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.