Browse Items (1458 total)

In 1931, the institution that would come to be known as Auburn High School opened on Samford Avenue at the site of present-day Samford Middle School. From 1931 to 1959, the institution was known as Lee County High School. Until 1966, the entire…

From 1931 to 1966, Auburn’s white middle (and elementary) school students operated under the aegis of Auburn High School at 332 East Samford Avenue. During this period, the sub-institution was known as Auburn Grammar School. When Auburn High School…

In the early 1850s, Colonel Nathaniel Scott petitioned Auburn’s local Masonic lodge (Auburn Lodge #76) to sponsor a female educational center in town. In 1853, Auburn Masonic Female College became the town’s first women’s educational…

Judge John Harper led a party of Methodists to the future site of Auburn, Alabama in late 1836. The next year, members the new community collaborated to erect a log Methodist church, located on the corner of modern-day East Magnolia Street and South…

The land on which this building is situated was owned by Judge John Harper, the founder of Auburn. In 1846, Harper deeded the land to Auburn Academy agent Simeon Porter for the purpose of building Auburn's first schools. The site served as the home…

In 1899, Auburn Mayor Charles Little and the town council appropriated bonds of $6,000 to build a large public schoolhouse. The 74x58 ½ foot building included a 40x70 foot auditorium on the top floor. Amenities included wood and coal pot-bellied…

In March 1915, a group of concerned Auburn citizens held a fund-raising rally at Ebenezer Baptist Church aimed at financing a school for the town’s African-American children. In attendance were over three hundred African Americans and about a…

In February 1861, president-elect Jefferson Davis rode a train from his plantation in Mississippi to Atlanta and then to Montgomery, Alabama for his inauguration as president of the Confederacy. On February 16, at the Auburn train depot,…

Judge John Harper and 33 other residents of Harris County, Georgia were the first settlers of Auburn in 1836. One year later they completed construction of a Methodist church, which served as the settlement's first church and school. Church…

Established by charter in 1856 as East Alabama Male College, the academic institution that would come to be known as Auburn University was founded ten years before Lee County’s inception. Local residents, such as John Bowles Glenn, the pastor of…

The building that now houses Audie Mescal Womens Clothing is one of the oldest commercial buildings in Colbert County, belonging to the original seven buildings that made Commercial Row in the 1830s. It was in this building that Helen Keller's…

To reach Austin Cemetery from Florence, Alabama, travel Highway 20 west, turn right onto County Road 5 and continue for 4 miles. The cemetery is located on the right side of the road.

David Leon Montgomery states, "The Austin Cemetery originally…

In Cullman, the Ave Maria Grotto is a collection of miniature replicas of shrines and other buildings. The Grotto is located on the grounds of the Saint Bernard Abbey. The Grotto was created by Brother Jespeh Zoettel, a monk originally from Bavaria…

During the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War, a freedmen’s community was established in this area called Averyville, named for the Pennsylvania minister and successful businessman Charles Avery, a longtime and faithful champion of Negro…

The Bank Street-Old Decatur Historic District is a historic district located in Decatur, Alabama. The district is made up of the original commercial and residential area of Decatur along the Tennessee River. The district contains 340 structures…

Located in Auburn at South Dean and Old Mill Road.

Coordinates: 32.6037457, -85.4646708

Baptist Hill cemetery is a part of Alabama’s first separate black community and is a critical part of Auburn’s black history. According to oral history, a white man gave most of the land in the 1870’s. Currently the cemetery is four acres and…

Barker Cemetery is located near Pleasant Grove Church of Christ. The cemetery has 22 recorded graves that are marked with field stones. It is well maintained and located about 200 yards off the road.

To reach Barnett Cemetery from Florence, travel US 72 towards Elgin. Then head north on AL 101 for five miles. Take County Road 82 and the cemetery will be on the left side.

A full list of records can be viewed in the source.

Bartee Cemetery is located near the intersection of Highway 231 and Highway 36 in Morgan County. There are a total of 66 recorded graves in the cemetery. The oldest grave belongs to Nancy Rice who was born in 1831.

Barton Hall, or Cunningham Plantation, is a two-story, Greek-Revival-style, wood-frame house near Cherokee in Colbert County. Its construction was initiated during the 1840s by Armstead Barton, whose father, Dr. Hugh Barton, had left Virginia during…

The battle at the Peters’ Plantation took place just before daylight on April 12, 1864. The 9th Ohio Cavalry known to the local in North Alabama as “The White Horse Company” had been foraging the local area from their base camp at the…

The battle of Ococoposa was fought between the United States and Native American tribes in the Shoals. The battle took place in June of 1787. Local Native American tribes had been conducting raids on settlements for a period of seven years. In…

This grist mill was originally built in 1834 by Sam Carter and Henry Byrd as a sawmill. In 1848 John "Jack" Floyd purchased the property and in 1852 Floyd's Mill Rd (now US 29) was established. During the Civil War, the mill provided supplies to the…

The BCDA consists of four lakes and surrounding woodlands. The BCDA offers trophy fishing, boating, sand beaches, group pavilions, a 30-mile canoe float stream, and five campgrounds. Bear Creek Lakes are known as the cleanest recreational waters in…

In 1818 Robert Beaty and John Carroll purchased several acres of land surrounding a large spring. They divided the land into lots and donated someof the land for public buildings and a cemetery. Beaty built his home on a section of the land in 1826.…

In 1923, several rural one-room schools (including Whatley, Thompson, Hopewell, Hinson, Parker’s Crossroads, and Dorsey schools) in the vicinity of present-day Beauregard, AL consolidated to form the Whatley School. The school at Parker’s…

To reach Bedingfield Cemetery from Rogersville, travel east on US 72 and turn left on County Road 70. Continue for three miles and turn right on County Road 556. Bedingfield Cemetery is half a mile on the left side of the road.

A full list of…

The Bellamy Planning Mills of the East Florence area of Sweetwater was incorporated on May 1st, 1901. The founders chose to situate Bellamy Planning Mills near Sweetwater Creek on present day Veterans Drive. The founders of the Bellamy Planning…

Belle Mina Plantation is a Late Georgian-style home located in the community of Belle Mina, Alabama. The home was constructed in 1826 by Alabama's second governor, Thomas Bibb. Thomas Bibb purchased 2,500 acres of land in Northern Alabama and decided…

A rare Southern example of architectural "Jeffersonian Classicism," the Belmont plantation house was completed in 1835 as a residence for Isaac Winston, a successful and wealthy planter who would, in his sixties, volunteer for service in the…

Article appeared in Charlotte Observer on December 17, 1941. Describes wrestling promoter Jim Crockett's foundation's support for Charlotte's Empty Stocking charity.

This marker is located on Cox Creek Parkway (Alabama Route 133), Florence, Alabama.

The text on the marker reads: "Rev. Dr. Bennett W. Smith, as president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, expanded the organization internationally.…

From page 124
In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma
Bernard LaFayette Jr.
Emory University
Kathryn Lee Johnson
University of Rhode Island




"Other leaders at the front included Rev. Frederick Reese; Mrs. Boynton; Charles Mauldin, a…

Emory University
While he did not march in Selma, Bernard was an integral part of the movement and it has often been said that it the planning and execution would not have been possible him.

Beth Shalom is the only organized Jewish congregation in East Alabama. Formed in 1989, the synagogue was dedicated in 1992. It is located at 134 Cary Drive, Auburn, AL.

To reach Bethel Baptist Cemetery from Rogersville, head north on AL 207 for 13 miles to AL 64. Bethel Baptist Church is on this road. Avon Hagood and Judy Mason first surveyed the cemetery in 1995. The rows in the cemetery are numbered from west to…

From Cloverdale, Alabama, travel east on County Road 8 for 3/4 mile. Turn left onto County Road 139 and continue for three miles. Bethel Berry Cemetery is located on the right side of the road.

The Bethel Berry Cemetery is located close to the…

Located in Smiths Station along Lee Road 249 near Highway 379.

Coordinates: 32.5795822, -85.1127148

Formed in 1868 under the leadership of Reverend Thomas Glenn, Bethesda Baptist Church was the first African-American church in the city of Opelika.

The Bettie Ann Highway was once the home to a thriving farming community that included Toonersville and Whitehead.

The text from the historical marker offers description of how the road came to be named:

The home-place of Bettie Anne…

Fikes's account of Bloody Sunday appears in Handson the Freedom Plow.

Bettie Mae Fikes grew up surrounded by music. Her family was one of musicians, and from the age of six she herself was singing solos in church. After joining SNCC at the
age of…

Bloody Sunday foot soldier
Contacted project via Facebook

Boynton says she accompanied Hosea Williams in a scouting expedition of the state troopers locations on Bloody Sunday prior to the start of the march.

Located in Beulah, Alabama on Lee Road 270.

Coordinates: 32.7129106, -85.17494

Under the management of Professor Franklin Little, Beulah Academy opened its doors in November 1894. In 1928, the Lee County Board of Education passed a motion to erect a consolidated first through twelfth grade school in Beulah. Beulah Academy, Pine…

Bibb Cemetery is located on the old Bibb plantation in Belle Mina. It is now located 500 yards west of Mooresville Belle Mina Road on Bibb Garrett Road. A chain link fence surrounds it and there are many trees in the cemetery.