A Quick Visit to Thorsby

In August Dianne and I made a trip to Clanton and on the way back drove through the town of Thorsby, also in Chilton County. I had recently read Kelly Kazek's al.com article on the town and wanted to take a personal look. Here's what we found.

As Kazek noted, you'll miss the good stuff if you just drive through on U.S. Highway 31. Thorsby is typical of so many small rural towns these days--some nice historical structures, perhaps some efforts at preservation, and some obvious signs of declne. For instance, we found a couple of large closed and deteriorating buildings we were told were a former school. These are no doubt the former elementary school built around 1925. They must have been in use until fairly recently, though; a wheelchair ramp led up to one main entrance. The fate of the school is precarious. 

Its Scandinavian heritage gives Thorsby some unusual touches for a rural town in Alabama. Kelly covered that aspect in her article linked above. You can see an old photograph of the T.T. Thorson home here. An article about the house is here. Thorson was one of the town founders and its namesake; his house is still a private residence. Thorsby celebrates its heritage with an annual Swedish Festival.

A photo of the town's historical marker is here. The town's own website also offers more information. An article about the Thorsby High School that burned in 1975 is here. A fire almost exactly 50 years earlier had burned the private Thorsby Institute which the high school replaced. The current high school occupies the site today.

Below are some photos of the beautiful former Norwegian Lutheran Church building and its clock. An historical preservation committee for the town was formed in 2007 and has obviously done good work. Beverly Crider's article "Thor's Legacy Lives on in Alabama" is here. 

On our visit I noticed that several streets in the town had the names of states: Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan. I wonder how that came about?

Two other Alabama towns with Scandinavian heritage are Silverhill in Baldwin County and Fruithurst in Cleburne County.

Further Reading

Kazek,, Kelly. Scenes from Thorsby: a touch of Scandinavia in Alabama. Birmingham News 23 August 2015.

Kent, Mark R. Thorsby--Alabama's Scandinavian town. Mobile Register 11 October 2004

Associated Press. Closing its doors: Small town losing its only pharmacy. Birmingham News 11 August 2002

Leon Lipscomb Grocery in Lacey's Spring

Lacey's Spring is an unincorporated community at the base of Brindley Mountain in Morgan County. American Revolutionary veteran John Lacy and his brothers settled there in 1818. A post office was established in 1831.

You'll find Lacey's Spring by going south on US 231 out of Huntsville. After you cross the Tennessee River you are essentially there. More of the community is also down Alabama Highway 36 as you head west toward Valhermoso Springs and Hartselle and I-65.

When you drive on US 231 toward Highway 36, you'll pass a number of gas stations; some are still operating. Several decades ago this stretch was known as "gasoline alley", and lower prices in Morgan County would attract drivers from Huntsville who crossed the river to fill their tanks. Leon Lipscomb and his grocery probably thrived in those days. 

You can learn more about the current town here.

You can see more photos of the building and its area here.

The text of historical markers approved by the Alabama Historical Association are available by county here at the state archives site. 

As you drive north on US 231 toward the Tennessee River, you'll find this hidden relic on the right in Lacy's Spring. 

The winter image below gives a full view of this sign, which I've been told marked the site of a catfish restaurant.  

Alabama Book Covers (3): Forrest Gump

Although best known for his novel Forrest Gump, Winston Groom has written many other books both fiction and non-fiction. He grew up in Mobile and graduated from the University of Alabama in 1965. Then he served in the U.S. Army, spending a tour in Vietnam. Groom lived in New York City after leaving the military,  working as a journalist and writing several novels. He returned to Mobile in 1985.

The following year Groom published Forrest Gump. The book was not a great success until the film adaptation featuring Tom Hanks as the title character was released in 1994. After that the book sold almost two million copies and spawned a wit-and-wisdom book, two cookbooks and a sequel.   

Since the great success of Gump, Groom has continued to publish novels and several works of historical non-fiction. Below are some covers related to Forrest Gump the novel, sequel, audio book, film, cookbooks, etc. 

A Quick Visit to Mobile, Alabama (1)

In July Dianne and I headed to Mobile for a long weekend and a little family gathering. We stayed at the Battle House Hotel and despite the heat spent some time wandering up and down nearby Dauphin Street and adjacent blocks. Here are a few of the wonders we encountered. I'll cover some more in another post. 

Step out of the Battle House's Royal Street entrance, look up and to your left and you'll see the  Van Antwerp Building. Designed by architect George Rogers and finished in 1907, the Van Antwerp was the city's first skyscraper and the first such reinforced concrete structure in the Southeast. Wealthy druggist Garet Van Antwerp financed the building and located his pharmacy there. An ad for his business, which operated into the 1960's, can be seen below.  

This ad appeared in the June 1911 issue of the Southern Medical Journal published in Birmingham.

Down Dauphin Street not far from the Battle House is a very long and colorful mural.

For some strange reason daughter Becca Leon was not interested in this pink dress we offered to buy her. Maybe 20 years ago she would have been!

The Crescent Theater is an independent movie house in downtown Mobile.

Streets in downtown Mobile have many surviving examples of wonderful architecture.

Birmingham Photos of the Day (36): The Shubert Theatre Orchestra

Local developer Frank O'Brien opened his four-story "O'Brien's Opera House" at the corner of 1st Avenue and 19th Street North in 1882. The actual auditorium, built for traveling theater groups, was located on the second floor and seated over 1200 patrons. The first floor was occupied by a grocery store, dentist's office, hardware store and a saloon. A hotel took up the top two floors. 

You can read the rich history of this building at the BhamWiki site linked below. In 1910 the facility was purchased by the Shubert Organization, a chain of theaters that still operates today. Although Shubert was successful at the site, the fire marshal declared the building unsafe the following year. The building was finally demolished in 1915. Today a plaque marks the location. Before his death in 1910, O'Brien had served in the Alabama House of Representatives and as Jefferson County Sheriff and Mayor of Birmingham.

The last photo below shows the Shubert Theatre Orchestra which had a very short life.

This undated photograph shows O'Brien's Opera House.

Source: BhamWiki.com

 Source: BhamWiki.com

This photograph notes that H.E. Snow was the orchestra's manager. The Archive site linked below identifies the date of this photo as somewhere between 1890 and 1910, but the Shubert Theatre operated only in 1910 and 1911. Of course, some of the musicians may have played in previous orchestras at the theater.

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections 

Some More Tuscaloosa History

Dianne and I recently made a visit to Northport to visit our daugher Becca Leon; son-in-law Matt was out of town. The three of us took in the Riverwalk along the Black Warrior River, and I've posted photos etc about that stroll here and here. In this post I want to cover a couple of historical places we also saw in Tuscaloosa. I've written a previous post on some other such places in the area.

First up is the former Queen City Pool & Bathhouse on River Road. Built during the Great Depression, the complex was designed by Buel Schulyer, who studied under legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The location was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. In December 2011 the building became the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum. Unfortunately the museum is not open on Sundays, so hopefully we can see it on another visit.  

In the photos above and below you can see where the pool for the complex was located. This area is to your right as you face the former bathhouse. 

Next door to the transportation museum is the main Tuscaloosa Public Library. I worked at this library in the early 1980's just after finishing library school at UA. This front entrance looks unfamiliar to me; I always entered via the employees' entrance on the back side of the building!

The library's web site has a nice history page.  

While we were in the Tuscaloosa area we also drove around Northport trying to find a particular location there. We never found it, but we did drive a short way on modern portions of Byler Road, once a major highway through 19th century Alabama. The state Department of Archives and History has this text from an historical marker for the road. The text of such markers all over the state can be found here by county. You can learn more about Byler Road here and here.



Byler Road
One-half mile east is a portion of the original Byler Road. Legislation authorizing construction signed into law December 1819, by Alabama's first governor, William Wyatt Bibb. Built by John Byler, it was Alabama's first public road. Opened November 1822, operated as a toll road until 1834. Twelve feet wide, it connected Northwest Alabama and the Tennessee River to the Warrior River at Northport. Used by early settlers and military forces during War Between the States, it was a factor in the development of many Alabama communities.

Labor Days Past in Alabama

The creation of a Labor Day to honor workers in America was first promoted by labor unions in the 1880's. In 1887 with support of President Grover Cleveland an official holiday was established on the first Monday in September. You can read more about that history here. The Encyclopedia of Alabama has a long article on organized labor in the state. Below are some items related to past Labor Days in Alabama. 

This article describes the Arts & Crafts Show and other activities planned for a "very special Labor Day" in 1978.

Birmingham News 20 August 1978

Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections

This scene from Birmingham's Labor Day parade on September 4, 1916, appeared in a section of photographs in the Birmingham Age-Herald on October 8, 1916. 

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections 

Here's another photo from that 1916 Birmingham Labor Day parade.

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections

A Labor Day celebration by Textile Workers Union in Boylston, Alabama, sometime in the 1940's. The town is located between Montgomery and the Tallapoosa River.

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections

West Boylston Textile Mill around 1940

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections