By Cathy Wood, MSNHA media coordinator Welcome to the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area blog! We’re glad you stopped by. This is your VIP access to what makes northwest Alabama special. You’ll find insider stories about our people & our places. You’ll discover how the MSNHA works with community partners to protect & preserve & share […]
By Katie Randall, MSNHA historic-preservation consultant What do you think of when you think of a historic walking tour: pamphlets and brochures with a map guiding you from site to site, with little snippets of history for each one? This type of tour has been a hallmark of local heritage tourism for years. It is […]
By Cathy Wood, MSNHA media coordinator Whether you live in northwest Alabama & want spring-break ideas close to home or you live farther away & are making the MSNHA your spring-break destination, there’s plenty to choose from here. Think stunning outdoor opportunities, intriguing historic sites and world-famous Grammy winners. In fact, there are so many […]
By Lee Freeman Florence-Lauderdale Public Library Local History-Genealogy Dept. Florence native Lee Freeman has been the local historian-genealogist at the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library since 1997. The author of one book & several articles, he serves on many local history & historical preservation boards. He has been happy to serve as an MSNHA sometime-consultant. Many people […]
A House Divided: Lauderdale Countians and the Civil War By Lee Freeman, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Local History-Genealogy Dept. Florence’s Confederate monument outside the present (third) courthouse might cause one to think that Florence and Lauderdale County stood united during the calamitous upheaval which was the American Civil War. But such would be a […]
By Brian Dempsey, Ph.D. Assistant professor of history & director of the Public History Center University of North Alabama, Florence In collaboration with photographer James Startt Slightly revised from “Music of the South and the Natchez Trace,” published in March 2019 “Peloton Magazine” The allure of 444 miles of glassy smooth & protected road is […]
By Lee Freeman, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Local History-Genealogy Dept. One of the factories which put Florence on the map in the late 19th-early 20th centuries was the Florence Wagon Works, founded by native New Yorker and retired physician (due to a hearing impairment) Dr. Alfred David Bellamy (1847-1913), its first president and a businessman from Atlanta […]
By Billy Warren Florence City Historian No one ever said that a Renaissance Faire could not be set in motion after only three months of planning. At least, no one had ever said such a thing to the small group of intrepid educators and other community leaders who met in July, 1987. Sure enough, the […]
By Brian Corrigan MSNHA historic-preservation consultant Photos by Dick Cooper, used with permission Beloved Shoals-based musician and songwriter Donnie Fritts, a pioneer of “country soul” whose songs have been recorded by hundreds of major artists, died Tuesday, Aug. 27, at the age of 76. A key player in the formation of the Shoals music scene […]
By Seth Armstrong MSNHA Native American Heritage Consultant Spring Park returns to its roots as a place of gathering for Native Americans and Alabamians during the annual Oka Kapassa Festival–a two-day event in September celebrating Native American tribes originally from the Southeast and other areas of the United States. In Chickasaw, Oka Kapassa means “cold […]
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