By Sarah Harbin League of Outdoor Women coordinator At the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, we want everyone to get outside and enjoy all the beautiful scenery the six counties have to offer. However, we also want you to remain safe and well while doing so. In this post we will cover some basic outdoor […]
By Dixie Norwood MSNHA graduate assistant True to my word, I decided to take a little time during Spring Break to write on one of the nature trails located at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. Here you go: When I was probably 3 or 4 years old, my family took a camping vacation to one of the […]
By Carolyn M. Barske Crawford Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area/The University of North Alabama “We really didn’t talk about the chestnut very much. The chestnut was always there and we never thought it would not be a part of our lives…I can recall picking up chestnuts with my father on the Black Moshannon State Park […]
W hile the story of the chestnut blight has been told in many ways and in many places, a quick overview of what happened to the giants of the eastern forests is key to understanding the work of The American Chestnut Foundation and the significance of chestnut stories. This story begins in 1904 in the […]
Carrie kindly whispered, “TJ, you’re holding your paddle upside down.” I sheepishly accepted her correction, still enthralled by my first community paddle and Tennessee River experience, with no inkling of the adventures along its length I would enjoy less than a year later. The idea for my river journey began in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the […]
There’s nothing we love more than north Alabama in the fall. Whether we’re hiking, kayaking, out taking photos or cuddled up at home with some hot cider, we know all the best spots for enjoying autumn in the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area — and, lucky for you, we’re not keeping them to ourselves. Here […]
Fall is a favorite season around the MSNHA office, and staff members love sharing their favorite spots: From Becky Tsilis, MSNHA office assistant & League of Outdoor Women leader — Our family moved to Florence in October 2015 so exploring the MSNHA in fall is near and dear to my heart. All of our favorite […]
From the Tennessee RiverLine Tennessee RiverLine partners from across the region, including representatives of Tennessee RiverTowns communities & organizations from Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, gathered in The Shoals, Sept. 14-15, for the first-ever Tennessee RiverLine Partnership Paddle. This year’s Partnership Paddle was the first event of its kind. It was developed as an opportunity for […]
By Jordan Collier Assistant Genealogy and Local History Librarian Florence-Lauderdale Public Library It may come as a surprise that industry in antebellum Lauderdale County was remarkably advanced and diversified. Abundant streams such as Cypress Creek, Shoal Creek & Bluewater enabled the development of water-powered mills of a variety of sizes and purposes. Virtually every stream […]
By Becky Tsilis MSNHA office assistant & League of Outdoor Women leader In early October, MSNHA staff members Carrie Crawford, TJ Johnson and I traveled to the 2022 Alliance of National Heritage Areas Fall Conference in Alamosa, Colorado. Each year, a conference is held in the fall and spring and hosted by one of the […]
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