Helen Keller Birthplace “Ivy Green”
Helen Keller; Ivy Green; Tuscumbia; Colbert Count; Alabama; Historic Towns; Museums; Anne Sullivan
The Helen Keller Birthplace, known as Ivy Green is the original home and grounds of Helen Keller's family. The home was built in 1820. It is a modest, white clapboard, Southern style home of Virginia cottage construction. There are four large rooms on the first floor with three small rooms upstairs separated by a hall. The grounds include the cottage where Anne Sullivan lived with Helen, a kitchen, a nineteenth century log cabin, and the original water pump where Helen had her first breakthrough and signed the word water at age six.
Helen Keller was born a normal child, but at the age of 19 months she became sick and was left blind and deaf. At the age of 6, Helen was taken to Dr. Alexander Graham Bell. Through Bell, Helen met Anne Sullivan, who had taught at the Perkins School for the Blind. After the breakthrough at the water pump, Helen learned rapidly. By the age of 10, Helen had mastered Braille, the manual alphabet, and had learned how to use a typewriter. By the age of 16 Helen could speak well enough to get herself into college. In 1904 she graduated from Radcliffe College with honors.
In 1954, the house and grounds were turned into a museum and was placed on the National Register of Historical Places.
Ivy Green is located at 300 North Commons Street in a quiet residential area just a few blocks from downtown Tuscumbia. Its hours of operation are Monday through Saturday, 8:300 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Jacob Grandstaff, University of North Alabama
Abigayle Peterson, University of North Alabama
http://www.helenkellerbirthplace.org/
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
November 28, 2015
Alabama Music Hall of Fame
Colbert County; Alabama; Tuscumbia; Museums; Muscle Shoals Sound; FAME Studios; Muscle Shoals Sound Studio; Blues; Country; Rock n Roll; R & B; Music Hall of Fame; Clarence Carter; Percy Sledge; Wilson Pickett; Aretha Franklin; The Rolling Stones; Paul Simon; Bobby Womack; Mary MacGregor
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, located off Hwy 72 in Colbert County, on the outskirts of Tuscumbia is the hall of fame that honors Alabamians who have made major contributions to American music. Over the years, it has provided an educational experience in which thousands of tourists, historians, school children, and music fans have toured to learn of the many contributions Alabamians have made to music. These accomplishments are not limited to any particular genre, nor are only musicians honored. Alabamian performers, songwriters, managers, and publishers all receive due recognition for their contributions. The accomplishments of successful individuals from Alabama in the music industry are recognized by the Hall of Fame through inductions, exhibits illustrating those accomplishments, and a walk of fame that includes permanent bronze stars for all inductees.
Its location in the area known as The Shoals is no accident. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the neighboring town of Muscle Shoals became nationally famous for its two recording studios, FAME and the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios where artists such as Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, and Paul Simon recorded many of their hits. A unique “Muscle Shoals Sound” developed over these years which according to blues singer Clarence Carter was “a blend of country, gospel and R & B.” By the mid 70s, the Shoals was home to eight stuidios.
In the 1980s, the Muscle Shoals Music Association, a local professional organization of music professionals and the state legislature, under the leadership of state Sen. Bobby Denton, formed the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board with a mandate to honor Alabama’s famous music achievers and to construct a venue in which to display the accomplishments of these talented individuals. In 1987, citizens of Alabama passed a state-wide referendum which authorized the construction of Phase One of the construction of a 12,500-square foot exhibit facility. More than 35,000 music enthusiasts attended the Alabama Music Hall of Fame's Grand Opening in 1990 which included performances by some of the state's most talented musicians.
The Alabama Hall of Fame is open Tuesday – Friday 9 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
Directions and Admission: http://www.alamhof.org/visit/hours-and-rates/
Alabama Hall of Fame List of Inductees: http://www.alamhof.org/inductees/inductees/inductees-2/
Jacob Grandstaff, University of North Alabama
“Alabama Music Hall of Fame,” 2015, Accessed November 17, 2015, http://www.alamhof.org/about/.
Elliot, Debbie. “The Legendary Muscle Shoals Sound: Alabama Studios Rolled Out Big Hits of '60s and '70s,” NPR, September 20, 2003, Accessed November 17, 2015, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1437161.
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
November 27, 2015
Tuscumbia Railroad and Transportation Museum
Tuscumbia, Colbert County; Alabama; Historic Railroad Depot; Museums; Railroad Museum; Frontier Railroad Town
The Tuscumbia Railroad Historic Depot, located at 204 W. 5th St. in downtown Tuscumbia is a fully restored museum based on how it was when it was built in 1888. The museum displays train memorabilia, interactive train simulators, telegraph demonstrations and information about Tuscumbia's history.
Its hours of operation are Tuesday – Friday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Jacob Grandstaff, University of North Alabama
“Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area,” Accessed November 17, 2015, http://msnha.una.edu/plan-a-visit/?a=28.
“Historic Tuscumbia Railroad Depot,” Sweet Home Alabama: The Official Travel Site of Alabama, Accessed November 21, 2015, http://alabama.travel/places-to-go/historic-tuscumbia-railway-depot.
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
November 27, 2015
Tennessee Valley Museum of Art
Museums, Art Museums; Shoals; Muscle Shoals; Colbert County; Alabama; Tuscumbia; Tennessee Valley; Tennessee River; Native Americans; Petroglyphs
The Tennessee Valley Art Association was incorporated in 1964 in order to create an art museum and develop public programming related to the arts. The Tennessee Valley Art Center was constructed in 1972 on property provided by the city of Tuscumbia. The Association began a series of concerts at local churches in the late 1970s and founded two music schools and two theater programs in the 80s. For five years, these programs rehearsed in the Art Center before they incorporated separately as the Shoals Symphony. In 1998, the Art Center added an extension which doubled exhibition space, providing a workshop and art storage. The permanent exhibition of the Martin Petroglyph , a 3,000 pound boulder depicts human footprints and snakes carved by the prehistoric people of northwest Alabama. Objects include shell and stone carvings, pottery, and projectile points of the earliest people of the area. A plaza honoring TVAA founder, Ethel Davis, was constructed in 2008. The museum's name was changed to The Tennessee Valley Museum of Art in 2009.
The museum is open Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sundays 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Admission is free on Sundays. It is closed on Saturdays and all major holidays. It is located at 511 N Water Street, Tuscumbia, AL and is adjacent to the Helen Keller Birthplace and behind the Helen Keller Public Library. Parking is available on the east side of the museum on Water Street, but one must enter the museum from the west side of the building.
Jacob Grandstaff, University of North Alabama
“Tennessee Valley Art Association,” Accessed November 17, 2015, http://www.tvaa.net/.
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
November 27, 2015
Pathways: Walk through the History of Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals; Colbert County; Alabama; Museums; City Hall; Muscle Shoals Music; Muscle Shoals Sound; FAME Studios; Natchez Trace Parkway; Shoals; Tennessee River; Wilson Dam; Tennessee Valley Authority
“Pathways: Walk through the History of Muscle Shoals” is a corridor of historic displays in the Muscle Shoals City Hall. It covers the history of the city of Muscle Shoals, the Wilson Dam and Lock, and Muscle Shoals Music with exhibits of original documents and photographs. Admission is free and it is open from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m Monday-Friday.
Jacob Grandstaff, University of North Alabama
“Natchez Trace Parkway,” Accessed November 17, 2015, http://www.scenictrace.com/pathways-walk-through-the-history-of-muscle-shoals/.
“Muscle Shoals Music,” Muscle Shoals Area, Alabama, Accessed November 17, 2015, http://www.colbertcountytourism.org/index.php/2012-11-08-15-06-08/2012-11-12-01-58-07.
“Pathways: Walk through the History of Muscle Shoals,” Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, Accessed November 17, 2015, http://msnha.una.edu/plan-a-visit/?a=18.
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
November 27, 2015