Air Date: August 4, 2025

Donna Castellano, Executive Director of the Historic Huntsville Foundation, discusses the programs that the HHF has pursued. She discusses the Harrison Brothers Hardware store (HHF headquarters), the eleven National Historic Register nominations the HHF has made and the research projects into women’s and Black history that ensued from them, HHF walking tours, pop-up museum installations, funding, and the future of the HHF.

Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/4ap4c36y

Links mentioned in the episode --

Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/

AHA James Ray Kuykendall Award: https://www.alabamahistory.net/james-ray-kuykendall-award

Historic Huntsville Foundation: https://www.historichuntsville.org/

Harrison Brothers Hardware: https://harrisonbrothershardware.com/

National Register of Historic Places: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/index.htm

Old Town Historic District: https://oldtownhuntsville.org/

Twickenham Historic District (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/twickenham-historic-district/

Alice Boarman Baldridge: https://www.historichuntsville.org/alice-boarman-baldridge/

Six Black Women Voters: https://www.historichuntsville.org/black-suffragists/

Newspapers.com: https://www.newspapers.com/

Cornerstones of Freedom walking tour: https://huntsvillebusinessjournal.com/news/2025/05/30/cornerstones-of-history-walking-through-huntsvilles-black-business-legacy/

Footsteps to Statehood walking tour: https://www.historichuntsville.org/events/footsteps-to-statehood-a-walking-tour-through-history/

Daniel Brandon: https://cityblog.huntsvilleal.gov/brick-by-brick-constructing-the-history-of-henderson-and-daniel-brandon/

Justice for the Johnsons exhibit: https://www.historichuntsville.org/justice-for-the-johnsons/

Road to Lydia Drive exhibition: https://www.waaytv.com/news/lydia-drive-to-become-huntsvilles-first-historic-civil-rights-district/article_b3d1ca36-b10a-11ee-bad2-e3ebcceee6fb.html

Heinz Hilten (Collection at UAH): http://libarchstor.uah.edu:8081/repositories/2/resources/29

Werner von Braun: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun

The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff.

Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website www.alabamahistory.net.

Air date: July 7, 2025

Alabama Historical Association president for 2025-2026, Dr. Matthew Downs, discusses the AHA’s program for the upcoming year. He describes the October 24-25, 2025 Fall Pilgrimage in Guntersville and the April 9-11, 2026 annual meeting in Fairhope. Downs also talks about the importance of the Alabama Review that he edits and two AHA projects – the Speakers Bureau and the AHA Digitally Enhanced Marker map.

Transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/mw79d3ms

Links mentioned in the episode

Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/

Alabama Review: https://www.alabamahistory.net/the-alabama-review

Downs’s book Transforming the South: https://lsupress.org/9780807157145/transforming-the-south/

Alabama History Podcast Episode 15 (Downs on Transforming the South): https://soundcloud.com/alabamahistory/aha-015

Guntersville Historical Society: https://www.facebook.com/guntersvillehistoricalsociety/

Alabama History Podcast Episode 71 (Guntersville Historical Society): https://soundcloud.com/alabamahistory/aha-071

Lisa Shaul’s book Midnight Cry: https://ugapress.org/book/9781588385338/midnight-cry/

Fairhope, AL: https://www.fairhopeal.gov/

Coastal Alabama Community College Fairhope Campus: https://www.coastalalabama.edu/about/locations/fairhope/

Explore the Eastern Shore: https://www.exploreeasternshore.com/

AHA Speakers Bureau: https://www.alabamahistory.net/speakersbureau

AHA Digitally Enhanced Marker Project: https://www.alabamahistory.net/historical-markers-index

Alabama Heritage Magazine: https://www.alabamaheritage.com/

Encyclopedia of Alabama: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/

Alabama Men’s Hall of Fame: https://www.samford.edu/alabama-mens-hall-of-fame/Default

Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame: https://awhf.org/

The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff.

Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website www.alabamahistory.net.

Air Date: June 2, 2025

Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/fk7hby52

Dr. David Chase Stephens (AU ’24), winner of the Alabama Historical Association’s 2025 Sarah Woolfolk Wiggins Award for the best dissertation in Alabama History, discusses his dissertation entitled “To Obstruct and Resist: Paradise v. Allen, Integration Efforts, and the Alabama State Troopers” (Dec. 2024). Stephens examines the strum und drang of integrating the Alabama State Troopers by hiring and promoting Black and women officers. He examines the four major lawsuits at the heart of these efforts as well as resistance to integration that Gov. Guy Hunt dropped in the mid-1980s.

Links mentioned in the episode:

Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/

Sarah Woolfolk Wiggins Dissertation Award: https://www.alabamahistory.net/wiggins-dissertation-award

Stephens, “To Obstruct and Resist: Paradise v. Allen, Integration Efforts, and the Alabama State Troopers”: https://etd.auburn.edu/handle/10415/9481

Paradise v. Allen / NAACP v. Allen: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/paradise-v-allen/

Alabama Department of Public Safety: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/alabama-law-enforcement-agency/

US v. Frazer (1970): https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/317/1079/1415562/

Mieth v. Dothard (1976): https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/418/1169/1602972/

Dothard v. Rawlinson (1977): https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/433/321/

Gov. George Wallace: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/george-c-wallace-1963-67-1971-79-1983-87/

Gov. Fob James: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/forrest-fob-james-jr-1979-83-1995-99/

Gov. Guy Hunt: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/guy-hunt-1987-93/

Cowie, Freedom’s Dominion: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jefferson-cowie/freedom%E2%80%99s-dominion-winner-of-the-pulitzer-prize/9781541672819/?lens=basic-books

Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs.

If you enjoyed this edition of the Alabama History Podcast, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

Theo Moore, founder and executive director of Hiztorical Vision Productions, discusses receiving the 2025 Jakeman Award for Digital History (large project category) from the Alabama Historical Association. He talks about his past, current, and future films; his motivations for founding Hiztorical Vision Productions; and his plans for the future – including creating a studio, museum, and event space.

Transcript at this link: https://tinyurl.com/vpfz6ece

Links to things mentioned in the episode:

Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/

Hiztorical Vision Productions: https://hiztoricalvp.org/

Crown: the County of Lowndes (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD6cQejngU4&t=1s

Hobson City: From Peril to Promise (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byUHSHlieT0&t=4s

Afrikan by way of American (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRfhA2DzuJg&t=9s

Remembering John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital at Tuskegee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcjOu0y84Jg

Georgia Documentary Film Festival: https://filmfreeway.com/GeorgiaDocumentaryFilmFestival

Lanett Film Festival: https://filmfreeway.com/LanettCityFilmFestival

Southern Film Festival: https://filmfreeway.com/SouthernFilmFestival

Heritage House (Africatown museum): https://clotilda.com/

Tuskegee Institute Advancement League (TIAL): https://snccdigital.org/location/tuskegee-al/

Dr. Gwendolyn Patton: https://snccdigital.org/people/gwen-patton/

Sammy Younge, Jr.: https://snccdigital.org/events/murder-of-sammy-younge-snccs-statement-on-vietnam/

Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs.

If you enjoyed this edition of the Alabama History Podcast, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

Bert Harris, former president of the East Alabama Museum and the Genealogical Society of East Alabama, plus Jayson and Laura Hill, discuss Opelika’s history, tour sites, and other amenities the AHA will enjoy for its April 2025 annual meeting.

Transcript of episode: https://tinyurl.com/5a26sz5r

Links to items mentioned in the episode:

Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/ ;

Opelika, AL: https://www.opelika-al.gov/ ;

Museum of East Alabama: https://eastalabama.org/ ;

Treaty of Cusseta, 1832: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/treaty-of-cusseta-1832/ ;

Creek Removal: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/creek-indian-removal/ ;

Montgomery and West Point Railroad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_and_West_Point_Railroad ;

Rousseau’s Raid: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/rousseaus-raid/ ;

Textile mills: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/textile-industry-in-alabama/ ;

Norma Rae: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norma_Rae ;

John Herbert Orr: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/john-herbert-orr/ ;

Yoholo Micco: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/opothle-yoholo/ ;

Booker T. Washington: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/booker-t-washington/ ;

Booker T. Whatley, How to Make $100,000 Farming 25 Acres: https://archive.org/details/bookertwhatleysh0000what ;

Spring Villa (the Penn Yonge House): https://www.opelika-al.gov/321/Spring-Villa-History ;

Salem-Shotwell Bridge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem-Shotwell_Covered_Bridge ;

Darden House (John Wesley Darden): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/media/darden-house-in-opelika/ ;

Heritage House: https://heritagehouse1913.com/about/ ;

Brownfield House: https://auburnopelikaalrealestate.com/brownfield-house-in-opelika-al/ ;

John Emerald Distilling Company: https://johnemeralddistilling.com/about/ ;

Winston Smith T Hardware and Building Supply: https://www.smithtbuildingsupply.com/ ;

Opelika Sportsplex: https://www.opelika-al.gov/391/Opelika-Sportsplex-Aquatics-Center ;

Beans Mill: https://stephanielane2012.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/beans-mill/

Episode 81 – Dan Puckett discusses the Alabama Holocaust Commission

Air Date: January 7, 2025

Dan Puckett, chair of the Alabama Holocaust Commission, discusses the Commission’s history, mission, program of work, and future. He also talks about adding Holocaust studies to Alabama’s 2024 Social Studies Standards for K-12 education, the purposes of Holocaust education, and his 2014 book, In the Shadow of Hitler: Alabama’s Jews, the Second World War, and the Holocaust (University of Alabama Press). Dr. Puckett is a professor of history at Troy University.

Transcript here (caveat – possibly not 100 % accurate): https://tinyurl.com/mur9ap82

Links mentioned in this episode:

Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/

Alabama Holocaust Commission: https://alabamaholocaustcommission.org/

Alabama Department of Archives and History: https://archives.alabama.gov/

Yom HaShoah (via Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_HaShoah

Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education: https://www.gcholocaustcenter.org/

Alabama Holocaust Education Center: https://ahecinfo.org/

Alabama State Department of Education Social Studies Standards (available after ca. mid-January 2025): https://www.alabamaachieves.org/acad-stand/

Birmingham Public Library Department of Archives and Manuscripts: http://www.cobpl.org/locations/central/archives/

(Book) In the Shadow of Hitler: https://www.uapress.ua.edu/9780817381073/in-the-shadow-of-hitler/

Dr. Hayden McDaniel, Education Curator at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, discusses the Alabama History Institutes, annual professional development workshops for K-12 teachers.

Links discussed in the episode:

Alabama History Institute: https://archives.alabama.gov/teach-learn/professional-development/alabama-history-institutes.aspx /

Alabama Department of Archives and History: https://archives.alabama.gov/ /

Alabama Holocaust Education Center: https://ahecinfo.org/ /

Temple Beth-el: https://www.templebeth-el.net/ /

Rosenwald Schools (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/rosenwald-schools-in-alabama/ /

Booker T. Washington, “How to Build Up a Good School in the South”: https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/digital/collection/voices/id/4569/ /

Jesse Owens Museum: http://jesseowensmemorialpark.com/wordpress1/museum-3/ /

Alabama History Hub: http://www.archives.state.al.us/AlabamaHistoryHub.aspx /

AHI on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALHistoryEdu/ /

AHI on X (Twitter): https://x.com/alhistoryedu /

AHI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alhistoryedu/

Rather read? Here's a link to the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/554suymd

*Just a heads up – the provided transcript is likely to be less than 100% accurate.

The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff and its associate producer is Laura Murray.

Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website www.alabamahistory.net.

Dr. Isabela Morales, author of the multi-award winning book Happy Dreams of Liberty: An American Family in Slavery and Freedom (Oxford, 2022), discusses the Townsend family of Madison County, Alabama, particularly the 45 manumitted children and nieces of Samuel Townsend who will them their freedom and his fortune. Morales speaks about the Townsends’ diaspora and how “race, place, and money” affected their experience of freedom between the Civil War and the Jim Crow Era.

Links mentioned in the episode:

Dr. R. Isabela Morales: http://www.risabelamorales.com/

Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/

James F. Sulzby Award: https://www.alabamahistory.net/james-f-sulzby-book-award

Happy Dreams of Liberty: An American Family in Slavery and Freedom: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/happy-dreams-of-liberty-9780197531792?cc=ca&lang=en&

Hoole Special Collections Library, Univ. of Alabama: https://www.lib.ua.edu/libraries/hoole/

Septimus D. Cabaniss Papers, Estate of Samuel Townsend (Hoole Lib): https://archives.lib.ua.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/73817

Wilberforce University: https://wilberforce.edu/

Leavenworth, KS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leavenworth,_Kansas

Jim Crow in Alabama: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/segregation-jim-crow/

Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum: https://www.ssaamuseum.org/

Elizabeth Dale, the “Black Widow of Hazel Green”: https://huntsvillehistorycollection.org/hhc/browse-person.php?a=person&pe=Elizabeth%20Evans%20Hall%20Dale

Rather read? Here's a link to the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/5afmd542

*Just a heads up – the provided transcript is likely to be less than 100% accurate.

The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff and its associate producer is Laura Murray.

Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website www.alabamahistory.net.

Mr. Barry McNealy of Birmingham talks about receiving the Alabama Historical Association’s Virginia Van Der Veer Hamilton Award for 2024, given to a person who has significantly advanced Alabama history with the general public. Mr. McNealy is a classroom teacher, historical expert with the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, youth leader, and tour guide.

Links mentioned in the podcast:

Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/

Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton Award: https://www.alabamahistory.net/virginia-v-hamilton-award

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute: https://www.bcri.org/

Miles College: https://www.miles.edu/

Rev. Abraham Woods, Jr.: https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Abraham_Woods_Jr

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/fred-lee-shuttlesworth/

Ms. Rosa Parks: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/rosa-parks/

Parker High School, Birmingham: https://bhamwiki.com/w/Parker_High_School

Smithfield Community: https://bhamwiki.com/w/Smithfield_community

Dynamite Hill: https://bhamwiki.com/w/Dynamite_Hill

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/sixteenth-street-baptist-church/

“Four Little Girls” bombing: https://bhamwiki.com/w/1963_church_bombing

BCRI Legacy Youth Leadership Program: https://www.bcri.org/youth-and-families/

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: https://www.ushmm.org/

Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/alabama-christian-movement-for-human-rights-acmhr/

Boutwell Auditorium: https://bhamwiki.com/w/Boutwell_Auditorium

Nat King Cole assault and attempted kidnapping: https://bhamwiki.com/w/1956_Nat_King_Cole_assault

Father Coyle murder: https://bhamwiki.com/w/James_Coyle

Edmund Pettus Bridge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Pettus_Bridge

“Bloody Sunday” (Selma, AL, 1965): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/bloody-sunday/

Juneteenth Freedom Celebration (BCRI): https://www.bcri.org/event/juneteenth2024/

“Letter From Birmingham Jail”: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/letter-from-birmingham-jail/

Miss Odessa Woolfolk: https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Odessa_Woolfolk

PEACE Birmingham: https://www.acealabama.org/peacebirmingham.html

Rather read? Here's a link to the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3dhb5vat

*Just a heads up – the provided transcript is likely to be less than 100% accurate.

The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff and its associate producer is Laura Murray.

Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website www.alabamahistory.net.

Air Date: September 3, 2024

Ms. Jasponica Florence, chair of the local arrangements committee for the AHA’s 2024 Fall Pilgrimage to Phenix City, discusses the history of Phenix City (beginning with why the city name does not have an “O”); the pre-meeting tour sites in Russell County, AL; the Pilgrimage tour sites in Phenix City (with special emphasis on the Franchise Baptist Church and South Girard School); and the special program devoted to antebellum enslaved / manumitted bridge builder and native son Horace King.

Links referenced in the interview:

Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/

Fall 2024 AHA Newsletter (download PDF): https://www.alabamahistory.net/_files/ugd/3aaf16_7bf43642929b4d948f835115a0123a4f.pdf

Phenix City (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/phenix-city/

Movie, “The Phenix City Story,” 1955: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048488/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk ; (EOA) https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/the-phenix-city-story/

Ft. Benning / Ft. Moore (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Moore

Crawford Masonic Lodge (Historical marker Database): https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=111586

Crockettsville Store Museum: https://www.citizenofeastalabama.com/news/local_history/gazebo-crockettsville-general-store-open/article_34ff6bf8-8547-5972-976a-a3518c63170b.html

Ft. Mitchell (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/fort-mitchell/

Jones Store Museum: https://www.citizenofeastalabama.com/news/local/jones-museum-smiths-station-celebrates-opening-of-historic-jones-store-museum/article_8db09708-9a9a-5a51-b6c6-7d13316995df.html

Museum of Wonder: https://museumofwonder.com/

Russell County Courthouse at Seale (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_County_Courthouse_at_Seale

Horace King (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/horace-king/

Tom Lenard’s documentary, “Horace: The Bridge Builder King” (1995-96), part I: https://youtu.be/4qQWPX3oaNU?si=eYGI1Ijsg_W663PX

Albert Patterson (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/albert-l-patterson/

Phenix City Old Post Office (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenix_City_Post_Office_Building

Russell County Courthouse (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/media/russell-county-courthouse/

South Gerard School (Historical Marker Database): https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=253870

Trinity United Methodist Church: https://www.trinityumcpc.org/

New Central Missionary Baptist Church (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/NewCentralmbc8

Franchise Baptist Church: https://www.franchisebaptist.org/our-history/

Whitewater Rafting in Phenix City: https://alabamarecreationtrails.org/trail/chattahoochee-river-whitewater-phenix-city/

_Overcoming Twenty-Five Years of Separate but Unequal_ (iPublisher, 2021): https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/821211-overcoming-25-years-of-separate-but-unequal

Rather read? Here's a link to the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3m3v6z3z

*Just a heads up – the provided transcript is likely to be less than 100% accurate.

The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff and its associate producer is Laura Murray.

Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website www.alabamahistory.net.