By Dixie Norwood MSNHA graduate assistant Did you know that there was a cast iron foundry in the Shoals? In 1905, brothers W.H. and Charles Martin were salesmen for King Hardware Company, out of Atlanta. After traveling through northwest Alabama, the brothers decided it was perfect for company expansion. They persuaded the owners of King […]
By Greg Gresham North Alabama Civil War Round Table Recently, I wrote a couple of Civil War era articles about the “Hidden Ford” on Shoal Creek. Though the combat described in the article was essentially a widespread skirmish, it could have been a bloodbath as an outnumbered Union cavalry brigade fought a series of delaying actions, […]
By Dixie Norwood MSNHA graduate assistant As we begin the month of October, storytellers throughout the MSNHA dust off their tales of the weird & spooky. But do you know the story of the most feared criminal in Lauderdale County? It’s a good one. During the 1870s, residents of Florence were terrified of a criminal […]
By Terrance Johnson MSNHA grad student & outdoor-recreation consultant Help us outfit the next generation of adventurers in Northwest Alabama. At the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, we believe some of our greatest experiences happen in the outdoors. Giving access to those spaces is the best gift we can give this holiday season. Researchers tell us […]
By Torey Badar MSNHA graduate student Note: This is the first in a series of blog posts about the “Sallie Independence Foster Collection, 1835-1889,” at the University of North Alabama Archives & Special Collections, part of Collier Library. Torey Badar is a public-history graduate student at UNA. Information in this post comes from the UNA Archives. George Washington […]
By Torey Badar MSNHA graduate student Note: This is the second in a series of blog posts about the “Sallie Independence Foster Collection, 1835-1889,” at the University of North Alabama Archives & Special Collections, part of Collier Library. Torey Badar is a public-history graduate student at UNA. Information in this post comes from the UNA Archives. One Civil […]
By Torey Badar MSNHA graduate student Note: This is the third in a series of blog posts about the “Sallie Independence Foster Collection, 1835-1889,” at the University of North Alabama Archives & Special Collections, part of Collier Library. Torey Badar is a public-history graduate student at UNA. Information in this post comes from the UNA Archives. Another Civil […]
By Greg Gresham North Alabama Civil War Round Table On June 6, 1895, one Henry Newton Pharr sat down in his home at Lagrange, Arkansas, to write a tribute to a recently departed friend & fellow engineer Robert Linah Cobb. He had learned of Cobb’s death in the June 4 issue of the Memphis Commercial […]
By Terrence Johnson MSNHA programs coordinator Join us as we help restore the schoolhouse/community center of U.S. Nitrate Plant Village One, in Sheffield! In 1916 & in preparation for the coming world war, Pres. Woodrow Wilson authorized two nitrate plants — nitrate is used in munitions — and a hydropower dam to run them to […]
By Dixie Norwood MSNHA graduate assistant For this post, I wanted to go outside my comfort zone and write about a place that has become a nature enthusiast’s dream here in northwest Alabama. If you know me — and I hope that after reading this, you’ll find yourself a bit more familiar with me — you […]
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