Lily Flagg's Signal

In today's episode, I got to sit down with Veronica Henderson (director) and Heather Adkins (curator and archivist) of the Alabama State Black Archives Research Center and Museum, which is located on the campus of Alabama A&M University.  We talked about the origins and importance of the archives; the significance of building trust within the community to collect, preserve, and share their stories; "filling in the blanks" of state history where Black voices and contributions weren't properly represented; and how you can visit and research at the archive.

You can find the State Black Archive's website here, including information about visiting, contacting, and donating.

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

Dead Children’s Playground, the train depot, Sally Carter, the Black Widow of Hazel Green… if you’ve been in Huntsville for a while, you may have heard legends of hauntings or eerie happenings related to these names. While I'm not sold on the idea of ghosts, and I've never been a fan of sensationalizing and embellishing, these stories have their origins in local history, and talking about the paranormal is a great way to get people interested in the area's past. On today’s just-for-fun bonus episode, I’m sharing a few of these tales and the history behind them, as well as my own creepy experience at the historic train depot, where I considered taking on a confederate ghost with a sword.

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

It’s finally time for the first installment in a much-requested series: a general overview of Huntsville, Alabama, history. This episode will cover the area's past from the first humans arriving in the area approximately 11,500 years ago all the way to Alabama’s statehood in 1819. Along the way, I’ll talk about indigenous burial mounds and artifacts, the illegal squatter for whom my hometown is named, my least favorite historical president, some notable firsts and iconic early Huntsvillians like Reverend William Harris, a few political and banking scandals, and of course LeRoy Pope. That man got around.

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

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