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Ten Strange Ways to Die in Early Alabama
Years ago I stumbled a fascinating volume in the library’s local history collection: Alabama Mortality Schedule (1850, Seventh Census of the United States). It was as it described itself, a listing of people who perished, along with their age and… Continue reading
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Selma Snapshots: Dallas Avenue
Here’s a look down Dallas Avenue — or two, seperated by a century! This photo was taken in the first decade of the 20th century, perhaps as late as the 1910s. The building on the left is presently known as… Continue reading
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Visiting Albert in Montgomery
Recently the Alabama Department of Archives and History shared the news on the Selma Alabama History facebook group that they’d cataloged and stored a large collection of materials relating to the Hotel Albert. Now, I have a minor obsession with… Continue reading
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Selma in 1966
The beautiful Pollard building is in the process of being taken down for a parking lot because “Selma is on the move”. The Hotel Albert is two years from that same ignominious fate. Video stretches from the Edmund W. Pettus… Continue reading
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Dr. Albert G. Mabry
Note: This is part of a series spotlighting residents of Old Live Oak, whose stories are sometimes told during the haunted history tours conducted by the local historic preservation society. Additionally, Dr. Mabry is in somewhat rarefied company, having a… Continue reading
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Judge John Haralson
Note: this will be part of a series spotlighting residents of Old Live Oak Cemetery, inspired by the haunted history tours conducted by the historic preservation society. I will begin by looking at people who frequently appear on the tour,… Continue reading
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Bridges: history and myth
Selma is most known these days for the Edmund Pettus Bridge, an icon of the Civil Rights movement — but few know that it wasn’t Selma’s only bridge across the Alabama river, and fewer still realize how new its status is. I’d like to… Continue reading
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Welcome to Queen City Stories
Queen City Stories is a celebration of historic Selma, Alabama’s past and present. Although Selma is a popular tourist destination, almost all of its past is ignored save for its role in the Civil Rights movement. To me, that is a disservice… Continue reading
Queen City Stories 