Name: USS Alabama
Brand: Matthew Kent Whitaker
SKU: 9781467110211
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USS Alabama

9781467110211

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Powerful: this single word aptly describes a naval vessel known as a battleship. The USS Alabama (BB-60) was the last of four South Dakota-class battleships built for World War II.

She is well armored and designed to survive an attack while continuing to fight. Her main battery, known as Big Guns, consisted of nine 16-inch guns; each could launch a projectile weighing as much as a small car that could hit a target 21 miles away. Her crew numbered 2,332 men, none of whom were lost to enemy fire, earning her the nickname Lucky A. She served as more than just a battleship: she carried troops, supplies, and seaplanes and served in the Pacific and Atlantic; her doctors treated patients from other ships; she was the wartime home for a major-league ballplayer; the movie setting for Hollywood films; and she traveled home to the state of Alabama with the help of schoolchildren.

Cover image for USS Alabama, isbn: 9781467110211

Marshall Space Flight Center

9781467104548

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Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was carved from the environs of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, at the height of the Cold War with the former Soviet Union. Originally, the area was a center for cotton production and large mills, but on the eve of World War II, civic leaders sought a US Army initiative that established Redstone and Huntsville Arsenals for the manufacture and stockpile of small solid-fuel rockets and chemical weapons. After World War II, Operation Paperclip brought scientists and engineers from Germany to pursue missile and rocket development at Redstone Arsenal's Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) and eventually the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). After establishing the civilian NASA on July 29, 1958, Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicated the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center on September 8, 1960, to the resolute general, statesman, and "builder of peace." The president concluded, "May this great center be ever worthy of its honored name." Following the Mercury and Apollo programs of the 1960s and early 1970s, MSFC's notable achievements continued with Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Space Shuttle, Spacelab, and the space station. Today, Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA's leading center for propulsion systems and launch vehicles, supports the lunar missions of Project Artemis.

Cover image for Marshall Space Flight Center, isbn: 9781467104548

Huntsville

9780738598918

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Huntsville has served as the unofficial capital of north Alabama since the early 19th century. Yet Huntsville continued to redefine itself and remain relevant in regional, national, and international affairs.

Settled by John Hunt and developed by ambitious cotton planters, enterprising merchants and professionals, and thousands of families looking for new opportunities in the rich farmland, Huntsville has continued to grow and prosper as 21st-century corporations and government agencies develop new technologies that make the city the center of space and defense-related industries in the South. The city has endured military occupation, storms, financial panics, and the constant threat of economic and social stagnation that occurred in so many communities across the South. This positive spirit makes Huntsville a special place for residents and visitors alike. Images of America: Huntsville hopes to capture the uniqueness of the city while simultaneously acknowledging some mistakes that have been made in the past.

The Tuskegee Airmen

9780738500454

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In 1941, Tuskegee, Alabama, was selected as the site of an important new development in military training. For the first time, black Americans were to be allowed to serve their country as members of the United States Army Air Corps. During its five-year history, Tuskegee Army Air Field was home to almost 1,000 African-American pilots. More than 10,000 black men and women served as their vital support personnel. Together, they filled the ranks of the 99th Fighter
Squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group, and the 477th
Bombardment Group. Their remarkable achievements at home and overseas destroyed stereotypes and helped to bring about the eventual integration of the United States military. Under the harsh restrictions of segregation, the African-Americans both trained and served together, and in this forced isolation, developed unbreakable bonds .

Tallassee

9780738553436

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Those who have lived beside the great falls at the Tallapoosa River have witnessed and participated in great changes in Tallassee, Alabama. In the 1800s, the legendary Tecumseh paid a visit, and one of the first industrial-based Southern cities was founded and became a supply center for the Confederacy. The next century ushered in prosperity, expansion, and electricity. During the modern age, the people of Tallassee also met the challenges of floods and storms, and again acted as a supply center--this time for two world wars. This volume's intriguing images and documents showcase the history of Tallassee, the city by the great falls. At the year of Tallassee's centennial celebration, 2008, this book guides residents and visitors through Tallassee's great changes.

Sumter County

9781467113373

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Sumter County was founded on December 18, 1832, on land ceded to the United States by the Choctaw Indians in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Almost immediately, settlers began pouring in from Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. In the 19th and early-20th centuries, most of the residents were farmers; however, following the infestation of the boll weevil, many turned to raising cattle and growing timber. Every November, hundreds of hunters descend upon Sumter County in hopes of harvesting one of the thousands of deer that live on the rolling prairies and in the oak forests lining the Tombigbee River. With the help of Ruby Pickens Tartt, scores of ethnomusicologists, including John and Alan Lomax, traveled hundreds of miles to the red clay country of Sumter County in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s to record African American folk songs from people like Vera Hall and Dock Reed.

Selma

9781467112918

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On April 2, 1865, one of the last battles of the Civil War destroyed nearly three-fourths of Selma and effected tremendous change in the lives of its people. At the war's beginning, Selma became a transportation center and one of the main manufacturing centers supporting the South's war effort. Its foundries produced much-needed supplies and munitions, and its naval yard constructed Confederate warships. A century later, Selma again became the scene of a dramatic struggle when it served as the focal point of the voting-rights movement. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, approximately 600 marchers set out from Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church on US Highway 80, headed for Montgomery to petition the state legislature for reforms in the voter-registration process. They were met six blocks outside of town at the Edmund Pettus Bridge by state and local law enforcement and were turned back with Billy clubs and tear gas--the day became known as "Bloody Sunday." On March 25, after much discussion and a court injunction, some 25,000 marchers finally crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their way to Montgomery.

Walker County Coal Mines

9781467114967

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The discovery of black rocks that glow along Lost Creek transformed Walker County.

The coal brought scores of settlers who began to open wagon mines and ship coal in barges along the Warrior River; the railroad soon followed, which brought corporations and big mining camps. Every town is littered with stories, from Dora's Uniontown to the union wars in Carbon Hill to the Gorgas mining experiment. It was only thanks to the coal mining industry that these dozens of towns came into existence. Today in a society relying less on coal and looking more to greener energy alternatives, it’s easy to forget the progress made due to coal. In Walker County Coal Mines, readers will learn about the people and the industry that made Walker County special.

Cover image for Walker County Coal Mines, isbn: 9781467114967

Florence

9781467111997

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Join author and historian Carolyn Barske as she recounts the history of Florence, Alabama through the lens of over 200 vintage images.

On the banks of the Tennessee River, below the once-formidable Muscle Shoals in northwest Alabama, sits the vibrant community of Florence. In the early 19th century, the Chickasaw Nation ceded lands to the US government, and in 1818 the Cypress Land Company held its first auction. The town grew quickly because of the efforts of the company's founders, which included Gen. John Coffee; John McKinley, who later sat on the US Supreme Court; and James Jackson, whose imported Thoroughbred horses became the bloodstock for some of Kentucky's finest racehorses. Schools, churches, hotels, and businesses soon filled the streets. For almost 200 years, the town of Florence has continued to grow, becoming home to the University of North Alabama and people like the ""Father of the Blues,"" W.C. Handy; Maud Lindsay, who operated the first free kindergarten in the state; and four governors in Edward A. O'Neal, Emmett O'Neal, Robert M. Patton, and Hugh McVay.

Lauderdale County

9781467109833

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Lauderdale County lies in the northwest corner of Alabama, bordered on the north by Tennessee and defined on the west and south by the Tennessee River. Created in 1818, the county gets its name from Lt. Col. James Lauderdale, who died serving in county pioneer and War of 1812 hero Gen. John Coffee's volunteer cavalry. Conditions well suited for agriculture and commerce attracted early settlers like Richard Rapier, James Jackson, and Samuel Burney, who flowed into the county using the same paths and trails forged by the Chickasaws and Cherokees who came before them. Much of the area's activity centered around water, from the clear, bubbling springs at Jonathan Bailey's health resort, Bailey Springs, to the Muscle Shoals Canal, an early attempt to safely circumvent the river's treacherous rapids. Creeks and streams still feed cotton fields and fertile farms and, along with the river, offer recreational fishing, swimming, and boating.

Camp Rucker During World War II

9780738514864

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The story of Camp Rucker, Alabama, during the Second World War illustrates the colossal effort of a quiet nation to shake off its peaceful slumber and mobilize for total war. Camp Rucker's role in that mighty endeavor is told in these pages through vintage photographs from Fort Rucker's Army Aviation Museum. Select passages from the War Department's 1944 pamphlet Army Life complement these images to give a unique glimpse at the life of a U.S. Army training camp during World War II and the men and women who trained there. Today, Camp Rucker is known as Fort Rucker and is home to the United States Army Aviation Center. In 1941, however, it was simply a vast acreage of pine trees, scrub oak, and sub-marginal farmland. But following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the War Department decided to carve out a training camp in this southeastern corner of Alabama. By the spring of 1942, the first freshly mobilized units had entered its gates. In the following three years, Camp Rucker trained thousands of Army soldiers, WACs, and nurses. Many of these young Americans were destined for the battlefields of the Pacific and Europe.

Talladega

9780738514550

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Talladega, Alabama, best known for its popular speedway, is also a town of enchanting old homes, historic institutions, and fascinating people. In this pictorial review, the reader travels over diverse paths-from winding Indian trails to the fastest racetrack on earth-into the rich and colorful heritage of a landmark Southern community.

Talladega: Pathways to the Past invites both longtime residents and newcomers alike to watch a Native American ballgame, experience an Indian battle, peer into Old South plantation life, step into a notorious saloon, behold a feast at a world-famous hotel, and thrill at the speed of race cars. The rambler views quaint nineteenth-century storefronts, sees the state's oldest courthouse still in use, strolls through the historic Silk Stocking District, discovers the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, greets youngsters at the Presbyterian Home for Children, tours one of the nation's oldest historically black colleges, and relaxes at Shocco Springs. Vintage photographs within these pages bring truly extraordinary people to life, including the "Father of Radio," the only Alabama nurse to give her life during World War I, a noted author of popular plantation tales, a world-renowned sculptor, the founder of one of the nation's largest tourist agencies, and the first Alabamian inducted in Statuary Hall in the National Capitol. Perhaps more importantly, this volume showcases everyday folks doing everyday things, thus preserving numerous slices of daily life in small-town Alabama.

Baldwin County

9780738568348

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Although 2009 marked the bicentennial of Baldwin County, the history began long before and included Native Americans, European colonists, pioneers, Chief Red Eagle, Andrew Jackson, William Bartram, and soldiers of the North and South. However, what makes Baldwin County's character today is the story of the growth in the early 1900s. As the railroad began to replace the Federal Road and Mobile Bay boats, land developers voiced the call, and Baldwin County boomed as a destination for colonists. Immigrants from all over the world came for land and for work in lumber and agriculture, building towns to fulfill their dreams. And somehow they succeeded in maintaining their cultural heritage in more than 20 distinct ethnic communities, most still thriving today. This is their story, their legacy, and the heritage of a county--the people.

Mobile

9780738506968

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Beautiful Mobile, Alabama, on the Gulf of Mexico, has a colorful history dating back to its founding in 1702. View its rich past in photographs throughout time.

Few photographers have captured the essence of Mobile to the extent of master photographer William Ernest Wilson. Wilson's photography vividly depicts Mobile life at the turn of the 20th century: from nationally elected officials such as Theodore Roosevelt to local Mardi Gras royalty; from entrepreneur Gordon Smith of Smith's Bakery to Africa Town founder Cudjoe Lewis; from a stately cathedral to country churches; from thriving banks and theaters to lumber yards and banana docks, the people and places of Mobile are revealed through Wilson's camera as a kaleidoscope of life in a bustling seaport. Artistic shading and Wilson's innate ability to see beyond the lens give his photographs an air of the contemporary while reflecting a bygone era of simplicity. These images simultaneously reveal the height of Victorian photographic art and daily life in one of the South's first major cities. Covering the period from 1894 to 1905, the collection features personalities, street scenes, and architectural treasures of the past. Preserved on their original dry glass negatives, a significant portion of Wilson's Mobile photographs are collected and printed here in a single edition for the first time.

Phenix City

9780738585697

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From settling the Southern Frontier to its reputation as ""wickedest city in America,"" the history of Phenix City is detailed through vintage images.

Phenix City, Alabama, on the western bank of the Chattahoochee River across from Columbus, Georgia, was officially incorporated as Brownville in 1883. However, its history can be traced through Girard, Knights Station, Summerville, Fort Mitchell, the Creek Indian town of Coweta, and several other communities within Russell County. Phenix City has provided a setting for many of the important events in Alabama's history from early Spanish explorers, to its rich Native American heritage, to its role in opening and settling the Southern frontier, to its adherence to King Cotton, to its rebirth after being regarded the ""wickedest city in America. "" Phenix City has undergone profound change and yet has retained its rural charm.

Sylacauga

9781467111430

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The Shawnee Indians would be surprised to find the name that they gave the area in 1748--Chalakagay--remains much the same; however, the area has changed quite a bit. New ideas surfaced with the building of the plank road that supported rumbling horse-drawn stage coaches through the "old town" and again in recent times when a piece of marble became the Falling Star sculpture, a memorial to the local 1954 meteorite. Around 1820, Dr. Edward Gantt discovered marble in what would become Gantts Quarry while on military duty with Gen. Andrew Jackson. The pioneering spirit of early settlers continued with the planting of cotton and the development of small businesses. The arrival in 1886 and 1887 of two intersecting railroads ushered in a period of rapid expansion. A "new town" business section grew up along north Broadway where the rails crossed. Old town businesses, along the Main Avenue Plank Road and Fort Williams Street, soon relocated to the new business area. During World War II, a movie was filmed in Sylacauga by the US War Office in response to the development of recreational opportunities for the influx of people coming to work at the nearby defense plant. Today, Sylacauga is nationally recognized for its marble quarries, business acuity, and educational and cultural resources.

Clarke County

9780738568713

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Clarke County is a beautifully wooded and peaceful spot in west Alabama with a long and rich history.
Bounded on the east by the Alabama River and on the
west by the Tombigbee River, Clarke County's rich
timberlands serve as the source for pine timber markets throughout the world. The fantastic hunting and fishing in the county are known throughout the South. Clarke County's history includes the story of the Mitcham War, a period of unrest in 1893 that reached state-wide proportions in notoriety. The county's history is one largely comprised of the working men and women who have contributed to the cultural tapestry of the area. This visual journey begins around the time of the earliest woodcut of the courthouse in Grove Hill, built in 1832, and continues through the 1940s. Many of the images in this collection have never before been published. These fascinating glimpses into Clarke County's past are combined with a well-researched text to uncover many long-forgotten stories and a colorful cast of characters.

Bibb County

9780738567297

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Few people or places have contributed more to the development of the state of Alabama than those found in Bibb County. Originally created as Cahawba County in 1818, Bibb County made use of its land, river, and resources to produce the iron, coal, and timber that fueled the growth of Alabama and our nation. The area provided the arsenals for the Confederacy and contributed to the simple task of heating homes. Industrial growth throughout the state has the county to thank. Bibb County boasts the largest timber operations east of the Rocky Mountains, and this timber is shipped all over the world. Today Bibb County is home to some of the South's most treasured places. The county boasts Tannehill and Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Parks, Talledega National Forest, Oakmulgee Wildlife Management Area, and the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge.

Chambers County

9780738586403

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Chambers County, created in 1832, embraces the southernmost hills and streams of the Piedmont Plateau and sections of the Chattahoochee River to the east and the Tallapoosa River to the west. Cotton cultivation and textile manufacturing propelled the trajectory of the first 150 years in the county. Images of America: Chambers County presents an array of images of places and people who began life on the frontier, created local government, experienced Native American uprising, served in the Civil War and two world wars, cultivated thousands of productive acres with ox and mule, organized towns, constructed railroads, and built one of the nation's largest textile operations. This bounty of photographs, most of which was provided from family collections, furthers an understanding of the unique story of Chambers County in the ongoing development of the American experience.

Marion County

9780738568492

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Formed in 1818, Marion County was named for Francis Marion of South Carolina, known as the "Swamp Fox" during the Revolutionary War. This scenic county lies in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, in the hill country of northwest Alabama. Rich with history, there are three Chickasaw Indian mounds preserved on the banks of the Buttahatchee River in the county seat of Hamilton. The Andrew Jackson Military Road, which runs through the county, was built as a shortcut from Nashville to New Orleans in the early 1800s. Standing on the bank of the river, wagon-wheel marks left from pioneer travel are visible in the rock bed of the river. Images of America: Marion County pays homage to the coal mining history of Brilliant and the ghost town of Pikeville with an 1820s courthouse standing today; Bear Creek with the Allen's Factory history; Guin, rich with railroad and lumber history; and Winfield, named in honor of Gen. Winfield Scott. These treasured photographs provide a look back into history, featuring people with a strong independent spirit and people who believed in our United States of America.

Athens and Limestone County

9780738586144

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Athens and Limestone County were founded in 1818, the year before Alabama became a state, making Athens one of its oldest cities. The quaint, picturesque downtown square in Athens, the county seat, is the heart of the community. Athens and Limestone County are studies in the ongoing tug-of-war between tradition and progress. Athens is traditionally a railroad and cotton town--once ranking among the state's largest cotton producers--but since the aerospace boom of the 1960s, it has increasingly entered the orbit of the technology center of nearby Huntsville, home of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and Redstone Arsenal. These days, Athens is home to many manufacturing firms, and local civic groups are focused on revitalizing downtown and bringing tourists to Limestone County.

Lake Guntersville

9781467128063

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Guntersville, once called "The Playground of the South," is a lovely city amid the Appalachian foothills. John Gunter came to this area along the Tennessee River in 1785, created a trading post, and married Cherokee Chief Bushyhead's daughter. Around 1818, Gunter's son Edward formed a ferry, which was called Gunter's Ferry, later Gunter's Village, and eventually Gunter's Landing. In 1838, Gunter's Landing was a departure site for Cherokees forcibly sent west on the Trail of Tears. Guntersville was shelled in 1862 and almost completely burned in 1865 by Union forces. Even with this rich history, widespread fame did not descend until the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) created Lake Guntersville in 1939. With the formation of the lake, Guntersville became a tourist haven, one known primarily for fishing and boating but also hydroplane races, beauty pageants, campgrounds, beaches, and Little Mountain State Park (later Lake Guntersville State Park). The city remains one of the most popular lake destinations in the South.

Guntersville

9781467105644

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Long before the creation of its famous lake in 1939, Guntersville had a reputation for ferries, farms, and factories. Its streets bustled with customers patronizing shops, cafés, and movie theaters. Ranging from the Nedofik Surgical Sofa Company and the Basket Factory to the Saratoga Victory Mills, Guntersville's diverse industries helped the community thrive. Today, businesses like Wayne Farms Feedmill and Kappler, Inc., continue to reflect the city's industrial nature. This rich manufacturing history coupled with lake tourism meant Guntersville drew visits from an array of actors, singers, authors, scientists, and politicians. Many came frequently, and a few chose to stay. A mesh of new and old, industry and lake, Guntersville continues to charm.

Anniston

9780738506012

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Once known as Pine Ankle and sparsely populated with
farms, Anniston, Alabama, has seen a multitude of changes over the course of its history. Founded on land that was originally home to Native Americans, the town was created by Samuel Noble and General Daniel Tyler as a "model city" for their Woodstock Iron Company in 1872, and not opened to the public until 1883. Rapid growth in the late nineteenth century brought not only new industries to the area but also Anniston's designation as seat of Calhoun County and an expansion of the entire downtown area.
The vintage photographs within these pages reveal what life was like in Anniston in days gone by, highlighting key figures in the town's development as well as the everyday people who have lived and worked in the community for generations. Readers will
discover the new industries that sprang up after the Oxford Iron Furnace was burned by Union forces in 1865, and the effects of the population boom of the late nineteenth century. Anniston's homes, schools, and churches are featured in this pictorial retrospective, as well as the town's role as an important military site, with Camp Shipp, Fort McClellan, Pelham Range, and the Anniston Ordinance Depot all located within the town's vicinity over the past century.

Cathedral Caverns

9781467124607

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In 1952, Jacob "Jay" Gurley explored a Marshall County, Alabama, curiosity known as Bat Cave. Amazed by its stalagmites and sheer enormity, he purchased the site and began transforming it into Cathedral Caverns, a spectacular tourist attraction that eventually became a national natural landmark in 1973 and a state park in 2000. Had it not been for Gurley's hard work and dedication, this cave, a geological treasure of international renown, might have remained a little-known hole in the ground. His efforts impacted local and state tourism, economics, and politics. This is the story of one man and his vision.

Cleburne County

9780738586458

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Cleburne County is strategically located between the two major cities of Birmingham and Atlanta. Once a part of Benton County, Cleburne County was officially created in 1866 by the Alabama legislature and named in honor of Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, who served the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Talladega National Forest covers the western half of the county and includes Mount Cheaha, the highest point in the state. Cleburne County gained national notoriety in the 1840s when gold was discovered around Arbacoochee, which became one of the largest mining towns in the state. Over $5 million in gold was mined there. In the early 1900s, the area's mild climate and rich soil drew several hundred settlers from northern states who came to Cleburne County and established a wine-producing colony, Fruithurst, which produced as much as 23,000 gallons per year.

Chattahoochee Valley Railway

9780738502991

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Track the history of Chattahoochee Valley Railway through five generations of service using vintage images.

Weaving across state lines from Standing Rock, Alabama, through West Point, Georgia, and back to Bleecker, Alabama, the Chattahoochee Valley Railway served many communities along its line. Its last run was in 1992, but now the days of the short line railroad are revisited in Chattahoochee Valley Railway. Although some books on the history of the region render a passing mention of this railway, none have included over 200 images and a detailed historical account like Chattahoochee Valley Railway. The railroad served surrounding communities for over five generations by offering transportation, and the rail line's parent textile corporation built schools, churches, recreational areas, and a water supply for those communities. By the 1980s, modernization of the corporate structure eliminated the need for the railway and its equipment was sold off. However, part of its track bed is now a biking, hiking, and walking trail. The old railway is still serving nearby residents and is still enjoyed by all who follow its path.

Jacksonville

9781467113533

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Known as the "Gem of the Hills," Jacksonville is situated in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. After Andrew Jackson's victory over the Creek Indians in 1813-1814 and his negotiation of a treaty with the Creeks in 1832, this land was available for purchase from the Creek Indians as well as the US government. Several buildings on the town's central square predate the Civil War, and numerous antebellum houses and churches remain. Famous Civil War figures, including John Pelham and Gens. William and John Forney, came from Jacksonville. During the 20th century, a large cotton mill provided employment for the town's citizens and the starving sharecroppers from the surrounding mountains. What began as the State Normal School evolved into what is now Jacksonville State University.

Andalusia

9781467112321

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Andalusia's destiny was determined by the Conecuh River, when the 1841 "Harrison Freshet" brought floods and mosquito fever to the original county seat of Montezuma, forcing the move to higher ground. The new site was named Andalusia, and the post office officially relocated in 1844. Like many small towns, Andalusia's destiny could have once again been determined by an outside force--the economy. However, from timber to textiles, Andalusia has chosen to fight back against abandonment and vacancy and can now truly boast a unique and viable commercial downtown that continues to flourish while preserving its historic structures. Andalusia was awarded the 2013 Quality of Life Award by The Alabama Municipal Journal for purchasing the old Alabama Textile Mill (Alatex) in 2009 and for partnering with the chamber of commerce to create a new chamber office, welcome center, and national textile monument in tribute to the thousands who worked at the site and in textile mills all over the United States.

Free State of Winston

9780738505923

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Free State of Winston is a pictorial history of this unique and interesting community.

Based on a lifetime of researching and writing about their home county of Winston, the husband and wife team of Don and Amy Dodd have crafted a unique pictorial retrospective that conveys a serene sense of what it was like to grow up in the hills of Winston. Outlining the highlights of this Appalachian county's history, from its opposition to the Confederacy to its slow evolution from its rustic, rural roots of the mid-nineteenth century, two hundred photographs illustrate a century of hill country culture. A sparsely settled, isolated county of small farms with uncultivated, forested land, most of Winston County was out of the mainstream ofSouthern life for much of its history. The creation of the Bankhead National Forest preserved almost 200,000 acres of forested land, primarily in Winston, to perpetuate this ""stranded frontier"" into the post-World War II era. The story setting is scenic--fast-flowing creeks, waterfalls, bluffs, caves, natural bridges, and dense forests--and thecharacters match the stage--individualistic, rugged pioneers, more than a thousand mentioned by name within these pages. Winston has long resisted change, has held fast to traditional values, and, as seen in this treasured volume, is a place as unique as any other in America.

Muscle Shoals

9780738552651

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Long known as "the Shoals," Muscle Shoals saw its formal birth as an incorporated city in 1923. It really sprang to life in 1933, when the Tennessee Valley Authority took shape on the Tennessee River and became the nation's largest public power company. The construction crew for the Wilson Dam and power plant was one of the region's first racially integrated workforces. Some truly influential figures of the 20th century came to Muscle Shoals to witness firsthand what was unfolding
in this tiny corner of the world. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford found themselves drawn to Wilson Dam and the nitrate plants in the early 1920s, as did the French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre. At one time,
Muscle Shoals was regarded as the hit recording capital of the world. FAME studio musicians referred to as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section gained notoriety as a result of the studio's success and are part of the legacy of the Muscle Shoals sound.

Mountain Brook

9781467112871

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Nestled in the over-the-mountain suburbia of Birmingham, Mountain Brook was originally hunting grounds for Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw Indians. First settled in the 1820s in the area called Shades Valley, it was not until 1926 that Robert Jemison Jr. began developing Mountain Brook Estates into its present form. Jemison had enormous vision honoring its natural beauty, and he hired regional planner and landscape architect Warren H. Manning of Boston to design a secluded residential community of handsome homes and amenities. Mountain Brook was incorporated in 1942 and experienced a resurgence of growth and expansion after World War II. The neighborhoods were designed to be anchored by villages as community centers for residents within walking distance. Still in touch with the vision and principles on which Robert Jemison founded Mountain Brook, its citizens enjoy the avant-garde villages full of restaurants, specialty gift shops, groceries, and parks, as well as its scenic natural landscape.

Escambia County

9780738591230

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Escambia, which means "land of clear water," was carved out of Conecuh and Baldwin Counties by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1868. The history of Escambia County is the story of human interaction with the environment. The county's wealth of natural resources has been recognized by societies throughout history--from Creek Indians who hunted in its pine forests to European explorers writing back home to its current inhabitants who depend on the land in one way or another. All of the principal towns in Escambia County developed around the railroads, and most of the early communities that were not on the rail system have become small residential communities or are forgotten to history. The only federally recognized tribe of Native Americans in the state of Alabama, the Poarch Creek Indians, is located in Escambia County. Residents enjoy a strong timber and paper industry, a healthy farming community, and a robust oil and gas industry.

Fairhope

9780738542034

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Three centuries of Utopian dreams came true in the 1890s, when a group of idealists founded Fairhope as a cooperative colony on a lush bluff along Alabama's Gulf Coast. The visionary settlers thought their experimental village had a "fair hope" of success. An oasis of idealism and equality, Fairhope not only succeeded but grew into an elegant enclave of individualism and intellect. The bayside town is the world's oldest and largest single-tax colony as well as a popular resort that draws visitors from around the world. Photographic images herein capture the unique
development by adventurous characters with diverse backgrounds. This book is a map of "Old Fairhope."

Lamar County

9780738506753

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Charming, historic Lamar County, Alabama, lies just within hours of such metropolises as Birmingham, Montgomery, and Nashville. The county was established in the nineteenth century on lands once inhabited and hunted by Native American tribes. Known first as Jones and then as Sanford County, the county was named Lamar in 1877, in honor of L.Q.C. Lamar, a senator from Mississippi. Since its founding, Lamar County has enjoyed bountiful farming, hunting, and fishing; myriad recreational opportunities provided by area waterways; and steadfast family values and community pride. In this captivating collection of vintage photographs readers will be transported to the Lamar County of yesteryear, joining the pioneer settlers who came by covered wagon from Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. They came with little more than the dream of moving westward to a promising future, and settled a community that would always be defined by its hardworking, unyielding spirit. The early families who came to Lamar County-who built homes, toiled the land, and established local traditions-are the subject of this engaging retrospective. In their faces the story of the county unfolds, and in their legacy the spirit of the county lives on.

Cover image for Lamar County, isbn: 9780738506753

Sloss Furnaces

9780738566238

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Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark is currently the only 20th-century blast furnace in the nation being preserved and interpreted as an industrial museum. Since reopening in 1983, Sloss Furnaces has become an international model for similar preservation efforts and presents a remarkable perspective of the era when America grew to world industrial dominance. At the same time, Sloss is an important reminder of the dreams and struggles of the people who worked in the industries that made Birmingham the "Magic City." Today Sloss is not only dedicated to preservation and education but serves as a center for community and civic events. Site tours and public presentations provide insight into Sloss's industrial heritage as well as a rare glimpse of an early Birmingham that has all but disappeared.

Alabama Power Company

9780738513546

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The rise of Alabama's largest utility company is a story that mirrors the growth of the state in the twentieth century, and it is told within these pages through vintage photographs from the company's corporate archives. Glimpses of the past reveal how the company flourished after its December 4, 1906 creation and how it changed and enhanced the lives of residents in all areas of the state.
While William Patrick Lay is credited with the founding of the Alabama Power Company, the subsequent leadership of James Mitchell and Thomas Martin brought unprecedented growth and provided a critical catalyst for the state's entry into the "New South." Although slowed by the Great Depression and the demands of World War II, expansion continued in the company's post-war years with new leadership and further construction, including hydropower projects on the Warrior River and the building of massive coal-fired plants. Early photographs illuminate the company's pioneers and leaders; the erection of dams on the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers between 1912 and 1930; the construction of early coal-fired steam plants, including the Gadsden Steam Plant in 1913; and the arduous laying of miles of transmission lines. Physical infrastructure is only part of the story, however; other photographs capture the human face of the company--the workers, their families, and their unyielding efforts to electrify Alabama in the name of progress.

Vintage Birmingham Signs

9780738553764

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Most people do not stop to realize how many of their fond memories involve advertising signs. Although these neon spectaculars, billboards, and even signs painted directly onto brick walls were created expressly to persuade customers to buy products or patronize businesses, many such signs remained in place for so long that they became beloved landmarks in their own right. For Images of America: Vintage Birmingham Signs, Tim Hollis has scoured the archives of Birmingham's former sign companies, as well as other private collections, to compile some of the best remembered or most obscure signs that dotted the urban and suburban landscape. Here readers will again see the Buffalo Rock bottle pouring its ginger ale into a glass, the Golden Flake clown smiling down at passersby, the Barber's milk clock at the Five Points South intersection, and many more. Through these vintage photographs, readers can once again visit such once-thriving destinations as Eastwood Mall, Burger in a Hurry, and the Kiddieland amusement park.

Gorgas House at the University of Alabama

9781467123846

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Built in 1829, the Gorgas House is the oldest structure on the University of Alabama campus. Originally constructed to serve as a hotel, housing for the university steward, and student dining hall, the building underwent several renovations to meet the needs of an ever-changing and growing campus. Later utilized as a faculty residence, classroom, post office, and infirmary, the Gorgas House was one of the few buildings to survive the destruction of campus near the end of the Civil War. Standing as a lasting reminder of the university's antebellum past, the house is preserved today as a museum dedicated to the legacy of the building's final residents, the Gorgas family.

Cover image for Gorgas House at the University of Alabama, isbn: 9781467123846

Oxford

9781467107051

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Located primarily in the southernmost regions of Calhoun County with portions in Talladega and Cleburne Counties, Oxford was established on February 7, 1852, by an act of state legislation. Oxford, originally referred to as Lick Skillet, was settled in the 1830s by the Snow and Simmons families. The economy of Oxford for many decades was primarily based on self-sustaining agriculture and trade. During the post-Civil War era, Oxford boomed as a cotton training destination, which assisted in the economic prosperity of cotton production in the 1880s. In the 20th century, Oxford prospered as a cotton manufacturing town with the establishment of Blue Springs Cotton Mill. The business district thrived with numerous drug, dry goods, and mercantile stores. Oxford Lake was the hub of recreation for the county, featuring a dance hall, bowling alley, trolley lines, and boat rides. The people of Oxford deeply believed in family values, education, and faith.

Albertville

9780738516646

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Beautiful Albertville, Alabama, originally settled in the mid-1800s, is home to a special community that has endured many trials and tribulations throughout its history. The town, once known as Jones Chapel, was named in honor of Thomas Albert by his son-in-law, J.C. Miller, who established the town's first post office. Albertville remained fairly secluded until the arrival of L.S. Emmett in 1881; this pioneer opened a mercantile store and thrust the town into a significant period of growth. Despite the fact that the town experienced its fair share of growing pains-including two fires in 1904 and a cyclone in 1908-its citizens have provided the impetus to keep moving forward.

Over 200 vintage photographs from the Albertville archives, family and church collections, and the author's private collection illustrate the successful story of the town of Albertville.

Coal Mining in Jefferson County

9780738582177

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Uniquely, Jefferson County had all of the elements necessary for the fabrication of iron and steel within its borders. Coal, limestone, and iron ore all lay within close proximity to Birmingham. The right amounts of business acumen, industrial planning, and labor force came together creating the industry that made Birmingham the "Magic City." The coal mining towns in the Birmingham Industrial District have rich histories--a Hollywood movie was made in one, a novel was written about another, and a soccer championship was won in yet another town. These coal towns and the miners who lived in them are as responsible as anyone for the birth of Birmingham industry.

Tennessee River and Northwest Alabama

9781467129824

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This pictorial history illustrates the Tennessee River's influence on Northwest Alabama and people, places, and events that have shaped the area’s cultural and natural history.

For centuries, the Tennessee River has shaped the lives of northwest Alabamians. Native peoples made their homes on its shores, living on the rich resources found in its waters and on its banks. Early Europeans and Americans recognized the river's importance in connecting east with west, although traveling the 40-mile stretch of rocky shoals between present-day Decatur and Florence was difficult. Overcoming that navigation challenge led to such 19th-century technological advances as the Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur Railroad—the first rail line west of the Appalachian Mountains—and the Muscle Shoals Canal. During the Civil War, skirmishes over control of factories, rail lines, and bridges characterized most military activity in northwest Alabama. In the 20th century, the construction of Wilson Dam and the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority improved the quality of life and increased economic opportunities in northwest Alabama.

Cover image for Tennessee River and Northwest Alabama, isbn: 9781467129824

Alexander City

9780738588049

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The story of Alexander City began hundreds of years ago with members of the Creek Nation who lived along the rivers and streams in what is now central Alabama. Alabama gained statehood in 1819 following the Battle of the Horseshoe Bend in 1814 and ceding of Creek lands. With the final cessions of land in 1832 and removal of Native Americans in 1837, settlers arrived with their families, some purchasing lots drafted by Griffin Young in the town square. The arrival of the railroad in 1874 resulted in the town's name changing from Youngsville to Alexander City to honor Edward P. Alexander, president of the Savannah and Memphis Railroad. Early commerce flourished with the opening of the Alexander City Mill in 1901. Within a year, the entire town and nearby residences burned. The pioneer spirit of the people prevailed, and the town was rebuilt within weeks. In the early 20th century, the successes of Avondale Mills and Russell Corporation provided an economic environment where hometown businesses, schools, and churches thrived.

Brewton and East Brewton

9780738587516

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Brewton was founded by settlers in the early 1800s and was built by the lumber barons who found a wealth of trees in the area. The city is a direct travel route to and from the beaches of Alabama and west Florida and is located midway between Montgomery and Mobile. Its largest employers are Georgia-Pacific and T.R. Miller Mill Company. Culturally, the town has several wonderful parks for relaxing and catching entertainment, and the Greater Brewton Council of the Arts hosts several performances every year. Brewton has recently been named "One of the Best Small Towns of America." The East Brewton area has been settled as long as Brewton but was only incorporated in 1918. East Brewton and Brewton share many facilities, such as the YMCA and the Greater Brewton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Monroeville

9780738502045

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For 39 years, people from all over the world and all walks of life have come to the small town of Monroeville, Alabama, in search of a place called Maycomb. They come in search of a story that have moved millions of people with its enduring message, and in search of the world of the storyteller. Monroeville: The Search for Harper Lee's Maycomb explores the relationship between Harper Lee's hometown and the setting of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Born in response to the curiosities of visitors to the Monroe County Heritage Museums, this book explores the parallels between the tow worlds through vintage images and informative captions. Included are photographs of the Lee family and the author in her early years; the sights of Monroeville that undoubtedly inspired the setting of Maycomb; the cast of the Oscar-winning film adaptation that premiered in 1963; and the Mockingbird Players, a group of Monroeville residents who, each year in May, present an authentic production of the two-act play adapted by Christopher Sergel. Among the visitors to Monroeville are teachers and lawyers making a pilgrimage to Atticus' courtroom, scholars in search of unanswered questions, and fans of the novel trying to capture a glimpse of Scout's world. The Monroe County Heritage Museums, under the direction of Kathy McCoy, made this possible in 1991 with the opening of the Old Courthouse Museum on the town square. Visitors now leave Monroeville feeling as if they walked the streets of Maycomb on a hot summer day, enchanted by the imagined presence of Sout, Jem, and Dill exploring their neighborhood in an era of tumultuous change.

Choctaw County

9781467126939

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Choctaw County, one of Alabama's largest counties by area at 909 square miles, is also one of the smallest in population.

Established at the end of 1847 by taking land from Sumter and Washington Counties, Choctaw County today is a recognized leader in the pulpwood industry and renowned for its hunting and fishing. Cattle farming and agriculture also play a large role in daily life and economics, and residents take pride in having the first producing oil well in the state of Alabama. Choctaw County is even home to the remains of the historic healing waters of the former Bladon Springs Hotel, and a curious connection with the basilosaurus cetoides, a prehistoric sea mammal found near Melvin, currently on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Cover image for Choctaw County, isbn: 9781467126939

Cullman

9780738598765

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Although German immigrants were not the first to settle in the area now known as Cullman, they are the ones who put the city on the map by incorporating the town in 1874. The original five families that Col. John G. Cullmann recruited to colonize the town quickly grew into many more. With the assistance of local people, the Germans adapted to their new environment, and the colony took root. The strong German heritage and influence is still widespread today. Cullman was, and still is, an agricultural town. Immigrants discovered that cotton, sweet potatoes, and strawberries would readily grow in the area, and they wasted no time in filling the earth with these and other crops. Cullman also thrived on other industry, including numerous factories and merchants. The railroad running through the town played no small part in both the colonization and success of Cullman.

Bluff Park

9780738590998

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The community of Bluff Park is home to a variety of residents, ranging from retirees to working families. Historically speaking, Bluff Park was first developed as a mountain resort and summer vacation site. Gardner Cole Hale bought the mountain property in the 1860s and called it Hale Springs. One of the first recorded uses of the name Bluff Park was with the Bluff Park Hotel, built in 1907. After its resort days, the area became more residential. Several of the founding families in Bluff Park settled on the mountain, building homes and farms. One such family, the Hales, ran a lumber mill, a cotton gin, and an icehouse. The Tyler family ran a large dairy farm after they moved to the area around 1888. The community school started around 1899 as a one-room schoolhouse and church, and Bluff Park Elementary is now one of the top elementary schools in the city of Hoover.

Mobile and the Eastern Shore

9780738515489

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To say that Mobile has a rich history is like saying Nashville has a few musicians. The port city has a rich heritage dating back to the 1700's. The oldest city in Alabama, Mobile has seen the rule of the Spanish, the French, the British, the United States, the Confederacy, and the United States again. Mobile was celebrating Mardi Gras before New Orleans. Some of the last fighting of the Civil War took place on a hill outside the city, after Appomattox. Baseball stars Henry Aaron and Satchel Paige even played their first games of baseball in the sandlots here.

Tuscaloosa

9780738587882

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Tuscaloosa (Choctaw for black warrior) is one of the oldest cities in West Alabama. It shares its name with a chief who fought Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in 1540 and a river that stretches from the Appalachian foothills in the north-central region to the floodplain and lowlands of the south. Called The Druid City since the 1800s, when large water oaks lined its main streets, Tuscaloosa remains a center of industry, commerce, health care, education, and cultural life, with the university being its dominant source. The former capital (from 1826 to 1846) is affiliated with the Alabama Crimson Tide, catfish, Dreamland, the Black Warrior River, a strong folk and craft tradition, and Gov. George Wallace's 1963 stand at the schoolhouse door.

Cover image for Tuscaloosa, isbn: 9780738587882

Childersburg

9780738542218

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The oldest continuously occupied city in America, Childersburg, Alabama, is a place with an ancient and distinctive past. This area, once known as Coza (Coca, Coosa), was the political capital of Chief Tushkalusa's far-reaching empire covering all the area from the Ohio River to the Mississippi. Coza's population in 1540 was estimated to be between 30,000 and 40,000, according to de Soto's chroniclers. De Soto's army left at least two Spaniards here when they departed for Mauvilla: a sick black man and a white man named Furada. These two men became the first black and white settlers in the territory now known as Alabama. This book will document the history of Childersburg in over 200 images, including the earliest photographs of the city and the ancestors of its citizens. The population boom period during World War II is documented, as well as the history of Kymulga Cave, now known as DeSoto Caverns Park.

Cherokee County

9780738505879

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Within these pages, the Cherokee County's rich and varied history is illuminated by vintage photographs, and its past is brought to life in the faces of its early settlers.

Created in 1836 from land held formerly by the Cherokee Indians, Cherokee County is situated in the northeast corner of Alabama, bordered by Georgia to the east.The families of the Reverend Whitefield Anthony and others settled at Mudd Creek in 1831 in what was to become Cherokee County. From these first families developed a community that would grow and change along with a young and bustling America, welcoming new industries, farming fertile lands, and building churches and schools to feed the hearts and minds of its young. The photographs in this volume, illustrating the county's past as well as how it looks in the present day, were culled from a variety of sources, including the Cherokee County History Museum, the Pine Grove Baptist Church, and the private collections of many local families. Coupled with a historical narrative, these glimpses of yesteryear will evoke fond memories for all who have made Cherokee County home.

Gadsden

9781467112239

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Gadsden began as a small stagecoach stop on the banks of the Coosa River, where weary travelers could rest while traveling between Jacksonville and Huntsville. Known as Double Springs, the small settlement consisted of several log dwellings, a store, a school, and a post office. In 1840, the coming of Gabriel Hughes and his wife, Asenath, followed by Gabriel's brother Joseph Hughes, led to the founding of a new town that would eventually grow into Gadsden. In the days before and during World War II, new industry brought jobs to the Gadsden Ordnance Plant and civilian jobs to Camp Sibert. Following the end of the war, the area experienced a return to normalcy and a great time of growth when Gadsden's fighting men returned home. Gadsden has also been blessed with exceptional leadership over the years, which has propelled it from a small village on the banks of the Coosa River to the "City of Champions" and an All-America City.

Lawrence County

9781467108355

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Lawrence County was founded on February 6, 1818, the year before Alabama became a state, from lands ceded by the Cherokee and Chickasaw. It is a rural county bordered to the north by the Tennessee River and to the south by the waterfall-rich Bankhead National Forest and filled with small vibrant communities. Moulton, the county seat, features a picturesque square. Courtland, an antebellum town, was once a bustling railroad port. Featured topics include Southern architecture, leaving for war, the railroad boom, cotton agriculture, and industry. Notable individuals highlighted include Jesse Owens, Gen. Joseph Wheeler, and Annie Wheeler.

Fort Morgan

9780738505749

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Fort Morgan has stood sentry on the Gulf of Mexico for almost 200 years. This pictorial history illustrates the people and events that have shaped its history.

Following the War of 1812, the United States embarked upon a major building program to improve the nation's seacoast defenses. A project was begun on Mobile Bay that would take almost twelve years to complete, plagued by harsh conditions, a lack of resources, and financial burdens. The end result, completed and opened in March of 1834, was Fort Morgan. Fort Morgan has played many key roles in the nation's military. During the Civil War, Fort Morgan provided covering fire for blockade runners entering and leaving Mobile Bay. The fort fell into disrepair after the Civil War as military planners thought it had outlived its usefulness. Between 1895 and 1904, five modern reinforced concrete batteries rose from the sands. At the peak of operations between 1910 and 1918, more than one hundred structures dotted the Mobile Bay landscape. This unique pictorial retrospective explores the growth and change at Fort Morgan, allowing the reader a chance to step back in time to the days when our nation's military fortifications provided a sense of security and protection to every citizen. Included are images culled from the Fort Morgan Museum, the National Archives and Records, and private collections. These vintage photographs depict every aspect of the fort's history, from the damage caused by the Union siege guns to the days following World War II when the fort was temporarily turned into a resort, and from the Confederates who worked to strengthen Mobile's lower defense line to the devastation of the hurricanes in 1906 and 1916.

Ensley and Tuxedo Junction

9780738586809

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With dreams of building a vast steel production operation, Memphis planter Enoch Ensley founded a city in the wooded valley at the heart of Jefferson County, Alabama. He named the city Ensley, after himself, and established the Ensley Land Company to acquire and develop 4,000 acres for industrial facilities and a town. As field workers left their farms to work in steel mills and businesses sprang up on the valley floor, Ensley became a diverse place of hopes and desires. A strong community of churches, businesses, civic clubs, and neighborhoods developed around the factories and railroads. Jazz music was the social thread of Ensley's African American community, known as Tuxedo Junction. Musicians such as Erskine Hawkins famously mastered the style. The annexation of Ensley into Birmingham established the "Magic City" as the largest and wealthiest in Alabama and the heart of the Southern steel manufacturing economy.

Cold War Alabama

9781467160797

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The 50-year Cold War began following World War II and was a struggle between ideologies, militaries, economies, athletes, and each nation's ability to reach space. Alabama played a key role in that conflict. Huntsville led the efforts in ballistic missile as well as rocket propulsion development. From Enterprise to Montgomery to Anniston, the military prepared for and served in battles abroad. While the United States promoted democracy globally, the civil rights movement fought for a "more perfect union" at home. Not everyone supported the US involvement in proxy wars; groups of college students in Alabama protested the Vietnam War. All these aspects of the Cold War are captured from across Alabama through pictures and words.
Melvin G. Deaile, PhD, is an associate professor at the Air Command and Staff College in Montgomery, Alabama. A retired US Air Force colonel, he holds a doctorate in American history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds master's degrees from Louisiana Tech University, the US Army Command and General Staff School, the Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, and University of Alabama. He flew the B-52 Stratofortress and the B-2 Spirit and combat operations as part of Operations Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom, including a record-setting 44.3-hour combat mission. His first book, Always at War , chronicles Strategic Air Command's contributions to the Cold War. The Alabama Department of Archives and History provided the majority of this book's images.

Cover image for Cold War Alabama, isbn: 9781467160797

Civil Rights in Birmingham

9781467110679

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Since the city's founding in 1871, African American citizens of Birmingham have organized for equal access to justice and public accommodations. However, when thousands of young people took to the streets of Birmingham in the spring of 1963, their protest finally broke the back of segregation, bringing local leadership to its knees. While their parents could not risk loss of jobs or life, local youth agreed to bear the brunt of resistance by law enforcement and vigilantes to their acts of civil disobedience. By the fall, even youth who did not participate in the Children's Movement gave all for the struggle when a bomb placed in the 16th Street Baptist Church exploded and killed four girls.

Birmingham's Highland Park

9780738543437

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Birmingham's Highland Park originated in the 1880s when a grand boulevard was dug and three lush parks were planned at the northern foothills of Red Mountain. This boulevard was Highland Avenue, at the time the widest street in the South. The development, built within three miles of the center of Birmingham, included the construction of a resort hotel and lake. A dummy line rail system conveyed the populace of The Magic City" out to the beautiful Highland Park neighborhood, where in summer the air was both cooler and cleaner. Although Highland Avenue was lined with mansions of every architectural style, only 12 remain today. Indeed, some Highland Park dwellers have resided for generations in this neighborhood of true character and charm."

Deep South Aviation

9780738502465

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Since the 1920s, Birmingham, Alabama, has played a vital role in the development of aviation in the Deep South and the nation. From aircraft construction to Air Guard activity, and from the evolution of commercial airlines to military training bases, Birmingham has contributed greatly to one of the most significant advancements of the twentieth century. Deep South Aviation explores the fascinating history of aviation in and around Birmingham through vintage images of the pilots,
aircraft, and aviation enthusiasts of years past. Included are photographs of the early airfields, the Alabama Air National Guard, and the Birmingham Naval Air Station. Culled from the archives of the Southern Museum of Flight, these captivating images tell a story that began with a few brave individuals who surmounted the sky. Photographs were also taken from Alvin W. Hudson's collections on Fairgrounds Air Shows, Roberts Field, and the Birmingham Municipal Airport; Cecil Greene's collection on the Alabama Air National Guard; and generous friends of the museum who donated from their private collections.

Daphne

9780738591162

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Daphne, the Jubilee City, is home to people who came to partake of the rich resources of Mobile Bay's eastern shore.

They gathered to collect seafood miraculously washing ashore during the phenomenon of jubilee. They gathered under the spreading oaks to hold councils and along the bayfront to escape the perils of yellow fever across the bay in Mobile. They gathered for clean spring waters and rare pottery clay, to greet the bay boats, and to farm the rich soil. Daphne's heritage is one of a gathering of peoples, and Images of America: Daphne documents that heritage.

Leeds

9780738591254

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Although Leeds State Bank opened in 1910, the small city's history as the primary population center of the Cahaba Valley started by 1810, when European woodsmen came through Tennessee to live along the Cahaba Trail with the Cherokee Indians. By 1821, Henry Little, a Scottish descendant, built his log home near an existing gristmill. In 1857, he rebuilt the mill as his version of the regionally famous Fuller's Mill. Early settlements consisted of Europeans and Cherokees who remembered the American Revolution and who fought in the War of 1812, which they believed was a second revolution. Free African Americans arrived in the 1880s with the building of the railroad, bringing added ingenuity. All founding groups were Americans who demonstrated their sense of community, value of education, and reverence for God as they began a Leeds heritage that includes three Medal of Honor recipients, as well as famous statesmen, scholars, athletes, entertainers, and builders.

Birmingham Broadcasting

9780738542713

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Birmingham, Alabama, has enjoyed a long and distinguished broadcasting history. The city's first radio station aired in 1922, and television arrived in 1949. Both media produced personalities who became household names in the city. Audiences came to know Joe Rumore, Tommy Charles, Country Boy Eddy, Cousin Cliff Holman, Rosemary, Pat Gray, Tom York, and many others as if they were members of their own families. Even the commercials became as memorable as the news, entertainment, talk, and children's shows they interrupted.

Montevallo

9780738587431

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Montevallo: a mountain in a valley. This bucolic, natural phrase aptly describes the beauty of this central Alabama town. Early settlers were drawn to the area by its abundant agricultural and mineral resources, and in 1826, the tiny village of Montevallo was born. The nature of the town changed significantly in 1896 with the founding of the Alabama Girls' Industrial School, now the University of Montevallo. The Olmsted Brothers firm of Brookline, Massachusetts, laid out the central campus, and its master plan still inspires current development. Since 1896, the focus of the town has shifted from agriculture and mining to education. The university's mission is to be Alabama's "Public Liberal Arts College." Prominent figures include writer and veteran E. B. Sledge, actresses Polly Holliday and Rebecca Luker, and Major League Baseball player Rusty Greer.

Hoover

9781467112185

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Take a view of Hoover and the nearby towns of Bluff Park, Shades Mountain, Rocky Ridge, Green Valley, and Patton (Patton's) Chapel.

The community of Hoover began as a seed planted in the young mind of William Henry Hoover Sr. (1890-1979). Hoover's father dreamed of a city for working families, and the younger Hoover used this vision as a road map to build a strong municipality that grew with business, community, and family living. Through hard work and determination, Hoover opened Employers Mutual of Alabama's first office in Birmingham in 1922. He later founded the early town of Hoover in 1954 and in 1958 moved his company to the area that would be incorporated in 1967 as the city of Hoover. Several nearby communities are older than the city itself. Images of America: Hoover looks at Bluff Park, Shades Mountain, Rocky Ridge, Green Valley, and Patton (Patton's) Chapel as some of the early areas where Hoover's great story began.

Calhoun County

9780738589985

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Discover Calhoun County's diverse and unique history through historic images collected and compiled through the decades.

Chief Ladiga and his Creek tribe first settled in the northeastern half of the county. By the early 1800s, settlers from Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina came to this scenic mountainous area to farm in the county's rich valleys. After the Treaty of Cusseta removed the Creeks west of the Mississippi in 1832, more settlers began arriving. In 1833, Benton County was incorporated into the state of Alabama and Jacksonville was made the county seat. Oxford, or ""Lick-Skillet,"" was a frontier town at the time, and Piedmont, or ""Cross Plains,"" was an intersection for the two stagecoach routes. By the time of the Civil War, the county would change its name to Calhoun County in honor of South Carolina statesman John C. Calhoun. In 1872, two northern industrialists, Samuel Noble and Gen. Daniel Tyler, created their ""model city"" in Anniston, which began a period of great growth in the county.

Birmingham's Theater and Retail District

9780738517773

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From the 1890s to the 1970s, the thriving area of Birmingham between Eighteenth and Twenty-first Streets along First, Second, and Third Avenues was the bustling heart of this quickly growing city. Before the age of the shopping mall, the downtown was the center of retail and entertainment in Birmingham. Along these streets, entrepreneurial immigrants built department stores--including Pizitz and Loveman, Joseph, and Loeb--while the marquees of the Alabama, Ritz, and Lyric theaters, among others, shined over the busy downtown sidewalks.

Birmingham's Theater and Retail District

Tuskegee

9781467110358

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Tuskegee, Alabama, is associated with Tuskegee University, the Tuskegee Airmen, Booker T. Washington, and George Washington Carver. Named after the Taskigi, it is the site of the first law school in Alabama and had local schools long before there was a public school system. Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers (now Tuskegee University) was pivotal to the city being a beacon of African American achievement for a century. The birthplace of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, radio host Tom Joyner, and singer Lionel Richie, it is where Olympic star Alice Coachman was dubbed the "Tuskegee Flash" and where important court cases guaranteeing voting rights and equal education were fought. The city was also the site of the infamous medical experiment that threatened to stain the school's triumphant legacy.

Northport

9780738594002

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The name Northport reminds people that "North Port" was the northern-most point river traffic could navigate the Black Warrior River in the early years. Settled in 1816, Northport was first known as Kentuck or Cane-tuck because it was a cane-brake wilderness. In the 19th century, the land was fertile and cotton was king. Warehouses were built along the riverbank to store cotton to be loaded onto steamships bound for market. Due to periodic flooding, the center of town was relocated several blocks away from the river around 1830; Northport was incorporated 41 years later. The current buildings along both sides of Main Avenue were primarily built after the Civil War. Over time, several fires, flooding, and a tornado have changed the downtown landscape. As reported in the Tuscaloosa News after the March 21, 1932, tornado, "It looked as if Northport had been bombed."

Houston County

9780738515458

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In 1903, before "King Cotton" gave way to the boll weevil, Alabama's youngest county was born. Bordered on the east by Georgia's busy Chattahoochee River and flanked to the south by Florida, Houston County, Alabama has seen many changes and thriving successes over the course of its 100-year existence. Throughout the years the county's hearty population has found a unique niche in southeast Alabama's Wiregrass region and the state as a whole. Depicted within these pages is the county's 100-year quest told through images from the past and present. From the early days of steamships on the river when tall pines provided economic opportunity, to the present day when the peanut is honored with the National Peanut Festival, Houston County's history is revealed within the faces and places of each photograph.

Randolph County

9780738543710

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Randolph County began as an agricultural community and gradually industrialized as farmers left the fields for the factories and women left their kitchens for the sewing plant. This book celebrates a panorama of 175 years of life in Randolph County through a collection of photographs primarily from its citizens. Some individuals featured in the book are more prominent than others, but all helped fill Randolph County with Southern charm, gentility, and hospitality.

Around Stemley Bridge

9780738542157

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Around Stemley Bridge captures the spirit of a community that overcame the destruction of the Civil War, reformed with Reconstruction, survived the hardships of both world wars, struggled during the Depression, and ultimately prospered. The photographs and legends herein tell of the Northern Talladega County people, from early farmers to modern-day lakeside dwellers who spend their weekends boating, skiing, and fishing. Churches, schools, businesses, and families around Stemley Bridge have preserved a way of life that has yet to succumb to the demands of a fast-paced world. From an original land deed signed by Pres. Andrew Jackson to the modern design of the bridge, images in this book traverse many cultural layers.

Cover image for Around Stemley Bridge, isbn: 9780738542157

Greene County and Mesopotamia Cemetery

9780738552774

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The lovingly restored homes of many Eutaw citizens now laid to rest at Mesopotamia Cemetery depict the grace of the antebellum South. First known as Oak Hill Cemetery, Mesopotamia Cemetery was established around 1822 on present-day Mesopotamia Street. Eutaw, the seat of Greene County, boasts 50 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with many more eligible for nomination. Greene was the most populous county in Alabama in 1850 and was widely regarded for its thriving and elegant communities. Greene County and Mesopotamia Cemetery ties the beautifully carved marble tombstones in the Mesopotamia Cemetery to the extraordinary people who have shaped Greene County's history.

Montgomery's Historic Neighborhoods

9780738586205

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Montgomery's first neighborhoods were nestled close to downtown for convenience, but over the decades, Montgomery has grown into the second-largest city in Alabama.

In 1887, the electric trolley system made living beyond the city limits feasible, and the first streetcar suburb, Highland Park, was developed the same year. Although neighborhoods such as Centennial Hill, Cottage Hill, the Garden District, and the Old Line Street existed before the trolley, it spurred their growth, and other surrounding cities, like Capitol Heights and Cloverdale, were incorporated into Montgomery by 1908. By the time automobiles had replaced the trolley, Montgomery was a sprawling metropolis.Images of America: Montgomery's Historic Neighborhoodsdocuments the changes from inner city to suburban residences and from mass transportation to the automobile. The images show how residents lived, worked, studied, worshipped, and played for over a century in Montgomery's iconic neighborhoods.

Trussville

9781467111409

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Visitors and newcomers often comment on Trussville's idyllic "Mayberry" qualities. Longtime residents take those attributes for granted. "That's just Trussville," they say, even as they jog down shady sidewalks, picnic on the banks of the Cahaba River, and gather at one of the city's many places of worship. But, today's Trussville did not happen without early residents forming a foundation for a strong and caring community. Images of America: Trussville highlights the mid-20th century, a time of building--literally and figuratively--a city of progress, yet in some ways frozen in a simpler time. As Trussville continues to transition from a Birmingham bedroom community to a multi-faceted municipality, it is important to remember those who positioned the city in reputation and reality to become that Mayberry kind of place. Or as the city's tagline describes it: "The Gateway to Happy Living."

Foley

9780738598697

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Advertisements placed in newspapers throughout the Midwest in the early 1900s read, ""Notice to Homeseekers: Good farm land at a reasonable price,"" directing people toward picturesque Foley, Alabama.

A new town with an ideal climate and boundless resources, it was the final stop on the railroad spur to south Baldwin County that was completed in 1905. First built on an agriculture and timber economy, the town was soon home to businesses that sprang up during the population explosion. Nearby Elberta, a German colony, and the river towns of Magnolia Springs and Bon Secour also experienced accelerated growth as the area was developed. The heritage of the greatest resource--the people of Foley--is best told in the photographs long treasured by families of the earliest settlers and collected by the authors to be shared and preserved for posterity. ""

Etowah County

9780738516240

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Drawing from, among other sources, the collection of famed photographer Adolph Lebourg, a French immigrant who traveled to Alabama with a circus, Scarboro and Goodson combine wonderful images with insightful text to provide a unique look at the county's heritage. Especially evident in Lebourg's photographs is a passion for motorcycles, providing a great point of interest for many of the book's images. Etowah County includes such points of interest as the Kyle Home, which once stood on the present site of the Etowah County Courthouse, the home of Alabama Power Company founder W.P. Lay, and
several of the county's early movie theaters. Many local businesses and industries are highlighted in the early years of their existence. Also included are glimpses of such local events as parades, sporting events, and the beautiful Nocallula Falls. Whether one is a longtime resident familiar with all the area has to offer, or a newcomer eager to learn more of the county's heritage, Etowah County is a wonderful look at days gone by.

Cover image for Etowah County, isbn: 9780738516240

Etowah County Volume II

9780738516257

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Etowah County Volume II traces the history of everyday citizens in this Alabama community. Largely derived from the collections of local photographers Bob Scarboro and Hugh Hall, the images in this volume depict the county's championship sports teams, the drive-in theaters and restaurants of the post-World War II era, and the mansions that once lined Forrest Avenue. Also included are two rare and seldom-seen photographs-the old dummy engine of the streetcar line that ran from Gadsden to Attalla, and the wooden dance pavilion located beneath Noccalula Falls at the turn of the century. Readers will discover the lasting contributions made to Etowah County by such notable early settlers as Col. R.B. Kyle, Capt. James M. Elliott Jr., Gen. Daniel Turrentine, and Judge John H. Disque. Many of the area's schools, businesses, and churches can be attributed to the efforts of these enterprising individuals. Etowah County Volume II also celebrates the contributions made by the hard-working, everyday people who have made this Alabama community a memorable place to live.

Madison

9781467110167

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The city of Madison reflects the evolution of networked communications. Initially, this occurred as physical pathways were trod via horse and foot traffic, then waterways fostered communications as products and crops were shipped to markets when wilderness gave way to farms. Widespread communication expanded again with the laying of railroad tracks that carried passengers and freight; Madison was established after the arrival of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad in the area in the 1850s. Almost concurrently, electronic communication and vehicular roadways enabled more widespread delivery of messages, passengers, and freight. Today, aircraft play a primary role in the movement of commodities, while communication is rapidly transitioning to the Internet and bypassing radio, television, telephone, and mail services. Madison has been involved, often as a hub, with all of these media outlets since its founding in 1857.

Homewood

9781467114905

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Shades Valley was primarily used as a hunting ground by Native Americans until the arrival of the first white settlers in the 1830s. During Birmingham's industrial boom in the 1870s, Out of the Smoke Zone, Into the Ozone became the promoters' cry to move Over the Mountain into what was then called Clifton. By 1926, Rosedale, Edgewood, and Grove Park were established neighborhoods, and under the leadership of Charles Rice they incorporated to form the city of Homewood. The new community had luxurious amenities like the Hillcrest Country Club and the Birmingham Motor and Country Club at Edgewood Lake, which was accessible via the Edgewood Electric Railway. Nearly 100 years later, through much growth and change, Homewood has maintained its small-town feel while adapting to the ever-changing culture of today.

Vestavia Hills

9781467112628

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In response to the explosive growth of industry in Birmingham, entrepreneurs and young families sought quieter areas to call home. The search led them to Shades Mountain, an area replete with flowering dogwood and pink honeysuckle--pure wilderness. There were no paved roads, no public services, and no merchants nearer than Homewood. Still, those seeking respite from the soot (of the steel mills) lingering over the "Magic City" persevered, establishing homesteads, stores, communities of worship, and basic public services. While the contributions of some of the area's early pioneers--men like Edgar S. Smyer, George Ward, and Charles Byrd--are well documented, Images of America: Vestavia Hills contains lesser-known stories of citizens who helped shape the "city on top of the mountain."

Chilton County

9781467125185

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Located in the geographic center of the state, Chilton County is the Peach Capital of Alabama. The mild climate and gently sloping terrain of central Alabama provide an ideal environment for cultivation of the region's principal agricultural export and Alabama's leading commercial fruit. This distinctive setting has influenced the heritage and historical legacy of the county and its people for more than 100 years. From the big peach water tower that welcomes visitors to Chilton County to the annual peach festival celebration and the crowning of the Peach Queen, this iconic fruit has become symbolic of a way of life for residents of the Chilton County communities of Clanton, Jemison, Maplesville, Thorsby, and Verbena. In celebration of the 150th anniversary of this remarkable county, Images of America: Chilton County is the story of the people and places that are the heart of Alabama.

Anniston Revisited

9781467114752

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Nestled in the Piedmont region of the Appalachian Mountains, the small farming community of Pine Ankle was established in the 1830s on the former lands of the Creek Nation. In 1872, industrialists Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler purchased the land for their Woodstock Iron Company, and in 1883 the town was opened to the public as Annie's Town. It grew rapidly, and by the early 20th century Anniston was not only the seat of Calhoun County, but also home to numerous textile and iron industries as well as a thriving military complex. The vintage photographs in Images of America: Anniston Revisited showcase the daily lives of Annistonians and Fort McClellan soldiers during a time when Noble Street was a bustling urban center. Anniston's homes, schools, and community centers are featured, along with the expanded downtown area and Fort McClellan, to paint a vivid portrait of The Model City.

Monroeville

9780738554372

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Monroeville is the county seat of Monroe County, a county older than the state of Alabama itself.

Located in what was the western Creek Nation, Monroeville became the center of county business in 1832, eighteen years after the surrender of the Creeks to Andrew Jackson. Monroeville soon became a powerful political base in the state. In the 20th century, it hosted visits from ""Big Jim"" Folsom as well as George Wallace, a powerful young orator who would change the face of American politics. Today, Monroeville is known as the childhood home of internationally known authors Harper Lee and Truman Capote; Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird was set even in a small Southern town based on Monroeville, while many of Capote's short stories and novels were drawn from his Monroeville experiences. Visitors from around the world come to the town that still remembers when Capote rented the town's only taxi for the weekend and drove around for days ""visiting. "" Townsfolk like to talk about the time Gregory Peck came to town to meet the many of the people who were inspirations for the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird. As other writers from Monroeville emerge, such as Mark Childress and Cynthia Tucker, one wonders how many more stories the town holds, as well as what is so special about a small, rural southwestern Alabama town call Monroeville.

Birmingham and Jefferson County

9780738587301

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From its founding as a steel-making area that rivaled any in the world for quality and quantity, to its present-day role as a leading banking, retail, and medical center for the New South, the rolling, iron-rich land of Jefferson County has been well represented in picture postcards. Roving photographers and those from local studios captured scenes of civic, business, and private life, and made them into postcards that were sent around the world. Birmingham and Jefferson County, Alabama takes the reader on a visual tour of such landmarks as the Tutwiler Hotel, the Empire Building, Rickwood Field, Legion Field, Arlington, and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Explore the beginnings of world-class medical facilities, the rise of the iron and steel industry, and the rich cultural heritage that the Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Italians, Greeks, and other ethnic groups brought to the area.

Tannehill Ironworks

9780738582412

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When cotton was king and Jackson was president, Daniel Hillman built a bloomery forge on Roupes Creek near the Jefferson and Tuscaloosa County line. As the birthplace of the Birmingham Iron and Steel District, the forge grew into an important battery of three blast furnaces capable of producing 22 tons of iron daily for Confederate munitions. The Tannehill Furnaces--the handiwork of Moses Stroup, one of the South's leading ironmasters--are among the best preserved 19th-century ironworks in America. Along with the Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama, the furnace ruins form the centerpiece of Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, which attracts 400,000 visitors annually. It is Alabama's most visited Civil War site.

Perry County

9780738586625

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Perry County has been a major player in the history of Alabama. Native Americans lived and hunted on its land, and it became a county before Alabama gained statehood. Early citizens chose to name it for Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the War of 1812. The people of Perry County have played major roles over the years, which include the following: one married Sam Houston; one served as Alabama's first governor during the Civil War; one designed the Confederate flag and uniform; one married Martin Luther King; one was slain by a state trooper, triggering the Selma-to-Montgomery march; and another was the wife of Andrew Young. Along with its history, Perry County is an educational center and the location of many homes that predate the Civil War. Images of America: Perry County features samples of its rich history in photographs.

Around Chelsea

9781467116411

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From humble beginnings to magnificent gains, there are few cities that can boast as much growth as Chelsea, Alabama. Where Creek Indians once hunted and roamed, successful businesses, neighborhoods, schools, recreation parks, and churches now stand. In the mid-1800s, pioneer families settled in the hills of what was first called Melrose. The railroad played a vital role in the advancement of the area by offering passenger and commercial transportation, attracting families, businesses, and schools, and in 1996 Chelsea was incorporated with a population of 908. Just over 10 years later, it exceeded 10,000, and Chelsea was the fastest-growing city in Shelby County. With an expanding home market, a growing school system, and a strong sense of community, Chelsea is widely considered one of the top areas in the state for families to live. In fact, the city's motto is "It's all about family."

Energen Corporation

9780738514611

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Energen Corporation, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, traces its beginnings to October 14, 1852. On that date, John Jeffrey and Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, received a franchise from the City of Montgomery to provide street lighting using manufactured gas. Montgomery Gas Light Company purchased the franchise in 1853 and a year later, the first street gaslights were in operation. Since 1854, the Company has experienced mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and name changes. In 1937, Southern Natural Gas Company organized the utility into Alabama Gas Company and in 1948 merged it with Birmingham Gas Company to form Alabama Gas Corporation. The Company spun off from Southern Natural in 1953, becoming an independent and publicly traded company. Positioning itself for the future in 1974, the Company formed Alagasco, Inc., a holding company, with Alabama Gas Corporation as its primary subsidiary. In 1985, the holding company became Energen Corporation. Today, Energen Corporation is a diversified energy company with two major subsidiaries, Alagasco, its natural gas utility, and Energen Resources, its oil and gas acquisition and production company.

Cover image for Energen Corporation, isbn: 9780738514611

Bemiston

9780738568034

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Built in 1928, the mill town known as Bemiston was a development of the Bemis Brothers Bag Company. This village was built as a model city and boasted all-cement sidewalks and paved streets, which was an unheard-of feature in the late 1920s. The 700,000-square-foot bag plant, which was the center of the community, took almost two years to build due to the lack of electric tools or cranes. Therefore, mules equipped with scoops were given the arduous task of moving the mounds of earth to facilitate construction of this vast plant. Bemiston had its own general store, fire department, and medical office with nurses around the clock. It also had its own electric system, water department, and garbage collection. The community building was the center of social life, and residents spent many hours socializing there. The town was known as a good place to raise children and enjoy family life.

Fairhope in the Roaring Twenties

9780738598925

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The 1920s roared into the quiet bay-front utopian village of Fairhope in roadsters and riverboats carrying free thinkers, nudists, bootleg whiskey, Socialists, progressives, and some of the leading counter-culture authors and artists of the century. Founded in 1894 as a model cooperative colony, Fairhope had a name before it was a place because its settlers believed their unique venture would have a "fair hope" of success. Its cornerstone was the law of equal freedom for all. During the Jazz Age, flappers and wealthy visitors from metropolitan centers of Chicago and New York abounded during the post-war boom. They flocked to the beautiful resort spot on Mobile Bay, an entertainment center with dance and yacht clubs and a waterfront casino. The town's individualistic roots also attracted famous idealists, intellectuals, and social critics of the day, as well as mavericks, Communists, and some just plain kooks.

Early Bessemer

9780738588032

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In 1887, iron and steel magnate Henry Fairchild DeBardeleben founded Bessemer and named it for English inventor Sir Henry Bessemer. DeBardeleben's dream was to make the city a steel center that would attract companies and people from all over the United States. Bessemer, like nearby Birmingham, is located within a few miles of all raw materials needed to make steel (coal, limestone, and iron ore). DeBardeleben bought 4,040 acres of land and marked off blocks for the town along Alabama Great Southern Railroad lines. With $2 million in starting capital, he built several blast furnaces for his coal and iron company. Within three years, Bessemer was Alabama's eighth largest city. The population grew so rapidly that Bessemer was nicknamed "The Marvel City." The town quickly developed a thriving business district, beautiful neighborhoods, recreations ranging from parks to boating and dances at Westlake, and industries that spread iron, coal, and railcars across the nation.

Tuscumbia

9780738588209

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Tuscumbia sits at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in northwest Alabama in an area known as the Shoals. The area is rich with history beginning with the Native Americans who lived near the big spring for thousands of years. The European influence began with the Spanish under De Soto and the French, who had a trading post here in the 1700s. In the early 1800s, the African American influence became prevalent. Tuscumbia was America's first frontier railroad town with the incorporation of Tuscumbia Railroad Company and the home of "America's First Lady of Courage," Helen Keller. Today, Tuscumbia contains the oldest commercial buildings in the state of Alabama. Rail service was expanded in 1834 around the treacherous Muscle Shoals of the Tennessee River between Florence and Decatur, connecting steamboats at Tuscumbia Landing with Decatur, Alabama. Thousands of Native Americans--Cherokee, Creek, and Chickasaw--were removed from Tuscumbia to their new home in Indian Territory.

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge

9781467104326

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge was created on July 7, 1938, when Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order to establish the Wheeler Migratory Waterfowl Refuge with a mission to serve “as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife.”

The refuge was Alabama’s first national wildlife refuge and the first national wildlife refuge to be an integral part of a man-made reservoir, encompassing part of Wheeler Lake, which was formed by the construction of Wheeler Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority. In the ensuing years, the character of the land within the refuge boundaries changed. From eroded, barren fields arose thick stands of hardwoods and pines, lush wetlands, and shady sloughs that attracted huge flocks of ducks and geese. Beaver, deer, otters, and alligators returned. Today, the refuge is a haven of natural beauty surrounded by the trappings of modern society, attracting thousands of visitors who come to view the large numbers of ducks, geese, cranes, and other wildlife that inhabit the refuge.

Cover image for Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, isbn: 9781467104326

Helena

9780738552804

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The first pictorial history of Helena, Alabama, this new volume traces the progress of a small crossroads village into one of the state's most vibrant and rapidly growing cities. Helena's story is one of
extraordinary strength and perseverance. The community has braved numerous blows, including the onslaught of 10,000 Union troopers, a devastating tornado, and the decline of its once successful iron and coal industries. With nearly 200 images--many previously unpublished--Helena, Alabama introduces the area's early settlers and reveals a community grown wealthy on the fortunes gouged from the earth
at nearby coal mining camps. From education to recreation, from farming to industrial progress, discover the way of life in Helena as it was experienced long ago. Collected over a 30-year period, the photographs in this collection are indeed rare treasures. Many of the images featured have been gathered from such diverse sources as a
steamer trunk in an attic in Oregon, a St. Clair County yard sale, a dilapidated barn along Buck Creek, and from carefully preserved family albums from California to McCalla, Alabama.

The Kiwanis Club of Birmingham

9781467126243

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When founded in 1917, the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, Alabama, embarked on a civic-minded journey that would take it through a century of service and tradition. The club's membership rolls would ultimately boast some of the most distinguished leaders in Birmingham's business community. At their weekly lunches, they would be entertained by both local and national speakers and visitors, ranging from Babe Ruth to Tom Brokaw. Equally importantly, the club's tradition of generosity continues to resonate in Birmingham today as the club celebrates its centennial year in 2017. The club's endeavors include commissioning a master urban parks plan for Birmingham in 1924, erecting the city's iconic statue of Vulcan atop Red Mountain, funding the construction of Birmingham's Boys Club, sponsoring professional football games at Birmingham's historic Legion Field in the 1960s, and more recently, funding a $4-million project to enhance Vulcan, build the Kiwanis Centennial Park, and establish a key link in Birmingham's Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System.

Gadsden Public Library

9780738553856

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Gadsden Public Library is a monument to the initiative, creativity, and vision of those who dreamed of an evolving, comprehensive library to serve all citizens. Eight foreseeing directors have diligently continued this original mission. Since 1906, Gadsden Public Library has housed a variety of displays and sponsored countless programs featuring authors, speakers, reading initiatives, book clubs, and story times. With dedicated library staff members, supportive community leaders, and enthusiastic citizens, Gadsden Public Library has an established tradition of encouraging lifelong learning. From the installation of a telephone in 1913, to wireless access in 2006, Gadsden Public Library has changed to meet the technological needs of its staff and community. What will never change is the library's importance to the city and the joy of reading that is central to its mission. Through a collection of photographs, this book provides a nostalgic look at 100 years of developing library service and the people who shaped it.

Lincoln

9780738517032

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Located near the convergence of the Choccolocco Creek, the Blue Eye Creek, and the Coosa River, whose Native American names pay tribute to the Muskogee who once populated the town, Lincoln attracted early settlers after the Cusseta Treaty was signed with the Creek Indians on March 24, 1832. Andrew Jackson passed through Lincoln on his way to the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, when the town was still known as Kingsville and before it was renamed in 1856 for a famous soldier who fought in the War of Independence. Though Lincoln suffered during the Depression-closing its two banks and many businesses-it has recovered to become the eighth-fastest growing city in Alabama.

Oak Park and the Montgomery Zoo

9780738553115

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Established at the beginning of the 20th century with a total of 41 acres, Oak Park was the social and recreational center of Alabama's capital city, Montgomery. It was here in 1935 that a menagerie of animals was housed in facilities built by the Works Progress Administration called the Oak Park Zoo. As the civil rights movement gathered steam in the 1950s, there was a class action suit to desegregate the city's parks, including the zoo. In response, all parks were closed, including Oak Park. In 1967, plans were approved for a 34-acre recreational park in north Montgomery, which included acreage for a small zoo. Unfortunately, although the zoo was scheduled to open in 1971, thirteen years after the closing of Oak Park, the opening was delayed for almost a year when the zoo's first director died in a car accident just 37 days after accepting his post. The opening of the new Montgomery Zoo was finally celebrated in 1972 and included the happy homecoming of a female capuchin monkey, an original resident of Oak Park.