Alabama History & Culture News: July 20 edition

 

Here's the latest batch of links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles. Most of these items are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio station websites. Some articles may be behind a paywall. Enjoy!

HP Hotels will manage St. James Hotel - The Selma Times‑Journal The Selma Times‑Journal The Alabama Historical Commission has allocated $1 million in tax credits for the rehabilitation of the historic St. James Hotel.

Historic 135-year-old Homewood church raising funds for renovation | Bham Now Bham Now One of the goals of the fundraiser is to repair the church's original pipe organ. According to Reverend Steele, there is only one person in Alabama ...

Alabama experts getting ever closer to locating the long-lost site of the Battle of Mabila

Alabama NewsCenter

A land rich in historic artifacts. A year ago, Dumas, Knight and the rest of the team began a careful dig just a few days before farmers planned ...

Birmingham synagogue marked as a historic site for its role in the Civil Rights Movement WBRC Now marked as a historic site, the Temple Beth El still stands after an attempted bombing more than 60 years ago.

Exhibit in Montgomery, Alabama, unpacks the history of the 'Green Book' Alabama NewsCenter It explores the history of the annual Green Book travel guide, published from 1936 to 1966, that aided Blacks in finding safe accommodations and other ...

Author returns to Alabama roots, sets latest book in Demopolis

THE WEST ALABAMA WATCHMAN

“When I decided to write, it was all Alabama.” Author Alayne Smith holds a copy of her latest book, Educating Sadie, at Gaineswood. At left is a photo ...

Alabama A&M University receives grant to renovate historic building - WHNT.com WHNT.com Alabama A&M University has received a grant to begin a restoration project for one of the campus' oldest buildings.

Trimble's New Book of Poetry Debuts in August! | Alabama State University Alabama State University ASU's Literature Chair Publishes Second Book of Poems About Black Life, History and Culture. By: Kenneth Mullinax/ASU.

Historical Marker: Confederate Memorial | News | unionspringsherald.com Union Springs Herald The location of the historical marker is where the 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment, formerly known as the Midway Guards in 1860, had their drill .

Alabama NewsCenter — Demopolis, Alabama, leaders focused on revitalizing historic downtown

The Alabama Weather Blog

Alabama NewsCenter — Demopolis, Alabama, leaders focused on revitalizing historic downtown. July 13, 2022 @ 6:00 pm • By Alabama News Center.

Library to host Meet the Author with Anna Mullican on Friday | News | moultonadvertiser.com Moulton Advertiser She holds a master of arts degree in archeology from the University of Alabama, and is passionate about historic preservation and teaching others ...

ASU, Miles College, Selma University, Alabama A&M and Stillman to receive grant from NPS Montgomery Advertiser Alabama State University is one of five HBCUs in Alabama that will share $2.5 million from the National Parks Service to preserve historic sites ...

Alabama HBCUs Receive Grants to Preserve Historic Campus Locations

Diverse: Issues In Higher Education

Five HBCUs in Alabama are getting funding from the National Parks Service to preserve historic campus locations.

'Worthy of Remembrance': Book Details History of the Redmont Community Over the Mountain Journal The district contains “Alabama's finest collection of residential architecture of that era and includes the state's best examples of the domestic ...

The story behind the state's coolest Little Free Library - AL.com AL.com [To read more good news about Alabama, sign up for our This is Alabama Newsletter ... Grant said the building, which could have books ranging from ...

Alabama-born Payne sisters make history for Nigeria at WAFCON - ESPN ESPN Nicole and Toni Payne made history for the Super Falcons this weekend when they started together for Nigeria at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

Clotilda descendants mark anniversary of last slave ship - Alabama Daily News Alabama Daily News “The biggest thing for us is to make sure that no one ever forgets this story… America has a long way to go in learning how to embrace its history, ...

Clotilda descendants mark anniversary of last slave ship in south Alabama - CBS 42 CBS 42 Descendants of the last African people abducted into slavery and brought to America's shores gathered over the weekend on the banks of an Alabama ...

I Heard a Rumor [World War II version]

No, it's not the Bananarama song. It's World War II. Let's investigate.

During that war the Office of War Information collected rumors, jokes, anecdotes, etc about the conflict. Collecting this information would allow officials to understand the progress of the war effort as perceived by the civilian population. 

Material was gathered in two different ways, by individuals from all walks of life reporting to field representatives of various federal agencies, and by high school and college teachers from students. The Library of Congress has a collection of reports from each state; there are about 60 from Alabama.

The pages below are from field representative Paul Duncan to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Inquiries in the Office of War Information for August 3 through August 8, 1942. I have not included all pages from that report, but these will give you the flavor of rumors collected in the state during this time. 

 

Alabama History & Culture News: July 10 edition

 

Here's the latest batch of links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles. Most of these items are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio station websites. Some articles may be behind a paywall. Enjoy!

'Lost Treasures of Mississippi and Alabama' focus of talk - The Dispatch - CDispatch.com CDispatch.com He will cover historical events such as the Boaz Whitfield antebellum gold coin hoard discovered in 1926 near Demopolis, Alabama; the missing 5-foot- ...

National Park Service Awards $2.5 Million to Preserve Alabama HBCUs

Alabama News Network

The National Park Service says it will help preserve historic buildings on the campuses of Alabama's historically Black colleges and universities.

New museum index for Black history, slavery in Shelby Co. - WBRC WBRC Good Day Alabama · Vaccine Alert Team · The Good Stuff. WBRC; 1720 Valley View Drive; Birmingham, AL 35209; (205) 322-6666. Public Inspection File.

Alabama A&M National Park Grant will restore, renovate Carnegie Hall Library - WZDX WZDX The $500000 grant is part of a National Park Service program to help 21 preservation projects in 9 states for historic structures at HBCUs.

Tutwiler Hall imploded at the University of Alabama - WVTM 13 WVTM 13 The University of Alabama is imploding Julia Tutwiler Hall, a 13-story dormitory that has housed more than 50000 women since its opening in 1968.

Alabama Roots: The 100 greatest careers of the NFL's 102 seasons - al.com AL.com From Don Hutson to Dave Washington, the best of the NFL from Alabama high schools and colleges.

Group locates graves of Revolutionary War veterans - The Madison Record The Madison Record Menefee is buried in an old family cemetery in a wooded area of Decatur west of Pines Park on the property of North Alabama Fabricating Co., .

Headstone donated for grave of one-time slave in Alabama - New Canaan Advertiser New Canaan Advertiser The obit stated he had no survivors. On Saturday, several people gathered at Coffee's grave in Florence City Cemetery for a brief memorial service.

Alabama attorney Fred Gray will receive Presidential Award of Freedom from Biden Alabama NewsCenter The 91-year-old attorney still practices law in his Tuskegee offices, as well as in his hometown of Montgomery, where the street he grew up on was ...

New sculpture forged from railroad steel taps into Birmingham's history - AL.com AL.com Inception” is the creation of artist Deedee Morrison, a Birmingham native who spent about a year on the piece in time for the World Games.

Alabama ghost towns: Lentzville | | enewscourier.com

The News Courier

The Lentzville Methodist Church still stands in front of the Lentzville Cemetery where John, Savilla and members of their family are buried.

Tutwiler Hall memories: Makeout sessions, fire drills, friendships and more reader stories AL.com “I lived on the '14th'...13th floor overlooking the cemetery! My sister lived there when she attended Alabama in the late 60s and there was a 9 pm ...

Jesmyn Ward to receive Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction - AL.com AL.com Author once taught at an Alabama university. ... her second novel, “Salvage the Bones,” won the National Book Award for Fiction.

Pres. Biden Honors ASU Alumnus Gray! | Alabama State University Alabama State University ... lives for equality and justice for all," said Gray, in a recent interview with ASU media on the publication of his new book "Alabama v. King.".

A timeline of Julia Tutwiler Hall on the University of Alabama campus - Tuscaloosa News Tuscaloosa News Here's a look at t

Trowbridge's in Florence is Alabama's Oldest Ice Cream Shop | Southern Living

Southern Living

During that year, Texas dairy farmer Paul Trowbridge happened to stop overnight in the tiny North Alabama town of Florence on his way to a dairy ...

The Historic AG Gaston Motel Comes Back to Life With a Coffee Shop and Exhibit BirminghamWatch The Historic A.G. Gaston Motel Comes Back to Life With a Coffee Shop and ... ALGOP to Rehear Hovey, Whatley Arguments in SD27 Contest (Alabama ...

Ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrates restoration of historic A.G. Gaston Motel - WBRC WBRC Now, new memories and a new history can be written.” Advertisement. The A.G. Gaston Motel is the key historic site of the Birmingham Civil Rights ...

Hitting the Hank Williams trail in Alabama - The Washington Post The Washington Post In Alabama, attractions including a museum and an annual festival ... The gravesite of Williams at the Oakwood Annex Cemetery in Montgomery.

Old Alabama Books: The Guntersville Project [1941]

The downsizing of my book collection continues, and I recently let this one go--it quickly sold on eBay. The book has some interesting aspects, so I thought I would discuss it here. 

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers began scouting the Guntersville area for a dam site in the early 1900s. Area farmers suffered from frequent flooding and the Tennessee River at that point was too shallow for navigation. By 1914 the Corps had settled on a site about five miles upstream from the current one but Congress made no appropriations. 

In 1935 a new federal agency, the Tennessee Valley Authority, recommended construction of a dam that would make the entire river in that section navigable, as well as control flooding and aid economic development and electricity generation. To that end TVA purchased over 110,000 acres, relocated over 1200 families, raised what is now US 431, moved numerous cemeteries and loads of materials from several hundred Cherokee archaeological sites. 

The Encyclopedia of Alabama entry gives construction details:

"The TVA began construction of the dam on December 4, 1935, and completed it on January 24, 1939. The project used 295,700 cubic yards of concrete and 4,600 tons of reinforcing steel while employing a crew of 1,800 men, three of whom died during the construction. The dam generates 140,400 kilowatts of electricity with four hydraulic turbines and four generators. It stands 94 feet high and 3,979 feet wide. Water below the dam averages 20 to 30 feet deep. At a cost of $51 million, it has been so far the most expensive project ever undertaken in Marshall County."

As Guntersville Lake rose behind the dam, the town was left on a peninsula. In subsequent years the location has become a major destination for bass fisherman and water enthusiasts of all types. 

This volume is the TVA's official report on the project and was published two years after the dam's completion. In its more than 400 pages, in addition to the text, are numerous illustrations and tables. 

Further comments are below some of the images beginning about halfway down, in the ones from Chapter 4, "Employee Housing and Access".  

Guntersville Dam

Source: Wikipedia

This map shows the layout of the village built for construction workers and support personnel. Note the dormitories for white and black males and females. I presume there were no black women at the site. Also listed are a recreation building for blacks and single family homes. Support services included a cafeteria and store and hospital. 

This page shows the three types of the 36 single family homes, differing mainly in the number of bedrooms. 

The cafeteria was constructed to hold 168 whites and 24 blacks at a time. 

The community building had an auditorium, lounge, library, post office, workshop, and classrooms.

The recreation building for blacks included class rooms, game room, and a living room/library.

The site hospital was located a distance away from the main camp to be closer to actual construction. Facilities included white and black wards, isolation room, nurses' rooms, an operating room, doctor's office and quarters, dentist office, x-ray room and more. You can see it's location on the village map above on page 124. 

The entire cost of village construction was just over $372,000. 

Alabama Photo of the Day: Artesian Well in Livingston

One day while lost in that wonderful Alabama Mosaic database, trying to find my way out, I stumbled across this postcard photograph featuring an artesian well in Livingston, the county seat of Sumter County. The Encyclopedia of Alabama entry on the town discusses this well: "A lack of nearby water led most residents to settle close to one of the area's natural springs near what is now Livingston's Spring Street. In 1854, an artesian well, known today as the Bored Well, located on the Courthouse Square, was dug to supply water for the town. For most of the late nineteenth century, this artesian well water attracted visitors to the town for its supposed health benefits. In 1904, the town added a hand pump to the well and in 1928 installed an electric pump." The postmark as seen below indicates the card was mailed on July 19, 1907, so  the pagoda was built prior to that date. In 1899 James Crook published his survey  Mineral Waters of the United States, which has a state-by-state listing. Several are  noted in Alabama; you can see the two-page entry on this artesian well below. I've also included larger versions of two excerpts of details about the well. Crook does  not mention the pagoda, so perhaps it was built after 1899.  Located on the courthouse square, the well is now known as the Bored Well. The  wooden pagoda was replaced with a brick structure in 1924, which collapsed in  1999. A new pavilion was built in 2005.

Source: Troy University Digital Collections via Alabama Mosaic

Epes is located on the Tombigbee River in east-central Sumter County and is named after a doctor, John W. Epes, who lived in the area and sold land for a railroad depot. Fort Tombecbe was built by the French on the site in 1735. 

Source: Crook, Mineral Waters, pp90-91

Crook's Mineral Waters of the United States published in 1899 can be read at the Internet Archive. 

Source: Waymarking.com