The MSNHA Blog

By Lee Freeman, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library,Local History-Genealogy Department NOTE: This article quotes language from contemporary newspapers, documents, reports and letters that was commonly used at the time but today we

By Joshua Grigsby MSNHA graduate assistant Talking to a co-worker today made me think about how much culture changes over relatively small distances. We began speaking about accents and how

By Julia McGee M.A. in public history from the University of North Alabama, December, 2019 Former MSNHA graduate assistant While every moment I spent in the University of North Alabama’s

By Billy Ray Warren Florence City Historian According to tourism professionals, more and more people, it seems, enjoy historic walking tours. There are others, though, who, for various reasons –

By Seth Armstrong MSNHA Native American Heritage Consultant Spring Park returns to its roots as a place of gathering for Native Americans and Alabamians during the annual Oka Kapassa Festival–a

By Brian Corrigan MSNHA historic-preservation consultant Photos by Dick Cooper, used with permission Beloved Shoals-based musician and songwriter Donnie Fritts, a pioneer of “country soul” whose songs have been recorded

By Billy Warren Florence City Historian No one ever said that a Renaissance Faire could not be set in motion after only three months of planning. At least, no one

By Lee Freeman, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Local History-Genealogy Dept. One of the factories which put Florence on the map in the late 19th-early 20th centuries was the Florence Wagon Works,

By Brian Dempsey,  Ph.D. Assistant professor of history & director of the Public History Center University of North Alabama, Florence In collaboration with photographer James Startt  Slightly revised from “Music

A House Divided: Lauderdale Countians and the Civil War By Lee Freeman, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Local History-Genealogy Dept.      Florence’s Confederate monument outside the present (third) courthouse might cause

By Lee Freeman Florence-Lauderdale Public Library Local History-Genealogy Dept. Florence native Lee Freeman has been the local historian-genealogist at the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library since 1997. The author of one book