Richard Henry Alphine

Richard Henry Alphine

African-American history

Richard Alphine was born a slave on the Alphine plantation in Mississippi in 1853. Richard was 12 years old at the end of the Civil War and often told stories about his memories of the war. In 1918, Richard moved to Florence for work and lived with the Web Staggs family on Sweetwater Avenue. Richard dug wells in East Florence for the rest of his life and was known in the community as "Uncle Mainline."

Ashley Pentecost, University of North Alabama

University of North Alabama archives

Alabama cultural resource survey

Late nineteenth century