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Milner’s Drug Store
Milner’s Drug Store was an important part of the downtown Florence area stretching back before the Civil War. The founder of Milner’s Drug Store, Joseph Milner, was an adventurous man who made his home in Florence in 1852 after returning from the…
First National Bank
The First National Bank in downtown Florence had connections to one of the more powerful Northern transplants to the Florence area in founder, Nial C. Elting. Elting, one of the founding partners of the Cherry Cotton Mill in Sweetwater, was a…
Lamar Furniture Company
The Lamar Furniture building in downtown Florence has a unique past considering it once held the old Florence Hotel and was the meeting place of the civic group the Knights of Pythias. The Lamar Furniture building’s location was on Court Street in…
Florence Hotel
The Florence Hotel was constructed by The Florence Land, Mining, and Manufacturing Company, the company owned by Judge William Basil Wood, the father of the Sweetwater and Florence Industrial Boom. W.B. Wood had quite an impact in Florence since he…
Jefferson Hotel
The Jefferson Hotel was a massive building for turn of the twentieth century Florence. At three-stories it was a towering downtown business. The Jefferson Hotel opened up for business in 1902 just a short distance away from the Lauderdale County…
Hotel Reeder
The Hotel Reeder was a staple of downtown Florence during the early twentieth century. The location of the Hotel Reeder was on Tennessee Street, and the hotel was so large that it covered an entire block. The three-story brick building had a…
Hotel Negley
The Hotel Negley was one of the more modern hotels built in the early twentieth century in downtown Florence. The Hotel Negley was constructed on the empty lot of the former Jefferson Hotel in 1925 after the Jefferson Hotel caught fire in the early…
Hill Auto Company
Hill Auto Company, located on the southwest side of the traffic circle at Royal Avenue and Huntsville Road, is believed to be the second filling and service station built in Florence. The owner of the service station, Fred Hill, also ran the Hill…
Justice John McKinley Federal Building and United States Post Office
The federal building is located at the corner of Seminary and Tombigbee and its address is 210 North Seminary Street, Florence, Alabama. The building is currently named in honor of Alabama’s first Supreme Court Justice, John McKinley. The United…
Florence Times/Times-Daily
The Florence Times was the predecessor of the current newspaper for Lauderdale County, The Times-Daily. The Florence Times began in the nineteenth century by the O’Neal family. The O’Neal family of Florence produced multiple governors of Alabama and…
Tennessee Valley Fertilizer Company
The Tennessee Valley Fertilizer Company is another company that the Ashcraft family of Florence either owned or had a stake in. In 1897, a year before he founded the Florence Cotton Oil Company, Lee Ashcraft founded and incorporated the Tennessee…
W.E. Temple Company and Planing Mills
Another lumber company located in the downtown Florence area, W.E. Temple Company and Planning Mills was a fixture in Florence at the beginning of the twentieth century. W.E. Temple was well known for his architectural ability because he constructed…
Sweetwater Mill
Sweetwater Mill has a relationship to the Sweetwater area because it is an old part of the Cherry Cotton Mill plant. The J.T. Flagg Knitting Company purchased the mill after the conclusion of World War II because the company was looking to expand…
The Foundry/Florence Stove and Manufacturing Company
The Foundry/Florence Stove and Manufacturing Company played an important role in the history of the Sweetwater area of Florence, and as of today, the remnants of their factory still operates under a partnership of former employees as the Martin Stove…
Richardson Lumber Company
William McDonald Richardson owned the Richardson Lumber Company. Richardson had served as the first manager of the Acme Lumber Company. The Richardson Lumber Company was located on Sweetwater Creek on Huntsville Road between Sweetwater Avenue and…
Philadelphia Furnace
The Philadelphia Furnace was located on Sweetwater Creek to the south of present day Veterans Drive. Originally owned by the father of the Sweetwater boom, Judge William Basil Wood, the furnace was known as the W.B. Wood Furnace in 1889. The W.B.…
Kiddy Hotel/House
The Kiddy Hotel/House was the primary hotel for the Sweetwater area of east Florence at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The proprietors of the Kiddy Hotel were the husband and wife couple of James and Harriet Adair Kiddy. …
United States Nitrate Plant Number Two
The landscape photograph is of the summer time construction at the United States Nitrate Plant Number Two. The photograph shows several facilities under construction at the time and each are marked on the photograph.
The history of the nitrate…
The history of the nitrate…
2005.36.151: Lucy Dashwood to P.M.B. Young, unknown
A love letter from Lucy Dashwood to P.M.B. Young. 1 handwritten page.
2005.36.174: Louisa Young Jones to P.M.B. Young, 1857 July 10
Although the letter is not signed, it appears to be Louisa writing to her brother, P.M.B. Young. She informs Young of local happenings and gossip. 4 handwritten pages.
2005.36.146: Louisa Young to P.M.B. Young, 1857 June 16
This letter from sister Louisa expresses how much she misses Pierce. She discusses a visit from Robert that went well. Louisa also expresses her pleasure at Pierce's bright future by complimenting his position at West Point. Louisa mentions a wedding…
2005.36.107: Louisa Young to P.M.B. Young, 1859 June 9
A brief letter from Louisa Jones to PMB Young. Louisa expresses how she misses her brother and is excited to see him during an upcoming visit. She mentions the condition of their brother, Robert. Louisa discusses family matters as well as mentioning…
2005.36.300: Louisa Young to Pierce M.B. Young, 1860
Louisa wrote to Pierce to share news about family and friends. She commented on her appreciation for her friends welcoming her back home but explained that they seem tame after spending so time much time sojourning in the company of the "fast…
2005.36.123: Louisa to Tom, 1859 August 31
Louisa writes to Tom, excusing herself for being in a poor mental/physical state because her recent bouts of illness. Much of her family has been sick, including children and aunts. She hopes that she can come visit him or he can come visit her soon.…
Shelby County Museum & Archives
Our extensive and growing collection of research materials includes books, periodicals, microfilm, microfiche, family folders and much more. We have the index and records from 1957 through 1994 of the Bolton Funeral Home located in Columbiana,…
McGowan's Ferry
Notes from the Teague Memoirs of Shelby County tell of a man who lived on this side of the river at McGowan’s Ferry (just south of the site of the SEGCO Steam Plant). He had an understanding with an Indian friend on the Talladega County side. The…
Lindsay Historical Site: David Lindsay, A Revolutionary War Soldier
David Lindsay was born 1750 in Washington County, Pennsylvania and died 1835 in Shelby County, Alabama. He was a private in the American Revolutionary War and a pioneer settler of Shelby County. He married Mary Casey and they had twelve children.On…
Columbiana Cemetery
The Columbiana City Cemetery represents over 200 years of history in the Shelby County area. Many recognized names are interred in this old cemetery and deserve to be remembered. In 2006 Eagle Scout Robert Justice took on the major task of logging…
Johnson Cemetery
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 33.21580, Longitude: -86.55420Johnson Cemetery Listing on Findagrave.comJohnson Cemetery Listing on Rootsweb
William A. Dawson House, 1834
This image is a watercolor painting of the William A. Dawson House, also known as the Dawson-Wilson House, in Spring Hill, Alabama done by Martin Lide, Jr. sometime between 1917 and 1942. The house was built in 1834. The painting shows the front…
2005.36.179: Lacy W. Watts to brother, 1856 August 9
In her letter to her brother, she asked if he liked his profession and if his practice was going well. She discussed the ailments of her children and all the people who had visited in the past months. She mentioned the crops and that they were in…
2005.36.80: L.L. Young to Washington Jones, 1856 May 21
L.L. Young writes to Washington Jones, telling him of his friend Thad H. Jones who is coming to Louisiana to open a new practice. 2 handwritten pages.
Old Mobile Court House, 1824
This image is a watercolor painting of the Old Mobile Court House in Mobile, Alabama done by Albion W. Knight sometime between 1917 and 1942. The courthouse was built in 1824. The painting shows the front exterior of the courthouse with its doors,…
Cobb House
This image is a watercolor painting of the Cobb House in Tuskegee, Alabama done by Tom Brown Kirkland sometime between 1917 and 1942. The year the house was built in is unknown. The painting shows the front exterior of the house with its doors,…
Iron Bowl Preview
The Birmingham News previews the Iron Bowl, focusing primary on the coaching matchup between Saban and Tuberville
2011: Classic double decker London bus
The Old Routemaster buses are definitely an icon of London transportation. They are the buses where you could jump on and off at the back. There was a ticket inspector to sell you a ticket onboard from a machine they had hung round their neck, and…
Noble Hall
Wealthy planter Addison Frazer built the home in 1854 in a two-story Greek Revival style. Frazer owned over 100 slaves and grew cotton on 2,000 acres of land. He served on the board of the Auburn Masonic Female College and the East Alabama Male…
Jack Wade's Sports Parade
Article discusses opposition to professional wrestling matches in North Carolina. Questions the legitimacy and violence of the exhibitions.