaching of children. it is now a part of the Florence/Lauderdale Public Library. Stoves left the Birmingham, Alabama coal mines to become a stoneworker and sculptor. He moved to Florence in 1913 and purchased the Florence Marble Works. Many of the monuments in the Florence Cemetery was sculptured by Stokes."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Sculpture Relief Books and Learning Marker”. Accessed 11/09/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/09/2015
type: Text

Sannoner Historic District Medical Building
subject: Historic Markers; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL
description: This historic marker is located on North Main Street north of East Tuscaloosa Street, Florence, Alabama. The text on the marker reads: "Built in 1826 in the Spanish Revival architectural style, this is the first structure in Florence erected with a steel skeleton supporting the floors, walls and roof. The framework is strong enough to support two more stories than were actually built. This building was individually listed in The National Register of Historic Places in 1976."
creator: Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
source: “Sannoner Histroric District Medical Building”. Accessed 11/09/2015. http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: 11/9/2015
type: Text

Fort Harker
subject: Jackson County, Stevenson, Military Fortification, Civil War, National Register of Historic Places, Alabama Historical Commission Markers
description: Constructed by the Union Army in the summer of 1862 and expanded in 1864, using soldiers and freed slaves, Ft. Harker was built on a broad hill a quarter-mile east of town. It overlooked Crow Creek and was well within firing range of Stevenson’s strategic railroad lines, supply depots and warehouses. Ft. Harker was an earthen redoubt, 150 feet square, with walls 14 feet high, surrounded by an 8 foot deep dry moat. It contained 7 cannon platforms, a bomb-proof powder magazine, a draw-bridge entrance and an 8-sided wooden blockhouse at its center. Soldiers building the fort reported that “the soil is very hard, requiring the continual use of a pick.” Despite that, Ft. Harker was critical to Union plans. The officer in charge was ordered by his commanding general “to work night and day” to complete the fort “as rapidly as possible.” One other large fort, two smaller redoubts and at least seven blockhouses were constructed along the railroad lines at Stevenson during the Civil War. No major fighting occurred here, but skirmishes and sniper attacks were common as territory traded hands between Union and Confederate forces. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places 5/2/77 (From the historical marker erected at the site by the Alabama Historical Commission)
creator: Blake Wilhelm
source: Historical marker erected at the site by the Alabama Historical Commission http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/AssetDetail?assetID=95bdb8b3-ef52-477c-851f-ae8cb34f821d http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/text/78000491.pdf http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.23042/
publisher: Northeast Alabama Community College Archives and Special Collections
date: 1862-1865

Allen Plantation
subject: Choctaw County, Lisman, Plantation, Slavery, Alabama Register of Landmarks & Heritage
description: In 1838, the Allen family arrived in Alabama in the area known as Lisman. The Allen family built one of the largest plantations in Choctaw County that continues to thrive to this day. Over the years the plantation expanded to over 8000 acres. The family also established the Allen general store, a school house, a mill, and the Allen Gin Company. The Allen plantation was also the first commercial hunting lodge in Alabama. Currently, the plantation is occupied and be carefully restored by the owner. The Allen Plantation is an example of a late 19th century plantation surviving to modern day in Choctaw County. The plantation has also been added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks & Heritage.
creator: Makayla Melvin
source: http://preserveala.org/pdfs/AR/March.2012/Allen%20Planation_Choctaw%20County.pdf
publisher: Makayla Melvin; MSM0041@auburn.edu

Bridgeport Railroad Depot
subject: Jackson County, Bridgeport, Transportation, Railroad, National Register of Historic Places
description: Constructed in 1918, the Bridgeport Train Depot operated through the late 1960s and today is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It houses the Bridgeport Area Historical Association Museum. (Encyclopedia of Alabama)
creator: Blake Wilhelm
source: http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/text/02000479.pdf http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3072 Carmichael, Flossie, and Ronald Lee. In and Around Bridgeport. Collegedale, TN: The College Press, 1969.
publisher: Northeast Alabama Community College Archives and Special Collections
date: 1917-present
contributor: Photograph by Jimmy Emerson

Holy Rosary Catholic Church
subject: Jefferson County, Birmingham, Religion, Catholicism, Bishop Jeremiah O’Sullivan, Brother Charles Todd
description: Holy Rosary Catholic Church began as a mission church out of Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Mass was offered in the parishioner’s homes. Most of the parishioners worked in limestone quarries, iron ore mines, and iron manufacturing plants. In 1889, Maclin Ross, the president of Gate City Land Company, bought the original property of Holy Rosary for only one dollar. The land was then deeded to Bishop Jeremiah O’Sullivan who built a simple church with a hand carved altar to accommodate the eighty or so parishioners of the time. In 1955, Archbishop Toolen placed Holy Rosary under the sole care of Don Bosco thus making the church its own parish. In 1986, Brother Charles Todd arrived to the Salesian Oratory where the youth oratory began to grown and eventually developed into an after school program. He later organized a food pantry and clothes closet for the needy. In 2014, the remaining Salesian priests relocated to U.S. provincial headquarters. Holy Rosary Church, the Youth Oratory, food pantry, and clothes closet are now owned and operated by the Diocese of Birmingham.
creator: Makayla Melvin
source: http://holyrosarybirmingham.com/about-us/history/
publisher: Makayla Melvin; MSM0041@auburn.edu

E.L. Newman Lustron House
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Sheffield, Alabama; E.L. Newman Lustron House; Lustron Corporation; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places
description: The E.L. Newman Lustron House is a prefabricated one-story home in Sheffield built in 1949 by the Lustron Corporation. The house is one of eleven surviving Lustron homes in the state of Alabama, and one of five in the Shoals area, for which it once served as the "model" Lustron home. Its most distinctive exterior feature is its enamelized metal siding, comprised of two-foot square porcelain panels, which to this day show no signs of rusting or other deterioration. Lustron houses were popularized in the immediate aftermath of World War II, when a housing shortage in the United States had created a considerable market for prefabricated dwellings. The Newman house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, at which time it was still occupied by the original residents.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, E.L. Newman Lustron House, Sheffield, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #00000134.
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 7, 2015
format: text, image

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Sheffield, Alabama; Muscle Shoals Sound Studio; Performing Arts; Music; National Register of Historic Places
description: 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.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #06000437.
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 7, 2015
format: text, image

John Johnson House / The Green Onion
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Leighton, Alabama; John Johnson House; The Green Onion; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places
description: The John Johnson House, commonly referred to as "The Green Onion," is a 19th-century Tidewater-style cottage near Leighton in Colbert County. It is one of four double-square Tidewater cottages in the state of Alabama, and one of three among those built using single-pile brick construction. Original owner and namesake John Johnson, who had moved to Alabama from Virigina (by way of Tennessee), purchased the 80-acre property on which the house sits for $600 in 1829. After Johnson's death, it became part of the Leonard Preuitt estate. Though one of its walls has since collapsed, and its paneled wainscoting has been vandalized, the Johnson house "remains to a surprising degree structurally sound," and continues to showcase "some of the finest brickwork to be found anywhere in early Alabama." The John Johnson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and is also listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Places.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, John Johnson House, Leighton, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #86001537. Alabama Department of Archives and History, "Alabama Photographs and Pictures Collection," http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/landingpage/collection/photo (accessed November 7, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 7, 2015
format: text, image

Ivy Green
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Ivy Green; Helen Keller; Social History; Education; Communications; National Register of Historic Places; Historic American Buildings Survey
description: A one-and-a-half-story "Southern Viriginian" frame cottage located at 300 West North Commons in Tuscumbia, Ivy Green is significant for being the birthplace and childhood home of Helen Keller. It was during her infancy at Ivy Green that illness rendered Keller's blind and deaf; and it was there, in 1887, that Anne Sullivan taught the seven-year-old Keller to read, write, and speak, using a "finger language" devised by Samuel Gridley Howe of Boston's Perkins School for the Blind. The Ivy Green complex consists of the main house and two additional structures of historical significance: another, smaller frame cottage built as an office for the Keller family plantation; and the still smaller structure housing the water well and pump which facilitated Keller's famous "communication breakthrough." The property was acquired by the City of Tuscumbia in 1954, and has been open to the public as a museum ever since.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Ivy Green, Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #70000101. Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS AL-317, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/al0093 (accessed November 7, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 7, 2015
format: text, image

John and Archibald Christian House
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Tuscumbia, Alabama; John and Archibald Christian House; Tennessee Valley Country Club; Robert Lindsay; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places; Historic American Buildings Survey
description: The John and Archibald Christian House in Tuscumbia was built during the 1830s as a residence for two brothers from Virgina, who, like many natives of the Piedmont region during the mid-19th-century, relocated to North Alabama. It is particularly significant for its role, during the Reconstruction era, as the home of Robert Lindsay, the only foreign-born governor of the state of Alabama. The Christian house has been part of the Tennessee Valley Country Club since 1923, and the fifty-acre property surrounding the home has been converted into a nine-hole golf course. Photographers for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documented the house in 1934, and the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, John and Archibald Christian House, Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #82002004. Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS AL-312, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/al0094.photos.001745p (accessed November 7, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 7, 2015
format: text, image

Chambers-Robinson House
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Sheffield, Alabama; Chambers Robinson House; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places
description: The Chambers-Robinson House at 910 Montgomery Avenue in Sheffield is a two-story, Queen-Anne-style frame house, built in 1890 as a residence for Judson G. Chambers and his wife Mary. In 1898, the couple sold the home to Charles and Dora Robinson, whose descendents occupied the house for the next 64 years. The two-story frame house has a steeply pitched hipped roof supported by decorative brackets and pierced by several dormers. Another notable exterior feature is the wraparound porch, complete with elaborate posts, brackets, and latticework. Inside, a grand Eastlake staircase leads to the second story from a first-floor entry hall. The property was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Places in 1992, and added to the National Register of Historic Places the following year.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Chambers-Robinson House, Sheffield, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #93000419. "Chambers-Robinson House," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambers-Robinson_House (accessed November 7, 2015).
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 7, 2015
format: text, image

Clyde Carter House
subject: Colbert County, Alabama; Ford City, Alabama; Clyde Carter House; Clyde Carter; Henry Ford; Wilson Dam; Rural Electrification Act; Agriculture; Architecture; National Register of Historic Places
description: Built between 1924 and 1930, the Clyde Carter House is a Spanish-Eclectic-style cottage located in what was (briefly) the Bernard Subdivision of Ford City. With its "fanciful," European-influenced design and stuccoed walls, the house stands out amongst the Bungalow-style dwellings which otherwise dominate its rural setting. The Carter residence was the first, and only, home built for the proposed Bernard Subdivision, envisioned as a planned community for nitrate-plant workers and their families after Henry Ford announced his intention to buy Wilson Dam from the federal government and remake the agricultural Shoals into "a modern industrial landscape." When Ford's plans fell through, development of a planned community at Ford City was scrapped, and construction of the Spanish Eclectic cottage was abandoned until Clyde Carter purchased the property in 1930. For a decade and a half, beginning in 1930, Carter and his family grew cotton and corn on the surrounding farmland, and the same two crops were still being farmed on the property as recently as 2004, when the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
creator: Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
source: National Register of Historic Places, Clyde Carter House, Ford City, Colbert County, Alabama, National Register #04000559.
publisher: Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
date: November 7, 2015
format: text, image