Vestavia's Little Red Barn

One of our longtime friends is Druscilla Defalque, a fiber and mixed-media artist who lives in Hoover. She is a member of the Artists Incorporated Gallery on Morgan Road in Vestavia, just across from the Western Supermarket off Rocky Ridge Road. Each year she is one of the featured artists for a month, and I recently attended the opening reception for her month. The gallery is located in an interesting building, which is fodder for this blog post.

The place is known as the "little red barn" in keeping with its history. The area was once the Joe Beardon dairy farm; the barn was built in 1926. Once the structure ended its original use, various other businesses have operated there over the years, including the Jackie O'Neal School of Dance. The gallery opened in 1999, and features striking art in various media by a number of local artists.

I think I've read somewhere that the "barn" is the oldest remaining commercial structure in Vestavia. You can see a much older photograph on page 44 of Rebecca Walden''s 2014 book, Vestavia Hills. 

The gallery has recently opened a second location in the Shops at Grand River in Leeds. That location is not yet historic. 



UPDATE 9 February 2019

The Artists Incorporated gallery in the Little Red Barn has closed; the gallery is now located only in suite 114 of the Shops at Grand River. Good luck to them there!

Source: Artists Incorporated

A Sad Memorial at the Birmingham Airport

I've written several posts on this blog that might be classified under a "history in unexpected places" category---things like markers or plaques in very public places that most people pass by without noticing. One such post discussed the Hillman Hospital Annex cornerstone and another a plaque inside UAB's Jefferson Tower. I've also written one about a memorial plaque for Dr. Bernie Moore, an important figure in the founding of Crestwood Hospital in Huntsville.

I remember another such encounter vividly that took place a few years ago on our trip to Boston to visit son Amos. We stayed at a b&b in Cambridge, not far from his apartment, and each day he would meet us, and we walked several blocks to the nearest subway stop to begin our adventures. On our final day I noticed we had been walking right by a marker commemorating Watson's Corner, the site of an April 19, 1775, skirmish connected with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Who knows how many people walk past the marker and never see it, much less stop and read it. The Boston area is crowded with history, even along the sidewalks.

In the Birmingham airport recently I noticed just such an item on the ticketing and departure level---the plaque below, which is located on one end of that floor. This memorial acknowledges the death at that spot of Luke Bresette. The ten year-old, his two siblings and parents were passing through Birmingham on their way home to Kansas on March 22, 2013. After an extensive renovation the terminal had reopened only nine days earlier. The family happened to be in front of a free-standing arrival and departure board when the structure fell over. The father was uninjured, but Heather Bresette and her children were pinned under the sign that weighed several hundred pounds. 

The mother was taken to UAB Hospital and the youngsters to Children's. All survived except Luke, who died later that day. You can read about the incident in more detail and its aftermath here and here. You can see a photo of the cabinet that fell over taken the day the terminal reopened on the BhamWiki site. The plaque below is located on that portion of the wall behind it. 

Selma's Concordia College Closes

On April 28 Selma's Concordia College held its final graduation in the school's gymnasium. About 150 students received degrees in the 92nd graduation ceremony. Concordia had 445 students registered in the fall 2017 semester.

School funding had been in crisis for some years, and enrollment was falling. In February 2018 the decision to close was announced. The Selma campus was the only historically-black one in the Concordia University System of ten schools operated around the U.S. by the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. 

The school opened in 1922 as both a high school and college to train church workers. The college closed during the Depression. Eventually the college reopened, and the institution became known as the Alabama Lutheran College and Academy. The name was changed in 1981. In 1997 two 1928 buildings, Bakke Hall and the Dormitory, were listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. In 2010 the campus had expanded from 22 to 57 acres. 

The school competed in several men's and women's sports, and fielded a football team from 2005 until 2015 when costs became prohibitive.

Alabama has 14 other historically-black universities, four-year colleges and community colleges currently operating. Daniel Payne College, opened in Birmingham in 1880, previously closed in 1977. 

Harris Transfer & Warehouse Company

For a number of years one of our favorite places to eat in the UAB area has been the Fish Market Restaurant located very close to the Kirklin Clinic on 6th Avenue South. In 1982 George Sarris bought the operation from his uncle Jimmy Hontzas. In 2007 Sarris moved the eatery to its present location in the former Harris Transfer and Warehouse Company facility. The place has a Greek touch with a large menu, very good food and reasonable prices. The location in a former warehouse adds an interesting aspect to the dining experience.

Naturally, I've wondered about the history of that building, so let's investigate.

As the 1888 notice below tells us, a freight transfer line was established in Birmingham by George C. Harris in 1881. That first office was located--"conveniently"--upstairs at 5 20th Street. By the time this item was published, the firm even had a telephone. The business was "well and favorably known" and moved household goods, freight and even safes, which they would position for the customer.

In the 1910 U.S. Census we can find some information about Mr. Harris. He was born in Alabama in 1849, and had been married to wife Jamie for 35 years. He owned his home free of any mortgage and could read and write. His household had a total of ten people, including George C. Harris, Jr. His occupation is listed as "transfer man". The Alabama Deaths & Burials Index 1881-1974 gives his death date as January 26, 1912. 

As the BhamWiki entry on the company tells us, the firm's success continued in subsequent decades. By the late 1930's Harris Transfer Company had sixty trucks and three warehouses. You can see a photo of one of those trucks on that site. The company became one of the early partners with Allied Van Lines in creating a long-distance hauling system. 

In the 1990's the company fell on hard times, filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated. Floors above the Fish Market are used in a self-storage business.

Source: North Alabama Illlustrated, 1888, p. 144

Here's another view of that sign with UAB's Jefferson Tower looming in the background. 

A recent photo of the more or less outside dining area; main dining is to the right

Alabama Photos of the Day: the 1969 Sesquicentennial

The state of Alabama is currently in the midst of a multi-year bicentennial celebration. Congress admitted the Alabama Territory to the union on December 14, 1819. The Territory had been created on March 3, 1817. Events have been taking place all over the state to commemorate these important milestones and will continue through 2019.

In July 1968 Alabama Governor Albert Brewer established a Sesquicentennial Commission to develop and oversee activities commemorating the state's 150th  anniversary the following year. Below are some photographs and other materials related to that event and some further comments.

Sesquicentennial Commission at a restaurant lunch meeting in 1968

Left to right: Joe Farley, Judge C. J. Coley, Paul Felts, Mrs. William Nicrosi, Governor Albert Brewer, Katherine McTyeire, Harry Pritchett, George McBurney, and Milo B. Howard Jr. Howard was the director of the state archives. 

Source: Alabama Mosaic

Another photo of a luncheon meeting

Left to right: Paul Felts, Judge C. J. Coley, Mrs. William Nicrosi, Joe Farley, Milo B. Howard Jr., Robert Rockhold (state coordinator, an employee of the Commission), Governor Albert Brewer, Katherine McTyeire, woman from Luckie Forney, Inc. (advertising firm employed by the Commission), and Martin Darity (with his back to the camera).

Source: Alabama Mosaic

Members of the Alabama congressional delegation standing with the 22-star United States flag created by the Alabama Sesquicentennial Commission. The flag flew at the U.S. Capitol between 11:30 a.m. and noon on September 18, 1969. Among those pictured are George Andrews (third from left), John Sparkman (center), Katherine McTyeire (chairman of the Commission), and James B. Allen (fourth from right). 

Source: Alabama Mosaic

Alabama's 22-star flag flying at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The flag flew between 11:30 a.m. and noon. Because Alabama was the twenty-second state admitted to the union, one of the commission's projects was the creation of this 22-star United States flag.

Source: Alabama Mosaic

Milo Howard and Katherine McTyeire with a security guard before hoisting Alabama's 22-star flag over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. 

Source: Alabama Mosaic 

This stamp was issued on August 2, 1969, in Huntsville.

Source

Source: Alabama Mosaic 

A variety of medals were issued celebrating the Sesquicentennial. You can see more on eBay. 

This book was an "Official Sesquicentennial Guide" and contained eight chapters on various "History Circle Tours" through the state. 

Birmingham Photos of the Day (63): Quinlan Castle

Near Five Points South is one of Birmingham's most unusual and problematic buildings. The structure opened in 1927 as the Royal Arms Apartments and featured 72 efficiency units on four floors. William Weston designed the building; he also did such local landmarks as the Woodward, Age-Herald and City Federal buildings. Because of its design the building has been known as Quinlan Castle for many years.

The name is explained on the BhamWiki site. "The name of the building was adopted from Quinlan Avenue, the former name of 9th Avenue South which honored Bishop Quinlan of the Catholic Diocese of Mobile. Quinlan had purchased the hilltop and surrounding property as a potential site for Birmingham's first Catholic church."

The Castle was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 but continuing deterioration left it vacant by the 1990's. Various restoration and stabilization efforts have been made by various owners, including the city of Birmingham. Numerous proposals for use of the property have also surfaced over the years, but none came to fruition. In December 2008 the Castle was purchased by current owner and next door neighbor Southern Research, which has since done more stabilization work.  

The flags were flapping on a cold winter morning when I took these photos.

Allan Cemetery in Northern Shelby County

Heading east on Alabama 119 between I-65 and toward U.S. 280, you'll pass Oak Mountain Elementary and Middle Schools on your left. Not far beyond is Allan Cemetery and what looks like the shell of a former church. Let's investigate.

Back in 2011, Barry Wise Smith wrote an article for AL.com, "Hidden Haunts: Small, local cemeteries reveal Birmingham's early history." The Allan Cemetery is included in that group, so let me quote the text there which is a good introduction: 

"Located on Alabama Highway 119 in north Shelby County is the Allan Cemetery, established in 1835. Originally known as the Johnson Cemetery, for one of the first families to settle in the area, the name changed in the early 1900s. The land belonged to Rollin Johnson's great, great, great grandfather Col. Isaac Francis Johnson, who owned 400 to 500 acres. A doctor, Col. Johnson started the cemetery when his wife and two sons died in a yellow fever epidemic in 1835.

The old cemetery features names that are well known in Shelby County historical circles: Johnson, Bishop, Cross, Allan, Brasher, Gilbert and more. The oldest readable stone in the cemetery features a birth date of 1808. The graveyard has been surveyed and mapped by the Shelby County Historical Society and still is active with burials ongoing. The shell of the building that sits adjacent to the cemetery, often thought to be a church, is actually an old meeting hall that was built to host funerals, memorial services and revivals. "I remember going there as a kid," Johnson recalls. 'I even helped lay some of the floor boards.'

Down the road, hidden behind several residential developments, is an almost-forgotten graveyard that is home to a number of graves belonging to African-American descendants of slaves. The last names on the gravestones, a number of which are hand-carved, feature the same last names found in the Allan Cemetery. Many of the graves here are unmarked or simply marked with stones. Due to neglect, many of the sites are buried further under waist-high weeds."



The Heritage of Shelby County, Alabama, published in 1999 has an entry on the Allan Cemetery written by Rollin L. Johnson, Jr. [page 123]. In addition to the details in the Smith article, Johnson notes that for many years a "memorial day" was held at the cemetery on the second Sunday in June. The event actually began the previous Wednesday when the cemetery was cleaned. The gathering included dinner on the ground on Sunday and afterward a singing in the chapel. Children could play in Hooker Springs, the source of nearby Bishop Creek. Johnson writes that that "memorial day" and the scheduled cleaning no longer occur, but the cemetery is still worked by individuals with relatives and ancestors buried there.

I've passed by the cemetery many times, and recently Dianne and I stopped late one afternoon. A few of the photos I took are below, along with some further comments. Maybe another time I can locate the African-American cemetery nearby. 

Here's the cemetery sign today, not as well kept as in the photo below

Sign photo from Find-A-Grave taken by Bridget Slade

Front view and entrance of the meeting house

Right side view

View through a window of the raised stage area

Another view inside

Rear views of the buidling

Various Brashers are buried in the cemetery; here's a recent grave

The cemetery is nestled among a number of large trees. Once located in a very rural area distant from Birmingham, northern Shelby County's growth in recent decades now surrounds the cemetery. 

There are several Wrights buried here, but I don't think any are from my family lines.

Man's best friend is on alert at this grave.

You can sometimes find the Masonic symbol, the square and compass and often a letter in the center, on gravestones.  

Late afternoon sun illuminates some older graves

The cemetery has a single mausoleum that we found. 

Several gravestones include photographs of the deceased. Although still unusual, such photos are also seen today on new interments. 

One gravestone is a large cross.

This gravestone takes the form of an archway.

And of course there is a Woodman of the World headstone. This fraternal organization was founded in Omaha in 1890 and provides life insurance to members. An early benefit of membership was these markers, which were discontinued around 1930 due to cost. However, so many were created that they can be seen in cemeteries across America.