“We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.”
Ancient Indian Proverb
By the time Alabama achieved statehood in 1819 the region had thousands of years of history. Archeological evidence proves there had been Native American habitation for greater than 10,000 years. Explorers documented encounters with the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Alibamos, the state’s namesake. Alonso Alvarez de Pineda’s expedition entered Mobile Bay in 1519 but it was de Soto, in 1540, who was first to traverse the region. When the French established Fort Louis in 1702 the struggle for power among the European powers began in earnest and sixty-one years later the struggle ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris and the ceding of the territory to England. #sweethomealabama
The Florence Indian Mound Museum preserves and presents a landscape of the Woodland Era as well as invites visitors to explore the community’s culture and lifestyle. The museum ‘s galleries interpret this pre-contact settlement through use of gallery exhibits, films, activities and tours of the on-site mound.
This earthen mound, the largest of its kind in the Tennessee River Valley is 43-ft. in height with a base that is 310 by 230 feet and was once enclosed by a wall. Archeologists have been excavating the area since 1914 but have been unable to officially determine how the mound was used. One hundred years after the initial excavation the Florence Indian Mound was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). www.florencealmuseums.com
Records indicate that the French introduced slavery into the area in 1737 with the zealous complicity of the British beginning in 1763. After the American Revolution the region was flooded with Loyalists who brought their slaves with them and by 1861 nearly 50% of the population was comprised of the enslaved.
One of the oldest homes in Alabama is located near Tuscumbia. The brick mansion was constructed 1828-32 For Dr. Alexander Mitchell. He planted clover, corn and cotton and enslaved approximately 152 people housed in 13 cabins. The neoclassical Palladian-style plantation house with Jeffersonian architectural elements was listed on the NRHP in 1982 based on its significance both architecturally and historically.
The mansion and 33-acres were sold to the Winston family who retained ownership until the 1940s. The Winston’s came to Alabama with 50 slaves and by 1863 they owned 300. Tours of the house are offered and a number of the items displayed are original. A visit highlight is the recreated slave quarters in the rear yard. https://ahc.alabama.gov/properties/bellemont
In 1896 Oakwood College, so named because of the 65 oak trees on the land, was established as the sole African American Seventh-Day Adventist College in the country. The land upon which the college was built was formerly the Peter Blow plantation where Sam Blow, better known as Dred Scott, was enslaved for 12-years. There is a plaque on campus.
Huntsville’s Weeden House Museum and Garden is a totally unique homage to history, culture and art. The two-story Federal-style house dates from 1819 and was purchased by the Weeden’s in 1845. It was family owned until 1956.
Maria Howard Weeden was born in the house in 1846. During the Civil War Union officers occupied the house. After the war Maria, under her middle name, supported the family selling her artwork. Maria received national attention as an artist and poet. She painted former slaves and accompanied her extremely detailed portraits with poems in the dialect of the enslaved. The individuals posed in their own attire and her portraits were later used as models for the clothing of the enslaved in Gone With the Wind. Her work is outstanding and becomes even more so when one learns that she was legally blind, placed her canvasses mere inches from her nose and used brushes with only three bristles. Highlights of a guided tour include her desk, numerous artworks and the room in which she was born and died. www.weedenhousemuseum.com
The Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry bivouacked for three months from October1898 atop Huntsville’s Cavalry Hill to recuperate from malaria contracted in the Spanish-American War. They were under the command of Lt. Black Jack Pershing. On Cavalry Hill stands the 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldier's Memorial. Atop a 10-ft. tall granite pedestal Sgt. George Berry is featured astride his horse, ascending San Juan Hill in Cuba, carrying the regimental flag.
Helen Keller was born in 1880 in a home known as Ivy Green, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Her grandfather built the clapboard house in the 1820s. At the age of 9 months she lost both her vision and hearing. As she grew older her behavior became increasingly uncontrollable and the choice was made to hire a teacher. Anne Sullivan arrived in 1887 taught her to communicate and remained with her as a companion until Anne’s death in 1936. Helen went on to write 11 books, scholarly articles and graduated cum laude from Radcliffe at 20 years of age.
Highlights of the house and grounds’ tour are the water pump where Helen had her first educational breakthrough when she made the connection between the water pouring over her fingers and the letters “w-a-t-e-r” spelled into her hand and the bedroom Helen and Annie shared. Immediately east of her home is a small cottage where she and Anne lived and Helen was born. More than 85% of the furnishings in the seven-room house are original. A theatrical production of The Miracle Worker is presented each June and July. www.helenkellerbirthplace.org
The 118-acre Huntsville Botanical Garden has developed acres of flora, fauna and thematic activity areas including gem mining, an aquatic garden, a spectacular wildflower and nature trail and the largest seasonal butterfly garden in the nation. Galaxy of Lights is the premiere holiday tradition that takes place annually in November and December. The lights may be experienced on foot or by vehicle. The colorful, immersive tradition is not to be missed. www.hsvbg.org
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is a must for any visitor to the region. This is home to NASA's Official Visitor Information Center for Marshall Space Flight Center as well as, Space Camp, Space Camp Robotics and Aviation Challenge. As Huntsville’s signature attraction, Rocket City is intriguing for both children and adults. Displays throughout the museum are immersive and informative and include an impressive number of objects exploring U.S. manned space flight hardware. www.spacecamp.com/museum
North Alabama can be viewed as an experiential tourist mecca based on the sheer number of cultural influences and historic events that shaped it. I invite you to explore all these places that are uniquely Alabama. www.alabama.travel
ROAD READS:
Black Folktales of the Muscle Shoals, by Rickey Butch Walker and Huston Cobb Jr., relates the history of the people of northwest Alabama through use of archival photos, interviews and documents. This holistic approach to the area’s history is well researched and inclusive of all ethnicities and perspectives. BWPublications.com
Tananarive Due is an American Book Award-Winning author whose new release, The Wishing Pool and Other Stories, is a compilation of fourteen short Black horror and Afrofuturism stories. These tales are filled with the perfect amount of suspenseful science fiction and are the ideal length for a road trip. #akaschicbooks
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