Lily Flagg's Signal

On today's episode, I have returning guest Daniel Rhodes, the president of the Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society, a professional archaeologist, and an actual real-life friend of mine.  Join us as we chat about making archaeological education available in the classroom, what to do if you find human bones, communism in Alabama history (yes really), repatriation and respect for Indigenous groups in archaeology, Daniel saying the word "moist" multiple times in a professional context, shipwreck artifact preservation, the concept of studying other people's trash for a living, info on upcoming in-person events for archaeology and history enthusiasts, musings on future archaeologists finding Nokia phones, critiquing Indiana Jones's fashion, and how important it is to remember that this region's history didn't begin with John Hunt in 1805.

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠and ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts and supplementary maps for this tour) at ⁠⁠⁠lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com⁠⁠⁠. You can also be awesome like patrons like Allison, Bobby, Shaw, Whitney, Pat, Huntsvillustrated, Rachel, Eric, William, Laura, Emily, Josh, Stephen, Joe, Brian, Jody, Jeremiah, Hector, Emily, Shalin, and Jennifer by supporting the show monthly at ⁠⁠patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

Links of interest, alphabetically:

• Alabama Archaeological Society - https://www.alabamaarchaeology.org/
• Archaeology After Dark - https://www.youtube.com/@alabamaarchaeologicalsociety
• Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society - https://hmchs.org/
• Info on the Clotilda - https://www.mobile.org/things-to-do/history/african-american-heritage/clotilda/
• Project Archaeology - https://projectarchaeology.org/

Much of Huntsville’s history can be told through its theaters, including its growth, its conflicts, its industry, its debauchery, and glimpses into everyday life for over two centuries. This audio walking tour will guide you through downtown to locations of stage and screen past to showcase the importance of these sites and how they tie in with the city’s history as a whole. Don’t worry, there are some fun scandal and moral panic in there as well, plus the story of how I’m three degrees of separation from Elvis Presley. You can either follow the audio cues to walk along the 1.3 mile route as you listen OR enjoy it from the comfort of home, as I’ll have maps, images, and links posted to the podcast’s website for you to peruse as you listen.

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠and ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts and supplementary maps for this tour) at ⁠⁠lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com⁠⁠. You can also be awesome like patrons like Allison, Bobby, Shaw, Whitney, Pat, Huntsvillustrated, Rachel, Eric, William, Laura, Emily, Josh, Stephen, Joe, Brian, Jody, Jeremiah, Hector, Emily, Shalin, and Jennifer by supporting the show monthly at ⁠patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

What's the best way to get your request approved to change your historic house's exterior? Can I put a historic marker in my yard?  What house would you steal if you were a Scooby Doo villain?  Have you ever thought about how one day, 1990s McMansions will be considered historic? 

Katie Stamps, Huntsville's Historic Preservation Planner, was cool enough to come on the show today and talk about these and other burning questions about historic preservation.  Join me in this episode as I learn all about our city's historic districts, preservation laws and best practices, the occasional home restoration horror story, hot takes about the county courthouse, and so much more.

To learn more about Huntsville's Historic Preservation Office, find them on the city's website (⁠⁠https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/development/building-construction/historic-preservation/⁠⁠) or on social media ⁠⁠@huntsvillepreservation⁠⁠For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts and supplementary maps for this tour) at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

You can also be awesome like patrons like Allison, Eric, Huntsvillustrated, Laura, Emily C., Shalin, Stephen, and AboveAverageBeard by supporting the show monthly at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast⁠

I love April Fool’s Day, a day of pranks and misinformation and tomfoolery, so I wanted to tackle a subject that seems to have bamboozled Huntsvillians for a while now: the confederate monument, and really the city’s relationship with the confederacy as a whole.  There’s a lot of misinformation out there, like from the people responsible for the monument, and also some pretty wild but true fun facts. 

So what's the backstory on this monument to the confederacy, in a city whose representatives didn’t like the secession plans, where there wasn’t even a battle, with an inscription dedicated to a guy who barely even lived here?  Join me on a discussion of the lost cause narrative, construction disasters, terrible facial fair, and even worse poetry.

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts and supplementary maps for this tour) at ⁠⁠⁠⁠lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also be awesome like patrons like Allison, Eric, Huntsvillustrated, Laura, Emily C., Shalin, Stephen, and AboveAverageBeard by supporting the show monthly at ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

Sometimes, the only way to save a historic structure from demolition is to relocate it - or as I decided to say, "scoot" it - and this was the case for multiple buildings in Huntsville’s past. Today’s episode covers a few of these instances, including the log cabins at Burritt on the Mountain, the Public Inn, the Steamboat Gothic House, the Humphreys-Rodgers House, and the Clemens House, and the various challenges and workarounds that come with “scooting” these buildings across town.

In this second-of-its-kind episode, we're doing something a little different: an audio walking tour through the northern part of downtown Huntsville, Alabama, set in the year 1901.  We'll be exploring the Historic Black Business District and discussing the people, shops, churches, and transportation as you'd have seen it over a 120 years ago.  Complete with background sound effects, this tour starts at the corner of Jefferson and Clinton and is paced such that you can follow along the 0.6 mile route on foot or listen along from the comfort of your couch.

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on ⁠Facebook ⁠and ⁠Instagram⁠ at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts and supplementary maps for this tour) at ⁠lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com⁠. You can also be awesome like patrons like Allison, Eric, Huntsvillustrated, Laura, Emily C., Shalin, Stephen, and AboveAverageBeard by supporting the show monthly at patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

The thing about throwing a 150th birthday party for a growing city is that you get to pull out all the stops, like holding a week long party with a thousand-person stage production, beard growing contests mandated by the mayor, and an arsenal-sponsored beauty queen. However, such a milestone is also a chance to choose how you’ll be remembered, even if that means writing (and rewriting) your city’s history through rebranding that still impacts us today. 1955 was a pivotal time for Huntsville, Alabama, and this episode, I’ll be diving into the multi-faceted celebration that was our Sesquicentennial: the fun, the unhinged, the concerning, and everything between.

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts) at lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com. You can also be awesome like patrons like Allison, Eric, Huntsvillustrated, Laura, Emily C., Shalin, Stephen, and AboveAverageBeard by supporting the show monthly at patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

Have you ever wanted to pay your student debts in bacon, win a gold medal for cleanest dorm room, learn to fight with a broom, and become multi-lingual while enjoying the finest dining inside a Greek-temple-esque building and being banned from the local theatre?  If you answered yes to any of these, let me introduce you to the Huntsville Female College, an all-girls school that operated here from 1851 to 1895.  From their origins and course catalogs to daily life and pun-filled student newspaper, today’s episode takes you on a journey through local women’s education in the 19th century.

Huge thanks to SceneThat Tours for their sponsorship of this episode (www.scenethattours.com)

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts) at lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com. You can also be awesome like patrons like Allison, Emily, Eric, Huntsvillustrated, Laura, and Shalin by supporting the show monthly at patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

This podcast has been featuring highlights on individual topics from Huntsville's past for , but it's about time this show had a nice little round-up of the basics of the city's history, like the story of its founding and being named for John Hunt, the journey to statehood, some recognizable buildings, and famous leaders like Sam Houston... 

Oh, right.  This is the April Fools episode, so I'm actually talking about Huntsville, Texas, but fear not!  There are some fun similarities and comparisons between "our" North Alabama Huntsville and this one, and who doesn't love learning about a new place?

Huge thanks to SceneThat Tours for their sponsorship of this episode (www.scenethattours.com)

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts) at lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com. You can also be awesome like patrons like Allison, Emily, Eric, Huntsvillustrated, Laura, and Shalin by supporting the show monthly at patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast