King Cotton to Space Capital: The Huntsville-Madison County Story

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KING COTTON TO SPACE CAPITAL 

The Huntsville-Madison County Story 

by Jacquelyn Procter Reeves 

A publication of the 

Huntsville-Madison County 

Historical Society 

HPNbooks 

A division of Lammert Incorporated 

San Antonio, Texas

D E D I C A T I O N 

This book is proudly dedicated, by myself and the members of the Huntsville/Madison County 

Historic Society, to the late Raneé Green Pruitt, long time archivist for the Huntsville/Madison 

County Public Library. Scores of books published in the last thirty years acknowledge 

Raneé’s contribution to the writer, as well as our local history. Many of us remember phone 

calls from Raneé that began with, “I came across some information that I think you can do 

something with…” and we were soon involved in a new and exciting project. Her death, on 

December 5, 2011, left a void in the historic community, the public library, as well as my own life. 

First Edition 

Copyright © 2013 HPNbooks 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing 

from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to HPNbooks, 11535 Galm Road, Suite 101, San Antonio, Texas, 78254. Phone (800) 749-9790, www.hpnbooks.com. 

ISBN: 978-1-939300-16-4 

Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2013948503 

King Cotton to Space Capital: The Huntsville-Madison County Story 

author: Jacquelyn Procter Reeves 

contributing writers for sharing the heritage: Garnette Bane, Christy O’Shoney 

HPNbooks 

president: Ron Lammert 

project manager: Joe Bowman 

administration: Donna M. Mata, Melissa G. Quinn 

book sales: Dee Steidle 

production: Colin Hart, Evelyn Hart, Glenda Tarazon Krouse, Tony Quinn 

PRINTED IN MALAYSIA. 

K I N G C O T T O N T O S P A C E C A P I T A L 

2

CONTENTS 

2 DEDICATION 

4 INTRODUCTION 

5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

6 CHAPTER 1 Growing Pains 

15 CHAPTER 2 While Cotton was King 

26 CHAPTER 3 An Uncivil War 

41 CHAPTER 4 A New Era 

54 CHAPTER 5 The War to End All Wars 

58 CHAPTER 6 Another World War 

61 CHAPTER 7 The Conquest of Space 

72 CHAPTER 8 Progress and Prosperity 

82 CHAPTER 9 Mother Nature’s Wrath 

85 CHAPTER 10 Beyond Huntsville 

92 SHARING THE HERITAGE 

157 SPONSORS 

159 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

C O N T E N T S 

3

INTRODUCTION 

✧ 

This log cabin home of the Snyder-Fanning 

families was built c. 1839. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE HUNTSVILLE/ 

MADISON COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

Those of us lucky enough to live in Madison County find it an easy place to promote. Residents 

are in touch with their historic past, but we love to brag about our contribution to the space 

program as well as our role in military defense. We are an intensely patriotic community and our 

service men and women are our heroes. 

We, the people of Alabama, acknowledge our imperfections, our historic failures, and we 

recognize our shortcomings. We also try to right the wrongs and embrace our triumphs. We are 

aware of the negative perceptions the outside world has of us, but we know they are wrong. 

In writing this book, I have tried to convey an accurate representation of the people, the places, 

and the events of Madison County’s history. There are lows, along with the highs, as in real life. 

But in the bright light of day, Madison County is a shining example of the best that life has to 

offer. The American dream, with the right combination of guts and ambition, is all around us. 

Two hundred years ago, our ancestors came to this wilderness with a pioneer’s dream. 

More than a century later, pioneers in space came to Madison County to work together to conquer 

a new wilderness. One cannot help but wonder if our Alabama ancestors ever looked up at the 

moon on a dark night and thought that one day man would walk on the moon. What would they 

think if that dream was made possible with the help of people who would someday walk the 

same streets? 

I have offered a snapshot of these events, and it is my wish that my writing may find a way to 

inspire you, the reader, to find out more, dig a little deeper, and in the process, instill in you the 

passionate love of history I carry with me every day. 


4 

–Jacquelyn Procter Reeves

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

A number of people have helped me put this together. Superstars at the Huntsville/Madison 

County Public Library include Susanna Leberman, Thomas Hutchens, Richard White, and 

Elisabeth Spalding. They are always ready to help with a smile. My husband, Robert Reeves, 

gave me great advice and chased photographs. Brian Hogan’s research on past projects we worked 

on together gave me invaluable information. Ron Bledsoe, Gary Wicks, Bob Adams, David Byers, 

Nancy Rohr, and Holly McLoughlin were gracious with their suggestions and generous with 

their knowledge. 

✧ 

The Huntsville Depot, built in 1860 for the 

Memphis & Charleston Railroad. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JACQUE PROCTER REEVES. 

Thank you, 

Jacquelyn Procter Reeves 

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S 

5

C H A P T E R 1 

GROWING PAINS 

✧ 

Early pioneers, who grew rich growing 

cotton, called it “white gold.” 



By carbon dating charcoal found in ancient campsites, it has been established that Paleo 

Indians wandered the area known as Madison County, Alabama, more than 10,000 years ago. 

They were believed to be descendants of Asians who migrated over the Bering Strait land bridge 

into North America some 20,000 years ago. Sharks’ teeth, fossils, and skeletons tell us that 

Alabama was once under seawater. 


6

Spanish Conquistadors came through the 

Southeast in the 1500s and established a 

relationship of distrust and conquest with the 

Indians that would continue for centuries. 

The earliest permanent settlers in Madison 

County—those who arrived after 1800— 

formed a somewhat symbiotic relationship 

with the Indians. Caution and tolerance, 

from both sides, would prove beneficial 

to all. 

Isaac and Joseph Criner, the first white 

settlers, built a cabin in 1804 at an area that 

would become New Market, which they 

called the Mountain Fork of the Flint River. 

The following year, John McCartney built 

his cabin at the place we now know as Hazel 

Green. These men would not be alone 

for long. 

Pioneer John Hunt visited the Criners 

with his friend, Andrew (some sources say 

David) Bean sometime in 1805. They spent 

the night with the Criners and heard about 

a place called “the big spring” where the 

wildlife was abundant and the scenery was 

captivating. The Criners had been there with 

Stephen McBroom a year or so earlier, and 

the two newcomers had to see it for 

themselves. The following morning, they left 

in search of the spring, and gratefully took 

with them a loaf of fresh bread baked by 

Joseph Criner’s wife. 

When they arrived, Hunt and Bean found 

lush greenery and a tall canopy of trees 

over a spring of fresh clear water that flowed 

over and through limestone rock. The area 

attracted wild animals and friendly Indians, 

not to mention hundreds of rattlesnakes. A 

partially built cabin, described as a pole 

lean-to, had been crudely constructed. To the 

newcomers, it appeared to be have been an 

abandoned project. Some today think it 

was the partial cabin built by John Ditto, 

a Loyalist who perhaps found his North 

Carolina neighborhood too hostile after the 

American victory in the Revolution and 

took the hint to move on. Others believe it 

belonged to Samuel Davis and some of his 

sons, who began construction on the cabin 

and traveled back to Tennessee for their 

families. Either way, after battling the many 

rattlesnakes, John Hunt finished the cabin. 

Samuel Davis was furious when he 

returned to find John Hunt had moved in to 

the home he started. Davis moved on to 

Plevna, and according to one story, said he 

“would never be a neighbor to a man who 

would use another man’s logs.” Historians 

cannot agree on who that first lean-to 

belonged to—Samuel Davis or John Ditto—a 

detail that will remain forever hidden in the 

soft black of the past. 

John Hunt, thought to be a veteran of 

the American Revolution, a native of Virginia, 

a transplant to North Carolina and then 

to Tennessee, recognized that there was 

something special about this oasis and the 

rich soil that promised prosperity. He must 

have known others would recognize the 

significance as well. Even though it was still 

Indian land, he named his stake “Hunt’s 

Spring,” so those who followed would 

recognize it would someday be his legal 

home. Like Samuel Davis before him, John 

Hunt also traveled back to Tennessee to bring 

his family to their new home. 

In the blink of an eye, others came in 

wagons, on horseback, and even on foot. 

They came alone, with extended family 

members, and with scores of other families. 

They built crude log cabins without metal 

for hinges or glass for windows and began 

to clear the land to grow their crops. The 

land was not yet theirs to own, but they 

were patient. 

Although John Hunt’s instincts regarding 

the Big Spring property were correct, his 

dream was bought out from under him by 

a wealthy man with deeper pockets. LeRoy 

Pope outbid everyone else at the Nashville 

land sale. Hunt eventually left the community 

and most historians believe he moved back 

to Tennessee. LeRoy Pope, on the other hand, 

was here to stay. 

Trees in the forest around the Big Spring 

were so tall there was no sunlight to 

encourage any undergrowth. Historian 

Thomas Taylor wrote that one could drive 

a wagon anywhere through the trees and a 

running deer could be seen a quarter of a 

mile away. The fine homes built in those early 

days were constructed with planks as wide 

as eighteen inches, hewn from those trees. 


7

✧ 

Alabama’s second governor, Thomas Bibb. 

Legend says he died unexpectedly in 

New Orleans and his body was shipped 

back in a barrel of whiskey for burial. 

There were already others in and around 

the area long before the earliest settlers 

arrived. Choctaw and Creek Indians were 

firmly established, but it was mostly the 

Chickasaws and Cherokees who inhabited 

North Alabama. They bartered with the white 

men, told them about the caves and wildlife, 

and peacefully co-existed—for the most part. 

Pioneer women learned to bring their quilts 

and weaving projects inside their cabins 

every evening, lest they find their work had 

been cut from frames and looms sometime 

during the night from the sheds where they 

toiled. Anything left outside overnight was 

gone by morning. Even Isaac Criner’s beehive 

was stolen. Days later, when he stopped to 

visit an Indian settlement, he was offered his 

stolen honey with his meal! 

In July, 1805, a treaty with the king of the 

Chickasaw Nation, Chinubbee Mingo, ceded 

Chickasaw property to the United States in 

return for an annual $100 payment for life 

(for Mingo only). In January 1806, Cherokee 

Indian Chief Black Fox ceded Cherokee 

property to the United States government for 

the same payment—$100 per year for life. 

In addition, the tribe would receive $8,000 

over four years, a grist mill, and cotton 

cleaner. The combined acreage in these two 

deals made up 345,600 acres and became 

known, in 1808, as Madison County. 

As other settlers came to the area 

surrounding the Big Spring, the Indians began 

to move on. The first survey, finished in 1809, 

revealed there were 353 heads of families, 

1,150 white men, 723 white women, and 332 

slaves. Thomas Freeman, the land surveyor, 

seemed to be the appropriate person to 

conduct the population survey! He must have 

felt some pressure from those “tenants at will” 

who were itching to buy their land and lay 

roots in the soil. The survey, perhaps not 

completely accurate, was conducted only at 

certain times of the year because of the 

presence of the aforementioned rattlesnakes. 

The town that would become known as 

Huntsville was beginning to take shape. 

Surveyor John Coffee was instructed to lay out 

the streets. He was told to “let the plan of the 

town be as dashing as possible and the ground 

on which it shall stand as eligible as may be.” 

Other settlers built their cabins on 

property that was still in Indian territory. 

Government agents were sent to roust them 

out, but as soon as the agents were gone, the 

squatters scurried back. Some were unaware 

that the property was not about to be offered 

for sale, but they assumed it would be soon. 

One man refused to give water to a surveyor, 

who promptly set the survey line around 

the man’s property. With the stroke of a pen, 

the surveyor ensured the pioneer’s home was 

still on Indian property, making it illegal for 

him to live there! 

Smaller communities began to pop up 

around the Hunt’s Spring area. The pioneers 

had just what they needed—the seclusion 

offered by the wilderness for privacy with 

neighbors not too far away if they needed 

help. In the area where Brownsboro, Maysville, 

and Ryland converge, the largest group of early 

settlers came together. 

Soon other elements of civilization began 

to arrive. Circuit riding preachers brought 

religion and a militia was formed because 

there was no civil law to protect the citizens. 

A distillery and a bank were added to the 

businesses and a Masonic Lodge for men 

to gather, network, and perhaps enjoy a 

temporary respite from female influence. 

“Dancing frolics” were held in private homes 

and men passed the time playing cards 

and racing horses. Of course there were 

plenty of stills hidden in the woods behind 

remote cabins! 

Wyatt Bishop opened the first school. 

Little is known of that endeavor, but in those 

days before public education was available 

for all, only the wealthy could afford to 

educate their children. Girls were taught to 

sew, speak foreign languages fluently, dance, 

and preside over a dinner party. In other 

words, they learned all that was essential to 

snag an appropriate husband. The boys were 

taught military tactics, oration, fencing, and 

how to be future politicians and leaders. 

Before slave codes dictated what slave 

owners could and could not do, children 

of slaves were sometimes taught alongside 

the white children, or tutored by white 

children after their own lessons. There was 

little doubt that a slave who could read a 


8

ecipe or measure wood was of greater value, 

but later on in the century, it became illegal 

for slaves to be taught to read and write. 

The fear was that freedom could be had for 

those appropriately armed with knowledge. 

On Monday, August 7, 1809, the first of 

the land sales were conducted in Nashville, 

making it difficult for many farmers to travel 

so far away. Levi Hinds was the first to put his 

money down for Huntsville property. George 

Smith bought the first parcel of property near 

New Market, and Charles Cabaniss made the 

first purchase at Hazel Green. While most of 

the property sold for $2.00 per acre, LeRoy 

Pope bid $23.50 per acre for the homesite of 

John Hunt. In fact, William Anderson, James 

Jackson, and LeRoy Pope bought the quarter 

section, which contained the Big Spring on 

August 25, 1809, for a total of $3,763.29. 

By October of that year, nearly 24,000 acres 

had been sold for $67,520. 

Pope was a native of Virginia, but was 

living in Petersburg, Georgia, along with other 

Virginia transplants when the fertile bend in 

the Tennessee River was opened for land sales. 

He hustled into the future State of Alabama, 

still part of the Mississippi Territory, with 

other members of the “Georgia Faction” to 

grow rich planting cotton. They bought more 

property than they could pay for, in some 

✧ 

Alabama’s second governor, Thomas Bibb, 

built this family home on Williams Street. 

It served as the headquarters for U.S. 

General W. T. Sherman during the Union 

occupation of the Civil War. The columns 

are wider at the bottom than at the top, 

giving them the illusion of greater height. 




9

✧ 

The Huntsville Female College opened 

for business on Randolph Street in 1851. 

The girls were turned out during the Union 

occupation so soldiers could sleep in 

the beds. 



cases, and put their politicians into place. 

They brought slaves too, to perform the backbreaking 

labor in the cotton fields. 

Pope wanted the name “Twickenham” for 

the growing community. It was the name of 

the estate owned by Alexander Pope, the 

renowned poet who lived outside of London. 

On December 23, 1809, the Mississippi 

Territory Legislature officially changed the 

name of the community known as Hunt’s 

Spring to Twickenham. Perhaps it was the 

name, but most likely the audacity of LeRoy 

Pope that flew in the face of the good people 

of Hunt’s Spring/Twickenham. On November 

25, 1811, the Territorial Legislature renamed 

the town in honor of John Hunt, the first 

pioneer. While the oldest historic district is 

still known as Twickenham, the name of the 

town would forever be known as Huntsville. 

Pope had, in some respects, the best interests 

of the community at heart. He established 

the first bank, built himself a fine mansion, 

and sold two acres of his property that would 

become the city cemetery known much later 

as Maple Hill. 

Changes began to occur with lightning 

speed. Streets were laid out and many 

were named for heroes of the American 

Revolution: Greene, Lincoln, Gates, 

Washington, and Eustis. Others were named 

for prominent Americans from that era: 

Clinton, Holmes, Gallatin, Jefferson, Adams, 

Madison, Randolph, and Franklin. As the 

community expanded, other streets were 

named for prominent residents: McClung, 

Echols, Lowe, and Monroe. Williams Street 

was named for Robert Williams, governor of 

the Mississippi Territory. 

In 1811, Huntsville became the first town 

incorporated in the State of Alabama. The 

second community incorporated in Madison 

County was named Triana, located where 

Indian Creek joins with the Tennessee River. 

Named in honor of the sailor on the 

Christopher Columbus expedition who first 

spotted land in the new world, Triana became 

an important place from which to ship cotton 

to faraway places. 

Many of those early settlers were veterans 

of the American Revolution. Though their 


10

hair was gray by the time they arrived in this 

part of the country—and the English enemies 

were long gone—the veterans knew how to 

handle a rifle and provide a sense of security 

for those coming into a land of wild animals 

and unpredictable humans. 

Charles Cabaniss established the first 

cotton gin located at the Barren Fork of 

the Flint River. David Moore built another 

at about the same time and log cabins were 

slowly replaced by plantation homes. But 

paradise was not without problems. 

Relations with the Indians in the southern 

part of the territory became increasingly 

hostile. On August 30, 1813, the Red Stick 

faction of the Creek Indians attacked the 

residents of Ft. Mims, located about thirtyfive 

miles north of Mobile. It was the worst 

massacre by Indians in American history. 

The carnage began at lunchtime, when the 

residents were eating their meal and the front 

gate was unlocked. More than 500 men, 

women, and children were scalped, slaughtered, 

and burned by a force of over 1,000 

✧ 

Engraving of Twickenham, England, 

home of poet Alexander Pope. 




1 1

✧ 

Right: Jim Maples represents Albert Russel, 

a Revolutionary War soldier buried at the 

historic Maple Hill Cemetery. This picture 

was taken during the annual Maple Hill 

Cemetery Stroll, an event that draws an 

estimated 4,000 people every year. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JIM MAPLES. 

Below: This 1898 photograph appears to 

have been taken from the front porch of 

LeRoy Pope’s home. Except for the home 

left of center (known locally as the 

“Spite House”) Pope would have enjoyed the 

finest view of Huntsville. 



Indians. As gruesome details of the atrocities 

spread around the globe, paralyzing fear 

among non-Indians reached new heights. 

Within weeks, a rumor reached Huntsville 

that Creek Indians were on their way to kill 

everyone. It was just that—a rumor, but a 

possibility. Andrew Jackson was summoned 

from his home in Tennessee, by General 

George S. Gains, to bring his militia south to 

take care of the hostile Creeks, once and for 

all. David Crockett was among those who 

answered the call, though his wife objected. 

Crockett reminded her that if the Indians 

were not stopped immediately, he would 

eventually have to fight them at their 

Tennessee home. Sam Houston came as well. 

In October 1813, Jackson and his men 

camped on present-day Holmes Avenue and 

Lincoln Street for several days as Jackson 

gathered weapons, supplies, and recruited 

local men. Huntsville resident Dr. Thomas 

Fearn served as the regimental surgeon and 

dressed the wounds of Andrew Jackson, sustained 

before his arrival in Huntsville during 

a duel. Dr. Fearn would later become instrumental 

in discovering the use of quinine, 


12

made from the bark of trees, to treat malaria 

and typhoid—a huge medical breakthrough. 

The Creek Indian Wars, fought over the fall 

and winter of 1813-1814, culminated in the 

final clash at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend 

on March 27, 1814, near Dadeville, Alabama. 

Jackson and his men were celebrated for their 

victory at the Huntsville home of LeRoy Pope in 

early May. While many people use the expression, 

“the good Lord willing and the creek 

don’t rise,” most are unaware that the roots of 

the expression refer to Creek Indian uprisings! 

Religion came into Madison County as 

well. A circuit riding Cumberland Presbyterian 

minister by the name of Robert Donnell 

organized a congregation in 1809. He wrote 

to Reverend William Harris on December 23, 

1814, “I am now in Madison County and 

shall remain here till Spring. The country is 

very destitute of preaching and religion [is] 

at quite a low ebb. The hearts of the people 

are carried away with the world, so that they 

talk of little else but corn, cotton, and the 

price of land.” 

✧ 

Joshua Cox built his home extra tall to block 

the view of LeRoy Pope who boasted that 

from the front porch of his home, he had the 

finest view of Huntsville. It is known locally 

as the “Spite House.” 



1 3

✧ 

The First Cumberland Presbyterian Church 

dedicated in 1850 by Reverend Robert 

Donnell. Huntsville’s Central Presbyterian 

Church now occupies this site. 



Three years later, on December 29, 1817, 

Reverend Donnell wrote to Hugh Bone, 

“I am now on my way to Madison County, 

Alabama. O, that the Lord would go with 

me!” As he held camp meetings and 

established country churches in Tennessee 

and North Alabama, there were always more 

women than men who came during crop 

season. Men toiled in the fields, but women 

were usually more determined than the men 

to bring “civilization” into their homes. 

Small towns and smaller communities 

within the Madison County border began to 

grow as more settlers arrived. Some dried up 

and faded away as gradually as they came 

into existence. The towns of Mechanicsville, 

Three Forks of the Flint, Manchester, 

Hardan’s Mill, Glasscocks, Kelly’s Crossing, 

and Hillsborough Town no longer remain, 

even in distant memory. Buckhorn and 

Riverton are known today as schools within 

the communities that once carried the same 

name. Cloud’s Town, later named Vienna and 

finally New Hope, lies beyond the Madison 

County communities of Big Cove and Owens 

Cross Roads. As subdivisions grow, the cotton 

fields that separate them from Huntsville are, 

sadly, beginning to disappear. 


14


WHILE COTTON WAS KING 

In 1817 the Mississippi Territory was divided when Mississippi acquired statehood. The 

territory of Alabama was established and residents began to look toward statehood as well. 

John Williams Walker asked for help from his influential friends in Congress to grant permission 

to hold a constitutional convention. The Enabling Act, which opened the door to the creation of 

a constitution, was approved by President James Monroe on March 12, 1819. At John Walker’s 

urging, the convention was held in Huntsville, and while St. Stephens was the territorial capital, 

Huntsville now claimed the title of provisional capital. 

On July 5, 1819, 44 delegates from 22 counties convened to begin the task of writing 

Alabama’s first constitution. These men were bright and ambitious, and most had experience in 

the political realm in others states. Of these men, eight were attorneys, four were physicians, 

two were ministers, one was a surveyor, one a merchant and four were planters. Nine had 

legislative or judicial experience in other states; at least eight had some college education. 

Of those distinguished gentlemen, six would become governors, six judges of the supreme court, 

six U.S. senators, and William Rufus King would become a vice president, though his early death 

precluded him from actually serving in that capacity. 

John Williams Walker served as president of the convention that met in Walker Allen’s cabinet 

shop on Gates Avenue. His amiable personality made him the obvious choice as chairman. 

He once said, 

✧ 

Cotton picking time. 



I drink buttermilk for the health of my body, wine for the exhilaration of my spirit, and whiskey to 

prove and strengthen my republicanism. I sleep till 8 o’clock because I am lazy and smoke at all hours 

of the day and night because it is my good pleasure. 

But he was persuaded to rise early that summer in 1819, to finish the constitution post-haste. 

On August 2 the task was complete. Walker addressed the members of the convention: 

Our labors are now at an end. We have given to the State of Alabama, a Constitution—not indeed 

perfect…yet emphatically Republican, and as such, gives us a clear and indisputable title to admission 

in the great family of the Union…. 


1 5

The new constitution, considered especially 

progressive for the day, was sent to 

President James Monroe for his signature. 

On December 14, 1819, Alabama became 

the twenty-second state of the great United 

States. The inauguration of Alabama’s first 

governor, William Wyatt Bibb, was held 

in Huntsville. 

For the next forty years, Madison County 

prospered and grew. In 1823, Dr. Thomas 

Fearn built one of the first waterworks 

systems in America, using hollowed cedar 

logs for pipes. Soon he developed a plan to 

build a canal from the Big Spring to the 

Tennessee River so that cotton bales could 

be transported more easily to New Orleans. 

It was a tremendous undertaking, and the 

skeptics wondered aloud if he was more than 

just a little eccentric! But the Indian Creek 


16

✧ 

Opposite, top: A creative, and unidentified, 

chef dusts “snow” over a gingerbread 

miniature recreation of the buildings at 

present-day Constitution Village. 



Opposite, bottom: Hollowed cedar logs 

served as Huntsville’s first water system. 



Left: A recreation of the buildings that were 

present when forty-four delegates met from 

twenty-two counties in the hot summer of 

1819 take visitors back to that era where 

one can almost hear the issues that were 

discussed in the creation of Alabama’s 

first constitution. 



1 7

✧ 

The once palatial home of Elizabeth Dale 

Gibbons Flanagan Jeffries High Brown Routt 

stood high atop what was believed to be an 

Indian mound. Elizabeth, also known as the 

“Black Widow of Hazel Green” left her 

home after the death of husband number six 

and moved to Mississippi. This home, where 

the last four of her husbands lived with her 

(briefly), burned to the ground in the 1960s. 



Canal was a success, and the naysayers 

were won over. Another Huntsville pioneer, 

architect George Steele, was especially relieved 

because the building materials for the State 

National Bank were transported right up to 

the building site on the canal. 

Nearly everyone who built a house in 

the area knew the name of George Steele. 

He built several homes on Randolph Street, 

as well as the bank and the beautiful second 

Madison County Courthouse. Unfortunately, 

the Financial Panic of 1819, exacerbated by 

the plummeting price of cotton, brought hard 

times into almost every household. Those 

who had bought Steeles’ houses on credit 

could not pay. 

Strict regulations on the financing of 

land purchases caused many to lose 

everything they had, including a means of 

making a living. The Financial Panic led 

the way for relaxed lending laws, but it did 

not happen in time to keep many residents 

from moving on to greener and more 

lucrative pastures. 

An interesting astronomical event took 

place on Tuesday, November 12, 1833, and 

for decades after, people marked time by 

recalling events took place “before the stars 

fell” or “after the stars fell.” This spectacular 

phenomenon was the Leonid meteor storm. 

It was visible over most of the eastern part 

of the United States, and caused widespread 

panic. It was especially brilliant in Alabama. 

Sometime after midnight on that 

November night, the meteor shower began. 

The intensity increased and it became so 

bright that it appeared to be daylight. People 

hid under tables and beds and many prayed 

for forgiveness for their sins. One man even 

confessed that he had planned to rob a bank. 

Cards and dice were thrown into fireplaces 

by men filled with repentance. 


18

On one plantation, slaves ran into the 

fields and threw themselves on the ground, 

rolling and crying in alarm. The woman of 

the house went out and read passages from 

the Bible in an attempt to soothe them, but 

it was to no avail. Finally, the master of the 

plantation put his own assessment on the 

situation. He cursed the slaves and railed 

against them. Strangely enough, it had a 

soothing effect. Believing that it must not be 

Judgment Day after all, for surely the master 

would not invite the wrath of God in such a 

manner, the slaves reasoned that it was not 

what they had feared. 

It appeared the stars originated from one 

point in the constellation Leo. Actually, it was 

an optical illusion—known as a vanishing 

point. Scientists named the phenomenon 

Leonids, Latin for the constellation Leo. 

Stars Fell on Alabama became the name of a 

well-known book, as well as a hit song, just 

over 100 years later. 

It took a few years, but George Steele eventually 

recovered from financial ruin and built 

a new plantation home called Oak Place. His 

slaves were talented artisans who turned 

ordinary buildings into works of art. George 

held a grand barbecue to honor newlyinaugurated 

President James K. Polk in 1845. 

A six-foot-tall cake was carefully transported 

from Nashville for the pleasure of 2,000 

invited guests. Party-goers feasted on turkey, 

duck, veal, mutton, and ox along with 200 

additional cakes. To commemorate the event, 

special guests received hand-carved canes made 

from wood taken from nearby Monte Sano. 

Upon the occasion of George Steele’s death 

in 1855, the revelation of his will proved to 

be quite interesting. He left a large amount of 

money to a mulatto slave and her four children, 

with instructions that they be taken to 

a free state to live out their lives. The assumption 

was, of course, that the children were 

fathered by him. He complained that his wife 

✧ 

The final home of architect George Steele 

was known as Oak Place. His slaves were 

the artisans who created many stunning 

buildings, still appreciated today. When he 

died in 1855, a simple flat stone was placed 

over his grave. Although he designed some 

of the mausoleums at Maple Hill Cemetery, 

he said that the monument to his life should 

be the buildings he left behind. This 

Maysville Road home is open for tours. 




1 9

and daughters could spend his money faster 

than he could make it, and after his debts 

were paid, little was left. His architectural 

business was taken over by his son, Matthew. 

Andrew Jackson, now President of the 

United States, had an unpopular decision to 

make. He signed the Indian Removal Act in 

1830 which tore Indians from their ancestral 

lands, even though it had been sold out from 

under them decades before. The Trail of Tears 

passed through Madison County and is 

remembered as one of the tragedies of 

American history. Richard Gipson, who lived 

in the Maysville area, was married to a 

Cherokee girl from nearby Hurricane Valley. 

As members of her family passed by the 

Gipson home, they pleaded with her to go 

with them out west. She elected to remain 

with her white husband. 

No one knows exactly how the Madison 

County town of Hazel Green acquired its 

unusual name, but it will always be known 

for an early resident shrouded in scandal and 

surrounded by death. One of Elizabeth Dale’s 

slaves was tried for the attempted murder 

of Elizabeth’s neighbor, Abner Tate, and her 

salacious murder plot unraveled. By the time 

she left Alabama, she added more names to 

the one she was born with. Elizabeth Dale 

Gibbons Flanagan Jeffries High Brown Routt, 

✧ 

An oil painting of Sophia Manning Lowe 

and her son Peyton was created by John 

Grimes. The painting is now on display at 

the Weeden House Museum on Gates Street 





20

known as the Black Widow of Hazel Green, 

lost all six husbands to one suspicious malady 

after another. She must have been charming 

and beautiful, for marriage to her came with 

a high price. Elizabeth was married to her 

first husband for eighteen years, until his 

unfortunate death from black tongue. Her 

second husband, Philip Flanagan, died after 

only six months of marriage, and he was 

buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville. 

Husband number three, Alexander Jeffries, 

was twenty-two years her senior. It was through 

Mr. Jeffries that she acquired a plantation and 

the cabin that was built on a high spot so 

Mr. Jeffries could have a sweeping view of the 

countryside. Elizabeth had two children with 

this husband, but he died less than six years 

after his marriage to Elizabeth. She was soon 

married again to a dashing widower who lived 

only three years after their marriage. 

✧ 

William McDowell left his house plans with 

an overseer while he went to Europe for a 

few years. Expecting to see the house near 

completion when he returned, he was 

surprised to learn that the overseer could 

not read houseplans! This house is known 

locally as the “Backwards House.” 



2 1

✧ 

The First Presbyterian Church donated 

their bell to be melted into cannons for 

the Confederacy. 

With husband number five, Elizabeth 

began building a fine new plantation house to 

replace the log cabin left to her by husband 

number three. The eight room L-shaped 

mansion hosted festive parties, but Absalom 

Brown did not enjoy the new home for long. 

After only one year, he died as well. The 

newspaper described his death as “a malady 


22

which caused fast and terrific swelling of 

his body.” He was buried by Elizabeth’s 

slaves in the middle of the night, by lantern 

light. Her period of grieving was short. The 

year after Mr. Brown died, she made another 

trip to the altar, this time with Willis Routt. 

Only three years later, he too was dead. 

Elizabeth finally sold out and moved to 

Marshall County, Mississippi. No one knows 

if she ever married again. 

✧ 

The Church of the Nativity was spared from 

use as a Union horse stable by the words 

over the doorway: Reverence My Sanctuary. 



2 3

✧ 

Gas light certificate. 



As the population rose, so did the prevalence 

of contagious diseases. Epidemics of 

cholera, yellow fever, and flux sent wealthy 

families to the country and away from 

“civilization” to wait until the danger of death 

had passed. An epidemic swept through the 

area in the late summer and early fall of 

1852. Limestone County resident Thomas 

Hubbard Hobbs wrote in his journal on 

September 28: 

…the whole continent is sick, so far as 

we can hear. The other day, Mrs. Spotswood 

[Eliza Haywood] Jones died in Mooresville 

and while the messenger who went for her 

coffin in Huntsville was in the shop, five other 

measures for coffins were brought in…. 

John Nelson Spotswood Jones, who came 

to Madison County with his father, a veteran 

of the American Revolution, set up his law 

office near the courthouse square. In his office, 

the first library in Alabama was established in 

1818. But in those days, one couldn’t sling 

a dead cat without hitting several attorneys, 

and perhaps that was the reason he gave up 

the scales of justice to become a planter at 

the country home he called Druid’s Grove. 

(Although the home is long gone, descendants 

of this couple continue to be buried in the old 

cemetery, 200 years later.) 

The issue of slavery simmered for decades. 

James G. Birney grew up in a slave-holding 

family in Kentucky. He came to Madison 

County in 1818, bought a plantation and set 

up a law office. Birney took an active role in 

politics, all the while questioning the morality 

of owning other human beings based on the 

color of their skin. While some sources claim 

he gave his own slaves their freedom, other 

sources say he sold them to kind plantation 

owners and then took a stance against slavery. 

By 1830, Birney was an advocate for the 

American Colonization Society, the organization 

founded on the idea of sending emancipated 

slaves to Liberia where they would 

learn the language and culture of their ancestors 

and live in freedom. Birney left Alabama 

so his children would not grow up in a society 

where slavery was acceptable. He traveled 

the world to promote emancipation and even 

ran unsuccessfully for president of the United 

States. His intense crusade against slavery 

lasted until his 1857 death in New Jersey. 

On January 7, 1850, Alabama Act 106 

provided money to lay tracks for the 

Memphis & Charleston Railroad to come 

through Huntsville. Huntsville would be the 

new home of the eastern division headquarters. 

While neighboring towns objected to 

the train coming into their town, claiming 

that a certain element of people that were 


24

undesirable might come with it, Huntsville 

welcomed the development with open arms. 

On October 13, 1855, the General Garth 

chugged into town on the newly laid tracks. 

There was much celebration and fanfare. 

Speeches were made and babies were kissed. 

It was the beginning of a new era. 

After the freight depot was finished, construction 

began on the three-story passenger 

depot. The depot was truly state-of-the-art, 

complete with cast iron fireplaces, a secure 

vault with a cleverly disguised door, and 

office space galore! It was the place for 

everyone to catch up on gossip and see who 

was coming into town and who was leaving. 

A thirteen-bay roundhouse completed the 

operation. It was finished in October 1860. 

Late in the summer of 1856, a large crowd 

gathered around the courthouse square. 

A new technology had come to Huntsville, 

and excitement was thick in the air. At the 

designated moment, eight gas lanterns were 

lit, and the night sky was no longer dark. 

Dr. Francis “Hollis” Newman, a Huntsville 

physician, was responsible for the historic 

event. Dr. Hollis was interested in chemistry 

and active in civic affairs. Those combined 

interests encouraged him to establish the 

gas company and bring gas lights to 

Huntsville. Progress and resistance to new 

ideas seem to go hand in hand, but the 

city council bought $1,000 in gas company 

stock to support the new endeavor. Every 

night, lamplighters made their rounds, 

and every morning, the lights were snuffed 

out. When there was a full moon, the 

lamps were left unlit to take advantage of 

the moonlight. 

Before long, businesses and private 

households began to use the gas lights 

and folks wondered how they ever lived 

without them. Dr. Newman’s wealth grew, 

and he eventually owned half of the Holmes- 

Jefferson-Clinton-Washington blocks downtown. 

His office was located on the prestigious 

“Bank Row.” 

✧ 

The Huntsville Depot was built in 1860 as 

the Eastern Division Headquarters for the 

Memphis & Charleston Railroad. The last 

passenger train stopped in 1968 and it 

now serves as a Civil War and 

transportation museum. 



2 5


AN UNCIVIL WAR 

✧ 

During the Union occupation of the Civil 

War, Huntsville resident Mary Jane Chadick 

wrote, “Truly our town is full of the enemy.” 

Union soldiers were camped everywhere, in 

most of the local homes, the cemetery, and 

shown here at the courthouse square. 



Every cloud has a silver lining, but the clouds that gathered over the nation at that time 

brought with it the resounding thunder of death. Even the age of light could not brighten the dark 

days to come. National tension and talk of a civil war became a growing concern. North Alabama 

was no different and those on both sides of the argument were outspoken. 

On January 11, 1861, the Alabama Secession Convention voted 61-39 to pass an Ordinance of 

Secession. Senator Clement C. Clay, a Huntsville native, withdrew from the Senate and took his 

place in the Confederate Congress. He was quoted in the February 9, 1861, issue of Harper’s Weekly: 

Identified as I am with Alabama by my birth, education, interest, and affection—regarding her as 

“my nursing mother and my grave” —indebted to her for the highest honors and greatest trusts she could 

bestow, and standing here as one of her ambassadors in this Council Chamber of sovereign States, I feel it 

my duty, as well as privilege, to justify or excuse, as far as I can, all her acts relating to her sister States or 

to the Federal Government…. I trust she will give you full demonstration of her courage and self-reliance, 

by refusing any the least concession to your demands, and by resenting your menaces and repelling your 

attempts at coercion in such manner as will prove that the spirit of the fathers, who, at Yorktown and at 

New Orleans, consummated in triumph our two wars of independence, yet lives in her sons. 


26

On April 11, 1861, Huntsville native Leroy 

Pope Walker, as the Secretary of War for the 

Confederacy, issued the order to fire upon 

Union-occupied Ft. Sumter in Charleston. 

Bombardment began at 4:30 a.m. the following 

day, April 12. The Civil War, War Between 

the States, War for Southern Independence, 

or whatever one wishes to call it, began. 

Soon the country was covered in blue and 

gray and the rivers ran blood red. Battlefields 

were soaked in it. The same train tracks 

that promised to bring prosperity into 

North Alabama carried soldiers to faraway 

places. Some came back in coffins while 

others never returned. 

Early on the morning of April 11, 1862, a 

blue-clad army of four to six-thousand strong 

marched into Huntsville. The advance guard, 

under the command of Union Brigadier 

General Ormsby M. Mitchel of the Third 

Division, Army of the Ohio, surrounded the 

three-story Huntsville Depot, the eastern 

division headquarters of the Memphis & 

Charleston Railroad. As the train steamed in 

at about 6 a.m., Union soldiers turned and 

opened fire, but the train escaped capture. 

The next train did not escape. A cannon 

ball stopped the train and killed the fireman, 

the first casualty of war in Huntsville. About 

159 Confederate soldiers, returning from the 

Battle of Shiloh, were now prisoners-of-war 

of the Federal Government. They were kept 

on the third floor of the depot, where they 

wrote their names, their thoughts, and drew 

pictures on the walls, much of which is 

still visible today. What had been one of 

the greatest opportunities for Huntsville, the 

arrival of the iron horse, had also gained the 

attention of Federal soldiers. The prize was 

the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. 

✧ 

The Kelly brothers, who started this 

business, were from the Madison County 

community known as Jeff. Their father, a 

veteran of the Civil War, wanted to name 

the community Jefferson Davis, but his 

request was denied by the U.S. government. 




2 7

✧ 

During the Civil War, Union soldiers tore 

down the wood paling fence that surrounded 

this Randolph Street home and used it for 

firewood. They left the front gate attached to 

the frame. Virginia Cabiness was so angry 

at what they had done that she insisted that 

all visitors to her home enter through the 

solitary gate, close it, and then latch it 

before coming to her front door. No 

shortcuts through the open yard allowed! 

Note the stone steps near the street. These 

steps allowed ladies to step down from their 

carriages and men to dismount their horses. 



General Mitchel was proud that the capture 

had taken place without major incident. 

His official report stated, 

After a forced march of incredible difficulty, 

leaving Fayetteville yesterday 12m., my 

advance guard, consisting of Turchin’s 

Brigade, Kennett’s Cavalry, and Simonson’s 

Battery, entered Huntsville this morning at 

6 o’clock. The city was taken completely by 

surprise, no one having considered the march 

practicable in the time. We have captured 

about 200 prisoners, 15 locomotives, a large 

amount of passenger, box and platform cars, 

the telegraphic apparatus and offices, and two 

southern mails. We have at length succeeded 

in cutting the great artery of railway intercommunications 

between the Southern States. 

General Mitchel informed the good people 

of Huntsville, who were summoned that 

night to the Veneble Hotel, that he expected 

to be invited into their homes as an honored 

guest. It did not happen. 

Mary Jane Chadick, a resident of Huntsville 

whose husband, Cumberland Presbyterian 

minister Reverend W. D. Chadick was fighting 

for the Confederacy, wrote in her diary on 

April 12, 1862, “Truly our town is full of 

the enemy….” 

Mitchel and his officers made themselves 

at home in the comfortable downtown 

mansions. The people of Huntsville, who had 

once fervently opposed the idea of secession 

from the Union, now felt entirely different 

sentiments toward the North. Thousands 

more under Mitchel’s command quickly 


28

fanned out all over North Alabama. Huntsville 

fared better than neighboring towns simply 

because there was no resistance during the 

take-over. Any man who could have fought 

was long gone and far away. 

The soldiers in blue occupied every large 

home and open space they could find. Tents 

were pitched in the town square, at Maple 

Hill Cemetery, and every place in between. 

At the cemetery, one lovely headstone, at 

least, was used for target practice. Graffiti was 

scratched on the side of a box tomb, and the 

wooden headstones of the Confederate dead 

were taken up for firewood, along with the 

wooden fence that surrounded the cemetery. 

Union bullets could still be found in and 

among the graves as late as the 1960s, one 

hundred years after the war. 

Dr. Thomas Fearn, one of the elderly 

fathers of Huntsville, was threatened with 

incarceration in a faraway prisoner of war 

camp if he refused to sign an oath of allegiance 

to the United States government. As a 

member of the Confederate Congress, he was 

a Rebel prize! But he refused. He said he 

would probably not survive the trip to prison 

and he would walk back into his home. 

Soldiers could shoot him in the back if they 

wanted to and he would become a martyr to 

the cause. Instead, he was arrested and died of 

pneumonia while in captivity in Huntsville. 

At the Randolph Street home of Virginia 

Cabiness, soldiers burned her wooden paling 

fence for firewood, but left the gate standing 

in the frame, at the front of the house. Mrs. 

Cabiness, incensed by their actions, insisted 

that all who came to visit her unlock the gate, 

walk through it, and latch it behind them. 

Down the street at the home of Isaiah Dill, 

the chickens were gathered up and taken to a 

bedroom on the second floor to keep them 

off of Yankee dinner plates. 

But not everyone was upset with the 

Union occupation. With roughly half of the 

population enslaved, the dream of freedom 

was finally within reach. Perhaps their 

children, or their children’s children, would 

never feel the steely shackles of bondage. 

Waiting for fate to intervene leaves one 

in a very precarious situation. One such 

incident involved the church established for 

slaves around the year 1820 in the cemetery 

known simply as Georgia. Historians believe 

the cemetery, as well as the area surrounding 

it, was called Georgia by the slaves who had 

been brought to Huntsville with their white 

plantation owners. Elder Bartley Harris, the 

slave who preached at the church that was 

located under parts of the present-day 

Huntsville hospital, was approached by white 

people who asked him to hide their valuables 

from ransacking Union soldiers. According to 

legend, Elder Harris hid the valuables, as he 

had been asked, to keep them from being 

stolen. The church was burned to the ground 

by Union soldiers. 

Money was appropriated to rebuild the 

church in 1872. A bigger and better sanctuary 

was built on Williams Street and named 

in honor of their saintly pastor. St. Bartley’s 

Primitive Baptist Church, torn down in 1964, 

was rebuilt on Belafonte Avenue and is 

recognized as the mother church of all 

Black Primitive Baptist churches in the State 

of Alabama. 

An often overlooked historical event 

took place soon after U.S. General Ormsby 

Mitchel’s arrival and the consequences 

were far-reaching. Colonel John B. Turchin, 

(the Anglicized version of his birth name, 

Ivan Vasilovitch Turchinoff), was a member of 

the Russian Army before coming to America. 

As the brigade commander who led his men 

into nearby Athens, Turchin instructed them 

to loot, pillage, burn, and destroy anything 

and everything they wanted. Turchin 

explained away the event, known today as 

the Sack of Athens, by telling his angry 

commander that his men were foraging. On 

seven occasions, General Mitchel sent messages 

to Turchin instructing him to keep his 

men under control. The destruction continued, 

however, and U.S. General Don Carlos 

Buell had Turchin arrested and held for 

court-martial. There was much criticism over 

the decision, but author John Fiske wrote in 

1900 that Buell “insisted that war should 

be conducted upon civilized principles, and 

not upon those of vandals and Bashi-bazouks.” 

Those who knew Turchin either loved him 

or utterly hated him. U.S. Major General 

David S. Stanley called him “a fat, short 


2 9

✧ 

Above: The baptisms of members of 

St. Bartley’s Primitive Baptist Church at the 

Big Spring were attended by hundreds. 



Right: Reverend Bartley Harris, early 

minister of the slave congregation that met 

in the cemetery known as Georgia, was 

painted by Maria Howard Weeden. 



Opposite: St. Bartley’s Primitive Baptist 

Church, named for slave minister Bartley 

Harris, was rebuilt from funds appropriated 

after Union soldiers burned the first church 

to the ground. This structure was torn down 

during urban renewal and it was rebuilt on 

present-day Belafonte Avenue in Huntsville. 



legged Russian who could not ride a horse.” 

Colonel Robert H. G. Minty wrote, 

…Turchin, as a cavalry officer, was not 

a success. He was personally brave, and 

possessed a good deal of dash in his mental 

make-up, but was physically out of place on 

horseback, the circumference of his body 

being equal to his height…. 

The trial started in Athens on July 7, 1862. 

Local residents were called to give their 

accounts of the damage inflicted upon them 

by Turchin and his men. The trial was moved 

to Huntsville on July 20 and continued in the 

Madison County Courthouse. The presiding 

officer was U.S. General James A. Garfield, 

who was warmly welcomed into the area by 

local residents even though it was reported 

that he drank from a finger bowl at a fine 

local plantation home! Garfield rested on a 

cot in the bank building on the west side of 

the courthouse square when he was not 

feeling well. 

In spite of the testimony against Turchin 

and his men, General Garfield grew to like 

him. Turchin was found guilty of some of the 

charges and exonerated of others. Unbeknownst 

to them, President Abraham Lincoln had 

Turchin promoted, on August 5, 1862, to 

brigadier general while he awaited the verdict 

of the court! When Turchin died as a patient 

in the Hospital for the Insane in Anna, Illinois, 

in 1901, the ironic final line of his obituary 

said, “He was noted as an amateur violinist.” 


30


3 1

✧ 

This bank, known locally as the “Marble 

Palace,” changed ownership numerous times 

before it closed in 2009 after 174 years. 

Today it is an office building and is rented 

out for various events. 



The Madison County port town of 

Whitesburg, located on the bank of the 

Tennessee River at Ditto’s Landing, was 

burned on the night of July 28, 1862. One 

Union officer said the local people were 

“too pampered in their pride” and he thought 

their homes should be destroyed as a lesson 

to them. 

In July 1863, Mary Jane Chadick wrote in 

her diary that while Huntsville slaves were 

attending worship services, Union soldiers 

surrounded their church and seized the men 

and boys, against their will, as they stepped 

outside. Throughout the panic and chaos, 

men on horseback ran the captives down as 

they tried to escape. The women cried as 

they tried to find their husbands and their 

sons. The slaves were forced into labor for 

the Union cause. “These are their friends,” 

Mrs. Chadick wrote, “the Abolitionists!” 

A native of the Madison County community 

of Maysville was captured while fighting 

with the 49th Alabama at Port Gibson, 

Mississippi. Thomas Jones Taylor kept a diary 

while incarcerated at Johnson’s Island, Ohio. 

He wrote that “glorious old R. E. Lee will 

hold his own and to him alone we must look, 

as the man is destined to save our country.” 

Thomas Jones Taylor survived the war, wrote 

the first history of Madison County, and went 

on to become a well-respected judge. 

Another Johnson’s Island prisoner, Daniel 

Hundley of the 31st Alabama, kept a diary as 

well. He wrote that Union soldiers had invaded 

his parents’ home in nearby Mooresville. 

They threatened to shoot his ailing father 

if he did not get out of bed, but Melinda 

Hundley stepped in front of her husband and 

announced that they would have to shoot her 

first, “for the ball that kills my husband must 

first pass through my body.” Hundley’s diary, 

which chronicled his failed escape was later 

published. Prison Echoes of the Great Rebellion 

offered the sobering reality of war as well 


32

as the dramatic details of his few days of 

freedom. Daniel’s brother William died 

fighting for the Confederacy and another 

brother, Orville, was also a prisoner-of-war 

at Johnson’s Island. 

Residents breathed a sigh of relief when 

Union soldiers left town in August 1862. It 

was short-lived however, for the Federal 

soldiers returned to Huntsville in July 1863. 

They left again in September, but returned in 

November. But with each new wave of Union 

soldiers came a new sentiment. During one of 

those occupations, the army chopped down 

every tree in every yard for firewood, incurring 

the everlasting wrath of homeowners. 

Officers were assigned to live in homes with 

the local families. Most of them formed 

attachments—the soldiers brought supplies 

to be shared with the families. Some of the 

men, so far away from their own families, 

played with the young children and asked to 

rock the babies to sleep. Perhaps, in those 

rare and raw moments when the war was 

forgotten, men from both sides of the Mason- 

Dixon Line remembered that they spoke the 

same language and descended from the same 

people. Their similarities were greater than 

their differences. 

There were others whose names would 

become known to the world through their 

actions in the Civil War. Judge George 

Washington Lane moved from nearby 

Limestone County to Huntsville to enter private 

practice. He became an advocate for the 

pro-Union movement and flew an American 

flag from his Adams Street home to announce 

his affiliation with the Union government. 

He was nominated as a Federal District Judge 

by President Abraham Lincoln and confirmed 

by the U.S. Senate, however his appointment 

in the South was not recognized by the 

Confederate government, and he never served 

in that capacity. 

Lane’s household was truly divided. One 

son died fighting for the Confederacy and 

another served with the Union. His pro- 

Confederate neighbors were furious when he 

openly invited Union officers into his home 

for strawberry suppers. When he took his 

family to Louisville, Kentucky, for their safety, 

he died unexpectedly in 1863 and was buried 

far from his Alabama home. Those who have 

lived in Lane’s Adams Street home since then 

have flown the American flag in honor of our 

country first, and George Lane second. 

John Hunt Morgan was born to Calvin 

and Henrietta Morgan in a home on Franklin 

Street. John became known as the Thunderbolt 

of the Confederacy, and the leader of Morgan’s 

Raiders, a quasi-guerrilla group that crossed 

the Ohio River against the orders of General 

Braxton Bragg in what would become known 

historically as Morgan’s Raid. He was fearless, 

but reckless. Huntsville’s General Morgan was 

killed in an ambush in September 1864 in 

Greeneville, Tennessee. 

In April 1865 the Confederacy acknowledged 

defeat with General Lee’s surrender 

at Appomattox Courthouse. For Huntsville 

native Clement Clay though, another war 

was about to begin. Clement Clay, the son 

of Alabama’s eighth governor, left the U.S. 

Congress to take a seat in the Confederate 

Congress, and his picture was emblazoned 

on the Confederate one dollar bill. He 

eventually resigned his position because of 

his health. He and his wife Virginia were in 

Georgia when the war ended. They made 

plans to return to their Huntsville home. 

✧ 

Above: William H. Hundley died near 

Atlanta while fighting in the Confederate 

Army. He was promoted posthumously to 

Lieutenant Colonel. Two of his brothers 

were captured and sent to Johnson’s Island 

Prison Camp near Sandusky, Ohio. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF HOBBS HUNDLEY. 

Left: George W. Lane. 




3 3

✧ 

Right: General John Hunt Morgan, known 

as the “Thunderbolt of the Confederacy,” 

was born on Franklin Street in Huntsville. 

He was killed during a surprise ambush 

in Greeneville, Tennessee, on 

September 3, 1864. 



Below: The Franklin Street home of famous 

Confederate guerilla raider John Hunt 

Morgan has undergone renovations since 

this early photograph. Though his family 

moved to Kentucky, he returned to 

Huntsville, at least once, when he 

kidnapped the son of U.S. General Ormsby 

Mitchel and held him hostage for the release 

of Morgan’s brother, held as a prisoner 

by Mitchel. 



When Virginia went to buy tickets at the 

train, she discovered that a reward was issued 

for Clay’s capture. Clement Clay felt it was 

just a simple misunderstanding that he could 

easily clear up with an explanation, but that 

was not the case. He was taken into custody. 

In the meantime, Jefferson Davis, 

President of the Confederacy, fled Richmond 

and was captured in Georgia, along with 

General Joseph Wheeler, as they made plans 

to resume the fight. Davis and Clay, along 

with Davis’s wife Varina and children, and 

Virginia Clay, were all on the same eastbound 

train, unsure of their future. Among 

the other Confederates who were arrested 

were Vice President Alexander Stephens and 

Governor Francis Lubbock of Texas. 

In one of the small towns they passed 

through, residents had gathered to get a 

glimpse of the prisoners. “Hey, Johnny Reb! 

We’ve got your president!” one of the Union 

guards yelled to the crowd. 

“And the devil has got yours!” came a 

reply from the crowd. 

In Augusta, the prisoners were transferred 

to a ship. In Savannah, they were moved to a 

larger ship. Davis and Clay were imprisoned 


34

at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Their families were 

sent back to Savannah. General Wheeler and 

others were sent on to Fort Delaware for their 

imprisonment. 

Although they were never formally 

charged, Jefferson Davis and Clement Clay 

were arrested for conspiring to assassinate 

President Abraham Lincoln. Kept in solitary 

confinement and not allowed to speak to 

each other, their mental health began to deteriorate. 

No doubt when news reached them 

that four people had been hanged on July 7 

for President Lincoln’s death, the two men 

wondered if they would be next. 

Clement Clay wrote notes in the margins 

of the prayer book given to him by his wife 

as he entered the prison. In December, he 

wrote, “Dec.17/65 Dear father’s birthday— 

now 76 if living. May God grant he may be 

till I see him in the flesh.” 

Clay referred to his damp cell as a living 

tomb and wrote that he never slept more 

than two hours at the time because guards 

✧ 

Above: The mansion known as Quietdale 

was built by the widow of William Robinson 

in the 1850s. This photograph was taken 

during the Depression, when it showed signs 

of decay. It has since been lovingly restored, 

and an interesting feature is the red glass 

surrounding the front door. Legend says that 

while looking through the glass, one can see 

witches, if they happen to pass by. 



Left: Clement C. Clay (1816-1882) was 

active in politics before taking his place in 

the Confederate Congress. His picture 

appeared on the one dollar Confederate 

note. Clay was imprisoned for a year after 

the Civil War. He was released and returned 

to Alabama. He died at his Wildwood home 

near Gurley. 




3 5

✧ 

Richard White poses as President Abraham 

Lincoln during one of the many celebrations 

that marked our nation’s 1976 Bicentennial. 



were constantly changed and strangers were 

allowed to look in at him. Jefferson Davis 

began to deteriorate physically and the 

citizens of the north called for more 

humane treatment. The shackles from his 

legs were removed. 

No charges were ever filed against 

Clement Clay. Virginia Clay returned to 

Washington and began a vigorous campaign 

to have her husband released. She was sent 

from one official to another, each claiming 

the decision belonged to someone else. 

Finally, in April 1866, Clement Clay was 

released from prison. 

Jefferson Davis was released the following 

year while his trial for treason was postponed 

time and again, and ultimately dropped. He 

came to Madison County to visit his old 

friends before retiring to write his memoirs. 

Davis knocked on the door of Gurley resident 

William Bennett and announced that he was 

Jefferson Davis. 

“Like hell you are! Get away from my 

door!” Bennett yelled through the closed 

door. When Bennett was finally persuaded 

to open the door, he was surprised to see 

that it really was the former president of the 

Confederacy. Bennett personally escorted 

Mr. Davis to the Clay’s Gurley home known 

as Wildwood. 

Abraham Lincoln’s brother-in-law, 

Confederate soldier David Todd, began to 

spend time in Selma, Alabama, toward the 

end of the war. Todd was outspoken in 

his hatred for his famous brother-in-law. 

Mary, his half-sister, had no kind words 

when she heard the rumor that David was 

killed at Vicksburg. He was already dead 

to her, she said. The Todd family was 

divided, but called on their brother-in-law 

anyway when they needed help. Lincoln was 

left in a difficult position, caught between 

his mercurial wife and his country. He 

once commented that one “d” was good 

enough for God, but not good enough for 

the Todds. 

One of the Todd sisters lived in Selma, 

and it was there that David Todd met Susan 

Turner Williamson, a widow from Huntsville. 

They married on April 4, 1865, in Marion, 

Alabama. Just a few days later, on April 9, 

General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General 

Ulysses Grant at the Appomattox Court 

House home of Wilmer McLean, and only 

a few days after that, on April 15, President 

Abraham Lincoln died at the hand of 

an assassin. 

David Todd moved to Huntsville with 

his new bride and took a job as shopkeeper 

in his father-in-law’s business. He died of 

tuberculosis on Sunday, July 30, 1871, at the 

age of thirty-nine. His funeral was held in the 

historic Huntsville Church of the Nativity 

and he was buried at Maple Hill Cemetery. 

His widow moved on. 


36

✧ 

Confederate President Jefferson Davis, left, 

sits next to his friend, Clement Clay who 

served in the Confederate Congress. 

Both men were arrested after the Civil War 

and imprisoned at Fort Monroe, accused of 

being part of the conspiracy to assassinate 

President Lincoln. They were kept in 

solitary confinement and caught only 

occasional glimpses of one another. Clay 

was released after one year; Davis was 

released after two years. They maintained 

their friendship for the rest of their lives. 



Economic recovery after the Civil War 

was painfully slow. Freed slaves established 

their own farms or moved north, while 

Northern investors came South to establish 

cotton mills. Dallas, Lincoln, Lowe, and 

Merrimack were among the many mills that 

no longer exist. 

The South was full of unskilled workers 

who toiled for less money than their counterparts 

up North. On the other hand, it made 

fiscal sense for the cotton factories to operate 

near the source—the cotton fields. 

The communities that grew around the 

individual mills were complete within 

themselves. They had their own company 

houses, stores, schools, and intensely competitive 

sports teams. There were thirteen 

mills in the Huntsville area alone, although 

not all at the same time. Life was hard for the 

mill families. If a mill worker died, their 

family was ordered out of the home to make 

room for another family. Children started 

work at a young age and their education 

was extremely limited until the child labor 

laws took effect. Rows and rows of lovingly 

renovated mill houses, all duplicates of 

one another, can still be seen in various parts 

of town. 

The mills, as well as the people who 

worked them, came and went. 


3 7

✧ 

Below: The VanValkenburgh home is one of 

the most beautiful houses in the Twickenham 

Historic District. It was built by the son of a 

Union soldier, stationed in Huntsville during 

the Civil War, who liked the area enough to 

return to raise his family. 



Opposite, top: Young mill workers received 

little, if any, formal education until the 

Child Labor Laws were passed. Before then, 

they worked long hours for little pay. 



Opposite, bottom: A number of cotton 

and textile mills, including Huntsville 

Manufacturing Company, once employed 

thousands of people in Madison County. 



Maria Howard Weeden was not yet born 

when her father died. The family home on 

Gates Street in Huntsville was abandoned by 

the family during the Civil War when it was 

appropriated by Union soldiers. After the war, 

the family returned to their badly damaged 

home. As a young girl, Howard took private 

painting lessons from William Frye, a portrait 

artist from Europe who came to America in 

search of the Indians described in James 

Fennimore Cooper’s books. Frye married 

Huntsville resident Virginia Hale. Frye had a 

bad habit of putting his paintbrush in his 

mouth to make a finer point, and because paint 

had lead in it, he died prematurely of lead poisoning, 

the deadly ingredient found in paint. 

At first, Howard Weeden painted small 

pictures that she sold for a few pennies, but 

soon began to paint the portraits of former 

slaves as she wrote their stories in dialect. 

Her paintings displayed intricate detail, 

and brought dignity to the men and women 

she immortalized. 

The Civil War was not yet a distant memory 

when an ex-Confederate by the name of 

Frank James was extradited from Missouri to 

Huntsville to stand trial for the March 11, 

1881 robbery near Muscle Shoals of Alexander 

Smith, a Government Paymaster. 

Frank James rode with Quantrill’s Raiders, 

along with his brother Jesse, during the Civil 

War. Their raids through the border states 

of Missouri and Kansas turned them into 

thieves, and although the war had long since 

been over, it remained their favorite way to 

make a living. 

On February 20, 1884, Frank James 

arrived in shackles to stand trial in Huntsville. 

The Federal Courthouse, at that time, was the 

Calhoun House, an imposing three-story 


38


3 9

✧ 

The birthplace of poet and painter 

Maria Howard Weeden. 


home used as a Union hospital during the 

Civil War. Although he was considered an 

outlaw by the government, Frank James was a 

former Confederate soldier who robbed the 

Federal payroll. Locals checked him out of 

jail for dinner at their homes and he was once 

checked out to go bird hunting before his trial 

which began on April 17. Despite his local 

popularity, he was less than happy about his 

imprisonment, naturally, and letters to his 

wife Anna indicated he was worried about 

his fate and no longer felt kindly toward the 

Southern population. 

While he was incarcerated, he was 

visited by a Methodist minister from nearby 

Guntersville. He looked up at the minister 

in shock. 

“Bill,” he exclaimed, “They said you 

was dead!” 

The minister put his index finger to his 

mouth and the two men sat down and talked 

quietly for a time before the minister got up 

to leave. The meeting was described years 

later by the granddaughter of that minister, 

who was speculated by some to be the 

infamous William Clarke Quantrill. History 

books tell us Quantrill was killed in the war. 

Though it was never spoken in public, the 

family said Quantrill assumed a new identity, 

was imprisoned at New York’s Elmira Prison 

until the end of the war, and made his way 

to North Alabama to live the rest of his life 

as a man of the cloth. 

Frank James was fortunate, to have as 

his counsel, the first Secretary of War for the 

Confederacy—Huntsville native Leroy Pope 

Walker. James’s wife and young son Rob 

were seated in the audience. The trial was 

held, James was acquitted on April 30, and 

he left in the clutches of another official 

who planned to have him stand trial for the 

July 7, 1876 Rocky Cut, Missouri, robbery. 


40

✧ 

Douglas Covington became Alabama 

A&M University’s sixth president in 1984. 

During his tenure, the university purchased 

over 1,000 acres for additional agricultural 

research, student enrollment grew, as did 

faculty salaries, and a Ph.D. program in 

physics was added. His contributions to 

AAMU were numerous. 




A NEW ERA 

In 1870, the Rust School was opened for freed slaves. After many failed attempts, the first 

public schools in Huntsville were established in 1875. Public schools remained segregated 

until 1963. 


4 1

✧ 

Above: Riverton High School, located in 

northeast Madison County, was built by the 

WPA during the Depression. 



Right: An early teacher with her students. 

Note the baseball equipment in 

the foreground. 


42

In 1873, the Alabama State Legislature 

approved plans for a school in Huntsville 

to educate black teachers. On May 1, 1875, 

the doors of the school opened with two 

teachers and sixty-one students. William 

Hooper Councill, a former slave, was the 

historic school’s first president. 

The curriculum included classes in 

carpentry, printing, mattress-making, and 

horticulture. The first school-owned property 

was on West Clinton Street where the Von 

Braun Center is presently located. 

Industrial training was introduced in 

1883, and, in 1885, the name was changed 

to State Normal and Industrial School 

of Huntsville. 

In 1891, 183 acres were purchased north 

of town, and the school moved for the last 

time. The community that grew around it is 

now known as Normal, Alabama. In 1896, 

the name of the college changed again to the 

State Agricultural and Mechanical College for 

Negroes. Their band director? None other 

than W. C. Handy, known throughout the 

world as “The Father of the Blues.” Today the 

school is known as Alabama A&M University. 

In 1896 an all-black college was established 

in Huntsville by the Seventh Day 

Adventist Church. Oakwood Industrial 

School, as it was known in the beginning, 

was located on the Peter Blow Plantation. It 

was especially ironic because a man named 

Dred Scott, who sued for his freedom and 

finally won it in an 1857 landmark legal 

decision, was once a slave on the plantation 

in the early 1800s. 

Progress was coming to Alabama. On July 

12, 1887, four electric street lights installed 

around the courthouse square were lit for 

the first time. “The light is abominable!” the 

newspaper editor wrote before issuing a 

demand that Huntsville get rid of them. 

✧ 

Smiling children in an unidentified school. 




4 3

✧ 

Above: Samuel Moore held a party at his 

home in about 1892 to honor the prize 

Jersey heifer Lily Flagg, who held the record 

for producing the most cream. Legend says 

his house was painted a cream color, just for 

the event, and the food was made from 

Lily Flagg’s milk, cream, or butter. 

On June 2, 1891, a government official was 

on hand to witness the start of an unusual 

year-long event. He arrived at the Monte Sano 

Dairy on the property known as Gladstone, 

owned by William E. Matthews and Milton 

Humes, to lend a watchful eye as the milk of 

a Jersey cow named Lily Flagg was measured. 

Jersey cows, known for their doe-like eyes 

and gentle demeanor, were prized 

for the amount of cream they produced, 

more than any other breed 

of bovine. The owners of Lily 

Flagg, as well as the residents of 

Huntsville, were hopeful that Lily 

Flagg would beat the world’s 

record set by Beason’s Belle. 

The amount of Lily Flagg’s 

milk, cream, and butter churned 

from her cream were measured 

daily. Within the first seven days, 

she had produced 23 lbs., 11 oz. 

of butter. Samuel Moore, one of 

the men who owned her, held a 

party in her honor at his mansion 

on Adams Avenue. An unbelievable 

1,500 guests were invited, and a 

dancing pavilion was built for 

guests to dance to music played 

by an Italian band brought from 

Nashville. The gardens were lit with Chinese 

lanterns and Lily Flagg was visited by guests 

as she stood in the parlor. 

A Lily Flagg supper was held at the 

Presbyterian Church and delicacies on the 

menu were prepared with her milk, cream, or 

butter. A banquet and dance were held at 

the Monte Sano Hotel and glasses were raised 

Right: Mrs. Matthews was about to put a 

pitcher of buttermilk and a plate of biscuits 

on the dinner table when a Union soldier 

opened the door and walked in. He took a 

cap from the hatstand next to the door and 

put it on his head before asking what she 

was serving for supper. According to legend, 

Mrs. Matthews put the buttermilk and 

biscuits in his hands and snatched the cap 

from his head. “You may take my supper, 

but you may not wear my son’s hat!” 

Several of the Matthews boys were serving 

in the Confederate Army at the time. 

Not all returned at the end of the war. 


44

in her honor before she was to be sent to the 

Chicago World’s Fair to receive, with any luck, 

the blue ribbon. But the opening of the 1892 

fair was delayed until May 1893. 

Lily Flagg broke the record held by Beason’s 

Belle, but it was close. Beason’s Belle produced 

1,028 lbs., 15 5/8 oz. and Lily Flagg produced 

1,029 lbs., 13 1/4 oz. She won by less than 

one pound! While Lily Flagg was at the fair 

however, Samuel Moore ordered that she not 

be milked for twenty-four hours before the 

official judging. One side of her udder was 

ruined, but she was sold, on the spot, to the 

Hood Dairy for $10,000. 

Lily Flagg was the most famous four-legged 

resident of Huntsville. A subdivision, 

street, apartment complex, 

railroad switching station, 

and even a swim team bear 

her name. 

The Spanish-American War 

introduced a brief interval when 

some 15,000 soldiers came to 

Huntsville to recover from the 

effects of malaria and yellow fever 

before going home to their families. 

Huntsville residents Milton 

Humes and Tracy Pratt were 

sent by the Huntsville Chamber 

of Commerce to Washington to 

ensure officials knew of the 

health benefits of North Alabama. 

After a study of suitable locations, 

Huntsville was deemed the second 

healthiest place to live in 

the United States, right behind 

West Point, New York! 

On a warm spring day in 

1898, weary and hungry U.S. 

soldiers arriving from Tampa, 

Florida, came into Huntsville 

and asked permission to lie on 

the grass. They pitched tents at 

Brahan Springs, the William Moore place, the 

Steele place, the Calhoun place, and the 

Chapman place. 

Among those visitors were the highlydecorated 

Buffalo Soldiers—black soldiers 

of the 9th and 10th Cavalry under the 

command of John Pershing. The Buffalo 

Soldiers arrived on October 18, 1898, and 

set up camp on a rise that was thereafter 

known as Cavalry Hill. They earned a reputation 

for bravery in their bloody struggle up 

San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill in the Cuban 

jungle, and as a result, several of their rank 

earned the Medal of Honor. The earliest 

Buffalo Soldiers were former slaves, and 

according to one story, earned their unique 

nickname by the Indians who compared 

their bravery in battle to the mighty buffalo. 

Teddy Roosevelt, leader of the Rough Riders 

and future U.S. President, spoke of watching 

a Buffalo Soldier tenderly hold his canteen 

of water to the parched lips of a dying 

Spanish soldier. 

Major General Joseph Wheeler, a leader in 

the Confederacy only thirty years before, was 

commander of the cavalry, which included 

the Rough Riders. He visited Huntsville on 

December 6, 1898, and was escorted to 

the courthouse by members of Troop G, 2nd 

Cavalry—the very same cavalry who fought 

with him at Santiago. The 10th, 2nd, 6th, 

✧ 

Huntsville’s monument to the Buffalo Soldier, 

erected on Cavalry Hill, where members of 

the 9th and 10th Cavalry were stationed 

following the Spanish-American War. 



4 5

and 7th Cavalry passed him in review, 

stretching out more than two miles. General 

Wheeler was presented a black horse by the 

citizens of Huntsville. 

By March 1899, the veterans of the 

Spanish-American War said their good-byes 

to Huntsville, along with John “Black Jack” 

Pershing, who went on to claim more fame 

chasing Mexican bandit Pancho Villa before 

entering World War I. 

On September 24, 1899, 42-year-old 

Mollie Teal died. She was a well-known 

business woman and in her will, the benevolent 

Miss Teal left her large two-story home 

to the City of Huntsville to be used either 

as a hospital or a children’s library. The 

home, located on the corner of present-day 

St. Clair Avenue and Gallatin Street, became 

Huntsville’s hospital. What made this gift so 


46

✧ 

Opposite, top: General Joseph “Fightin’ Joe” 

Wheeler, formerly a Confederate general, 

wears a blue uniform as a U.S. general 

during the Spanish American War. In this 

photograph, he watches as the men march 

past him in review in downtown Huntsville. 

This was taken about 1898 while soldiers 

were stationed in Madison County. 



Opposite, bottom: Visitors arrive for the 

dedication of the Confederate statue at the 

Madison County Courthouse. 



Left: Members of the fire department pose in 

an early Huntsville photograph. 



Below: The Tally Ho carried visitors to the 

Monte Sano Hotel. 




4 7

✧ 

Above: Members of the Fisk family pose for 

a photograph. 



Right: Members of the Garner family 

relax at their Pulaski Pike home, north 

of Huntsville in about 1905. Seated in 

the dark dress on the front row is 

Elizabeth Ann McKenzie Garner and 

seated third from left on the ground is 

Mattie Leora Garner Young. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF GUY MCCLURE. 


48

✧ 

Left: Boys from the Spragins and Echols 

families pose in uniform in about 1900. 



Below: Mary Beirne Patton Echols 

(1838-1924) descended from Irish 

immigrants, married William Holding 

Echols, a West Point graduate who joined 

the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the 

Civil War. Members of their families were 

outstanding leaders, educators, 

businessmen, and politicians. 



unusual? Mollie Teal’s rambling frame home 

was the very same site of her business—a 

popular brothel! 

The infirmary, established only a few 

years earlier, was moved into the much larger 

location. For decades, an oil painting of 

the lovely Miss Teal was displayed prominently 

in the lobby of the hospital. 

Unfortunately, it disappeared during one of 

the many hospital renovations. There are 

many mysteries surrounding Mollie Teal 

and only speculation about her background 

before her move to Huntsville. Perhaps the 

biggest mystery of all is the identity of the 

person who brings new silk flowers to 

Mollie’s Maple Hill grave every two weeks. 

Nearly 114 years after Mollie’s death, the 

next logical question would be…why? 

Today, the Huntsville Hospital has grown 

by leaps and bounds and is a sprawling 

complex of multiple medical facilities. 

Sadly, Mollie Teal’s original “sportin’ house” 

is long gone. 

On January 31, 1902, a daughter was 

born to Adelaide and William Bankhead. 

She was named Tallulah, after her grandmother, 

who was given the unusual name 

because she was conceived while her parents 

were on vacation at Tallulah Falls in Georgia. 


4 9

✧ 

Right: Children enjoying a tea party. 

Below: Members of the Deliah and Octavia 

Jamar Clay family gather for a picture in 

Gurley, Alabama. 



Adelaide Sledge was from a prominent 

Mississippi family that had fallen on hard 

times. She was engaged to marry a young 

man of wealth, and came to Huntsville to 

visit, according to one source, one of her 

bridesmaids before the event. Another source 

says she was visiting her Aunt Alice at her 

Courtland home known as Summerwood. 

She came to Huntsville to shop when she met 

attorney William Bankhead. Like a bolt from 

the blue, he fell in love with her at first sight 

and spent the next few weeks begging her to 

marry him. Adelaide broke off her engagement 

and married William Bankhead in 

Memphis. They made their home in 

Huntsville and daughter Eugenie was born in 

January 1901. Within a few months, Adelaide 

was pregnant again and went into labor in 

January 1902. 

Adelaide Bankhead, 21-years-old, survived 

only a few weeks after her daughter’s 

birth, the tragic victim of blood poisoning 

that came as a result of childbirth. Tallulah 

and her sister Eugenie were taken to Jasper, 

Alabama where they were raised, off and 


50

on, by their paternal grandparents. Her 

father, uncle, and grandfather were steeped in 

politics and spent much time in Washington. 

Tallulah went on to become a movie actress. 

She was a natural, but very unpredictable 

and eccentric. She craved attention and often 

paraded naked in front of her guests. At 

one of her parties, one of her straight-laced 

elderly friends remarked to a shocked guest, 

“I don’t know why Tallulah goes around 

naked, she has so many pretty frocks.” 

While searching for the perfect Scarlett 

O’Hara for the 1939 classic Gone With the Wind, 

the people of Alabama wanted Tallulah for the 

part. She campaigned mightily for the role and 

had her relatives in Washington send letters to 

David O. Selznick to tell him that she was the 

only person who could possibly play Scarlett. 

Her reputation, which she herself referred to 

as “pure as the driven slush,” did not meet 

the expectations of movie executives and she 

✧ 

Above: Michael O’Shaughnessy planned 

for his home to be an American castle and 

named it Kildare, after the Irish county 

where his mother was born. 



Left: Virginia McCormick, daughter of 

inventor Cyrus McCormick, lived in the 

Kildare Mansion for a number of years. 

She lived off of a trust fund and lived in 

Huntsville only in the spring. 




5 1

✧ 

Below: Sparkman Marble on Wells Avenue 

was conveniently located next to Maple Hill 

Cemetery. The company provided a homing 

pigeon, stand-in for a dove, to be released 

at the funeral services for members of the 

Woodmen of the World. 



Opposite: Film legend Tallulah Bankhead, 

a Huntsville native, stands next to her 

stepmother. Tallulah’s own mother died days 

after Tallulah was born. 



was crushed when Vivien Leigh was chosen 

instead. In her autobiography, she wrote, 

“I’ll go to my grave convinced that I could 

have drawn the cheers of Longstreet and 

Beauregard and Robert E. Lee had I been 

permitted to wrestle with Rhett Butler.” 

Tallulah’s father remarried after his first 

wife’s death, though even his second wife 

knew that Adelaide was the true love of his 

life. William Bankhead was buried in Jasper 

after his death in 1940, while his first 

wife’s remains lie at Huntsville’s Maple Hill 

Cemetery, marked by a simple obelisk. 

Adelaide Bankhead is alone in her resting 

place with not a single family member nearby. 

William Lafayette Quick ran a blacksmith 

shop, a sawmill, and a gristmill near the long 

gone community known as Carmichael, 

located between New Market and Hazel 

Green. He was an avid reader and student 

of nature. Quick was determined to build an 

airplane. With wood cut from his farm 

and parts made in his blacksmith shop, 

he and his sons experimented with different 

propeller shapes and airplane wings. 

The plane they ultimately built was 18 feet 

in length and 38 feet from wingtip to wingtip. 

The wings were covered with canvas. Quick 

needed an engine and unfortunately, it took 

years to find one. In that timeframe however, 

the Wright Brothers beat him to become the 

first to make aviation history. But that did not 

keep William Quick from his dream. 

In April 1908, his sixteen-year-old son, 

William Massey Quick, piloted the monoplane 

in the field near Hazel Green. He controlled 

the wings and tail rudder by shifting in his 

seat, but he made the mistake of looking 

down at the ground in mid-flight, sending 

the plane nose-first into the field. Still, it was 

an enormous triumph. 

The aviation craze compelled others all 

over the country to improve on the dynamics 

of air travel. William Lafayette Quick considered 

establishing the Quick Aero Navigation 

Company, but it never got any farther. Still, 

his design, different in many ways from 

the Wright Brothers’ plane, had features that 

are used in airplanes today. His sons and 

daughter took up his interest and became 

aviation pioneers themselves. Quick’s descendant, 

Huntsville resident Gary Wicks, wrote: 

There is much lore and myth that has 

accumulated over the years around pot belly 

stoves in country stores out in the county. 

I still have old seasoned locals tell me they 

saw that plane flying the skies over ‘Hump.’ 


52


5 3


THE WAR TO END ALL WARS 

✧ 

Above: Seversky P-35s in Huntsville 

following the safe night-landing on 

March 15, 1938. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF RON BLEDSOE. 

Below: Wesley McCurly, right, sent a 

postcard to his cousin Ellen Stewart and 

wrote on the back, “somewhere in France” 

where he was stationed during World War I. 

Opposite: The sign on top of the Hotel 

Russel Erskine was what brought eighteen 

fighter pilots back to Huntsville after getting 

into severe weather near Montgomery. 

After landing safely, they stayed the night in 

Huntsville’s first skyscraper, which is now an 

upscale apartment building. 



On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against 

Germany. By May 9 six men from Huntsville signed up to fight. On June 6 all men between the 

ages of 21 and 31 were required to register for the draft. An additional 4,000 men in Madison 

County signed up to fight. 

Huntsville’s mayor asked that everyone come to town to cheer the men who passed by in parade 

before they left to fight in Europe. The parade was more than one mile long. Three brass bands, 

many residents of the local mills, and most fraternal organizations marched to support what was 

now America’s cause. Many of those young men had never been out of the South and the news of 

those mangled and killed in Europe, as well as the devastating mustard gas, was frightening. 

Agents in and around Madison County reported that some men refused to register for the draft. 

The local newspaper, the Mercury, promised to “publish the names of slackers in their roll of infamy.” 

The “war to end all wars,” later known as World War I, officially ended on November 11, 1918, 

but as the soldiers returned to their homes before and after the Armistice, they brought with them 

a deadlier enemy. It was known as La Grippe, or the Spanish Flu. 

On September 28, 1918, Madison County 

Health Officer Carl Grote reported the first 

case of flu in the State of Alabama—Huntsville. 

There were 11 cases within a few days, 300 

cases in one twenty-four-hour period, and 

an incredible 1,100 cases by October 5. On 

October 7, all schools, churches, theaters, and 

picture shows were closed. But the death toll 

continued. The sickness was so virulent that 

some died in as little as four hours after the 

first symptom appeared. Some tore abdominal 

muscles from coughing so hard. Their skin 

turned blue and multiple internal hemorrhages 

caused their lungs to fill with blood. Bodies 

were placed on porches for someone to pick 

up and bury them without benefit of family or 

clergy. Though an estimated 25 million people 

were killed in the war, it has been estimated 

that more than twice that number died during 

the flu epidemic. Over thirty percent of the 

world’s population was sickened, and over 

675,000 Americans died, more than ten times 

the number of war casualties. 


54


5 5

✧ 

Above: Albert Russel Erskine, shown here 

at his Indiana home, left his hometown of 

Huntsville and became the millionaire 

president of Studebaker Automobile in 

South Bend, Indiana. After the stock market 

crash of 1929, he lost his job and his 

fortune. He went into the bedroom of his 

Twyckenham Estate (a nod to his hometown 

historic district with a spelling twist) and 

shot himself through the heart. He was 

buried at Huntsville’s Maple Hill Cemetery. 



The Great Depression brought more problems. 

Labor unions organized strikes against 

the local mills, and for some, economic 

recovery was not possible. Some mills were 

forced to shutter their doors leaving workers 

with no income whatsoever. Economic recovery 

was slow, as it had been following the 

Civil War, until factories rose from the ashes 

of the Depression to provide war supplies for 

another war in Europe—World War II. 

Right: This antebellum home, that once 

stood on Bob Wade Lane in Madison 

County, became a victim of tough economic 

times of Reconstruction and the Depression. 

This is one of many architectural works of 

art that no longer exists. 




56

On March 15, 1938—the Ides of March— 

eighteen Army Air Corps pilots flying 

Seversky P-35s, under the command of 

Captain D. M. Allison, rumbled out of 

Selfridge Field in Harrison Township, 

Michigan. They were on their way to Tampa, 

Florida for a training mission. These members 

of the 17th Pursuit Squadron passed over 

Huntsville, Alabama, and headed south, 

expecting to refuel at Montgomery’s Maxwell 

Air Force Base. 

But while the skies were cloudy over 

Huntsville, they became ominously dark as 

they flew further south. The storms that day 

brought twenty-two tornadoes throughout 

the region. The pilots knew it was impossible 

to land safely in the horrendous storm, 

but their fuel was dangerously low. They 

remembered that the sky was, in comparison, 

calmer over Huntsville, and turned back. 

Huntsville had an airfield, but there were 

no lights on the runway. The pilots circled 

overhead, hoping to find a safe place to land 

in the perilous darkness. 

Two astute police officers watched from 

the ground below. They acted on an incredible 

hunch. They rushed to local radio station 

WBHP and encouraged all who listened to 

drive to the airfield and line their cars up 

with their headlights pointed to the runway. 

It was a gamble at best, and dangerous to 

those in the sky as well as those on the 

ground. The pilots approached the runway, 

illuminated by the headlights of the many 

who responded to the plea, and one by one, 

landed safely. Their relief was shared by 

the folks who rushed from their cars to 

welcome them to Huntsville. Those pilots, 

heroes to those on the ground, stayed in the 

fabulous Russel Erskine Hotel in downtown 

Huntsville. It was, after all, the neon sign 

atop the hotel that had first caught their 

attention as they passed through earlier in 

the day. 

The Russel Erskine Hotel, where many 

marriage proposals were made and financial 

deals sealed, was known for white tablecloth 

elegance. Madison County was once known 

as the watercress capital of the world for 

the tangy vegetable that was shipped by 

the barrel full all over the country. Local 

watercress was served at the White House 

and at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, 

and of course, the Russel Erskine Hotel! 

✧ 

Above: Barrels of watercress, grown in 

Madison County, ready to be shipped all 

over the country. 

BOTH PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE HUNTSVILLE/ 


Below: Dennis Water Cress Company was 

one of several local nurseries. 


5 7


ANOTHER WORLD WAR 

✧ 

This telegram, dated December 9, 1941, 

followed the bombing of Pearl Harbor. 



On July 3, 1941, fire trucks drove through the streets of Huntsville with hundreds of copies of 

the Huntsville Times. The headline announced that a chemical weapons plant would be built at a 

cost of $40 million dollars and it would occupy more than 30,000 acres. The plan changed 

somewhat when Redstone Arsenal became an ammunitions arsenal encompassing 40,000 acres 

of land bought up from farmers, schools, and small communities. Within days, a $6 million 

ordnance plant was authorized for construction. Local factories produced carbonyl iron powder, 

tear gas, smoke and incendiary devices, and small solid-fuel rockets. 

The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, construction was ordered to go on twenty-four-hours 

per day until the completion of both facilities. The entire country was mobilized. In 1943, 

the ordnance facility was renamed Redstone Arsenal, the name it retains today. The airfield was 

established to test incendiary devices designed to firebomb Japanese cities. 

A fence was built around the Big Spring to prevent sabotage of the water supply. But the 

tragedy of war became even more personal. Huntsville resident Luke Isom, a gunner’s mate on 

the USS Arizona, was listed as missing in action after the attack on Pearl Harbor. 


58

Housewives were urged to fold their 

aprons and report to work at the factories. 

A shift in the workplace was noticeable as 

men left to fight and women left their homes 

to take jobs on the assembly lines. Black 

citizens were encouraged to come into the 

factories as well, and segregation was not 

nearly as important as bringing our boys back 

home safely. Some workers at Redstone 

Arsenal offered to work one day free per 

week. People who did not work, referred to 

as “loafers” or “slackers,” were rounded up 

in the fall of 1943 and ordered by Mayor 

McAllister to either get a job or enlist in the 

armed forces. 

In 1944, a camp was built at the 

Huntsville Arsenal, designed to house 250 

German prisoners of war. It would eventually 

hold 1,100 at one time (one source says 

600). Street lights in Huntsville were turned 

off in 1942, to remain unlit until 1944. 

A local Huntsville man, Lt. Col. Charles 

Baxter, wrote a letter from a Normandy 

foxhole. He had seen Huntsville Arsenal 

Ammo boxes all over the battlefield around 

him. Perhaps it was a comfort to him to see 

proof that the people of Madison County 

were fighting for him from the home-front. 

After the Japanese surrender, Huntsville 

Arsenal was used to dismantle surplus 

incendiary bombs. Thousands were laid off 

and the buildings sat empty until George 

Keller of Keller Motors Corporation leased 

several to build a major auto manufacturing 

complex at the defunct arsenal. He died 

unexpectedly and the dream of the Keller 

Automobile died with him. 

Edward Chambers Betts, a native of 

Huntsville, was about to take center stage 

on the other side of the world. He was the 

first man from Madison County to enlist in 

World War I, and by the time World War II 

began, he was a professor at West Point 

Military Academy. He was promoted to full 

colonel after the attack on Pearl Harbor and 

served as Judge Advocate of the European 

Theater of Operations. As the legal advisor 

to General Eisenhower, he was promoted to 

Brigadier General. 

At the end of the war, he was given the 

task of planning the Nuremberg trials for 

Nazi war criminals when he died of a sudden 

heart attack on May 6, 1946, at age fifty-six. 

The man who earned the Distinguished 

Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the 

Bronze Star, the French Legion of Honor, the 

French Croix de Guerre, the Luxembourg 

Croix de Guerre, the Belgium Order of 

Leopold II, and the Order of the British 

Empire Commander, was buried at the 

Luxembourg American Cemetery, leaving 

behind his wife and two daughters. 

We continue to remember him today for 

another important contribution. At the age 

of eighteen, Edward Chambers Betts wrote An 

Early History of Huntsville, Alabama, 1804-1870, 

a valuable resource for local historians. 

✧ 

A missile display in front of Southern 

Furniture Store invites residents to see what 

employees at Redstone Arsenal are building. 




5 9

✧ 

Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, (1913–2008) was one 

of the German rocket scientists that came to 

America with Dr. Werhner von Braun’s 

Paperclip Team. Dr. Stuhlinger served as 

director of Marshall Space Flight Center 

Space Science Laboratory from 1960 to 

1968 and associate director of science for 

MSFC from 1968 to 1975. His contributions 

to space exploration were numerous. 



On August 17, 1945, Redstone Arsenal 

ceased production and five days later, 1,820 

employees at the Huntsville Arsenal were told 

they would lose their jobs on September 1. 

While Huntsville prepared to celebrate V-J 

Day, it was announced that 182 men from 

Madison County lost their lives in the war. 

Madison County was about to go through 

another transformation. Empty arsenal 

buildings meant many were without work. 

Help came with the arrival of German rocket 

scientist Dr. Wernher von Braun and his team 

of scientists. 

Wernher von Braun had been interested 

in rocket science since he was a young boy 

growing up in Germany. He studied the 

research of American Robert Goddard, at 

that time, the authority on the subject. Von 

Braun’s interest became known to Hitler and 

he was sent to work at Peenemuende, where 

scientists were developing the V-2 Rocket, 

destined for air strikes on London. 

Heinrich Himmler, leader of the SS and 

later head of the concentration camps, had 

von Braun arrested by the Gestapo and 

accused him of building rockets to promote 

space exploration instead of weapons of 

destruction. Von Braun was released from his 

incarceration and sent back to the rocket 

manufacturing center. By early 1945, the end 

of Hitler’s reign was inevitable. After Hitler’s 

suicide on April 30, 1945, the scientists were 

hustled from one location to another to keep 

them out of the hands of the Allies. Before 

long, their guards left to fend for themselves. 

Von Braun and some of his fellow 

scientists were laying low near Oberjoch, 

Germany, in May 1945 when they decided 

to surrender to the approaching American 

Army. Magnus von Braun, Wernher’s brother, 

spoke English more fluently than the others. 

He rode his bicycle up to a private in the 

infantry and announced their intention. 

They surrendered to the Americans, even 

though their future was uncertain. Colonel 

Holger Toftoy, as chief of the Ordnance 

Technical Intelligence team in Paris, was 

inspecting captured enemy weapons, including 

the V-2 rockets, when he heard about the 

German scientists. With the cooperation of 

Dr. von Braun, Toftoy formed the team under 

the project name “Operation Paperclip.” 

The original list of around 300 German 

scientists was whittled down to 127. They 

were sent to live at Ft. Bliss, Texas as 

“Prisoners of Peace.” American scientists 

planned to find out what they could about 

the V-2 rocket for six months and then the 

German scientists would no longer be 

needed. But six months turned into five 

years. Their rockets were tested at nearby 

White Sands Missile Range in the New 

Mexico desert, ironically near Trinity Site, 

where the atomic bomb that ended World 

War II was first detonated. 

The Germans were escorted everywhere 

they went. They lived in a compound 

surrounded by a chain link fence. Years later, 

they confessed to their guards that they 

sometimes wandered along the desert at 

night, slipping out of the compound through 

a carefully concealed cut in the fence. The 

response from the guards, those many years 

later, surprised the Germans. 

“We knew.” Those stolen moments of 

freedom, no matter how short, were exactly 

what the prisoners needed to make their 

world a little more bearable. 


60


THE CONQUEST OF SPACE 

After several years, Ft. Bliss officials wanted their building facilities. Through a stroke of 

enormous good luck and the urging of Colonel Holger Toftoy, later promoted to Brigadier General, 

the empty facilities at Redstone Arsenal became the new workplace of Dr. Wernher von Braun. 

His scientists and Huntsville would enter another new phase. 

The transfer of the German scientists officially took place in April 1950. With them came 

120 civil service employees and 500 military personnel. Dr. von Braun became the technical 

director of the newly formed Ordnance Guided Missile Center commanded by Major James Hamill. 

Toftoy came as well to serve as director of the Ordnance Missile Laboratories. 

✧ 

Dr. Wernher von Braun standing next to the 

Saturn V—the rocket that took man to 

the moon. 




6 1

✧ 

The original Huntsville High School, now 

known as the Annie Merts Center, serves as 

offices for city school administration. 



Locals were unsure how to react to 

the Germans and their families. Many were 

privately approached and asked to go out 

of their way to welcome the new residents 

and set an example for others to follow. 

It was easily accomplished when Southern 

hospitality met in the middle with Dr. von 

Braun’s sensitivity and charisma. 

The building boom and resulting economic 

boom changed the face of Huntsville and 

Madison County. The brainpower needed 

to support the program brought educated 

people from all over the world. Residents 

of the mansions in the Twickenham District 

opened their doors to families and individuals 

until new homes could be built. Some 

mansions were transformed into apartments. 

Schools held classes in four-hour increments 

so the children of the scientists, support staff, 

and local residents could all attend school 

until additional schools could be built and 

more teachers hired. 

From the beginning of his affiliation with 

the United States, von Braun was somewhat 

of a celebrity, though he preferred to share 

the accolades with his fellow scientists. He 

was a natural leader and made friends easily. 

On April 14, 1955, it was clear that the 

Germans were here to stay. Dr. von Braun 

and 108 other Germans became U.S. citizens 

during a ceremony at the Huntsville High 

School auditorium. “New Citizens Day,” 

sponsored by Rotary International, was 

covered by the New York Times and CBS. 

Meanwhile, in July, 1950, another war 

demanded American support. The draft 

board opened to register men for the Korean 

War. Local National Guard units were 

pressed into service. Before they could 

unpack their suitcases, the German scientists, 

as well as the men and women sent to 

provide technical support began work on the 

Redstone Rocket, or PGM-11 at Huntsville’s 

Ordnance Guided Missile Center. Redstone 

Arsenal churned out 38,700,000 rounds of 

chemical artillery munitions. 

The list of rockets and missiles developed 

in Huntsville was impressive: Nike Hercules, 

Nike Zeus, Honest John, Little John, 

Hawk, Lacrosse, Corporal Type III, Sergeant, 

and Pershing. 

By 1956, Redstone Arsenal became an 

Army post to support the newly formed 

Army Ballistic Missile Agency. The Jupiter 

Rocket was developed, and narrowly missed 

taking center stage in the Cuban Missile 

Crisis of October 1962. 

On January 31, 1958, at 11:45 p.m., 

a four-stage rocket was launched 

from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It 

carried the Explorer I satellite into 

orbit. About ninety minutes later, 

the director of the Army project, 

Dr. Wernher von Braun, announced 

the success from the Pentagon. It was 

Huntsville’s finest hour! 

Less than four months earlier, the 

Soviets had scored a first by successfully 

launching their own satellite 

into space—Sputnik I. Adding insult 

to injury, another satellite was 

launched by the Soviets the following 

month. The race for space dominance 

was a personal challenge for Dr. von Braun, 

as well as the residents of Madison County. 

The success of the Soviets had hurt deeply. 

Although Dr. von Braun promised that he 

could have the satellite ready to launch 

within 60 days, General John Medaris, 

the head of Huntsville’s Army Ballistic 

Missile Agency padded the number with an 

additional 30 days and made the proposal 

to Department of Defense officials. While 

waiting for the official answer, General 

Medaris told Dr. von Braun to bring the 


62

Jupiter C Rocket out of storage and get it 

ready to launch—just in case. The secretary 

of Defense clipped their wings by instructing 

them not to develop rockets with a range of 

more than 200 miles. 

Instead, the Navy was given the contract 

to send the first U.S. satellite into space, 

using the Navy’s Vanguard Rocket. Although 

the initial launch was planned for the spring 

of 1958, President Eisenhower announced it 

would be launched before the end of 1957. 

That mission failed on December 6, 1957, 

when the Vanguard exploded on the launch 

pad two seconds after lift-off. Although the 

Navy would continue to work on launching a 

satellite, the Army was given the green light as 

well. Now Redstone Arsenal was in competition 

with the Russians as well as the Navy! 

Only 84 days after the Army was given the 

okay, the eighteen-pound Explorer I Satellite, 

created by Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) was ready 

to be launched from Cape Canaveral aboard 

the Jupiter C Rocket. The rocket and satellite 

were delivered in secrecy and scaffolding 

wrapped in canvas was constructed around 

the rocket to hide it from the public. It was 

scheduled to launch on Wednesday, January 

29, 1958, but high-altitude winds brought 

the project to a standstill. The launch was 

canceled the following day as well. They were 

running out of time because the Navy planned 

to use the same site for another Vanguard test. 

January 31 was the last day they could launch. 

By this time the secrecy surrounding the 

project was lifted and reporters were all 

around. Dr. von Braun waited impatiently in 

Washington while fifty-seven people watched 

from the blockhouse near the launch pad. 

At 8:30 p.m., final preparations were 

made. The rocket’s first stage was fueled, the 

self-destruct device was armed, and platforms 

were pulled back. At 10:48 p.m., John 

Medaris gave the signal to launch. Within 

a few seconds of leaving Earth, Medaris 

announced he had lost the signal from the 

satellite. It was an intense forty seconds later 

that he was told the ground station could hear 

the signal. Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, one of the key 

original Paperclip Scientists, was responsible 

for directing the firing of the second stage at 

precisely the right moment. From a hangar 

several miles away from the launch pad, he 

used radar and radio data, an analog computer, 

along with information about the telemetry 

from the accelerometer on the rocket to 

determine the exact moment—four minutes 

and twenty seconds after the first stage had 

burned out. Whew! The timing was right on! 

The satellite was tracked through ground 

stations located in various places: an island 

of Antigua, Nigeria, Singapore, Southern 

California, and Florida. An amateur radio 

club in Temple City, California, had a backup 

receiver as well. If all went well, they 

would receive the first signal at 12:30 a.m. 

from California. But 12:30 came and went 

and they were afraid it had failed. Fifteen 

minutes later, they got word that California 

picked up the signal! 

Dr. von Braun officially announced the 

successful launch and the following day, 

President Eisenhower announced it to the 

world. Surprisingly, the project had no official 

name. Several were suggested—Missile 29, 

Project Deal, Highball, Topkick, but it was 

President Eisenhower who made the decision 

to name it Explorer and that was the name 

given when he made the announcement on 

February 1. 

The satellite hardware, designed by JPL 

physicist James Van Allen, detected a radiation 

belt around the earth. It was appropriately 

named the Van Allen Belt. The discovery was 

named as the “greatest contribution to the 

International Geophysical Year investigations.” 

A raucous and impromptu celebration 

for the successful launch was held at the 

Madison County Courthouse where the 

recently retired Secretary of Defense, Charles 

E. Wilson, was burned in effigy. It was his 

decision to limit the role of the U.S. Army’s 

long range rocket development. 

The National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA) was established in 

July 1958 by President Eisenhower. NASA’s 

George C. Marshall Space Flight Center was 

created in Huntsville with Dr. von Braun 

taking the helm as the first director. In 1962 

the U.S. Army Missile Command was established 

and soon the Army was developing 

anti-aircraft missiles and intercontinental 

ballistic missiles. 


6 3


64

✧ 

Opposite, top: President Kennedy was 

popular among residents of north Alabama. 



Opposite, bottom: President Kennedy stands 

on a platform just before giving a short 

speech. On the far left is Vice President 

Lyndon Johnson, and just to the right of 

President Kennedy is Alabama Governor 

George Wallace. 



Left: Dr. Wernher von Braun and his son 

are surrounded by an appreciative crowd. 



In an address to Congress on May 25, 

1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged 

America to fly to the moon by the end of the 

decade. On May 18, 1963, President Kennedy 

paid a visit to Huntsville. Dr. Wernher von 

Braun took the opportunity to fervently pitch 

his plans for the U.S.’s future in space. Work 

on the project had already begun, but when 

Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, workers 

attacked the project with new vigor to honor 

the memory of the slain president. 

The Saturn Rocket boosters were developed 

for the Apollo Lunar Landing Program 

and the jobs provided even more growth for 

Huntsville and surrounding communities. 

The liquid fuel “Moon Rocket” was designed 

at Marshall Space Flight Center under the 

direction of Dr. von Braun and Arthur 

Rudolph. At 365 feet tall, the rocket was the 

height of a 36-story building and reported to 

be one foot shorter than St. Paul’s Cathedral 

in London. 


6 5

✧ 

The Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau keeps a life-sized astronaut in the lobby for photo opportunities. 


66

✧ 

This vertical mock-up of the Saturn V Rocket is visible from miles away. 


6 7

✧ 

Above: This display by Thiokol sits in front 

of the Confederate monument and Madison 

County’s third courthouse. 



Below: WAAY TV’s rocket scientist billboard 

from the 1980s speaks volumes. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF M. D. SMITH IV. 

On July 16, 1969, the world was glued to 

television as Apollo 11 was launched aboard 

the 6,200,000 pound Saturn V Rocket from 

Kennedy Space Center. It was destined 

for the moon. If the mission succeeded, 

it would be the ultimate prize of the race to 

space. On July 20, the announcement came, 

“The Eagle has landed!” 

When the Apollo 11 crew landed on the 

moon for the historic mission on July 20, the 

residents of Huntsville went wild. Although 

the Saturn V had successfully completed two 

unmanned flights, the lives of three human 

beings were now at stake. Anyone who was 

alive on July 20, 1969, when they heard the 

news that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon 

can recall where they were at that moment. 

The Saturn V Rocket was launched, without 

a single failure, from 1967 to 1973. 

Among those missions was the launch of 

the Skylab Space Station. Today, Saturn V 

Rockets are on display at the Johnson Space 

Center, the Kennedy Space Center, and the 

U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. 

Huntsville’s Saturn V was used to test other 

rockets during the dynamic testing phase, 

and for that reason, it was designated as a 

National Historic Landmark. Due to their 

design, the Saturn Vs used in space were 

destroyed in the course of each mission. 

Thanks to the monetary donations for an 

extensive facelift at the Saturn V located in 


68

Huntsville, visitors to Tranquility Base at the 

Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville will 

enjoy the historic rocket, housed inside the 

impressive Davidson Center, for years to 

come. Although it is officially owned by the 

Smithsonian Institute, the Saturn V Rocket 

in Huntsville has been on “extended loan” 

since 1969. 

Dr. von Braun, the man most responsible 

for Huntsville becoming known as the 

“Rocket City,” had a vision. Since Disneyland 

and other amusement parks were so successful, 

the wizard of rocketry hoped that a science-driven 

theme park would be supported 

by the public. In 1970 the U.S. Space & 

Rocket Center opened with Ed Buckbee as 

the director. Dr. von Braun had a large part in 

designing the Center, and he didn’t hesitate 

to use his influence to get display items he 

needed. Visitors from all over the world come 

to see the space exhibits with historic significance 

to Huntsville, as well as the United 

States. With the addition of Space Camp, 

youngsters from all over interact with the 

hands-on technology designed to let them 

have fun, learn the basics of rocket science, 

and hopefully influence them to achieve 

success in science or whatever field they 

choose. Dr. von Braun’s recreated office is one 

of the interesting exhibits at the U.S. Space 

& Rocket Center—ordinary items used every 

day by an extraordinary man. 

Madison County remains committed to our 

roots in America’s space program. While most 

of the research and development is no longer 

centered in Huntsville, our residents feel each 

triumph and tragedy on a personal level. 

On January 7, 1967, the Apollo I space 

capsule caught fire on the launch pad at Cape 

Kennedy, Florida. Three astronauts, Gus 

Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee 

lost their lives. Because of Huntsville’s role in 

the space program, these men were memorialized 

when local schools were named for them, 

and years later, Challenger Middle School was 

named in memory of the astronauts who died 

on January 28, 1986. On February 1, 2003, 

another explosion took the lives of astronauts 

aboard the Columbia Space Shuttle. Today, 

Columbia High School stands in their honor. 

During the increased development phase 

of Madison County and Redstone Arsenal, 

✧ 

An Iraqi Scud Missile is displayed in 

Huntsville—a victim of the Army’s Patriot 

Missile during Desert Storm. 




6 9

✧ 

President Ronald Reagan visited north 

Alabama in July 1984. 



Dr. von Braun insisted that Huntsville needed 

an airport capable of servicing large jetliners. 

He believed this would bring even more 

development to the area. On Sunday, October 

29, 1967, he got his wish. The last plane flew 

out of the old Huntsville airport. Aboard 

were important local dignitaries: Deputy 

Administrator of the FAA David D. Thomas; 

Director of NASA/Marshall Space Flight 

Center Dr. Werhner von Braun; Head of 

Army Missile Command Major General 

Charles W. Eifler; Huntsville Mayor Glenn 

Hearn; Madison County Commission chairman 

James Record; and President of the 

Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of 

Commerce Dr. William McKissack. As soon 

as the small jet left the runway, the airport 

was closed to commercial air traffic. 

Their destination that day was not far 

away. The same plane that left the old 

Huntsville airport flew to the new Jetport, 

located approximately halfway between 

Huntsville and Decatur, making it the first 

airplane to land there and officially opening 

it to air traffic. The first carriers at the 

new jetport were Eastern, United, and 

Southern Airlines. 

The opening of the new jetport was the 

sweet that came with the bitter. Only five 

months later, in March 1968, the last 

passenger train stopped at the Southern 

Railway Depot, 108 years after the passenger 

depot was built. 

Not long after the American flag was 

planted firmly in lunar soil, the power struggle 

on Earth for control of the space program 


70

ought sad news to the people of Huntsville— 

Dr. Wernher von Braun had been transferred 

to NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

His lifelong friends were left behind and his 

influence in the space industry was reduced. 

After two years, he left NASA and went to 

work at Fairchild Industries. 

On June 16, 1977, Dr. von Braun died of 

cancer at the age of 65. Although his life 

had been spent in the spotlight, his burial the 

day after his death, at Ivy Hill Cemetery in 

Alexandria, Virginia, was quiet and private. 

His death, and the end of an era, hit the 

people of Huntsville hard. Proof of his 

influence is all around Madison County, more 

than three decades after his death. 

In January 1991, the first missile fired in 

the Gulf War’s Desert Shield/Desert Storm 

against Iraq was Redstone Arsenal’s Hellfire 

Missile. Iraq launched Scud missiles against 

the Coalition Army made up of U.S. soldiers 

as well as soldiers from thirty-three other 

nations sent in response to Iraq’s invasion 

of Kuwait. Redstone’s Tow Missile and the 

Patriot Missile, nicknamed “Scudbuster,” 

were launched with such intensity and accuracy 

that the Iraqis called them Steel Rain. 

Cameras mounted on smart bombs gave 

up-to-the-moment video of actual bombings. 

With the success of the Coalition Army, 

President George Bush announced that the 

new world order had begun. 

✧ 

The Hawk anti-aircraft guided missile, 

developed at Redstone Arsenal, was first 

used by Israeli defense forces in the 

1967 Six Day War. 




7 1


PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY 

✧ 

Grave of Lewellen Jones, a veteran of 

the American Revolution, whose Avalon 

Plantation home became the University of 

Alabama in Huntsville. His grave is located 

behind Morton Hall on the UAH campus. 

In the first half of the twentieth century, baseball was perhaps the most popular spectator 

sport. Ironically, it was a native of nearby Limestone County, Daniel R. Hundley, who described 

a baseball game in his diary, later published as Prison Echoes of the Great Rebellion. The game was 

played by Union guards and their Confederate prisoners while Hundley was imprisoned at 

Johnson’s Island near Sandusky, Ohio, during the Civil War. It was the first mention of baseball, 

in writing, in the United States. 


72

Huntsville’s Dallas Park was built in 1928 

at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and 

Andrew Jackson Way and it was built for 

the residents and employees of the area 

surrounding the Dallas Mill. “Mr. Baseball,” 

Coach Hub Myhand, served as physical 

director for Dallas Manufacturing Company, 

as well as coach for the Dallas Mill 

semi-professional teams. 

Baseball was big business in those days, 

and as many as 6,000 fans came to cheer their 

favorite team. The rival teams of the Lincoln 

Mill and Dallas Mill eventually combined 

to form the Redcaps, and the Dr. Peppers, 

a women’s semi-professional softball team, 

strutted their stuff from 1937 to 1943. 

At the end of the World War II, another 

new world was taking shape. Synthetic 

materials, along with the labor unions, drove 

many cotton mills out of business for good. 

The era of the cotton mills came to an end 

and, in 1949, Dallas Park was sold to the 

Optimist Club. The park entered a new phase 

when lights were installed and it was one 

of the few fields open to black and white 

leagues alike. The Birmingham Black Barons 

and other black teams held exhibition 

games at the park. It was at Optimist Park 

where spectators could catch a glimpse of 

“Cool Papa” Bell’s towering homeruns. Some 

say Jackie Robinson blistered the base 

paths and Willie Mays perfected his famed 

“basket catch” at the park. 

The importance of education remained on 

the minds of Madison County citizens. After 

two more name changes, the Oakwood 

Industrial School, founded in 1896 with only 

sixteen students, took a final name, Oakwood 

College, in 1943. Many Oakwood College 

alumni go on to pursue degrees in medical 

school and make their mark in the field 

of science. Oakwood College, now Oakwood 

University, is also the proud home of the 

Aeolians, a singing group organized in 

1946. Their melodious harmony is known 

throughout the world. They have appeared 

on television and were guest performers at 

the White House. 

✧ 

Cotton gins, like this one from southeast 

Madison County, were at one time in nearly 

every farming community. Cotton fields 

are rapidly falling victim to subdivisions 

and pavement. 




7 3

✧ 

The Fletcher-Lowe house serves as the home 

to the president of the University of 

Alabama in Huntsville. 


On January 6, 1950, freshman students 

started classes at a brand new college 

in Huntsville. The University of Alabama 

opened an extension program with 37 freshmen. 

Because it had only been five years 

since the end of World War II, most of the 

students, who were veterans, funded their 

college education through the G.I. Bill. The 

average age of those early students was thirty. 

By the spring semester, those 37 freshmen 

were joined by others, bringing the number 

of enrollees to 234. 

The first classes were held at night in the 

West Huntsville High School. Property was 

purchased for the campus just outside the 

city limits for the University of Alabama 

at Huntsville. 

The property had been owned by a 

veteran of the American Revolution, Captain 

Lewellen Jones, who named his plantation 

Avalon. Jones, who died in January 1820, 

had crossed the Delaware River with George 

Washington on Christmas Day, 1776, and 

spent the next miserable winter at Valley 


74

Forge. The Jones family graveyard remains 

in a protective fence behind Morton Hall, 

the first official building on the campus that 

was later named for John Morton, the first 

acting director. 

In 1961, Dr. Wernher von Braun made a 

historic speech to the Alabama Legislature, 

asking for funding to establish a Research 

Institute Building. He was successful, and 

the scientific and engineering classes were 

designed to help support the widening space 

program. The first class to graduate with a 

four-year degree was in 1968. 

On June 11, 1963, the all-black Alabama 

A&M University, located north of Huntsville, 

was the first public institute to integrate in 

the State of Alabama when a white high 

school teacher from Wisconsin attended 

his first class in the graduate program. The 

student was unaware that it was a black 

university and the university was unaware 

that they had accepted a white student. 

Ironically, it was on that very day that 

Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in 

the doorway of the University of Alabama 

and denied entrance to two black students. 

Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach 

and U.S. Attorney Macon Weaver, from 

Huntsville, read President Kennedy’s proclamation 

ordering Wallace to cease obstruction 

of justice. Two days later, on June 13, David 

McGlathery, a black student, enrolled as a 

graduate student at the University of Alabama 


In April 1955, the funeral of the esteemed 

Dr. William Burritt was held at Maple Hill 

Cemetery. A startling discovery was made 

however, when the door to the ornate 

mausoleum was opened to receive his 

remains. While records at the cemetery 

indicated he would have been the fourth 

body interred therein, those present that day 

were startled to find out that there were 

more than four bodies already inside. 

Dr. Burritt was a homeopathic doctor, 

as his father and grandfather before him 

had been. He graduated from Vanderbilt 

University and married the daughter of 

a Union soldier who was present at the 

capture of the Huntsville Depot in 1862. 

A few short years later, Pearl Johnson Burritt 

died from complications of surgery—a 

routine procedure. 

The next year, Dr. Burritt married a 

wealthy St. Louis heiress, twenty years his 

senior. Upon her death thirty years later, 

✧ 

This photograph, thought to be taken 

about 1915, shows a family taking a ride in 

dad’s touring car. 




7 5

✧ 

Huntsville Mayor W. T. Hutchens. Hutchens 

served as mayor from 1920 to 1922. 




76

Dr. Burritt returned to Huntsville and built 

his dream house atop Monte Sano. On the 

day he was to move in, his home burned 

to the ground. He was a determined man 

however, and soon after the smoldering ruins 

were cleared, construction began again. 

Dr. Burritt traveled in impressive social 

circles in both St. Louis and Huntsville. Still, 

he was known to be somewhat eccentric. 

Tea, coffee, and alcohol were prohibited in 

his house as well as in his presence. He had 

several members of his family committed to 

✧ 

Demolition of third Madison 

County Courthouse. 




7 7

mental institutions, and it was said that 

his third wife was kept as a virtual prisoner 

in their home. The unhappy union ended 

in divorce. 

Dr. Burritt left his home to the City of 

Huntsville, and according to one story, it was 

his wish to have his body cremated and placed 

in an urn over the entrance to his estate. But 

there was already a perfectly fine mausoleum at 

Maple Hill Cemetery! His remains were taken 

to the mausoleum instead, and his secret was 

discovered. And why were there extra bodies in 

the mausoleum? The absolute answer to that 

question will forevermore remain unknown. 

✧ 

Lieutenant Commander Mike Christian, 

a graduate of Butler High School, spent six 

years as a prisoner at Hao Lo during the 

Vietnam War. He was severely beaten for 

making a crude American Flag. Presidential 

candidate John McCain was in the same 

POW camp and spoke of Mike during his 

campaign. Mike was welcomed home as a 

hero, but died in a house fire in Virginia at 

the age of forty-three. Mike earned two 

Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, four Air 

Medals, the Legion of Merit, and the Navy 

Commendation Medal. 




78

Yet another war called for the young men 

and women of Madison County to respond. 

The Vietnam War claimed the lives of fifty-six 

Madison County residents by the end of 1969. 

On April 24, 1967, Butler high school graduate 

Mike Christian was the navigator/bombardier 

on a Grumman A6 Intruder carrier-based 

attack plane piloted by Lewis I. Williams. Their 

plane was hit by 85mm anti-aircraft rounds 

fired at them over North Vietnam. As their 

flaming plane plummeted to the ground, the 

two men ejected and were quickly captured 

and sent to the horrendous POW camp known 

as the Hanoi Hilton. 

Mike Christian made a small American flag 

that the prisoners saluted every day when they 

were not watched by guards, and the crudelymade 

symbol of our country served to boost 

their morale. When guards found the flag, Mike 

was beaten for hours. As soon as he was able to, 

Mike began to fashion another American flag, 

even though he was aware of the consequences. 

Lieutenant Commander Michael Durhen 

Christian was released from the POW camp 

on March 4, 1973. His mother had died in 

the final year of his captivity. Upon Mike’s 

return to Huntsville, he was presented with a 

red corvette and honored when April 7, 1973, 

was proclaimed Mike Christian Day. Sadly, 

he died in a fire in Virginia in 1983. 

Leo K. Thorsness, a Madison, Alabama, 

resident who earned the Congressional Medal 

of Honor, knew John McCain and Mike 

Christian from when he was another unfortunate 

resident of the Hanoi Hilton. His autobiography, 

Surviving Hell: A POW’s Journey, was 

published in 2008. 

Another of the captives was John McCain, 

who went on to run (unsuccessfully) for 

U.S. President in 2008. He spoke of Mike 

Christian in some of his speeches, though 

some took offense when he said Mike had 

never worn shoes until he was thirteen 

years old! 

✧ 

Mrs. J. B. Clopton painted on spiderwebs— 

a most delicate and unusual hobby! 

She frequently asked to go into attics and 

barns in search of just the perfect web for 

her creations. 




7 9

✧ 

Right: A frog statue sits in the windowsill of 

the top floor of the Terry Hutchens Building 

on the corner of Jefferson Street and 

Clinton Avenue in downtown Huntsville. 

Few people notice the statues, one in each 

top floor window. 

Below: Harrison Brothers Hardware Store 

is part history, part gift shop. The store 

features items made mostly by Alabama 

artists and artisans, but retains the 

ambiance, record books, and even the old 

cash register from a century ago when it 

was an actual hardware store. 

Opposite: Luke Hawke, Chef de Cuisine at 

Cotton Row Restaurant, takes a break 

between meals. Cotton Row is one of several 

unique restaurants designed by James 

Boyce, an entrepreneur and renowned chef 

who has re-purposed several old buildings in 

downtown Huntsville. 


80


8 1


MOTHER NATURE’S PATH 

✧ 

Two young men sit on a park bench during 

a flood, communing with geese. 



Because of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico during the spring and fall, combined with 

winds known as the jet stream, Madison County, as well as North Alabama, lies on the tornado 

super-highway. The April 19, 1822 issue of the Alabama Republican reported a tornado that passed 

through Lawrence, Limestone, and Madison Counties on the night of April 13, 1822: 

It happened in the dead of night while nature was sunk in slumber and forgetfulness and although 

a great number of dwellings were destroyed by its fury, we have not heard of the loss of any lives…by 

the care of a kind Providence who aids in the trumpets and directs the storms, they have escaped with 

their lives. 


82

Five tornadoes passed through Madison 

County and on into Franklin County, Decatur 

County, and Jackson County. No data was 

kept for the following sixty-two years, but 

while there were most certainly tornadoes in 

those ensuing years, we can assume that the 

death toll was low due to the sparse population. 

Since 1884, more than sixty-five tornadoes 

have been confirmed in Madison County. 

A tornado blitz on April 3, 1974, began 

with a tornado that touched down in 

Madison County at 5:50 p.m. The F5 tornado, 

carrying black fury and bolts of lightning, 

brought winds at between 261–318 mph 

and stayed on the ground for 52 miles in 

Alabama. Less than one hour later, an F4 

tornado, a quarter-mile wide, traveled for 

sixty-two miles. Another came at 9:24 p.m., 

and when the skies finally cleared and 

the bodies retrieved, the blitz had affected 

thirteen states and killed 330 people. 

The 1974 tornado had been the most devastating 

in recent memory, until a November 

night in 1989. In those days before early 

warning systems, most people were caught 

by complete surprise. At 4:30 p.m. on 

November 15, 1989, the sky had darkened 

with the threat of rain when a massive ½ mile 

wide F4 tornado touched down on Redstone 

Arsenal and traveled toward southeast 

Huntsville. It cut a swath up the heavily-traveled 

Airport Road, taking out a shopping 

mall, a church, an apartment complex, and a 

school, in addition to 259 homes and 21 

human lives. The Faith Presbyterian Church 

rose from the destruction and erected a short 

wall with 21 bricks pulled out horizontally, 

one for each of the victims of that tragedy. 

Other tornadoes have followed, including 

those on May 18, 1995, and April 27, 2011, 

when an EF5 tornado was tracked near 

Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant. Several 

tornadoes touched down in the period of 

April 25 through 28, causing massive power 

outage and a number of injuries and deaths. 

But with the constant improvements in 

predicting weather and radar tracking, the 

loss of life has been reduced. 

✧ 

A rare snowfall blankets 

Maple Hill Cemetery. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JIM MAPLES. 


8 3

✧ 

A rare ice storm. 



On the morning of July 7, 1984, employees 

of the Products Division Plant #2 of the 

electronics manufacturing company SCI 

looked forward to a leisurely excursion on the 

company boat, a 100-foot paddle-wheeler 

named SCItanic, the eerie tongue-in-cheek 

referral to the ship that sank in the icy waters 

of the Atlantic in 1912. 

Fifteen people showed up, employees 

along with members of their families, to 

enjoy the outing that was scheduled to leave 

from Ditto Landing at 10 a.m. The ship’s 

pilot was assisted by two crew members. The 

captain, Frank May, checked the forecast at 

9:30 and a band of storms was moving from 

the southeast into North Alabama. 

Clouds gathered as the ship launched at 

10:20 a.m. At about 11 a.m., Captain May 

spotted lightning and the NOAA weather 

radio announced a severe thunderstorm 

warning was issued for Madison and Morgan 

Counties. Captain May turned the boat 

around and told passengers they would 

return to Ditto Landing. 

The wind and rain appeared at once and 

with incredible fury. As passengers took cover 

in the salon, the wind came at 70 mph and 

visibility dropped to three-quarters of a mile, 

all within the timeframe of three minutes. 

Some passengers strapped on life preservers 

as the boat turned into the wind with a 

black sky overhead. A sudden gust of wind 

slammed into the side of the boat, knocking 

Captain May to the floor. He grabbed the 

microphone and shouted “Mayday!” before 

the water covered him. 

The ship began to topple over and the crew 

yelled at the passengers to get to the high side 

of the boat, in an effort to stabilize it. The 

salon door was sealed shut by the relentless 

wind and the ship capsized. In the chaos that 

followed, Captain May and the crew grabbed 

as many passengers as they could reach and 

helped them to the surface. Within minutes, 

rescuers rushed to the scene of the accident 

and divers went down into the murky water 

with flashlights, looking for victims. 

Only four passengers survived that accident. 

The people who died that day were trapped 

inside the salon. The tragedy of the SCItanic, 

which made headlines all over the nation, was 

the deadliest boating accident in the recorded 

history of Alabama’s inland waterways. 

An extensive study of the event revealed 

that a freakish weather event, known as a 

microburst, was the cause of the accident. 

A sudden downward and narrow gust of air 

hit the broadside of the top-heavy boat and 

toppled it. Understandably, the SCItanic was 

dismantled and sold for scrap. 


84


BEYOND HUNTSVILLE 

As homes and businesses began to fill in the gaps between the community of New Market 

and the bustling city of Huntsville, the dividing line between the two has become a blur. 

The home of the Criners, the earliest known settlers of what would become known as Madison 

County, expanded and grew, but the old homestead is long gone. 

One home of historic interest that remains was built by Thomas McCrary, an early pioneer 

born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1789. He bought three quarter sections of land in 

November 1809 and began his brick home not long after. He had six children by two wives and 

took in the orphaned brothers and sisters of his second wife, Nancy. 

The old home was added onto, and although the rambling home was remodeled a time or 

two in the last 200 years, some of the original furniture and quirky features remain unchanged. 

Much of the original farmland bought by Thomas McCrary more than two centuries ago is still 

owned by a descendant of the same name. The present-day Thomas McCrary, over 100 years old, 

still works the soil himself as he did decades ago. Except for the years he spent in service of 

his country in World War II, Thomas McCrary has been a most highly respected citizen of 

New Market for his entire life. 

The community of Gurley sits in one of the most scenic and tranquil settings imaginable. 

Fields and farms circle the town for miles while the Appalachian foothills rise in the distance. 

It was founded by the namesake, John Gurley, a veteran of the American Revolution who arrived 

in North Alabama in 1817. 

It has been known by several names: Gurley’s Tank for the large cedar water tank built to 

supply water to the steam engines traveling through on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, 

Gurleysville, and finally Gurley. By 1891 there were two local newspapers and three new churches. 

A two-story combination high school and two year college, founded by the Cumberland 

Presbyterian Denomination, was named Robert Donnell Academy upon the 1893 completion, 

in honor of the minister who had been so influential in the area of religion in Alabama’s 

pioneer days. 

✧ 

The first known settlers in Madison County 

were Joseph and Isaac Criner and their 

families. This is believed to be one of the 

later Criner homes, built in about the 

1830s. By the time this photo was taken, 

the home was abandoned. Sadly, it is no 

longer standing. 



C H A P T E R 1 0 

8 5

✧ 

Right: The Robert Donnell Academy in 

Gurley, Alabama, served as a school from 

1893 until it was torn down in 1935. 

The academy was named for an early 

Cumberland Presbyterian circuit-riding 

minister, and served as the first Madison 

County high school. 



Below: Frank Gurley was arrested and 

sentenced to hang for the shooting death of 

U.S. Brigadier General Robert McCook of 

the 9th Ohio Infantry. During the Madison 

County skirmish, shots were fired from all 

directions, but Gurley, a member of the 

4th Alabama Infantry, was accused of 

murdering McCook as he lay helpless on a 

cot. Gurley was accidentally exchanged, 

and soon after the war, he was elected 

Sheriff of Madison County. He was 

re-arrested and once again sentenced to 

hang for McCook’s death, but was 

eventually released on the recommendation 

of Ulysses Grant. 



In 1907, the Alabama Legislature passed a 

bill that would place a state-supported school 

in each county. The Madison County towns 

of Huntsville and Gurley competed for this 

prize and Gurley won out after Governor 

Comer selected it over Huntsville. Thus, the 

Robert Donnell Academy became the new 

home of the school for county students. 

The current Madison County High School, 

as it is known today, was built in 1998, 

three miles west of Gurley. 

Perhaps the most well-known resident of 

Gurley was Frank, son of the original founder. 

Frank was a member of Nathan Bedford 

Forrest’s Cavalry of the Confederate Army. In 

the early spring of 1862, he was convalescing at 

his home. As soon as he was well enough to join 

up with Forrest and his men, he left, but found 

that he was cut off due to the Union occupation 

in North Alabama. Gurley decided to form his 

own militia and recruited other men who 

would be known as the “Immortal 7” as they 

used guerilla tactics to annoy the enemy. 

Gurley received word that cattle had been 

stolen from people in Limestone and Madison 

Counties and he was determined to get them 

back. While riding on the Limestone and 

Winchester Road, they ran head-on into 

Union General Robert McCook’s infantry 

brigade traveling from Athens, Alabama, to 

Decherd, Tennessee. 

General Robert McCook was ill from 

dysentery as well as a wound he had received 

in battle eight months earlier, and he was riding 

in a carriage rather than on horseback. In 

utter surprise and confusion, the two sides 

traded gunfire. A bullet struck General 

McCook on his left side, and he succumbed 

the following day. 

From here, the accounts differ greatly. It 

was reported in northern newspapers that 

Captain Gurley and his guerrilla raiders 

attacked the column as McCook lay helpless 

in an ambulance (or after he had already surrendered) 

and that the fatal bullet was fired 

by Gurley himself. Although there was really 

no way to know who fired the fatal bullet, 

Captain Gurley was arrested and in January 

1864, tried for murder in Nashville. He was 

convicted as a civilian bushwhacker and sentenced 

to die by hanging. The sentence was 

delayed however and he spent over a year in 

prison awaiting his fate. 

Gurley was mistakenly paroled in March 

1865 and, after the war, signed an oath of 

allegiance to the United States government. 

But it wasn’t over! After his return to North 

Alabama, he was elected as Sheriff of 

Madison County. The McCook family continued 

to demand retribution, and Gurley was 

again arrested in November 1865. Frank 

Gurley was told he would be hanged the 


86

following week. Fortunately, 73 Southern 

Unionists signed a letter asking for his release 

and on April 17, 1866, he was once again a 

free man. He returned to Gurley where he 

lived until his death in 1920. Gurley held 

numerous reunions for Confederate veterans 

at his home place and his case is still debated 

for the strange ambiguities involved. 

On January 5, 1854, Pennsylvania native 

James Clemens bought acreage in the 16th 

section of Township 4 South and Range 2 

West, located 10 miles west of Huntsville 

and 10 miles east of Decatur. Clemens hoped 

to develop a town around the train depot 

and he personally referred to the location as 

Clemens’ Depot. The railroad map referred to 

it as Madison Station and the name remained 

until it was shortened to Madison, as we 

know it today. 

Clemens was related to Samuel Clemens, 

better known as Mark Twain. James’s son, 

Jeremiah, was conflicted about his allegiance 

in the Civil War. While he opposed secession, 

he served in the Confederate Army before 

switching to the Union side for good. He wrote 

a letter to President Lincoln in February 1865 

asking the president to consider appointing 

him as governor of Alabama at the end of 

the war, which everyone predicted would 

be soon. Lincoln was assassinated in April 

and Clemens died in May and there is no 

indication that Lincoln ever responded to 

his letter. 

One prominent resident of Madison Station, 

Dr. Richard Fletcher, had his son drop $10,000 

in gold coins into one of the eight hollow 

columns of his home called Aspen Dell. The 

hole at the top of the column was carefully 

concealed from members of the Union Army 

who came to call on several occasions. After 

the war, Dr. Fletcher was one of the very few 

who were left financially secure. 

✧ 

Chessie Harris, granddaughter of slaves, 

founded the Harris Home for Children 

and helped raise over 1,200 homeless and 

hungry boys and girls between 1954 and 

1980. She received numerous humanitarian 

awards for her outstanding and unselfish 

contributions and was awarded the 

President’s Volunteer Action Award by 

President George Bush in 1989. “Mama 

Harris” died June 6, 1997, but the Harris 

Home continues to care for needy children. 



C H A P T E R 1 0 

8 7

✧ 

An interesting mosaic mural inside the 

current Madison County Courthouse tells 

the story of Huntsville’s past through 

pictures. Pictured in the mural are 

John Hunt, LeRoy Pope, David Moore, 

Dr. Wernher von Braun, John Hunt Morgan, 

and many more. 



On May 17, 1864, Confederate Colonel 

Josiah Patterson and approximately 1,000 

cavalry and artillery attacked about 350 

members of the 13th Illinois Infantry at 

Madison Station. Union forces were pushed 

back toward Huntsville until reinforcements 

joined up to counterattack the Confederates, 

who were forced back across the Tennessee 

River. In December 1864 members of three 

Indiana Cavalries attacked Confederates in 

a skirmish just outside Madison Station. The 

Confederates retreated, and it was estimated 

that about 80 Union soldiers were killed, 

captured, or wounded; the Confederates lost 

about 60. Several of those Union soldiers 

returned after the war to make Madison their 

home! Today, Madison is one of the fastest 

growing cities in the United States. 

Madison County is home to descendants 

of the earliest settlers, as well as those who 

came with the space industry and military 

support. It is not uncommon to hear men in 

overalls and ball caps sitting outside of 

Starbucks sipping designer coffee and dis- 


88

cussing rocket trajectory, pressure velocities, 

and acceleration. Madison County is a place 

where one can attend the symphony one 

night, a ghost walk the following night, and a 

tractor pull the next night. It is a place where 

anyone can carve their own niche, feel at 

home with like-minded others, and best of 

all, feel the warm welcome of an entirely different 

group of people whenever they desire. 

Madison County is consistently listed in 

national publications as one of the most 

desirable places to live and the many retired 

members of the military who pass through 

Redstone Arsenal during their careers know 

that to be true. A great number of them 

return to live in North Alabama and either 

start new careers or volunteer at the many 

venues available. How could anyone possibly 

not love living here? 

Residents of Madison County make every 

effort to preserve the past while looking to 

the future. As an example of our appreciation 

✧ 

Future engineers examine models of the 

Saturn I and Saturn V Rockets. 



C H A P T E R 1 0 

8 9

✧ 

Above: After a contentious election 

campaign waged against her, Linda Coats 

was sworn in as Madison County District 

Judge by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore 

in January, 2013. 

Below: A memorial to veterans of every 

war is a place for reflection, honor, and 

appreciation for the men and women who 

serve our country. 


of the past, the Huntsville 

Depot, built in 1850, was 

slated for destruction at 

least twice. Saved from the 

wrecking ball, it remains 

today as a museum to our 

Civil War connection as 

well as our love affair with 

rail service. 

Alabama’s Constitution 

Village is a recreation of 

the 1819 buildings that 

hosted the men who came 

to write Alabama’s first 

constitution. Built on 

their original foundations 

and to the specifications 

of those early buildings, 

the museum offers visitors 

a 200-year step back 

in time. 

The U.S. Space & 

Rocket Center was the 

brainchild of Wernher von Braun, who wanted 

a place for students interested in science 

to seek encouragement as well as fun. 

It houses a huge collection of those rockets 

and capsules that propelled man into space 

and onto the moon. It would seem to be the 

obvious final home for the Quick Plane, 

built by the brilliant William Lafayette Quick, 

which was stored in a barn for many 

years until members of the Huntsville 

Experimental Aircraft Association restored it 

in 1964 and presented it to Huntsville 

Airport Authority. 

A weathered trunk was recently found in 

the attic of the old Elijah Walker home in 

Gurley, inherited by William Walker and his 

brother. Inside was the Criner family Bible, 

belonging to the first known white settlers 

of what would become Madison County. 

Members of the Criner and Gurley families 

intermarried in the early formative years of 

Madison County. Inside a creased envelope, 

found in the same trunk, were the mismatched 

knee buckles worn by Joseph 

Criner, who was a patriot in the American 

Revolution. Those knee britches worn by our 

ancestors had to fit snugly just under the 

kneecap to hold up their long stockings, and 

the benefit of buckles was that they could be 

adjusted, unlike buttons. Why would someone 

save 200-year-old knee buckles? We will 

never know the answer to that question, 

but we can be thankful they did! These rare 

and valuable finds that surface from time to 

time, “love letters from the past,” bring us 

renewed appreciation for the earliest pioneers 

of Madison County, Alabama. 


90

✧ 

Above: Columns from Madison County’s 

third courthouse now grace the entrance to 

the beautiful Botanical Gardens. 


Below: Another view of the Veterans’ 

Memorial in Huntsville, which was 

dedicated November 11, 2011. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF 

JACQUE PROCTER REEVES. 

C H A P T E R 1 0 

9 1

✧ 

The red bridge, a gift from Japan, spans the tranquil water at Huntsville’s Big Spring Park. 



92

SHARING THE HERITAGE 

H i s t o r i c p r o f i l e s o f b u s i n e s s e s , 

o r g a n i z a t i o n s , a n d f a m i l i e s t h a t h a v e 

c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d 

e c o n o m i c b a s e o f H u n t s v i l l e - M a d i s o n C o u n t y 

The Marketplace .............................................................9 4 

Quality of Life ..............................................................1 1 4 

Building a Greater Huntsville-Madison County ..................1 4 0 

S H A R I N G T H E H E R I T A G E 

9 3

✧ 

View from Bridge Street, the outdoor mall designed to look like an Italian villa. 



94

THE MARKETPLACE 

H u n t s v i l l e - M a d i s o n C o u n t y ’ s r e t a i l 

a n d c o m m e r c i a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t s o f f e r 

a n i m p r e s s i v e v a r i e t y o f c h o i c e s 

Redstone Federal Credit Union ......................................................9 6 

InfoPro Corporation .....................................................................9 8 

Emerson Network Power .............................................................1 0 0 

Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau ................1 0 2 

PROJECTXYZ, Inc. .....................................................................1 0 3 

Huntsville & Madison County Railroad Authority ...........................1 0 4 

Alabama Climate Control, Inc. ....................................................1 0 5 

ADTRAN ..................................................................................1 0 6 

BID Designs ..............................................................................1 0 7 

Lanier Ford ..............................................................................1 0 8 

New York Life Insurance Co. .......................................................1 0 9 

Madison County Cooperative, Inc. ................................................1 1 0 

Robert L. Sublett Farms ..............................................................1 1 1 

Huntsville Ghost Walk ................................................................1 1 2 

T H E M A R K E T P L A C E 

9 5

REDSTONE 

FEDERAL 

CREDIT UNION 

✧ 

Top: The original Redstone Federal Credit 

Union office was located on Redstone 

Arsenal and served those who were 

stationed at or worked on the arsenal. 

Above: Roy Hollihan points to a chart 

illustrating the credit union’s rapid growth 

in membership in 1969. 

Right: Redstone Federal Credit Union 

President and CEO Joe Newberry cuts the 

ribbon during the grand opening ceremony 

for the twenty-second credit union branch 

on County Line Road in Madison, in 

February 2012. The branch was the first of 

RFCU’s buildings to be LEED certified, 

signaling the credit union’s commitment 

to pursue environmentally sound 

business practices. 

In 1951, eleven individuals who 

shared the goal of starting a credit 

union that could make a positive 

difference in people’s lives each 

put a five dollar investment into 

a shoebox. On November 28 of 

that year, Redstone Federal Credit 

Union was officially chartered. The 

first office was located on Redstone 

Arsenal, and served only the civilian 

and military personnel who 

either worked on, or were stationed 

at Redstone Arsenal. 

It has grown in terms of membership 

and capital from eleven members 

to nearly 350,000 and from $55 to more 

than $3 billion in assets. Headquartered at 

220 Wynn Drive in Huntsville, RFCU now 

has twenty-two branch offices throughout 

North Alabama and Southern Tennessee, and 

employs approximately 800 people. It is the 

largest credit union in Alabama and among 

the twenty-five largest credit unions in the 

nation in terms of assets. 

Striving to enrich the member experience, 

Redstone is committed to serving its members 

and local communities. As an organization, 

it is dedicated to the universal credit 

union philosophy of People Helping People. 

That philosophy motivates RFCU employees 

every day. 

Redstone, from its humble origins, has 

enjoyed a phenomenal growth. In less than 

twenty years after its founding, Redstone had 

grown to 50,000 members and, seven years 

later in June 1976, it exceeded $100 million 

in assets. Eight years later assets had doubled. 

By the end of 1988, Redstone doubled in size 

again when it reached $500,000 in assets. Ten 

years later it exceeded $900,000 in assets; and 

by February 2007, total assets exceeded $2 

billion. At the beginning of the first quarter of 

2011, it had exceeded $3 billion. 

Roy Hollihan played a major role in 

Redstone Federal Credit Union when he 

was named manager on September 27, 1957. 

At that time, just six years after the founding 

of the credit union, he had witnessed the 


96

organization’s growth to 6,000 members, 

eight employees, and $1.7 million 

in assets. 

On March 1, 1983, the RFCU board 

of directors approved expanding the 

membership field to allow relatives of 

members, either by blood or marriage, 

to join the credit union. It was an historical 

milestone and a wise decision 

that further positioned the organization 

to grow in terms of membership and assets. 

In August 1991, Gerald E. Toland was 

appointed president. He retired in June 2007. It 

was then that Joe Newberry, a former RFCU 

employee, assumed the presidency of Redstone. 

Charles L. Ray, Jr., who served as chairman 

of RFCU’s board of directors for twenty-eight 

years, retired March 1, 2011. He had been a 

Redstone Federal Credit Union volunteer 

since the early 1970s, and chairman of the 

board since 1983. His more than forty years 

of service were instrumental in the credit 

union’s growth and success. It was during his 

tenure that Redstone realized assets of $148.2 

million and boasted 102,000 members. By his 

retirement date, the credit union had surpassed 

$2.8 billion in assets. Dr. Dorothy W. 

Huston was elected to succeed him as board 

chair in March 2011. 

Today, led by Huston, Redstone is venturing 

into new areas with the launch of new 

technology solutions for financial institutions. 

For the first time in the credit union’s history, 

the information technology (IT) department 

has become a revenue-generator instead of a 

cost center. 

Another area of growth is RFCU’s Business 

Solutions group. The credit union is expanding 

its role in local business communities. It 

has become the area’s leading lender of Small 

Business Administration (SBA) loans and now 

provides a long list of services and products 

for local businesses. 

RFCU is setting its sights on the future by 

becoming a trusted adviser to its members— 

not only in financial matters—but in various 

aspects of the important events in their lives. 

Redstone lives the credit union philosophy 

of People Helping People. On May 27, 2011, 

RFCU partnered with members to provide 

monetary assistance to the Red Cross, 

Salvation Army, sister credit unions, and other 

organizations providing relief from Alabama’s 

deadly April 27 tornadoes. The credit union 

earmarked $70,000 for the donations, making 

it the largest relief donation in the credit 

union’s sixty year history. 

While Redstone gets high marks for its 

services and growth, it does not forget its 

roots. It supports more than 300 community 

organizations that share its commitment to 

making local communities stronger, including 

the Chambers of Commerce in its focus areas. 

Many of its executive staff members serve on 

boards of local nonprofit agencies, and the 

credit union conducts a large United Way 

campaign every year. Other community 

efforts include collecting food and toys for 

less fortunate families, and awarding scholarships 

to member students. 

Redstone Federal Credit Union is active on 

social media, interacting with members and 

communities via Facebook and Twitter. 

✧ 

Above: The current headquarters of 

Redstone Federal Credit Union is located at 

220 Wynn Drive in Huntsville, Alabama. 

While it has been headquartered at this 

location since the 1970s, the new addition, 

pictured here, was opened in 2007 to 

better serve the credit union’s 

growing membership. 

Below: Redstone Federal Credit Union 

employees assisted the Tanner Community 

Center with local disaster recovery efforts in 

April 2011 after record-breaking tornadoes 

destroyed or damaged many local homes, 

and resulted in power loss for as long as a 

week in much of the area. 


9 7

INFOPRO 

CORPORATION 

With Redstone Arsenal and other government 

entities in Huntsville, the business climate 

was ideal for InfoPro Corporation (IPC). 

In the early 1980s, the computer services 

industry was oriented toward the original 

equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to provide 

product, software support, and services. 

Customers relied on an OEM to provide 

product and services; however, with the 

introduction of the IBM personal computer 

(PC) and PC clones, information technology 

(IT) as we know it, underwent dramatic 

change. Government customers preferred 

to deal with one company for items of 

maintenance under one contract. This placed 

the OEMs at a disadvantage. That is when 

Joann P. and William R. Longshore, Jr., had 

the idea to found InfoPro. 

Both were working for OEMs when 

opportunity knocked. They realized 

that a small business could support 

the large maintenance contractors; 

and, the commercial and government 

sectors saw a need for value-added 

software, maintenance, laser printing, 

and network support services. 

They left their jobs and formed 

InfoPro, drawing upon a buzz word 

used by the market in 1985— 

Information Processing. Their first 

office, a 400 square foot rental suite at 

3313 South Memorial Parkway, was 

opened in the Parkway Office Center 

in November 1985. Today, Joann is 

CEO and Billy is President. 

Joann says that, in the early days, 

InfoPro was focused on day-to-day support 

services provided to customers. IPC’s first 

customers were commercial, professional 

firms such as doctors, lawyers, and accounting 

firms. “Our first year was somewhat of 

a struggle,” she says, “total gross revenue 

was $82,000. Paying our vendors on time 

was our first priority, and neither of us drew 

a salary.” 

Opportunity knocked again in 1987, when 

InfoPro was chosen by Zenith Data System as 

the first dealer warranty service provider in the 

nation. This was a key achievement as the government 

awarded Zenith—the computer desktop 

provider—a contract for all government 

agencies worldwide. At that time, there were 

over 3,000 Zenith computers in the area. In 

1988-1989, IPC became an authorized service 

provider for IBM, Hewlett Packard, and 

Compaq. During that period, IPC was also 

awarded a contract with the U.S. Army Missile 

Command (AMCOM) and the U.S. Army 

Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). 

InfoPro’s first contract employee, Jimmy 

Gilmore, was hired in June 1991. He was 

a valued and loyal employee who provided 

outstanding service to InfoPro’s government 

customer base until his death in 2011. 

In 1996 the Longshore’s felt it was time to 

diversify, and entered into a maintenance contract 

with the U.S. Army SMDC to provide 

electronic security services and access control 

integration and maintenance services. That 

contract was expanded for maintaining the 

CCTV surveillance system. Four years later, 

IPC UXO/OE Services was founded as a 

division of InfoPro. The company has 

performed over seventy separate projects in 

a wide range of UXO/OE task, including 

UXO/OE avoidance, site assessment/site 

investigation (SA/SI), construction support, 

UXO and CWM removal actions, and 

established, qualified, and managed the 

International UXO Training Program (IUTP) 

for the UXO Technician Level 1 Course 

in conjunction with the Texas Engineering 

Extension Service (TEEX) at Texas A&M 

University, a service it continues today. 


98

At the turn of the century, 

IPC became certified by the 

Small Business Administration’s 

8(a), SDB Program. It had two 

offices in Alabama—Arab and 

Huntsville—and other operating 

locations in Alexandria, and 

Virginia Beach, Virginia and 

Eglin AFB, Florida. 

Since the September 11, 2001, 

terrorist attacks and recent world 

events involving terrorism, the 

safety and security of personnel 

and property have become high 

priority. IPC has provided security 

personnel, data management, 

electronic access control systems, 

vulnerability and risk assessments, 

emergency response crisis, and consequence 

management and training to a diverse 

mix of government and commercial agencies. 

The company is committed to providing a 

Force Protection Program to meet individual 

client’s needs. IPC has received government 

kudos for its work. In 2008, in recognition 

of its outstanding service to NASA, 

InfoPro received MSFC’s 2008 Subcontractor 

Excellence Award. In 2011, InfoPro was 

awarded the following Top Business Awards by 

www.diversitybusiness.com: Ranked second 

in Top 50 Women Owned Businesses in 

Alabama; third in Top 50 Diversity Owned 

Businesses in Alabama; fourth in Top 50 

Privately-held Businesses in Alabama; fifteenth 

in Top 100 Native American Owned 

Businesses in United States; and sixty-fifth in 

Top 500 Women Owned Businesses in United 

States. In 2012, CEO Joann Longshore was 

the recipient of the Aaron Smith Award by the 

American Cancer Society. 

Today, InfoPro employs more than 400 

professionals supporting customers in locations 

throughout the United States. Its core 

competencies include engineering, IT, training, 

security, unexploded ordnance disposal 

and range operations. 

InfoPro’s mission is to lead with, and deliver 

customer-focused services and products, 

performing to the highest standards to achieve 

customer satisfaction through teamwork to 

produce excellent performance at the best value. 

InfoPro looks to the future with its focus on 

the importance of a robust culture, strong core 

values in recruiting and retaining high-end 

employees needed to tackle the most technically 

demanding problems facing our customer. 

Additional information is available on the 

Internet at www.ipc-us.com. 

✧ 

Above: Left to right, Joann P. Longshore, 

CEO; Congressman Robert B. Aderholt and 

William R. Longshore, Jr., president, 2009. 


9 9

EMERSON NETWORK POWER 

The dismissive challenge, “It can’t be done,” 

was the catalyst that set it all off—the creation 

of a technology that is now found in nearly 

every data center in the world: the Avocent ® 

KVM (keyboard, video, and mouse) switch. 

In the late 1970s, Remigius G. Shatas was 

contracted by the Marshall Space Flight 

Center to install computers, but the devices 

were far too big for the desks. Undaunted by 

the “can’t be done” challenge of his fellow 

engineers, he focused on developing a way to 

extend the computer keyboard and monitor 

so that the bulky processors could be stored 

elsewhere, away from the workstations. The 

result of several years of work was the Cybex 

Computer Products Corporation Extender. 

This 1986 technology breakthrough could 

separate computing devices from the user up 

to 600 feet. A second “can’t be done” challenge 

followed: enable a single operator in a nuclear 

power plant to seamlessly switch between 

computer systems more than twenty-five feet 

apart. The first KVM switch was introduced to 

the market soon after. With uses far beyond 

the nuclear industry, KVM switching was 

adopted by the military and manufacturing, 

as well as general corporate data centers. 

In the decade that followed, the company 

continued to grow steadily, going public in 

1995. However, by the late 1990s, a fierce 

competitor, Apex PC Solutions, Inc., had 

emerged. Also offering KVM solutions, the 

two companies seesawed the market leadership 

spot until 2000, when they decided 

to join forces. The newly formed company 

was called Avocent, with headquarters in 

Huntsville, as well as offices across the United 

States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. 

Looking beyond the KVM market it 

dominated, the new Avocent leadership team 

began investing heavily in the development 

of network and data center infrastructure 

management solutions. The first digital 

switches were introduced in 2000, followed 

by wireless access technology, as well as 

server, power and console-server management 

hardware and software. 

In December 2009, Avocent was acquired 

by Emerson, a $24.4 billion global technology 

and manufacturing company. With the influx 

of funding and the wider sales distribution 

that Emerson, a FORTUNE 500 company, has 

offered, Avocent products and solutions have 

quickly broadened in scope. Now a part of 

Emerson Network Power, Avocent technology 

has been coupled with other IT and facilities 

management products to create what industry 

analysts are touting as the leading Data Center 

Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solution. 


100

Called the Trellis platform, this offering 

helps large companies optimize the power, 

space, cooling, uptime, management and 

utilization of every device in every data center 

they operate. The Trellis platform also 

represents the single-largest investment by 

any company in the DCIM category. 

Additionally, Avocent Secure Switching 

technology continues to play an important 

role in our nation’s security, 

enabling the utmost in protected 

multiple desktop computing, 

whether the user is in the desert 

battlefield or the highest-clearance 

offices in a federal agency. 

Although the company’s products 

can be found installed 

everywhere from the Three 

Gorges Dams in China to 

research vessels in the North Sea, 

Avocent has never forgotten its 

Huntsville roots. The global 

headquarters on Corporate Drive 

in Huntsville house the office 

of the president, as well as all 

finance, human resources, product 

management, marketing, 

operations, and strategic engineering development. 

The local staff of approximately 400 

is highly involved in civic and local projects 

and organizations, and the leadership serves 

on many local development and technology 

association boards. Wherever someone is 

claiming that something positively “can’t be 

done,” Avocent employees are there, ready to 

prove them wrong. 


1 0 1

HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY 

CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU 

✧ 

Top: The Huntsville/Madison County Visitor 

Center—open seven days a week. 

Above: The U.S. Space & Rocket Center. 

Easy accessibility by land and air makes 

Huntsville/Madison County an outstanding 

conference host and tourist destination. The 

roots of the early local economy plunge deep 

into the red clay soil. Madison County was 

the top cotton producing county in the entire 

state for many years. The signs of change 

roared loudly with the testing of the Saturn V 

engines that rattled the windows of homes 

and shook the entire region with the power 

that would land man on the moon. With the 

success of Dr. Wernher von Braun and NASA, 

the region saw unprecedented growth in 

business and a boom in population. 

Our forward-thinking local leaders saw 

the need for a large meeting and event 

facility, so the Von Braun Center was built. 

The Huntsville Convention & Visitors Bureau 

was originally created as the marketing agency 

for the new facility. Today, the Huntsville/ 

Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau 

(HMCCVB) serves as the official city/county 

agency, which promotes our community as a 

convention site and tourist destination. 

With well over 600 events annually and 

attractions of all types, the area sees over 

2.8 million visitors each year. The U.S. Space 

& Rocket Center is the top tourist attraction 

in the state and home of U.S. Space Camp. 

The Huntsville Botanical Garden has the 

largest open-air butterfly house in the nation. 

The EarlyWorks Museum Complex combines 

hands-on and historical displays and artifacts 

to make learning fun for children of all ages. 

We are also home to the Robert Trent Jones Golf 

Trail’s northernmost course, Hampton Cove. 

These and so many more fun and memorable 

experiences await you in the Rocket City. 

The HMCCVB serves the needs of visitors 

and newcomers alike. Located in downtown 

Huntsville, the Huntsville/Madison County 

Visitor Center ® at 500 Church Street, is 

designed with visitors in mind. With plenty of 

parking, easy access and innovative collateral 

materials, the Visitor Center is open seven 

days a week to provide information on the 

various attractions and activities throughout 

the region as well as to offer special discount 

opportunities to many major attractions and 

sporting events. 

Huntsville/Madison County is a fantastic 

destination for conventions, meetings, trade 

shows and sporting events as well as for 

business, group and leisure travelers. Bring 

visiting friends and family to the Visitor 

Center for an overview of the area or check 

us out on the web, www.huntsville.org. Why 

not bring that meeting or trade show you 

travel out of town to attend to Huntsville? 

We’re here and ready to help. We’ve got space! 


102

When a large healthcare system required 

assistance to support software implementation 

activities across several Horizon applications, 

PROJECTXYZ rose to the challenge. 

Kimberly C. Lewis founded the company 

in 2002 to help solve customers’ business 

and technical challenges, primarily in the 

healthcare industry. In 2007, her husband, 

Larry E. Lewis, Jr., left a distinguished career 

with another firm and joined PROJECTXYZ 

as president. At this point, the company 

began its push into the federal contracting 

arena. The company’s services include, 

Information Technology, Engineering, and 

Logistics Support Services. 

According to Kim, “Being Proactive, 

Persistent, and Patient are the three 

principles that PROJECTXYZ has 

learned during the years we have 

been in business. Being proactive in 

anticipation of future needs, changes 

or even challenges that our customer 

may encounter are steps we use to 

improve on the products and services 

we offer. One way PROJECTXYZ 

demonstrates proactivity is through its 

internal research and development.” 

Larry states, “From the outset, Kim and 

I wanted to create an organization that 

is constantly researching, evaluating, 

and creating technology solutions that 

can make our customers more efficient. 

To that end, we invest a large portion 

of our corporate resources into our 

technology labs.” Technology projects 

have included the development of a high 

performance computing infrastructure using 

cell chip technology; the creation of a 

virtualization infrastructure for modeling 

and simulation; the deployment of a wireless 

networking system to bring internet connectivity 

to a small area in Limestone County; 

and the development of solar farm in the 

Town of Triana. 

“Community outreach is something that 

we are committed to at PROJECTXYZ. We 

encourage our employees to give a portion of 

their time and resources to support local 

nonprofits and those who are in need,” says 

Kim. Currently PROJECTXYZ is supporting 

Girls Inc. of Huntsville, the United Way, 

and HEALS, Inc. Kim and Larry are both 

graduates of the Connect Huntsville/Madison 

County Leadership program and serve on 

numerous nonprofit boards. 

Being a native of Madison County, Kim 

has seen a lot growth in the community. 

“Larry and I have found Huntsville and the 

surrounding community to be a fertile area 

for growing a small business. This area has 

an abundance of visionary leaders that have 

created a community that attracts investment 

and top talent from around the world.” 

For additional information, please visit 

www.projectxyz.com. 

PROJECTXYZ, 

INC. 

✧ 

Larry Lewis, Jr., president and 

Kimberly Lewis, CEO. 


1 0 3

HUNTSVILLE & MADISON COUNTY 

RAILROAD AUTHORITY 

Located at 119 Woodson Street in Huntsville 

Alabama, the Huntsville & Madison County 

Railroad Authority operates along 13.25 

miles of track from Woodson Street to Hobbs 

Island Road in South Huntsville near the 

Tennessee River. The Authority is governed 

by a seven member 

board of directors 

appointed by both 

the City of Huntsville 

and the Madison 

County Commission. 

The origin of the 

Huntsville & Madison 

County Railroad can 

be traced to 1859 

when the Winchester 

and Alabama (W&A) 

Railroad began in 

Decherd, Tennessee. 

The W&A was ripped apart due to the Civil 

War and foreclosed on by the state of 

Tennessee. Twenty-seven years later, key 

Huntsville businessmen, including Milton 

Humes, attorney and chairman of the Board 

of Trade in Huntsville, wanting to boost the 

economy, met with the L&N Railway in 

Nashville. While there, they received approval 

for a rail line from Elora, Tennessee, to 

Huntsville, Alabama. In these early days, not 

only was the railroad used for industry, it 

shuttled passengers up and down the line to 

several stops in Huntsville. In 1892 the 

Huntsville line was extended to the Tennessee 

River. This was called the “Southern Outlet” 

which is what the Huntsville & Madison 

County Railroad Authority operates over 

today. Passengers were able to ride the train 

to the Tennessee River where the trains were 

put on a barge and ferried across the river 

to Guntersville where the train resumed land 

travel to Gadsden and points south. 

In 1982, when the Seaboard Railroad notified 

the Interstate Commerce Commission that 

it was abandoning railroad service in the area 

within three years, customers along the line 

including Norton Company, General Shale 

Products, Coyne Cylinder, and Triple K Lumber 

knew that an alternative had to be found. 

These customers called on the city of Huntsville 

and the Madison County Commission to help 

keep the railroad operating. 

In May 1984 the Huntsville & Madison 

Country Railroad Authority (HMCRA) was 

created to preserve and protect rail service for 

existing customers and any future growth in 

North Alabama. 

The mission of the HMCRA is: To support 

and accelerate the economic development 

of the Tennessee Valley by providing safe, 

efficient, and reliable customer-focused rail 

freight services. 

For additional information, please visit 

www.hmcrr.com. 


104

With a vision in mind, business plan written, 

one van, and extensive training in heating, 

ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems, 

Charles (Chuck) Stewart began Alabama 

Climate Control, Inc. (ACC), a full-service 

HVAC company with sales, service and installation. 

That was on April 17, 1977. 

Having graduated from the University of 

Arkansas seven years earlier and marrying 

high school teacher, Marilyn June Stewart, 

the former GE Comm Engineer opened ACC. 

For more than thirty-five years, ACC has 

sought to provide Northern Alabama residents 

and businesses with the best solutions for 

high-efficiency heating and cooling systems. 

A TVA-Certified electric heat pump dealer, 

ACC specializes in Trane and Lennox Systems. 

ACC is also the exclusive contractor for HVAC 

for Home Depot stores in North Alabama. 

The company operates twenty-five radiodispatched 

installation and service vehicles 

to insure prompt and efficient response. 

Because trucks are stocked with inventory of 

service parts, eighty percent of all calls can 

be completed without leaving customers’ 

homes. ACC also provides twenty-four hour 

service, assuring attention by trained servicemen, 

which is the company goal. 

In addition, the company custom manufactures 

metal ductwork for every residential and 

commercial job. Contributing to its success 

is a computerized laser metal cutting plasma 

machine, which cuts out all ductwork from 

patterns programmed into the computer. 

This allows ductwork to fit together precisely 

with a minimum of waste. 

Chuck personally guarantees all work and 

equipment installed by the company and 

installs only what he feels is first-quality 

equipment and materials by some of the 

best-trained technicians in the area. All ACC 

technicians are required to remain current on 

parts and equipment by attending industryrelated 

seminars and classes annually. They 

are also required to have four years HVAC 

experience before being hired by the company 

and all must be certified for Freon recovery. 

ACC has grown to keep pace with the 

growing community. Recent statistics show 

that average annual sales are in excess of 

$3 million. 

ALABAMA CLIMATE CONTROL, INC. 

A Trane Comfort Specialist for the past 

twenty years, ACC has won the Trane Top Ten 

Awards for the past fourteen years. It operates 

a 10,000 square foot facility in Huntsville and 

another 5,000 square foot building in Athens. 

A sales office is located in Decatur. 

Chuck is a member of RSES. He and June, 

who has her Master’s Degree from the University 

of Alabama, attend the Asbury Methodist 

Church, where she sings in the choir. 

The Alabama HVAC Insider magazine in 2012 

said that “Without a doubt, Alabama Climate 

Control is one of the greatest success stories of 

HVAC contractors in the State of Alabama.” 


1 0 5

ADTRAN 

ADTRAN ® is among Huntsville’s best 

success stories. The professional climate and 

timing was right to start the company; and 

the location was excellent because of the 

explosion of communications and information 

technology (IT). 

Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, 

ADTRAN has sales offices strategically located 

throughout the United States and around the 

world. ADTRAN’s mission is to be a trusted 

provider of global communications solutions; 

to develop innovative technologies and 

techniques used to create products and 

services that make communications simpler, 

more flexible and more affordable for people 

everywhere; and to foster an entrepreneurial 

environment supported by enthusiastic 

employees who exhibit an unwavering 

commitment to personal integrity, and 

support customers beyond their expectations. 

The company’s success stems from its 

history in telecommunications. Incorporated 

in 1985, ADTRAN began operation in 1986 

following AT&T’s divestiture of the Regional 

Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). This created 

an opportunity for ADTRAN to supply 

network equipment to the seven RBOCs 

as well as more than 1,300 independent 

telephone companies in the United States. 

ADTRAN has two operating divisions 

based on product and service offerings: the 

Carrier Networks Division and the Enterprise 

Networks Division. These divisions serve two 

distinct markets and support sales globally, 

operating as two reportable segments. 

The Carrier Networks Division is positioned 

with product and service offerings that 

compete in many segments of the global 

telecommunications industry, specifically in 

the areas of Ethernet and Internet Protocol 

(IP)-based networks. ADTRAN’s carrier solutions 

are installed in the service provider’s 

network and are used to provide network 

and Internet connectivity to business and 

home users. As networks migrate to IP-based 

architectures, ADTRAN has strengthened 

its technologies in three primary growth 

areas: Broadband Access, Optical and 

Internetworking. Service providers use 

ADTRAN equipment in their central offices 

or remote terminals to deliver high-speed 

broadband services to homes and businesses. 

The Enterprise Networks Division supplies 

small and mid-sized businesses as well as 

distributed enterprise customers with the 

Internetworking equipment needed to create 

sophisticated Local Area Networks (LANs) and 

Wide Area Networks (WANs). With a host of 

Internetworking products including routers; 

Fast Ethernet, Gigabit and Power over Ethernet 

(PoE) switches; Unified Communications 

solutions; IP phones; Wireless LAN; and management 

platforms; ADTRAN has a solution 

to meet almost any Internetworking need. 

ADTRAN products are made available through 

a network of domestic and international value 

added resellers and distributors. 

With products for both carrier and enterprise 

markets, ADTRAN is uniquely positioned to 

provide solutions that are designed to enable 

businesses to evolve, change and grow. 


106

BID Designs opened its doors on 

November 1, 2006, after Huntsville native 

Brent Paris started the company as a single 

person consultancy. Because Huntsville was 

rich in government-related business and 

industry, it seemed natural to develop a 

business providing winning proposal and 

business development support to government 

contractors that focused on integrity, ethics, 

value, and service. 

Brent met Chris Luchtefeld in January 2007 

and they developed a plan to take BID Designs 

further. Luchtefeld made the leap of faith 

and joined Brent full-time as co-owner and 

managing partner in 2008. In the seven years 

since combining their talent and financial 

resources, with one sale at a time, BID Designs 

has taken a no-debt approach and has grown 

to more than fifty clients, operating on a 100 

percent client referral basis. 

BID Designs was formed on the basis of a 

no fear approach, keeping faith, risk taking, 

perseverance, and a commitment to always 

do the right thing. Chris and Brent’s ethics 

and integrity are the hallmark of their success 

and a key element of their culture. 

The company’s first major contract was 

awarded by Qualis Corporation in 2007. 

Elizabeth Morard, CEO/owner, was supportive 

of BID Designs from the start, and her company 

remains their longest term client. Brent credits 

David Diaddario with saying the one thing 

that inspired him to take the leap of faith and 

form BID Designs. Diaddario serves alongside 

Morard on BID Design’s advisory board today. 

BID Designs currently consists of Melinda 

Bent, Jennifer McNeese, Josh Olive, and 

Chelsea Dublin. Paris says that Melinda is a 

long-time neighbor and friend and has been 

the champion of the company from the start. 

“Jennifer told us she’d come to work for 

us when the ‘time was right’,” Paris said. 

“Her husband Steve interviewed us—we didn’t 

interview her.” McNeese and Paris worked 

together for ten years at a previous company. 

Josh was then hired to diversify the 

company’s skill sets. “He completed the piece 

we needed, and it seems as if he has been 

here from the beginning,” Paris said. Finally, 

Chelsea joined the team in 2012, bringing 

new energy and ideas with her. 

Today, BID Designs is a full-service 

development firm, providing customized 

solutions through proposal development, 

marketing, process development, software 

applications, and training. The company 

also holds an annual training conference, 

BID ConneX, providing attendees with 

expert insight across multiple business 

development categories. 

BID Designs continues to grow and evolve, 

always transitioning to meet the needs of their 

clients, and they look forward to developing 

new solutions for their clients in the future. 

BID DESIGNS 


1 0 7

LANIER FORD 

✧ 

Right: In January 2009, Lanier Ford moved 

into its new facilities at 2101 West Clinton 

Avenue in Huntsville, Alabama. 

Below: Milton H. Lanier (1878-1946) 

started practicing law in 1899. 

Bottom: Earle Raymond Ford (1890-1973) 

started practicing law approximately 1916. 

The history of Lanier Ford Shaver & Payne 

P.C. originates with Milton H. Lanier, Sr.’s 

solo practice, which began service to the 

community in 1899. Shortly afterwards, 

Earle Ford opened his solo practice in 1916. 

As separate entities, the law firms of Ford, 

Caldwell, Ford & Payne and Lanier, Shaver 

& Herring (and their predecessor firms) 

provided effective representation to their 

clients and were active leaders of the community 

in Madison County throughout the 

twentieth century. In 1988 the two firms, the 

oldest in Huntsville, merged to form Lanier 

Ford Shaver & Payne P.C. and Alabama’s 

fifteenth largest law firm at that time. 

With more than 100 years of history, many 

interesting stories can be told about the firm’s 

cases. One twentieth century case involving 

Lynchburg Lemonade best represents the 

firm’s influence on both Alabama’s legal history 

and Huntsville’s high-technology businesses. 

A local nightclub owner developed a beverage 

containing Jack Daniels whiskey. When 

a salesman from the Jack Daniels Distillery 

visited the nightclub, the salesman sampled 

the drink and was given the recipe. The nightclub 

owner maintained the recipe was a trade 

secret; Jack Daniels and Lanier Ford maintained 

that the owner had voluntarily given 

the salesman the recipe. Before this case, the 

Alabama law of trade secrets was not well 

developed. Even though Lanier Ford and its 

client prevailed at trial and on appeal, the 

Alabama Supreme Court provided greater 

protection for the trade secrets of all Alabama 

businesses. Trade secrets are especially important 

to high-technology business because 

these confidential formulas, processes, methods, 

and other information give a business 

an advantage over its competitors. 

In the twenty-first century, the firm has 

grown into a full-service law practice that is 

fully prepared to meet the needs of its individual, 

business, corporate, and government 

agency clients. Lanier Ford attorneys assist 

the residents of Huntsville in setting up their 

businesses, protecting their intellectual property, 

establishing comprehensive employee 

benefit plans, and financing their startups 

or expansions. The firm’s real-estate lawyers 

help individuals and businesses with facility 

acquisition and leases, while its litigators 

help enforce contracts and, when necessary, 

defend against workers’ compensation claims. 

When the business matures, the firm guides 

business owners through the sales process or 

helps them find the right financial sponsor 

to take the business to the next level. 

With attorneys recognized throughout 

Alabama, the Huntsville-based law firm of 

Lanier Ford provides the sophisticated advice 

and advocacy expected of a much larger firm 

with the personal attention and responsiveness 

of a smaller firm. 


108

Some older Americans relate the insurance 

industry as the door-to-door agents collecting 

monthly premiums in the early-to-mid- 

1900s. Sometimes the premium was only 

pennies to purchase life insurance to protect 

the family. 

“Today, that has changed,” says Shane 

Stromei, Managing Partner of New York 

Life Insurance Company’s general office in 

Huntsville. “People still need insurance, of 

course, to protect the ‘human capital’ (or 

life insurance). In addition, insurance helps 

with mortgage protection, college funding, 

retirement planning, individual retirement 

account (IRA) funding, business planning, 

estate planning—even leaving a legacy.” 

He says his company’s mission is to provide 

financial security and peace-of-mind through 

insurance, annuity and investment products 

and service. “By continuing to be a mutual 

company, we are uniquely aligned with our 

customers. By maintaining superior financial 

strength, we protect their future. By acting 

with integrity and humanity, we earn their 

trust and loyalty. Every decision we make, 

every action we take has one overriding 

purpose: To be here when our customers 

need us. That’s why we call ourselves 

The Company You Keep ® .” 

New York Life traces its roots to 1841 

when Nautilus Insurance Company was 

issued a charter to do business as a marine, 

inland navigation and transportation risk 

insurer in New York. The original commissioners 

were asked to raise $200,000 in 

capital to start the stock-owned fire and 

marine insurance company. The act was 

amended, allowing it to sell life insurance 

and organize as a mutual insurance company. 

In 1845 applications in excess of $300,000 

had been received, eventually leading to the 

founding of New York Life in 1845, when 

the company ceded fire and marine coverage, 

devoting itself to life insurance. It was 

renamed New York Life Insurance Company 

April 4, 1849. 

The Huntsville General Office was opened 

in 1958; shortly relocating to The State 

National Bank Building on West Court Square. 

General Manager was Cherry Smith; and agents 

were Harold Bee and William Yarbrough. 

Stromei recruits and develops agents and 

oversees operations in the office. Wes Wenger 

is sales development manager, training and 

developing new agents who engage in a 

three year training regimen. Amy Eades is 

director of operations, overseeing the service 

and processing of new business and 

accounting. Other employees are Elizabeth 

Thompson, Becky Harbin, Sherrie Stovall, 

and Amy Lawson. 

The office supports over forty professional 

career agents around Huntsville and parts 

of Tennessee. It has over $1.6 billion life 

insurance in force; and over $294 million in 

assets, more than $6.9 million paid out in 

death benefits; over $4.2 million life dividends 

paid; and, over 13,000 lives protected. 

NEW YORK LIFE 

INSURANCE CO. 


1 0 9

MADISON 

COUNTY 

COOPERATIVE, 

INC. 

Ask any farmer and he will tell you 

that farming is dependent upon Mother 

Nature and other factors. Farmers in 

Madison County are no different: Many 

things can impact their output and, therefore, 

their livelihood. 

Members of the Madison County Cooperative 

believe in sharing ideas to help them raise 

better crops. When they produce viable crops 

cost-effectively, they can pass the savings on 

to the consumer. 

The Cooperative was founded in December 

1932 when farmers realized a need for a 

joint effort to grow, finance, and sell their 

products. A ten member board of directors 

led the organization in achieving the farmers’ 

goals. Founders were Charles T. Butler, 

president, Howard Gray, J. A. Carriger, 

R. F. Word, Aaron Fleming, J. O. Kelly, 

C. F. Bealsey, W. F. Smith, J. H. St. Clair, and 

J. E. Hayes. Ed Burwell was the manager. 

The Great Depression wreaked havoc on 

the economy and farmers looked for ways 

to save money when planting, growing 

and harvesting crops of which cotton 

was the primary crop. A farmer-ownedand-operated 

buying group—the Madison 

County Cooperative—seemed to be the 

perfect solution. 

In 1944, it helped to form the Tennessee 

Valley Cotton Cooperative where farmers 

could pool their cotton to realize better 

prices. A year later, it helped organize 

a Cotton Classing Office in Huntsville. 

Madison County Co-op continues to promote 

the importance of agriculture throughout the 

Tennessee Valley area. 

Originally, the Co-op was located on 

Jefferson Street in downtown Huntsville. 

The second was built near the railroad for 

ease in unloading bulk supplies, as well 

as shipping goods to market. Over the 

years, a petroleum facility and grain elevator 

were used to assist members with these 

tasks. As Madison County became more 

populated several lines of products were 

added to attract the homeowner customers. 

A new facility was built 

on Jordan Lane in the 

mid-1970s. 

As Huntsville continued 

to grow, the Madison 

County Co-op in 1997 

moved to a facility 

between Meridianville 

and Hazel Green where 

it was closer to the 

remaining agricultural land. The farming 

community continues to be serviced out of 

this location where it offers seed, crop 

protection products, fertilizer, soil sampling, 

precision agricultural services, crop consulting, 

seed treating, and fertilizer application. 

In 2002 a bulk fertilizer branch was 

opened in New Market. When the Co-op saw 

a need to service more homeowners, it 

opened a retail store in Meridianville on 

Highway 231/431 in 2007. In 2011 the 

Co-op acquired Jackson Farmers Co-op, 

which gave it outlets in Scottsboro and 

Stevenson, Alabama. 

It boasts forty-four employees, serves 

over 1,000 customers, and has sales of 

nearly $30 million. Headquartered in Toney, 

it has locations in Meridianville, New Market, 

Scottsboro and Stevenson. 


110

Robert Sublett was born into a farming 

family, was a farmer, himself; and died a 

farmer—just the way he wanted. 

Following a stint in the Navy aboard the 

USS Washington in WWII, he returned to the 

farm and the life he had known and loved. 

He grew up in Little Cove on the farm that 

had been in the Sublett family for more than 

a century. 

It was his grandfather, Littleberry Madison 

Sublett, who sold the original land to Robert’s 

father, Oda Wilburn Sublett in 1885. Robert 

eventually bought seventy-six acres and 

began what became Robert L. Sublett Farms. 

Tilling the soil and watching crops produce 

was, for him, a hobby as well as his living. 

He married Lenora Ann Miller in 1955, and 

she became office manager and farm wife. 

Raising soybeans, cotton, wheat and corn, 

he often said, “Farming is a way of honoring 

God and His creation.” Robert felt close 

to God when he worked the fields, knowing 

that God’s help with the rain and sunshine 

were vital to crop production. “Without that 

I couldn’t accomplish anything on my own.” 

After the land purchase, he traded two 

mules in the 1940s with Phillips Motor Co. in 

nearby Gurley for his first tractor. Over the 

next thirty years, he purchased all adjacent 

farmland and grew the farm to 2,600 working 

acres and leased another 1,000 acres. 

The financial crisis in the 1980s prompted 

him and other farmers to turn to 

real estate development as a means 

of survival. Selling a portion of the 

developable property allowed the 

farming operation to continue during a 

difficult market. 

From the late 1980s to the mid- 

1990s, property was sold to the Hays 

family for the thriving Hampton Cove 

community. During that time, several 

other large parcels were sold for the 

development including the estates of 

Dr. W. H. Burritt, Goldsmith-Schiffman, 

and Dr. J. E. Whitaker. In 2003 a portion 

of the original Littleberry Madison 

Sublett property (dating to 1895) was 

sold to Jeff Enfinger and Sandra Steele 

(Enfinger Steele Development), and 

became part of the McMullen Cove. 

The area underwent a transformation over 

the last century, going from a quiet little cove 

(known as Little Cove) to one of the largest 

master planned communities in the state 

featuring a Robert Trent Jones Golf Course 

and hundreds of homes ranging from modest 

to millions. 

Robert and Lenora have two children; 

Barry H. Sublett and Elizabeth Sublett 

Lauderdale and two grandchildren, David 

and Amanda Lauderdale. 

Today, Sublett Farms is a 1,200 acre working 

farm with Lenora living in the original 

farmhouse, and the real estate portion of 

the farm managed by daughter, Elizabeth. 

ROBERT L. SUBLETT FARMS 

✧ 

Above: Robert L. Sublett, early farm days. 

Below: Aerial view of Sublett Farms, 1990s. 


1 1 1

HUNTSVILLE 

GHOST WALK 

The Huntsville Ghost Walk was founded by 

three spirited souls: a historian, a writer, and 

a paranormal investigator. After exhaustive 

historic and paranormal research, in addition 

to the amazing findings of an outstanding 

medium, the Huntsville Ghost Walk now 

offers a choice of four tours through main 

streets and dark alleys of the Old Town 

Historic District, the Twickenham Historic 

District, and the Haunted Downtown District, 

as well as a Haunted Trolley ride. All start at 

6 p.m. on Saturday nights in front of Harrison 

Brothers Hardware Store on Southside Square. 

Residual hauntings of past murders play 

themselves repeatedly like a staccato movie 

reel, and the ghost of a young man killed in 

the Argonne Forest during WWI says, “You 

call it Argonne—we called it hell!” Phantom 

children sing a haunting tune about the 1918 

flu epidemic, and the ghost of a Confederate 

soldier begs the crowd to help him find the 

metal box he buried for safekeeping more 

than 150 years ago. These stories, and many 

more, are the scenes that make up Huntsville’s 

fascinating history. 

Some homes on the ghost walk date back 

200 years, as do the early residents who seem 

reluctant to let go. Wealthy planters, whose 

fortunes dried up, remain in the mansions they 

lost to foreclosure—railing against their fate. In 

the meantime, the ghost of a man hanged at the 

courthouse square is still angry over the circumstances 

of his death, although he admits he 

did kill Elias Waldrop in 1904. “He deserved 

it!” the ghost yells to those who can hear him. 

Visitors have found new reasons to head to 

downtown Huntsville on Saturday nights. It 

has become a venue for area high school and 

college classes to learn local history in a fun 

and memorable way. According to guides on 

the Huntsville Ghost Walk, the ghosts cannot 

wait to let their presence be known! 

Lantern-led tours, led by costumed guides, 

overflow with true tales of Huntsville’s 

fascinating past, from the slaves who walk 

slowly and silently along the fence at the 

LeRoy Pope Mansion to a Union soldier 

hiding from Johnny Reb at the Big Spring. 

The twelve tour guides of the Huntsville 

Ghost Walk remind visitors to bring cameras 

and take plenty of pictures. Perhaps, they say 

with a sly wink, you might discover that someone 

from Huntsville’s past is watching you! 

The Huntsville Ghost Walk runs from June 

through October with extra tours added in 

the month of October. For more information, 

see www.huntsvilleghostwalk.com or call 

(256) 509-3940. The Huntsville Ghost Walk 

is a division of Avalon Tours, LLC. 


112

✧ 

An early rural school bus promises a dusty ride. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY. 


1 1 3

✧ 

The fountain at Bridge Street, Huntsville’s outdoor mall. 



114

QUALITY OF LIFE 

H e a l t h c a r e p r o v i d e r s , s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s , 

u n i v e r s i t i e s , a n d o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t c o n t r i b u t e 

t o t h e q u a l i t y o f l i f e i n H u n t s v i l l e - M a d i s o n C o u n t y 

Paul R. Weeks, DMD ..................................................................1 1 6 

Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society ................................1 1 9 

Oakwood University ...................................................................1 2 0 

Phoenix ....................................................................................1 2 2 

Alabama A&M University ...........................................................1 2 4 

Huntsville Hospital ....................................................................1 2 6 

Choose Life of North Alabama, Inc. ..............................................1 2 7 

Dental Professionals on Whitesburg ..............................................1 2 8 

Randolph School ........................................................................1 2 9 

J. F. Drake State Technical College ...............................................1 3 0 

The Center for Cancer Care ........................................................1 3 1 

Clinic for Women, P.A. ...............................................................1 3 2 

Calhoun Community College ........................................................1 3 3 

The University of Alabama in Huntsville .......................................1 3 4 

Von Braun Center ......................................................................1 3 5 

Huntsville City Schools ...............................................................1 3 6 

St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church ........................................1 3 7 

Huntsville First United Methodist Church ......................................1 3 8 

Crestwood Medical Center ...........................................................1 3 9 

Q U A L I T Y O F L I F E 

1 1 5

PAUL R. WEEKS, 

DMD 

✧ 

Above: Paul R. Weeks, DMD. 

Right: Left to right, Dr. Paul and his wife 

Alicia Weeks, with his staff of seven, 

which includes one surgical assistant and 

one dental assistant, two hygienists and 

three administrative personnel. 

Below: Paul R. Weeks, DMD, early in 

his practice. 

Paul R. Weeks, while still in elementary 

school, knew exactly what he wanted to be 

when he grew up. Unlike many youngsters 

at that age, and who frequently change their 

minds about a career many times, his focus 

was steadfast. He wanted to become a 

dentist—and, he did! 

Now Paul R. Weeks, DMD, says the influencing 

force behind his decision was his 

family’s dentist, Dr. Bruce Hovis. “He inspired 

me to go in that direction; 

and, knowing that dentistry 

would be my profession, 

it helped me to focus 

my educational endeavors 

on that path.” 

Dr. Weeks says his 

father, Howard, accepted a 

position with NASA in 

1958 and moved his wife, 

Louise, and three young 

children from Tullahoma, 

Tennessee, to the city. 

Paul was six years-old 

at the time, and entered 

public school at Lincoln 

Elementary. “When I began 

second grade, I transferred to the new 

Lakewood Elementary School; and, from 

there, attended Davis Hills Junior High, with 

Lee High School after that. I was truly 

a product of the Huntsville City Schools’ 

system.” Howard passed away in 2002, 

followed a year later by Louise. 

Dr. Weeks graduated cum laude in 1974 

as a Phi Beta Kappa from the University 

of Alabama. Three years later, he was 

graduated from the University of Alabama 

at Birmingham with honors, recognized 

by Omicron Kappa Upsilon. He completed 

his postgraduate training with certification in 

periodontology in 1979. 

Following a two-year residency in periodontology 

at UAB School of Dentistry, 

Dr. Weeks returned to Huntsville where he 

joined Dr. Billy Howell in private practice. 

The two practiced together until 1995 when 

he built an office building at 4032 Balmoral 

Drive. At that time, he says, many of the 

dental and medical professionals questioned 

his move from the medical district around 

Huntsville Hospital to the Piedmont Park 

area. “I knew it was the right move for me,” 

he added. “There were only two other 

office buildings in the entire area with 

medical professionals. Doctors Kimbrough 

and O’Donnell were across the street, and 

Dr. Richard Brown was next door. At the 

present time, my location is one of the most 

desirable for dentists and other professionals 

in Huntsville.” 

Dr. Weeks and his wife, Alicia, of 

Scottsdale, Arizona, has been married since 

2008. Dr. Weeks has two adult children 

living in Birmingham, Alabama, daughter 

Brook and son Richard. Dr. Weeks’ brother 


116

and sister, David and Nancy, live in the 

Madison County area. Dr. Weeks’ specialties 

are performing procedures for patients with 

periodontal disease requiring root planning, 

delivery of local drugs to affected periodontal 

pockets, laser assisted new attachment 

procedures (LANAP), pocket reduction surgery 

and periodontal regenerative procedures 

using biologic agents (Emdogain ® , PRP, 

GEM 21s ® ). 

Plastic periodontal procedures include 

root coverage to correct root exposure, gingival 

(gum) grafting using either the patient’s 

tissue or organ donor tissue, frenectomy to 

prevent recurrence of spacing between teeth 

following orthodontic treatment, crown 

lengthening to allow access of tooth structure 

for restorative dentistry, and gum lift to 

correct “gummy” smiles. 

Modern day dentistry sometimes requires 

dental implants, and Dr. Weeks has the 

specialized training and expertise as an 

implantologist for patients who do not 

want partial bridges or full dentures. Among 

the implant procedures he performs are: 

placement of implants to support single 

✧ 

Below: The office building is located at 

4032 Balmoral Drive Southwest. 


1 1 7

crown, fixed bridges (those that cannot 

be removed), removable partial bridges, 

full dentures, etc. Often, when the gums 

have lost bone, he grafts bone to allow for 

placement of implants. He says that the bone, 

which is used to support a tooth or implant) 

can become insufficient for a number of 

reasons, including trauma or disuse atrophy. 

To better assist him with these procedures, 

he uses computer-guided surgery to help 

in the precise placement of implants. In 

addition, it allows for sinus lifts to target 

implants where sinus has dropped. His was 

the first dental office in Huntsville to have 

a Cone beam CT scanner installed. The 

Cone beam CT scans to determine the need 

for bone augmentation prior to placing 

implants and exposure of impacted teeth for 

orthodontic movement. 

Dr. Weeks has a staff of seven, which 

includes one surgical assistant and one 

dental assistant, two hygienists and three 

administrative personnel. His wife, Alicia, a 

former controller for a manufacturing facility, 

currently manages the dental office and has 

launched and organized a Hygiene Study Club 

for the Madison County area. 

oxide-oxygen inhalation sedation are available 

to patients. 

Dr. Weeks is a member of the Alabama 

Dental Association, the Huntsville-Madison 

County Dental Society, Eighth District 

Dental Society, Southern Academy of 

Periodontology, American Academy of 

Periodontology, the American Dental Society 

of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama 

School of Dentistry Alumni Association, 

American Association of Dentistry, Alabama 

Society of Periodontology, Charles A. 

McCallum Alumni Society, and Omicron 

Kappa Upsilon, the honorary dental fraternity. 

Dr. Weeks is a past president of 

Huntsville-Madison County Dental Society 

and Alabama Society of Periodontology; and 

has served on the Executive Council for the 

Southern Academy of Periodontology and 

the UAB School of Dentistry’s Leadership 

Council. In addition, he has served as a 

part-time clinical faculty member in the 

Department of Periodontics at UAB School of 

Dentistry; and, the Alabama Dental Board of 

Examiners as an onsite evaluator examining 

offices which are applying for, or renewing 

their general anesthesia or parental permits. 

Dr. Weeks holds a parental permit issued 

by the Alabama Board of Dental Examiners, 

which allows him the privilege of providing 

conscious sedation by administering intravenous 

medications. To further support his 

vocation/practice, he maintains certification 

in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) 

and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS). In 

addition, oral conscious sedation and nitrous 

The Weeks family is active in Huntsville’s 

First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Weeks believes 

in supporting the city’s new Community Free 

Dental Clinic, where he donates funds for 

individuals who need, but are unable to 

afford adequate dental care. 

In Dr. Weeks’ spare time, he enjoys such 

hobbies as cycling, hiking, rock climbing, 

skiing and fishing. 


118

The Huntsville-Madison County Historical 

Society was formed over fifty years ago under 

the direction of Dr. Frances Roberts and Sarah 

Huff Fisk, who were concerned about preserving 

the unique heritage of this area. The 

richness and diversity of 200 years of local history 

should be shared and celebrated. Madison 

County has a rich history begun in 1808 by the 

governor of the Mississippi Territory. Although 

the remnants of the Cumberland Plateau are 

evident in the east with the Keel, Monte Sano 

and Green Mountains, the lands to the west are 

level and loamy. This county produced more 

cotton than any other county in the state, and 

cotton mills soon developed. Today the population 

is highly involved in space technology 

and national defense agencies connected to 

Redstone Arsenal. Historic districts include 

Twickenham, Old Town, and Five Points. Other 

towns in the county include Gurley, Madison, 

New Hope, Hazel Green, Meridianville, Toney 

and Triana. Madison County is a county that 

is older than the State of Alabama, and the 

Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society 

is proud to take the lead in saving and preserving 

its history for future generations. 

The Huntsville-Madison County Historical 

Society has recently published four books on 

local history. Historical Markers of Madison 

County, Alabama, edited by Alex Lutrell, was 

printed in 2001 in celebration of the Society’s 

fiftieth anniversary. To commemorate the founding 

of Madison County in 1808, the Society 

published The Huntsville Historical Review, A 

History of Early Settlement: Madison County before 

Statehood, 1808-1819. After the Introduction, 

there are seven articles about specific early 

communities of the county. Maple Hill Cemetery, 

Phase One, researched and written by Diane 

Robey, Dorothy Scott Johnson, Dr. John Rison 

Jones, Jr., and Dr. Frances Cabaniss Roberts, is 

a detailed inventory of the oldest section of 

Huntsville’s largest cemetery, row by row, with 

annotations. Published in 1995, Incidents of the 

War: The Civil War Journal of Mary Jane Chadick, 

edited and annotated by Nancy M. Rohr, was 

published in 2005. These continue to be highly 

sought after books for local history projects. 

The Society also publishes bi-annually 

The Huntsville Historical Review. This journal 

contains articles written by enthusiastic local 

researchers and writers about the eventful 

history of Madison County. These journals have 

been made freely available and searchable to the 

public at www.huntsvillehistorycollection.org. 

Over the past fifty-seven years, we have also 

been responsible for the erection of seventyfive 

metal historical markers in Huntsville and 

Madison County. We hope to continue providing 

educationally sound historical materials 

and programing that adds to the spirit of innovation 

and historical preservation. 

HUNTSVILLE- 

MADISON 

COUNTY 

HISTORICAL 

SOCIETY 

✧ 

Huntsville Madison County Historical 

Society board meeting in November 2012. 

Seated left to right: Dottie Luke, Rhonda 

Larkin, Sharon Lang, Joyce Smith, and 

Susanna Leberman. Standing left to right: 

Gary Wicks, Ron Bledsoe, Joe Jones, 

Bob Adams, and Wayne Smith. 


1 1 9

OAKWOOD 

UNIVERSITY 

Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, 

was founded in 1896 by the Seventh-day 

Adventist Church (SDA) to educate the 

recently-freed African-Americans of the South. 

Drawing upon its Christian faith and the 

emancipation of slaves by President Abraham 

Lincoln in 1863, it believed that “all people are 

created equal” and deserved the opportunity 

to learn a trade. 

Originally, the school was called “Oakwood 

Industrial School,” opening its doors November 

16 with sixteen students. A year earlier, the 

380 acre former slave plantation was purchased 

for $6,700. Its towering oak trees—which 

gave way to the name “Oakwood”—dotted 

the early residence of America’s most famous 

slave, Dred Scott. Additional land was 

acquired in 1918, nearly tripling the campus 

size to its current 1,186 acres. 

Oakwood’s founders were all prominent 

SDA World Church leaders: cofounder/ 

author Ellen G. White, President O. A. Olsen, 

Treasurer H. Lindsey and G. A. Irwin, the 

Southern District director. 

In the early days, Oakwood Industrial 

School offered a faith-based industrial training 

atmosphere for individuals who wanted 

more than a public education. In 1904 it was 

expanded to include a broader curriculum; in 

1917 it became known as “Oakwood Junior 

College”, offering a two year college program 

with emphasis on subjects paralleling most 

junior colleges. Several of the principals of 

the church served the school until it achieved 

this status and elected its first president, 

James I. Beardsley, later that year. 

In 1943, Oakwood received its first accreditation 

as a junior college, having already 

begun the process of achieving senior college 

status. Fifteen years later, in 1958, it was 

accredited by the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award both 

associate and baccalaureate degrees. 

Oakwood University, a historically Black 

SDA institution of higher learning, offers 

quality Christian Education that emphasizes 

academic excellence, promotes development 

of mind, body, and spirit, and prepares 

leaders in service for God and humanity. 

The school’s motto, shared by faculty and 

students, is: Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve. 

In everything it does, it believes and practices 

God First, its current slogan. Consistent with 

its Mission Statement, Oakwood University is 

in the business of transforming lives—both 

for now and, more importantly, for eternity. 

Since its accreditation nearly sixty years 

ago, student enrollment and graduation 

statistics have grown significantly. While 

there were sixteen students initially, by 1917 

there were more than 100. Enrollment 

peaked at 200 in 1927; and, it first topped 

1,000 during the 1974-75 academic year. 

The fall 2011 enrollment reached the 

2,000-student milestone with 2006 students. 


120

In demonstrating further growth, 

five students were in the first graduating 

class in 1909. Nine years later, the 

first two graduates of Oakwood Junior 

College received degrees. The first senior 

college graduating class in the 

spring of 1945 consisted of nine students. 

By 1973 the first class to exceed 

100 graduates, graduated 124 students; 

nine years later, the school graduated 

over 200. The 315 members of 

the 2008 graduating class were the first 

to receive degrees under the “Oakwood 

University” designation. 

Leslie N. Pollard, Ph.D., D. Min., 

current president and a 1978 graduate, 

says Oakwood prepares students from 

across the Americas and many other 

nations, “To serve God and humanity 

in a variety of positions and careers. 

Nearly sixty percent of the culturally diverse 

faculty holds doctorate degrees from a widerange 

of universities and colleges around the 

nation and world.” 

Today, the University is accredited by 

the SACS Commission of Colleges to award 

associate, baccalaureate, and master’s 

degrees. Its programs are accredited by the 

Association of College Business Schools 

and Programs, the Commission on 

Accreditation for Dietetics Education, the 

Council on Social Work Education; the 

National Council for Accreditation of 

Teacher’s Education; and the National League 

for Nursing Accrediting Commission. 

Oakwood is consistently recognized by 

national media, business and educational 

associations. U.S. News & World Report ranks 

it perennially among the nation’s “Best 

Colleges,” both in terms of the “Historically 

Black Colleges and Universities” (HBCUs) 

and “Regional Colleges/South” categories; the 

magazine also ranks Oakwood among the top 

ten HBCUs with highest graduation rates. In 

its first-ever HBCU ranking, the September 

2012 Ebony magazine top-ranked Oakwood’s 

science program. Additionally, Oakwood is 

the nation’s fifth-ranked producer of undergraduate 

black applicants to medical schools, 

according to the Association for American 

Medical Colleges. Oakwood’s ISO 9001: 2008 

designation distinguishes 

it as 

the first and only 

HBCU, as well as 

the first and only 

Alabama and/or 

SDA higher education 

institution, 

so qualified. 

The University 

has tremendous 

local impact, hosting, 

since 1946, 

the annual Camp 

Meeting for the South Central Conference of 

Seventh-day Adventists, a ten day spiritual/ 

educational/recreation retreat accommodating 

8-10,000 attendees. 

In the near-future Oakwood will, for example, 

utilize its new four chaplains team to provide 

targeted spiritual support and counseling 

to specific campus groups; grow its academic 

programs on the Masters and doctorate levels; 

strengthen partnerships with fellow Afro- 

Caribbean, Afro-Latino and continental African 

Adventist universities; expand its Adult 

Continuing Education/LEAP program; increase 

alumni and friends’ giving; and include a 

state-of-the-art, 1,000 student Oakwood 

Elementary and Academy facility to become a 

seamless K-18 educational community. 


1 2 1

PHOENIX 

The word phoenix has different meanings 

for different people. In Huntsville, the name 

Phoenix is associated with the Huntsville 

Rehabilitation Foundation, Inc. (HRF), which 

does business simply as Phoenix. However, there 

is nothing simple about what Phoenix does. 

Phoenix is a private, nonprofit organization 

whose mission is to assist people—primarily 

those with disabilities—to improve the quality 

of their lives by providing jobs, job placement 

and other services. The goal is to empower 

people through work. 

In 2012, Phoenix employed 825 persons 

through its AbilityOne contracts with Redstone 

Arsenal, the Department of Defense, and 

the Huntsville City Schools. These individuals 

worked as custodians, grounds-keepers, 

badge checkers, administrative support 

personnel and production workers. Through 

its partnership with the Alabama Department 

of Rehabilitation Services and the U.S. 

Department of Veteran Affairs, Phoenix provided 

job placement, vocational evaluation, 

skills training and work readiness training to 

more than 1,000 people with disabilities in 

five Alabama counties. 

While the organization was founded in 

1973, the Phoenix story actually began in 

1953 when the Huntsville Junior League, the 

Shriners, and other concerned citizens partnered 

to provide physical rehabilitation services 

in the basement of First Baptist Church 

to children with polio. Eventually, the effort 

became affiliated with the Alabama Society of 

Crippled Children (the forerunner of Easter 

Seals Alabama) and later expanded to adults. 

Because of the growing numbers of individuals 

served, the facility relocated to 316 

Longwood Drive where it could better accommodate 

patients’ needs. The land was donated 

by the City of Huntsville and constructed 

through a local fundraising effort. At that 

time, services included physical therapy, 

speech therapy, and occupational therapy. 

By the 1970s, the partnership was known 

as the Huntsville Rehabilitation Center (HRC), 

and its mission was expanded to include 

programs to assist people with disabilities in 

securing jobs and providing medical restoration 

services to the community. The organization 

was led by an active board of directors, 

including Earle Self, Dr. E. E. Camp, Ruth Camp, 

Bill Whatley, Joyce Smith, C. E. Morrison, 

Henry Morgan and Jane Roberts. That program 

had contracts with local companies 

such as Parker Hannifin and Englehard 

Corporation to provide paid work for qualifying 

people via the work services program. 

In 1973, Congress passed the 

Javits Wagner O’Day Act (JWOD), 

which allowed the government to set 

aside the purchase of goods and 

services from nonprofit organizations 

employing those with disabilities. 

That same year, recognizing the benefits 

of the new law, the HRC board 

created a separate legal entity to 

purchase a building on Bob Wallace 

Avenue for further expansion of services. 

The Huntsville Rehabilitation 

Foundation (HRF) was created that 

December, and operated as a full 

partner with HRC for ten years; 

however, they were governed by 

different boards of directors, all with 

common board membership. HRC 

provided medical and vocational 

rehab services to individuals while 

HRF found them jobs through the 

Abilities Development Center. 


122

The founders’ vision 

for the organization was 

to create a nonprofit that 

could be self-sustaining, 

that would not be reliant 

on raising community 

funds. In 1981 the 

business was renamed 

Phoenix Industries to 

better reflect its business-based 

model. Three 

years later, because of the 

growth of medical services, 

the board decided to 

end its association with 

Alabama Easter Seals and 

cease providing medical 

programs. The vocational 

rehab services of HRC 

were moved under the 

umbrella of HRF, and 

the medical programs 

and building were leased to Lakeshore Inc., 

which subsequently became the North Alabama 

Rehabilitation Hospital and HealthSouth. 

Since 1984, Phoenix’s program has continued 

to expand because of the sustained 

support of the decision-makers at Redstone 

Arsenal and other local federal agencies. Of 

the 1,250 people served in 2012, 825 are 

Phoenix employees engaged in the manufacture 

of burial flags, parachute harnesses, 

air deployment systems, missile parts, and 

government services such as custodial, 

grounds maintenance, administrative support, 

security reception, and mail room operations. 

Phoenix maintains its association with 

United Way and the Combined Federal 

Campaign, although it receives only designated 

gifts through these entities. Phoenix 

generated revenue of $38.5 million and paid 

out $22.1 million in wages and benefits to 

employees. Of the direct labor hours worked 

in the 2012 fiscal year eighty-two percent 

were performed by people with severe 

vocational challenges. Phoenix’s programs 

are CARF-accredited and have received 

numerous awards and recognition from 

NISH, AbilityOne and other organizations. 

A key to Phoenix’s success is the support 

of the community, which opens doors for 

employment in local businesses in the area. 

The support of the local federal agencies and 

personnel cannot be overstated. It is because 

of the purchase of products and services 

for thousands of people 

with disabilities over the 

last thirty-nine years that 

Phoenix has enjoyed a 

viable relationship with 

organizations in the area 

willing to provide training 

and employment for these 

special individuals. 

Phoenix’ longevity and 

dedication is traced to its 

business model and the 

individuals who implement 

it to provide employment 

services to those who need 

them the most. 

Located at 2939 Johnson 

Road, it has grown from 

servicing individuals in 

1969 at $38,000 in revenue 

to $38.5 million in 2012 

and 1,150 persons served. 

For additional information 

on Phoenix, please 

visit www.phoenixhsv.org. 


1 2 3

ALABAMA A&M 

UNIVERSITY 

American educational reformer Horace 

Mann in the mid-1800s convinced leading 

citizens of the merits of establishing a system 

of public supported “common schools”; but, 

it was Peyton Finley who introduced bills 

in the Alabama State Board of Education to 

establish eight “normal” schools. His efforts 

helped found four schools for whites and 

four for blacks with one that would later 

become Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical 

University (AAMU). 

Leading the school from its early inception 

are the following presidents: William Hooper 

Councill (the founder and first president), 

William S. Buchanan, Theophilus R. Parker, 

Joseph Fanning Drake, Richard David 

Morrison, Douglas Covington, Carl Harris 

Marbury, David B. Henson, John T. Gibson, 

and Robert R. Jennings. The eleventh and 

present president, Andrew Hugine, Jr., was 

inaugurated in 2009. 

The college was established by the Alabama 

State Legislature in 1873 as the State Normal 

School and University for the education of 

colored teachers and students. The school 

opened on May 1, 1875, with sixty-one students, 

two teachers and a state appropriation 

of $1,000. It was located on West Clinton Street, 

where the Von Braun Center now stands. 

By 1878 the appropriation increased to 

$2,000 and the school changed its name to 

the State Normal and Industrial School; and, 

industrial training began in 1883. In 1885 the 

name was changed again, this time to the State 

Normal and Industrial School of Huntsville. 

Five years later, the school boasted 300 

students known as “Normalites” and eleven 

teachers. In 1891 the school was designated 

a land-grant college by the Legislature; and 

received funds as a land-grant college under 

the terms of the Morrill Act of 1890. The name 

was changed in 1896 to the State Agricultural 

and Mechanical College for Negroes. 

The turn-of-the century saw numerous 

educational changes and, in 1919, the school 

became the State Agricultural and Mechanical 

Institute for Negroes; in 1948, it was renamed 

the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical 

College. By 1939 the State Board of Education 

granted authority to offer course work on the 

senior college level. Ten years later, the school 

changed names again, this time to Alabama 

A&M College. In June 1969 it adopted its 

current name—Alabama A&M University. 

The ensuing years were a time of unrest 

for the black community as it continued to 

fight for desegregation and quality education. 

The dream was soon realized, however, and 


124

Alabama A&M University continued to 

thrive under expert leadership. Former 

U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm 

visited the campus in 1986 during Women’s 

Week activities; the University announced 

approval of a Ph. D. Program in physics, 

and the Department of Mathematics 

received a NASA research grant. 

In 1990 the University held its first 

Grand Reunion initiated by former 

president, Dr. Carl Harris Marbury, and 

Georgia S. Valrie, Director of Alumni 

Affairs. In 1992 the first AAMU Athletic 

Hall of Fame induction was held. Three 

years later, the Mamie Labon Foster 

Student Living/Learning Complex was 

built; and the first African-American Ph.D. 

recipients in physics were graduated. 

Alumnus Howard Ballard brought recognition 

to his alma mater when he joined 

the Seattle Seahawks. The University’s SACS 

accreditation was reaffirmed. 

The Mamie Labon Foster Living/Learning 

Complex was dedicated during the administration 

of David B. Henson, along with construction 

of the School of Business facility. 

Dr. Virginia Caples served as interim president 

(first woman to serve as chief administrator) 

for one year following Henson’s resignation to 

assume a post at Purdue University in 1995. 

Major residence hall construction began 

during John T. Gibson’s administration, and 

AAMU welcomed the Ernest L. Knight West 

Campus Complex, the erection of the 21,000 

seat Louis Crews Stadium, renovations and 

re-roofing of key buildings, the first Nobel 

Laureate lecture and the moving of athletic 

programs to the Southwestern Athletic 

Conference (SWAC) in 1997. 

When the calendar turned to the twentyfirst 

century, AAMU observed its 125th 

anniversary. Since that milestone, a number of 

others have been reached: The School of 

Engineering and Technology was founded by 

Dean Arthur J. Bond, “Father of the National 

Society of Black Engineers”; J. F. Drake Memorial 

Learning Resources Center renovations were 

completed, Forestry gained national accreditation, 

AAMU researchers studied volcanic ash 

on the Island of Montserrat, a remote sensing 

unit hosted a study on the interaction between 

land surface and the atmosphere, and AAMU 

began to offer training on multimillion dollar, 

groundbreaking software. 

Additionally, the Ph.D. program in reading/ 

literacy was established. The Master of Social 

Work program accepted its first students, and 

Dr. Virginia Caples returned to serve again as 

interim president in 2005, a year prior to the 

administration of Robert R. Jennings. 

In 2010, following a year under the 

administration of Dr. Andrew Hugine, Jr., the 

school restructured institutional advancement 

leadership for broader focus on marketing 

and communications, and instituted the 

Normal Legacy Society to recognize lifetime 

contributions of $100,000 or more to the 

University. AAMU hosted the 2010 White 

House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities. It also held the National 

Poultry Conference sponsored by U.S. Cabinet 

members Attorney General Eric Holder and 

Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak. 

Degree programs were established in 2012 in 

biomedical engineering, nuclear engineering, 

and plant biotechnology. 

AAMU’s story is truly one of success. 

Today it has more than 5,000 undergraduate 

and graduate students from forty-four states 

and a dozen foreign countries with a studentfaculty 

ratio of 20:1. It offers baccalaureate, 

master’s, Ed.S. and four doctoral degrees. 

✧ 

Alabama A&M University engineering 

lab, 2012. 


1 2 5

HUNTSVILLE 

HOSPITAL 

✧ 

Below: Huntsville Hospital in 1926. 

Bottom: Huntsville Hospital today. 

Huntsville Hospital was established in 

June 1895 by a volunteer group of ladies 

known as the United Charities. Concern for 

the community’s less fortunate residents 

helped plant the seed for the hospital which 

we have today. What began as a small infirmary 

is now the sixth largest publicly-owned 

hospital system in the nation. 

Huntsville Hospital’s history is filled with 

people who love their community and their 

community hospital. Huntsville Hospital has 

always been volunteer-led and communityowned. 

Our governing board is the Health 

Care Authority of the City of Huntsville. 

Huntsville Hospital is a not-for-profit institution 

and receives no local, state or federal tax 

support. All of the hospital’s operating funds 

are generated through patient care or from 

donations to Huntsville Hospital Foundation, 

the hospital’s philanthropic arm. 

Throughout its history certain individuals 

have played key roles in the development 

of the hospital. Dr. Carl Grote, Sr., Madison 

County’s first public health officer, was one 

of those people. Dubbed the “Father of 

Huntsville Hospital,” he spearheaded the 

construction of a new fifty bed facility on 

Madison Street in 1926. The Huntsville Daily 

Times greeted its opening with the headline, 

“Visions of a Great Hospital for Huntsville 

Have Become Reality.” 

As remarkable as that facility was in 1926, 

not even Dr. Grote could have predicted what 

Huntsville Hospital would become in the 

twenty-first century. Today, the hospital is 

licensed for 941 beds and is the second largest 

hospital in Alabama. Our history has paralleled 

the development of our community. As 

our services have grown, so has our impact 

on the economic health of the region. In fact, 

Huntsville Hospital is the second largest 

employer in the region, behind Redstone 

Arsenal. More than 7,000 employees work 

for Huntsville Hospital in Madison County 

alone, with an additional 3,000 employees 

working for affiliate hospitals and organizations. 

Today, Huntsville Hospital Health System 

includes a dedicated Women & Children’s 

facility, Athens-Limestone Hospital, Madison 

Hospital, Helen Keller Hospital in 

Sheffield, Decatur Morgan Hospital, 

and Lawrence Medical Center. Other 

affiliate organizations include The 

Heart Center, Inc., of Huntsville and 

a multi-specialty physician network. 

Leading the healthcare team is a 

highly trained medical staff with 

more than 720 physicians. Huntsville 

Hospital serves as the major referral 

hospital and trauma center for 

patients throughout the Tennessee 

Valley. We are also the teaching 

facility for UAB’s Family Practice 

Residency and Internal Medicine 

Residency programs. 

David Spillers serves as chief 

executive officer of Huntsville 

Hospital Health System. 


126

In 1980, seven people gathered in a 

living room in Huntsville with a single 

purpose: to offer hope to women in desperate 

pregnancy situations. Their concern 

led to a twenty-four hour telephone 

hotline in the home of one passionate volunteer. 

That hotline quickly grew into a 

small volunteer staff with a tiny office, 

and eventually a ministry with over 100 

volunteers and a small part-time staff. 

Their offerings to young women expanded 

such that the organization faithfully 

outgrew every office over the course of 

twenty-seven years. In 2008, emboldened 

by a vision of Huntsville as “a city for life,” 

the organization purchased and renovated a 

9,000 square foot facility in the heart of 

Huntsville’s medical district with adequate 

room to meet every crisis pregnancy-related 

need of women across a five county area. That 

first meeting of seven concerned people in 

1980 birthed an idea that has grown into 

Huntsville’s “2011 Non-Profit of the Year” and 

one of the busiest crisis pregnancy centers in the 

nation—Choose Life of North Alabama, Inc. 

Today, a third of all American women make 

a decision to terminate at least one pregnancy 

during their childbearing years. Each year in 

Huntsville, many thousands of women come 

to Choose Life, seeking counseling and physical 

assistance to help them deal with the 

impact of a crisis pregnancy. Volunteer counselors 

meet with each of these “clients,” providing 

a listening ear and sharing the Gospel 

message of Jesus’ love. Choose Life is dedicated 

to offering every woman a loving alternative 

to abortion, whether through material assistance 

as she completes her pregnancy, one-onone 

mentoring by other mothers as she raises 

her child, or through the option of sharing 

her child with a loving couple by adoption. 

Tens of thousands of women in Madison 

County are post-abortive, and each year 

hundreds of them seek out the quiet nonjudgmental 

counsel of women at Choose 

Life in search of healing and restoration. 

Thousands of students hear a Biblical message 

of abstinence and purity through the organization’s 

outreach into local schools and 

churches. Hundreds of women make a decision 

each year to accept Jesus into their lives, 

after dealing with a crisis and hearing God’s 

eternal message of forgiveness. At the time of 

this printing, over 85,000 women have passed 

through the doors of Choose Life, each one 

bearing a burden related to a crisis pregnancy. 

Choose Life provides confidential pregnancy 

test services, at no cost, in a loving environment 

through the volunteer support of women 

who have a passion to serve. Those volunteers 

and a few paid staff represent churches of every 

denomination. Over a thousand free ultrasounds 

are provided annually through the 

efforts of local doctors and nurses who help 

women see the incredible life that grows 

within them. Ninety-six percent of women 

who see an image of their unborn baby make a 

decision to carry the baby to term. The clients 

at Choose Life range from ten years of age 

to eighty-one years, from sexually active 

young girls to women burdened by regret for a 

decision they made many decades ago. Every 

girl and woman hears the loving message 

of God’s forgiveness, is offered long-term 

mentoring, and all of the services are free. 

Decades ago, seven people sparked a 

movement that led Huntsville to become “a 

city for life.” Thanks to the generosity and 

prayers of the community, the sacrificial 

service of many hundreds of volunteers, 

and God’s amazing blessing, this ministry is 

making an impact across North Alabama, one 

life at a time. Indeed, for every child whose 

life is saved, and for every woman whose 

heart is transformed by God, the impact of 

this ministry is immeasurable. 

Be a part of history. Choose Life. 

CHOOSE LIFE 

OF NORTH 

ALABAMA, INC. 

✧ 

This photograph includes people who have 

served with us over our thirty-one 

year history. 


1 2 7

DENTAL PROFESSIONALS ON WHITESBURG 

✧ 

Left to right: Dr. Lisa Bruce, D.M.D., L.L.C., 

and Dr. Sonya Wintzell, D.M.D. 

Dr. Hilda D. Lee was a pioneer in what was 

once pretty much an exclusive male occupation. 

As one of the first female dentists in the 

Huntsville area, she opened a practice in 1977 

across from Grissom High School. In 1984, Lee 

built the current office at 8315 Whitesburg. 

Since then, the practice has expanded, 

embracing a team of individuals committed to 

customer service, quality, safety, and comfort 

in a spa-like environment. 

Dr. Lisa Bruce, D.M.D., L.L.C,. joined 

Dr. Lee in 1993 and, eventually, purchased 

the practice. Seven years later, Dr. Sonya 

Wintzell, D.M.D., joined the all-female 

team. Both devote themselves to quality 

dentistry and compassion that exceeds 

patients’ expectations. 

Dental Professionals on Whitesburg has 

served the Huntsville area with a woman’s 

touch for thirty-five years. Their patients will 

admit: “This is not your typical dentist’s office. 

The dentists, assistants and front office staff 

go the ‘extra mile’ to alleviate any fears.” 

With this team approach to treatment 

planning and care, the group’s mission 

is: To have the highest quality professionals 

providing exceptional care to 

quality-minded individuals in a caring, 

sharing, and growing practice. 

At Dental Professionals on Whitesburg, 

caring begins with a one-on-one consultation 

with new patients, introducing 

them to the office and professional staff, 

and explaining personalized treatment 

plans. This personal touch allows the doctors 

to do a complete exam while building 

relationships built on communication and 

trust. It also gives patients an opportunity to 

get to know them, verbalize their goals, 

and share anxieties and past experiences 

before the exam begins. 

Whether the patient’s goal is to achieve 

optimal oral health, or obtain a beautiful 

smile, the doctors share their knowledge as a 

“partner” to help patients keep their teeth for 

a lifetime. 

Sharing expertise means offering services 

including family and cosmetic dentistry, 

implant and crown restorations, preventive 

and periodontal treatment, bleaching, veneers, 

bonding, Invisalign ® , TMJ treatment and sedation 

dentistry. They offer Botox ® and dermal 

fillers for patients desiring complete facial 

aesthetics or pursuing relief of muscle tension 

or headaches associated with TMJ. Dr. Bruce 

and Dr. Wintzell are dedicated to the health 

and well-being of every patient they serve. 

The doctors and staff have made a lifelong 

commitment to growing professionally. 

Attending quality continuing education, such 

as the Pankey Institute, implementing the 

latest technology and stringent sterilization 

techniques is an important aspect of their 

growth and development. Dental Professionals 

on Whitesburg is committed to being on 

the cutting edge and delivering quality care 

to patients. 

The core of the practice philosophy and 

decision-making comes from putting patients 

first. This belief in developing relationships 

and delivering quality care takes precedent 

over all work. Additional services are outlined 

at www.dentalprofessionalsonwhitesburg.com. 


128

Randolph School, a K-12 college preparatory 

day school in Huntsville, Alabama, began 

its unique mission in a few rooms of an 

antebellum home. While Huntsville was 

developing its “Rocket City” reputation, 

Randolph opened its doors in 1959 to ninety 

boys and girls in grades K-5. The school has a 

close connection to the city’s development as 

a science and aerospace technology hub, both 

in its innovative spirit and historical timing. 

“I vividly recall how [the school] shook when 

the historic first static firing of the Saturn 

rocket took place,” recalled Reverend David 

Leech, Randolph’s first headmaster. 

The School has come a long way from the 

house on Randolph Street, and its success is 

due in large part to the vision of its founders. 

Dr. Eleanor Hutchens, one of the School’s 

twenty founders, explained Randolph’s initial 

formula as a combination of “willing and able” 

students, small classes, exceptional teachers, 

and a curriculum that allowed the best students 

to “experience conscious growth every 

day of school.” Randolph welcomed these 

“able” students, regardless of their ability to 

pay tuition, leading to the School’s first efforts 

to provide financial aid. 

In the years since its founding, Randolph 

has experienced significant growth. After 

outgrowing the original campus, the School 

moved to a location on Drake Avenue and 

has since added a second campus for the 

Upper School on Garth Road. Randolph 

employs over 175 faculty and staff dedicated 

to serving a student population of over 

1,000 students each year. Randolph students 

consistently perform at a high level and 

excel in academics, the arts, and athletics. In 

a typical year, twenty percent of the senior 

class consists of National Merit Finalists, 

Semifinalists and Commended Scholars, a 

great number are AP Scholars, and all go 

to college, many with significant merit aid 

awards and plans to pursue advanced degrees. 

Behind these motivated students is a 

supportive community. Small classes, parent 

involvement, Middle School Houses, an 

advisory system for grades 5-12, grade-level 

deans and college counselors ensure that 

Randolph students are known well. The 

popular holiday marketplace, Under the 

Christmas Tree, which began in 1985, now 

helps provide financial aid for Randolph 

students. Randolph continues to have a deep 

commitment to attracting a diverse and able 

student body. Its admission philosophy is 

to seek the very best students and the 

most supportive families from wide-ranging 

backgrounds with an eagerness to learn 

and contribute to our community and programs. 

Randolph’s mission-driven admission 

practices are established to foster 

a student-centered learning 

environment for developing 

strong character, moral leadership 

and courageous habits of 

heart and mind. 

For more information on 

Randolph School, please visit 

www.randolphschool.net. 

RANDOLPH 

SCHOOL 

✧ 

Above: The first board of trustees, pictured, 

left to right: Benton Wilcoxon, Margaret 

Henson, Pat Richardson, Bess Wallace, 

Sharon Barbour Rhett, Reverend 

David Leech, Dr. Eleanor Hutchens, 

Harry M. Rhett, and Jane Lowe (not 

pictured). They met in the Dogwood Room 

of the Russell Erskine Hotel. 

Below: Trustee and parent Leslie Rhett 

Crosby ’83, Reverend David Leech, 

Randolph’s first head of school, with current 

head, Byron C. Hulsey. 

Bottom: A senior and her kindergarten 

buddy at the celebration of the School’s 

fiftieth anniversary and the opening of the 

Garth Road campus. 


1 2 9

J. F. DRAKE 

STATE 

TECHNICAL 

COLLEGE 

✧ 

Above: First commencement 

exercises, 1963. 

Below: The S. C. O’Neal, Sr., Library and 

Technology Center was completed in 2005. 

J. F. Drake State Technical College was 

established in 1961 as the Huntsville State 

Vocational Technical College. The college is 

built on thirty-two acres of land. Initial 

enrollment at the school was twenty-seven, 

with students enrolled in four programs in 

September 1962. In 1966 the school’s name 

was changed to J. F. Drake State Technical 

Trade School by the State Board of Education 

in honor of the late Joseph Fanning Drake, 

president of Alabama A&M University for 

more than thirty-five years. 

In 1967 the institution became the first 

desegregated postsecondary technical school. 

In 1971 the school became an accredited charter 

member institution of the Commission on 

Occupational Education Institutions 

(COEI) of the Southern Association 

of Colleges and Schools. In August 

1973 the school was given technical 

college status by the State Board of 

Education. With the new status, the 

school was named J. F. Drake State 

Technical College and was authorized 

by the board to offer the 

Associate in Applied Technology 

Degree. Drake State recently added 

regional accreditation through the 

Southern Association of Colleges 

and Schools (SACS) to ensure transferability 

of its general education 

courses to accredited colleges and universities 

throughout the nation. 

In the spring of 2010, Drake State began 

offering classes in the historic Times Building 

in downtown Huntsville. The space consists 

of approximately 10,000 square feet and has 

been completely renovated to accommodate 

seven state of the art classrooms. 

Drake State Technical College has had 

three presidents: S. C. O’Neal, 1962-1983; 

Dr. Johnny L. Harris, 1983-2000; and 

Dr. Helen T. McAlpine since 2000. 

Today, this community and technical college 

offers academic and technical education leading 

to thirty-four certificates and degrees in 

seventeen technical disciplines and universitytransfer 

general education courses. Students 

can transfer selected technical credit courses 

toward bachelor’s degrees offered 

by universities participating in 

articulation agreements with Drake 

State. Drake’s industry advisory 

committees, program apprenticeships, 

and workforce development 

courses cement the college’s link to 

business and industry, ensuring the 

relevant preparation of its students 

for employment in the workforce. 

Students from the college have 

competed and won awards in 

many arenas. Drake students presented 

research projects at the 

National Science Foundation Emerging 

Researchers National (ERN) Conference for 

the past three years. Drake students have also 

won many medals at SkillsUSA competitions. 

Drake State has been preparing students 

for careers and continuing education for more 

than fifty years, achieving a high placement 

rate for graduates seeking employment after 

completing their education, giving credence 

to the school’s motto: Our Graduates Work! 


130

The Center for Cancer Care (CCC), founded 

in 1994, has grown to be the premier radiation 

oncology practice in Huntsville and nearby 

communities across the Tennessee Valley. 

Originally, the Center’s primary location 

was in Crestwood Hospital’s Medical Pavilion. 

By 2004, however, the area had experienced 

a major shift in radiation oncology services. 

In 2004, Hoyt A. “Tres” Childs, III M.D., was 

granted privileges at Huntsville Hospital 

where he established a practice. It was then 

that services began to change. 

On Valentine’s Day, 2005, the CCC merged 

practices with the radiation oncology department 

at the hospital. This merger expanded 

services, and The Oncology Services of North 

Alabama (TOSNA) was formed. TOSNA is 

the management and billing arm of the 

company, while patient care remains under 

CCC’s direction. 

The Center for Cancer Care has grown to 

six Board Certified Radiation Oncologists; and, 

is the largest radiation oncology practice in 

the state of Alabama. It has four radiation 

oncology centers in the Huntsville area 

making treatment easily accessible for both 

patients and families during difficult times. 

The practices are Clearview (Clearview Cancer 

Institute), Crestwood (Crestwood Medical 

Pavilion), Huntsville Hospital, and Decatur, 

at 1312 Seventh Street. 

In 2012, CCC performed 31,379 radiation 

beam treatments; saw 1,180 new patients, 

and consultations, including 293 breast 

patients, 53 colon/rectal patients, 147 lung 

and 141 prostate cases. 

CCC’s mission is to provide compassionate 

care and intent to cure with the greatest possibility 

of success. The physicians take pride in 

providing quality of care and state-of-the-art 

treatment options that are individualized to 

patient needs. Its support staff works with the 

physicians to attain the highest quality of care, 

assisting with various issues that arise with the 

diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancer. 

In fact, the cornerstone of the CCC is its staff. 

The team is dedicated to caring for and serving 

the patient. Experienced oncology nurses 

oversee patient care while skilled radiation 

therapists assist patients during treatment. This 

interdisciplinary team provides a 

well-planned program of patient 

services including encouragement 

of emotional and social support 

groups, and providing patient 

education, and nutritional counseling. 

Understanding the fear 

and stress of cancer treatment, the 

staff works to alleviate it by having 

home-like ambiance versus a 

traditional medical facility setting. 

THE CENTER FOR 

CANCER CARE 

✧ 

Clockwise, starting from the top: 

The Center for Cancer Care, Crestwood 

Hospital, Crestwood Medical Pavilion. 

The Center for Cancer Care, Huntsville 

Hospital, Blackwell Medical Tower. 

The Center for Cancer Care in Decatur, 

1312 Seventh Street. 

The Center for Cancer Care, Clearview 

Cancer Institute, 3601 CCI Drive. 


1 3 1

CLINIC FOR 

WOMEN, P.A. 

The twentieth century ushered in great 

changes for Huntsville and the practice 

of medicine. 

From the early 1950s into the late 1960s, 

the City of Huntsville gradually transitioned 

from a small town to an urban metropolis, 

with the help of industrialization, the World 

Wars, and Cold War politics. But it was 

the introduction of penicillin, the Pap smear, 

and vaccinations that contributed to the 

great progress in the field of medicine during 

that same time. These vast advancements 

intersect at the heart of Huntsville’s medical 

district, where the growth of both Huntsville 

and medicine are clearly evident. 

Situated on the periphery of the medical 

district is the Clinic for Women, P.A. The 

thriving practice currently consists of eight 

doctors and four nurse practitioners who 

cumulatively see over 62,000 patients and 

deliver approximately 800 babies annually. 

The Clinic for Women can trace its roots 

to humble beginnings. In 1968, Drs. Charles 

F. Warren, William B. Cameron, James C. 

Wells and Don A. Wheeler collaborated 

to form the Clinic for Women, P.A. On 

January 2, 1969, they first opened their doors 

at 201-A Longwood Drive. 

The Clinic for Women has weathered many 

changes over the forty-four years of its existence; 

most can be attributed to the rapid 

developments that characterize the healthcare 

industry. Although Dr. Warren is the only 

founding physician still practicing, the practice 

has grown exponentially. Since the early 

1980s, the Clinic for Women has welcomed 

Drs. Gregg A. DeLisle, Michael J. Belmont, 

David L. Rushing, John David Wheeler, 

Timothy T. McMichens, Jeanine M. Loncar 

and Karen Leigh Samples, to the practice. The 

growth of the practice has not been confined 

to new hires, but has also included physical 

expansion. In addition to the Huntsville 

office, the Clinic for Women has offices near 

both the Crestwood and Madison Hospitals. 

The administration attributes much of the 

practice’s success to employee dedication. The 

Clinic for Women physicians, nurses, and staff 

have always diligently worked to ensure they 

remain on the cusp of the latest medical 

procedures and technological advancements. 

Two of the most substantial changes in the 

last half-century include the introduction of 

minimally invasive surgical techniques and 

the advancement of ultrasound equipment. 

The Clinic for Women staff regularly allocates 

time for research seminars and conferences 

in order to remain on the frontier of medical 

advancements. Although the faces and address 

of the Clinic for Women have changed over 

the years, the mission of the practice remains 

the same: to provide top quality obstetric 

and gynecological care to the women of the 

greater Huntsville area. 

✧ 

Left to right: Dr. John David Wheeler, 

Dr. Timothy T. McMichens, Dr. Jeanine M. 

Loncar, Dr. David L. Rushing, Dr. Karen 

Leigh Samples, Dr. Gregg A. DeLisle, 

Dr. Charles F. Warren and 

Dr. Michael J. Belmont. 


132

Uniquely situated in north Alabama’s hightechnology 

corridor, Calhoun Community 

College exemplifies the community college 

mission at its best. The largest of the twoyear 

institutions comprising the Alabama 

Community College System, Calhoun is recognized 

among the region’s most successful 

economic and workforce development engines, 

providing educational and training opportunities 

to approximately 12,000 credit students 

and more than 3,500 non-credit students. 

A member of the American Association of 

Community Colleges, Calhoun is accredited 

by the Commission on Colleges of the 

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. 

With campus sites in Decatur and in 

Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park, 

Calhoun has successfully positioned itself to 

support the region’s workforce development 

efforts. The college’s Huntsville campus is 

the nation’s only two-year college campus 

located in a research park. 

Calhoun has specifically served the 

Huntsville/Madison County area for well over 

fifty years. With an established presence 

there since 1960, Calhoun was Huntsville’s 

first two-year college. Since the establishment 

of its initial site in Huntsville, Calhoun has 

taught classes in the Huntsville/Madison 

County community in a number of locations 

which included the former Huntsville 

Industrial Complex (HIC) Building, 

the historic Times Building, Lee High 

School, and Redstone Arsenal. 

In 1995 the college moved to its 

present Huntsville campus location in 

Cummings Research Park. Formerly 

the home to Chrysler, this site was 

acquired through a $5 million giftpurchase 

agreement. In the almost 

twenty years since the establishment 

of the Huntsville campus site, enrollment 

has grown steadily, almost 

doubling in the last few years. 

Led by its current president, 

Dr. Marilyn C. Beck, Calhoun is 

preparing tomorrow’s engineers with 

close to 500 students annually majoring 

in pre-engineering, math and 

science. Additionally, the college’s 

Huntsville campus is home to the 

state’s first and only associate’s degree program 

in Biotechnology, developed in 2007 through 

a partnership with the world-renowned 

HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. 

As an institution on the cutting-edge of 

providing excellence in teaching and service, 

Calhoun has enjoyed local, state, regional, 

and national distinction. Since 1989 the college 

has received national attention through 

having seven of its students named as the 

top USA TODAY/Phi Theta Kappa community 

college student in the nation. 

Active in the north Alabama 

community for over sixty-four 

years, Calhoun successfully 

meets the educational and 

training demands of a unique 

and highly diverse population. 

Calhoun graduates permeate 

the community; with many of 

them having gone on to successfully 

complete baccalaureate 

degrees at other institutions 

in the area or directly entering 

the workforce after completing 

programs of study and training 

at the college. 

Calhoun Community College 

can indeed be counted among the jewels in 

Alabama’s higher education landscape. 

CALHOUN 

COMMUNITY 

COLLEGE 


1 3 3

THE UNIVERSITY 

OF ALABAMA 

IN HUNTSVILLE 

The University of Alabama in Huntsville 

removes barriers between teaching and 

research. Faculty members take their research 

into the classroom, and the university brings 

students into its world-class, cutting-edge 

research laboratories. 

Undergraduate students are involved in 

research projects in all departments, from 

building experiments for suborbital rockets to 

developing special optical lenses, traveling to 

tropical jungles to find medical uses for 

plants, or leading STEM education efforts. 

The Carnegie Foundation has also placed 

UAHuntsville into its “very high research” category. 

Only seventy-three public universities 

in the nation have achieved this lofty ranking. 

Fourteen research areas at UAHuntsville 

are in the Top 20 nationally, and four in the 

Top 10: NASA computer science R&D (2nd), 

DoD social sciences (4th); DoD computer 

science (8th) and federally funded R&D in 

aerospace engineering (9th), according to the 

National Science Foundation. 

“The research of the university and its 

Ph.D. programs, with its concentration in 

engineering and science, has made us nationally 

and internationally visible,” says President 

Bob Altenkirch. “Our programs in business, 

liberal arts and nursing reach levels of excellence 

within our region, and are moving 

toward national recognition.” 

✧ 

Above: UAHuntsville has four research 

areas ranked in the top ten nationally. 

Right: A UAHuntsville graduate student 

sets up a particle image velocimeter to 

make flow field measurements of a jet 

propulsion spray. 

Because learning does not stop at the 

classroom door, UAHuntsville students build 

satellites, help high-tech industry solve reallife 

management and marketing problems, 

and work with patients in some of the most 

modern medical facilities in the region. 

The university thrives on the synergy created 

by academia, government and business 

that exists in Huntsville, which is enhanced 

by the campus serving as the anchor tenant 

in Cummings Research Park, the second 

largest research park in America. The university 

complements the R&D needs of local 

industry as well as NASA’s Marshall Space 

Flight Center and major Army laboratories at 

Redstone Arsenal. 

The university’s academic and research 

reputation has been recognized nationally. 

UAHuntsville is the only public institution 

in Alabama to be rated a “very competitive” 

university by Barron’s Profile of American 

Colleges and Universities, and UAHuntsville 

is ranked by U.S. News &World Report among 

Tier 1 national universities—a distinction 

shared by less than ten percent of the more 

than 2,000 four-year colleges in America. 

It took a unique community like Huntsville 

to create a university like the University of 

Alabama in Huntsville. In many ways, the 

university is a reflection of the needs of the 

high-tech Huntsville community. 

“UAHuntsville is the result of the special character 

of Huntsville,” says President Altenkirch. 

“The interaction among the university, federal 

agencies and the community is crucial to our 

success, and that success is translated into 

success for our students and graduates.” 


134

Like many metropolitan areas in the 1960s, 

Huntsville was experiencing dramatic growth. Its 

residents saw a need to improve the facilities 

being used to house performing and visual arts. 

Local theatre productions were presented at 

the old West Clinton School. Broadway Theatre 

League and Huntsville Symphony Orchestra performed 

at Huntsville High School, and rock and 

country music concerts were held at the Madison 

County Coliseum, which could only seat 2,000. 

Leaders representing the arts community 

including Martha Rambo, Elvira Glover, Martha 

Hamm, Dexter Nielsen, and others set out to 

address this need. The City Council agreed. 

Research was done and a plan was put into place. 

Ice. Elvis Presley went on to sell out five shows 

in 1975. He returned for two performances in 

1976 and the VBCC was preparing for tickets 

to go on-sale when the news broke that Presley 

had passed away. The VBCC went on to host 

a wide variety of artists including Jimmy 

Buffett, Reba McEntire, Ringo Star of the 

Beatles, Aerosmith, and most recently Elton 

John. Since 1980 the VBCC has been home 

to Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey 

Circus each time it has visited North Alabama. 

VON BRAUN 

CENTER 

✧ 

Clockwise, starting from the top, left: 

In 1965 the Public Building Authority contracted 

with Booz-Allen-Hamilton to draw up 

plans for a civic arts center. The original concept 

was for a large and small theatre, exhibition 

space, and an art museum. It was agreed 

that the site would be downtown. More importantly, 

it was determined that a large arena-style 

auditorium would be best for the facility’s long 

term success. The facility would be named 

for Wernher Von Braun, a German-American 

rocket scientist and aerospace engineer, 

known for his work with the Saturn V rocket. 

The Von Braun Civic Center (VBCC) Board 

initially met on October 1, 1970. The first 

events took place in mid-March 1975 with 

seven sold-out performances of Holiday on 

Since the original facility was constructed, the 

VBCC has experienced tremendous growth as it 

continues to carry on the vision of its founders. 

In order to increase its outreach, the VBCC 

changed its name to Von Braun Center—dropping 

the word Civic. In 1987 the North Hall was 

constructed followed by the South Hall in 1997. 

In 2011, Mark C. Smith Concert Hall and Propst 

Arena underwent extensive renovations allowing 

the VBC to continue to meet the growing 

needs of Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley. 

Today the Von Braun Center is a multipurpose 

facility with the primary objective of 

facilitating and promoting events and activities 

in addition to generating economic benefit 

and improving the quality of life for the 

Huntsville community and surrounding areas. 

Von Braun Center is located at 700 Monroe 

Street in Huntsville, Alabama, and on the 

Internet at www.vonbrauncenter.com. 

Performer Sir Elton John. 

The Bud Light Cafe. 

Hockey league mascot Rukus. 

A ticket from the first event held at the 

Von Braun Center, March 1975. 

Panoramic view of the Von Braun Center. 


1 3 5

HUNTSVILLE 

CITY SCHOOLS 

✧ 

Below: Board members from left to 

right are David Blair, Laurie McCaulley, 

Superintendent Casey Wardynski, 

Dr. Jennie Robinson, Mike Culbreath, 

and Topper Birney. 

Over 200 years ago on December 9, 1811, 

Huntsville became the first incorporated 

town in what would become the Alabama 

Territory six years later. In March 1819 provisions 

were made for the sixteenth section of 

land in every township to be set aside for the 

implementation of schools. 

The constitution of 1875 established 

primary schools for “free” white children, 

called for separate schools “for the races,” 

and established attendance guidelines for 

ages seven to twenty-one. By 1908 it had 

added an eleventh grade with a school year 

being nine months long. 

Huntsville City Schools 

progressed as new laws were 

passed. The construction of 

Huntsville Chemical Warfare 

Arsenal, Redstone Arsenal, 

and four cotton mills prompted 

growth in education. As 

employment grew, so did 

families, requiring additional 

educational opportunities. The 

community grew to nearly 

140,000 by 1967. 

While reading, writing, 

and arithmetic were considered important, 

it was the emergence of technology by the 

millennium that rapidly changed the face of 

education in Huntsville. In fact, Huntsville 

schools were the first in the nation to adopt a 

District-wide Digital 1.1 Initiative. Today, they 

lead the way with a technology and interactive-based 

curriculum. The school’s textbooks 

have been replaced by digital devices such as 

iPads for Pre-K through second grade and 

laptops for third through twelfth graders. 

Transitioning to computers was a major 

undertaking by forward-thinking educators 

and in a system with 33 Pre-K programs, 

21 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 

7 high schools, 5 P-8 schools. 

The mission of Huntsville City Schools is 

to guarantee that every student will graduate 

with the capacity to compete successfully and 

contribute responsibly in a global technological 

society through an educational process 

characterized by effective instruction, individualized 

learning, and superior academic 

and personal achievement in safe and orderly 

centers of excellence. 

Dr. Casey Wardynski, superintendent, who 

has a strong background in education, says 

that, in addition to the regular curriculum, 

Huntsville City Schools offer magnet programs 

in Creative and Performing Arts (P-8) 

at Academy for Academics and Arts; Creative 

and Performing Arts (9-12) at Lee High School, 

Engineering (9-12) at Lee High School, 

International Education (9-12) at Johnson 

High School, Law Academy (9-12) at Johnson 

High School, Science and Foreign Language 

(P-8) at Academy for Science and Foreign 

Language; and International Baccalaureate 

Program at Academy for Science and Foreign 

Language and Columbia High School. There 

is a Junior ROTC program at Grissom and 

Lee High Schools and a Marine Junior ROTC 

at J. O. Johnson High School. 

In 2012, Bloosomwood Elementary was 

re-opened in an all-new facility, as did Lee High 

School/New Century Technology High School. 

Virgil I. Grissom High School and J. O. Johnson 

are scheduled for rebuilding. 


136

ST. MARK’S 

EVANGELICAL 

LUTHERAN 

CHURCH 

St. Mark’s owes its existence to the German 

rocket scientists who arrived in Huntsville in 

1950. Under the leadership of Dr. Werner Von 

Braun, and working under the guidance of the 

U. S. Army, they were part of the reactivation of 

Redstone Arsenal. Many of them were baptized, 

confirmed, and married in Lutheran Churches in 

Germany. When they came to Huntsville, there 

was no Lutheran Church since Lutheranism is 

not a prominent denomination in the South. 

Shortly after the congregation was organized, 

the first traditional Christmas Eve 

candlelight service was held in Huntsville. 

The tradition is still popular and well attended 

as are the celebrative Easter services. 

Years have passed and the original rocket 

scientists have gone on to the greater glory of 

God’s kingdom. Yet, their spirit of adventure, 

inquiry, ingenuity, and faith resides in the DNA 

of present-day St. Mark’s. 

A German touch within the church that 

remains is an original bronze plaque of Martin 

Luther, which was on a monument in the Berlin 

Tiergarten. Though damaged during the war, it 

survived and was presented to St. Mark’s by the 

General’s Staff of the U.S. Army in Berlin, “as a 

token of appreciation for the spiritual ministry 

to the German rocket scientists and engineers 

who relocated to Huntsville in 1950.” It is now 

on display in the church narthex. 

When St. Mark’s moved from its first official 

building, which had been a mortuary prior 

to becoming a church, the famous church 

architect, Norman T. Mansell of Philadelphia 

designed the new church. The original 

building is still standing, and is now the 

youth room and chapel of the congregation. 

Celebrating fifty years of ministry in 2001, 

the congregation organized a “Building to Serve” 

campaign in anticipation of the beautiful new 

sanctuary, which was built and dedicated in 

2004. This building is often called a “jewel box” 

because of its beauty—especially on the inside. 

St. Mark’s has been served by exceptional 

pastors through the years. Her first pastor, 

George Hart, was one of the most sought-after 

speakers in northern Alabama. He served as 

chair, president or board member of major 

community activities, many of which were 

unknown until St. Mark’s was founded. 

St. Mark’s current mission statement 

proclaims: “Saved by grace, we are called to 

celebrate, serve, and make disciples.” The 

tradition of worship celebrations, service to 

others, and the desire for all to know the 

good news of Jesus are the very things that 

make St. Mark’s the place it is today. 

St. Mark’s is located one block south of 

Governor’s in the medical district at the 

corner of Franklin and Longwood and on 

the Internet at www.stmarkshsv.org. 


1 3 7

HUNTSVILLE 

FIRST UNITED 

METHODIST 

CHURCH 

First United Methodist Church of 

Huntsville began less than twenty-five years 

after the organization of Methodism in 

America when pioneers seeking land began 

to migrate into the Tennessee Valley. In 1805 

an itinerant Methodist preacher, John Ford 

from South Carolina, led one of the first large 

groups of settlers. 

With courage and faith, the Methodists 

immediately began to rebuild. On August 7, 

1867, the cornerstone was laid and the 

new church was ready for use by springtime. 

The annex was completed in 1924; and 

by 1956 an Educational Building was 

needed. The Wesley Center was dedicated 

October 27, 1985. 

On May 31, 2000, FUMC began a new 

building program to expand the ministry 

capabilities of the church. Through this 

program, the sanctuary and educational 

buildings were renovated, the church was 

made more accessible to persons with special 

needs, a new nursery was built, and a new 

multi-media worship center was constructed. 

It was all dedicated in God’s service on 

October 14, 2001, by Bishop Robert Fannin. 

✧ 

Above: Line drawing of the old church. 

Right: First Methodist Church, the original 

1832 church burned in 1864. 

The Western Conference of the Methodist 

Episcopal Church met at Liberty Hill, 

Tennessee, October 8, 1808, establishing the 

Flint Circuit, extending it from McMinnville to 

Chickasaw (Hobbs) Island. James Gwinn was 

appointed circuit rider. The society at Hunt’s 

Spring was in existence two months before 

Madison County was created in December. 

One of the first acts of the 1819 new state 

of Alabama’s legislature was to empower 

religious societies to hold real estate. The 

following summer, the trustees of the 175 

member Methodist Episcopal Church received 

a grant of land; and by 1821, built a church. 

By 1822 the new church was overseeing the 

conference’s mission school for Indians. 

By 1830 the little frame church in the 

western part of town seemed inadequate; 

therefore, on March 7, 1832, on the present 

site at the corner of Randolph and Greene 

Streets, “the most commodious and most 

beautiful church in Huntsville,” was built. 

It burned down January 6, 1864, during the 

War Between the States, when Federal troops 

were quartered in the basement and, despite 

protests by the minister, built fires on the 

wooden floor to cook their food. 

In 2008, First United Methodist Church 

celebrated its Bicentennial. The church 

remains active and growing. In 2011, 

Outreach magazine named the church seventy-fourth 

on the list of fastest-growing 

congregations and the fastest growing United 

Methodist congregation in the nation. Now 

into its third century, it has traditional, contemporary 

and special needs Sunday services 

for over 3,000 members. It is a church with 

global outreach, which is called, “To influence 

our Community to Know Christ.” 


138

Crestwood Medical Center, now a full 

service hospital, began serving patients as a 

nursing home in 1964 and was named after 

the subdivision in which it was located. A year 

later, the nursing home was converted to a 

hospital, founded by a group of three physicians: 

Drs. Ellis Sparks, James Earl Robertson, 

and Bernie Moore, and one local businessman, 

Archie Hill, who sought to create a choice 

for medical services in Huntsville. The new 

hospital retained the Crestwood name and was 

opened in July of 1965 on McAlister Drive. 

In 1982, after experiencing exponential 

growth, Crestwood built a new facility at its 

current location on Hospital Drive where, 

today, Crestwood Medical Center has 150 

beds, 1,000 plus employees and 550 plus 

Medical Staff members, and has been 

recognized for many Centers of Excellence. 

A $36 million expansion in 2004 enhanced 

patient care areas, converted all rooms to private 

rooms, and added an eight-bed intensive 

care unit (ICU). Soon afterwards, a Women’s 

Center and an outpatient diagnostic center 

were added to the campus. Crestwood’s mission 

is to serve the community by providing 

the highest quality care and service excellence 

for patients and families. To accomplish that, 

Crestwood carefully recruits and promotes a 

high performing team of employees, develops 

strong physician partnerships, and proactively 

supports community and economic development. 

It also recruits primary care physicians 

and key specialists to practice in Madison 

County in order to meet the healthcare needs 

of a rapidly growing population. 

Crestwood is a private, tax-paying entity 

that has been part of the larger team of 

Community Health Systems (CHS), Inc., since 

2007. Being part of the CHS team provides 

Crestwood with the support, shared experiences, 

and best practices that help to make 

Crestwood strong. Crestwood has a local Board 

of Directors that works hand-in-hand with the 

administrative and clinical teams in making 

decisions that are best for the local community. 

Each year, Crestwood impacts Madison 

County through local taxes, salaries/wages, 

local vendor purchases, capital funds reinvested, 

indigent care, and charitable contributions. 

In 2012, Crestwood’s local impact 

was approximately $89.2 million, plus over 

$10 million in indigent care. 

From a sleepy nursing home fifty years ago 

to a bustling hospital today, Crestwood offers 

a full range of services: Cardiac, Emergency, 

Inpatient & Outpatient Surgery, Maternity, 

Occupational Health, to name just a few, in 

addition to being the first hospital in North 

Alabama to offer the advanced da Vinci ® 

Si ® robotic surgery system. In April 2013, 

Crestwood opened a new outpatient imaging 

and diagnostics facility on Hughes Road in 

Madison and expanded its surgery area with 

new operating and pre-op rooms as well 

as pain management areas. Crestwood will 

continue to foster growth in medical services 

and technology and provide the community 

with a choice in quality healthcare. 

CRESTWOOD 

MEDICAL 

CENTER 

✧ 

Bottom: CEO, Pam Hudson, with 

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, 

Chamber of Commerce representatives, 

local surgeons, and Crestwood surgical team 

members at the ribbon cutting celebration 

for Crestwood’s da Vinci ® Si ® surgical robot 

on April 10, 2012. 


1 3 9


140

BUILDING A GREATER 

HUNTSVILLE-MADISON COUNTY 

H u n t s v i l l e - M a d i s o n C o u n t y ’ s r e a l e s t a t e d e v e l o p e r s , 

c o n s t r u c t i o n c o m p a n i e s , h e a v y i n d u s t r i e s , 

a n d m a n u f a c t u r e r s p r o v i d e t h e e c o n o m i c 

f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e c o u n t y 

SPECIAL 

THANKS TO 

Lockheed Martin Corporation ......................................................1 4 2 

Cinram Group, Inc. ....................................................................1 4 4 

U.S. Space & Rocket Center ® .......................................................1 4 6 

Navistar Diesel of Alabama, LLC 

Navistar Big Bore Diesels, LLC ...............................................1 4 7 

Technical Micronics Control, Inc. .................................................1 4 8 

Excellance, Inc. .........................................................................1 4 9 

Techni-Core Corporation .............................................................1 5 0 

Van Valkenburgh & Wilkinson Properties, Inc. ................................1 5 1 

QinetiQ North America, Inc. .......................................................1 5 2 

BASF Corporation, Inc. ..............................................................1 5 3 

Northrop Grumman ....................................................................1 5 4 

The Spencer Companies, Incorporated ...........................................1 5 5 

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Inc. ...................................1 5 6 

Miller & Miller, Inc. 

B U I L D I N G A G R E A T E R H U N T S V I L L E - M A D I S O N C O U N T Y 

1 4 1

LOCKHEED 

MARTIN 

CORPORATION 

✧ 

Above: 1960s era aerial photograph 

of Lockheed Martin’s first building in 

Huntsville on Bradford Drive in 

Cummings Research Park. Approximately 

100 employees moved into the building in 

November 1963. The building housed 

the company’s Huntsville Research and 

Engineering Center, which had the initial 

objectives of performing advanced 

engineering studies and analysis in support 

of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 

and Army Ordnance Missile Command and 

providing the basis for further growth in 

design, development, manufacturing, testing 

and evaluation. The company had acquired 

the property in 1962 after Dr. Wernher 

Von Braun, director of the NASA Marshall 

Space Flight Center, and Huntsville 

businessman Will Halsey had flown to 

Sunnyvale, California, to persuade 

Lockheed Missiles and Space Company 

executives to establish a campus 


Allan Lockheed began building airplanes 

in 1912. After a promising start, the company 

he founded fell on hard times during the 

Great Depression, and fell into bankruptcy. 

A young entrepreneur named Robert Gross 

shared Lockheed’s vision of making the world 

a better place through technology. In 1932 the 

recent Harvard graduate purchased the assets 

of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation for $40,000. 

Gross saw his vision to fruition, building the 

company into one of the most respected and 

dynamic aerospace companies in the world. 

He led Lockheed for three decades. In 1962 a 

year after his death; the company purchased 

eighty acres from Huntsville, Alabama, resident 

Annie Bradford and built its first Huntsville 

area facility that today employs 800. Lockheed 

became the second corporate resident in 

Cummings Research Park in 1963. The Von 

Braun era in Huntsville, including the Redstone 

Arsenal, Marshall Space Flight Center and the 

University of Alabama, welcomed Lockheed 

Martin and its aerospace technology. 

In 1978, Lockheed Martin began work on 

the U. S. Army’s Homing Overlay Experiment 

vehicle. In 1984 the vehicle achieved the 

first-ever hit-to-kill intercept of a test missile 

outside the earth’s atmosphere. It could 

destroy enemy missiles with sheer force of 

impact, without explosive warheads on the 

interceptor. Today, Huntsville is headquarters 

of Lockheed Martin Space Systems’ Missile 

Defense Systems business unit, which also has 

major operations in Courtland, Alabama, and 

Ampthill, United Kingdom. 

Lockheed Martin is a leading provider to 

the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) of highly 

reliable, threat-relevant target missiles (of various 

ranges) to test the Ballistic Missile Defense 

System. The MDA awarded the Targets and 

Countermeasures prime contract to Lockheed 

Martin in 2003. Its nearby Courtland facility 

supports the program by providing assembly, 

integration, and test of missile systems and 

subsystems involving large and small quantities 

of solid propellant propulsion systems. 

Lockheed Martin opened this 660 acre facility 

in Courtland in 1994 on the site of a historic 

WWII-era US Army Air Corps base. 

Lockheed Martin supports U.S. customers 

and international allies in meeting emerging 

battle management needs for integrated air and 

missile defense and ballistic missile defense 

systems including Medium Extended Air 

Defense System (MEADS), which developed 

the MEADS Battle Management, Command, 

Control, Communications, Computers and 

Intelligence system; and the Land Environment 

Air Picture Provision (LEAPP), which offers 

similar technology for the U.K. Ministry of 

Defence. The company’s Terminal High 

Altitude Area Defense program provides a key 

element of the nation’s Ballistic Missile Defense 

System, which defends the nation, its deployed 

and allied forces, population centers, and critical 

infrastructure against short-to-intermediaterange 

ballistic missiles. 

Today, Lockheed Martin is a global security 

and aerospace company that employs about 

116,000 people worldwide and is principally 

engaged in the research, design, development, 

manufacture, integration and sustainment of 

advanced technology systems, products and 

services. The year 2012 marked the 100th 

anniversary of the corporation, which began 

with the founding of the Glenn L. Martin 

Company August 16, 1912, in Los Angeles, 

California, and the establishment of the Alco 

Hydro-Aeroplane Company December 19, 1912, 

in San Francisco, California by Allan and 

Malcolm Loughead (Lockheed). In 2013 the 

corporation commemorated half a century of 

operations in Huntsville and a rich heritage as 

part of this nationally important community. 

Over the years, Lockheed Martin’s presence in 

the Rocket City has grown to include several 

other facilities along with the original beachhead 

on Bradford Drive and the corporation 

currently employs a total of approximately 

1,250 people in the Huntsville area. 


142

✧ 

Above: A Terminal High Altitude Area 

Defense (THAAD) interceptor launches 

from Meck Island in the South Pacific in 

2012 on its way to an intercept of a 

medium-range ballistic missile target. 

Left: A Medium Extended Air Defense 

System (MEADS) test configuration 

successfully detected, tracked, intercepted 

and destroyed an air-breathing target in an 

unprecedented 360 degree intercept test at 

White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, 

in 2012. 

Below: The Army’s Ballistic Missile Defense 

Systems Command awarded a contract in 

August 1978 to Lockheed Martin to design 

and conduct the Homing Overlay 

Experiment (HOE). The contract called for 

Lockheed Martin to resolve the key issues 

involved in developing an interceptor missile 

that would be launched from the ground 

and use its own long-wave infrared sensor 

and computer to locate attacking ICBMs 

above the atmosphere, hone in, and destroy 

them without the use of nuclear warhead. 

Work was performed in Sunnyvale, 

California, and Huntsville, Alabama. 


1 4 3

CINRAM GROUP, 

INC. 

Through the years, media has changed. 

From the nickelodeon with cranked-up 

hand power to the phonograph record 

and scratchy needle, to eight-track tapes, 

CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, the media 

world is constantly changing to keep 

pace with ever-developing audio and 

video technology. 

Cinram Group, Inc., one of the world’s 

largest providers of media delivery services, 

works with some of the biggest names in 

home entertainment and retail to ensure 

delivery of exciting movies, music, and 

video games. With facilities in Europe and 

North America, it is engaged in a full range 

of media development and digital delivery 

services, optical disc manufacturing, packaging, 

distribution, and business solutions. 

Cinram guarantees that products flow 

smoothly and profitably to consumers 

around the world. 

The company was founded in 1969 by 

Isidore Philosophe and Samuel Sokoloff 

as a Canadian-based contract manufacturer 

of pre-recorded eight-track cartridges and 

cassettes. (History has it that the two started 

their business out of a residential garage.) 

Since then, Cinram has embraced new 

technologies to meet the changing needs of 

customers and consumers for pre-recorded 

media formats. From those early eight-tracks 

and cassettes, vinyl records, audio cassettes, 

CDs, CD-ROMs, VHS video cassettes and 

DVDs, Cinram’s engineers are constantly 

working to provide innovative solutions for 

a changing category. Today, the company 

provides popular Blu-ray discs, 3D and 

digital distribution services. 

In 1990, Cinram expanded its manufacturing 

facilities in the United States when it 

acquired one of the largest American audio 

cassette duplicators—the PRC Tape Company 

in Richmond, Indiana. Five years later, it 

acquired Duplication France, S. A., and 

Video Pouce, S. A., two European VHS videocassette 

duplicators. 


144

In 2000, Cinram began a partnership and 

exclusive agreements with Twentieth Century 

Fox Home Entertainment, Inc., to manufacture, 

distribute, and warehouse VHS video cassettes 

and DVDs in the United States and Canada. 

That year, it also built a solid foundation for 

its European CD business when it acquired 

Universal Music International Manufacturing 

and Logistics, S. A. (UML) in France, and signed 

a long-term supply contract. 

Cinram acquired Time Warner’s DVD and 

CD manufacturing and distribution business in 

the United States and Europe in 2003, which 

is the largest of its acquisitions to date. The 

transaction with Time Warner included exclusive, 

long-term agreements to manufacture, 

print, package and distribute DVDs and CDs 

for Warner Home Video and Warner Music 

Group in both countries, and for New Line 

Home Entertainment, Inc., in North America. 

The company began a strong European 

partnership with Fox in August 2004 when 

it started manufacturing and distributing its 

DVDs and VHS video cassettes in France. 

In November that year, Cinram signed an 

exclusive, multiyear manufacturing and 

distribution agreement with Fox in Europe; 

and began manufacturing and distributing 

those products in the United Kingdom, 

Germany, and the Benelux in 2005. 

Two years later, Cinram cultivated a 

strong relationship with Universal Pictures 

International, when it acquired the assets of 

its manufacturing and distribution partner 

in Europe, which was experiencing financial 

and operational issues. During that same 

year, it signed an exclusive, multiyear 

manufacturing and distribution agreement 

with Universal Pictures International, which 

made Cinram the exclusive manufacturer 

and distributor of their DVD products in the 

United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, 

Switzerland, the Benelux, and Italy. 

Cinram’s presence in Madison County 

began in 1986 with a replication company 

called LaserVideo. In 1997, following a name 

change and format advancements to CD and 

VHS, Cinram purchased the Huntsville based 

business, beginning operations in 

September 1986 under the leadership 

of Ram Nomula. The company 

later changed its name to DMI 

and leadership was assumed by 

Larry Tabb. Cinram purchased 

DMI in April 1997, when it was 

engaged in CD and VHS manufacturing 

and packaging primarily for 

small customers. 

Cinram, with more than 1,000 

employees in Huntsville (and 

8,000 globally) added audio 

cassette duplication in May 1999. In 2000, 

Huntsville became the focal point for 

Cinram’s new business relationship with 

Twentieth Century Fox; and the plant 

expanded rapidly into DVD replication, 

packaging, and complete outbound-andreturn 

logistics. Also, that year, Cinram 

Huntsville began providing the same manufacturing 

and distribution services for Artisan 

Entertainment (later becoming Lionsgate 

Home Entertainment). 

In 2007, Cinram Huntsville began producing 

Blu-ray discs and has added significant 

capacity since that time. The Huntsville facility 

is the only facility in the entertainment 

media industry in the United States where all 

manufacturing, packaging, and distributions 

functions are performed in one building, offering 

the most responsive service in the industry. 

Cinram’s goal is to continue servicing the 

home entertainment industry as it has done 

for more than forty years. Blu-ray, the most 

current physical format of home media is 

gaining more and more shelf space and will 

soon offset DVD volumes. 

Chances are, if you’re listening to music 

or watching a DVD, you are using a 

Cinram product. 


1 4 5

U.S. SPACE & 

ROCKET CENTER ® 

✧ 

Above: A Space Camp trainee navigates a 

tumble-spin on the Multi-Axis Trainer like 

the one used in the Mercury astronaut 

training program. 

Below: Enjoy a mesmerizing view of the 

Saturn V rocket, one of mankind’s greatest 

technological achievements. The Saturn V 

captivated the world as it took the Apollo 

astronauts to the moon for the first time 

in 1969. 

No trip to Huntsville is complete without 

a visit to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, 

recently named Alabama’s number one 

tourist attraction! 

Located off of I-565, the U.S. Space & 

Rocket Center (USSRC) opened in 1970 to 

showcase Huntsville’s leadership role in 

the emerging field of manned spaceflight. 

Attracting more than 550,000 visitors in 

2011, the Center’s nearly 1,500 artifacts from 

America’s space program and many interactive 

exhibits and simulators ensure a unique and 

inspiring experience for all who visit. See 

the authentic Apollo 16 Command Module, 

which carried three astronauts to the moon. 

Climb in Mercury and Apollo trainers. See a 

Skylab solar array and the original Saturn V 

moon rocket—a National Historic Landmark! 

Rocket Park at the USSRC was called “the 

finest rocket collection in the world” by U.S. 

Senator John Glenn. In the park, twenty-seven 

missiles and rockets show how Army rocketry 

initiated the nation’s space program and gave 

birth to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. 

The USSRC boasts the most complete 

chronology of launch vehicles in the country, 

including the world’s only full-stack Space 

Transportation System (STS) that includes two 

solid rocket boosters, genuine space shuttle 

main engine nozzles and a genuine external 

tank—the only one in existence since the 

shuttle program ended in 2011. This full-scale 

orbiter, Pathfinder, is on display in Shuttle Park. 

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is also 

home to week-long Space Camp ® and Aviation 

Challenge ® programs. These internationallyacclaimed 

immersive educational programs 

place trainees in authentic astronaut and 

pilot training, allowing them to view mathematics 

and science as something more than 

just an academic exercise. These subjects 

become tools to develop future careers as 

scientists, engineers, teachers and astronauts. 

Trainees in Space Camp experience living 

and working in space using simulators like 

the 1/6th gravity chair, participate in the 

hands-on activities such as building and 

launching rockets or designing robots in 

the lab, and conduct science experiments on 

the International Space Station before flying 

their missions to space. Up-to-date on 

today’s space access, Space Camp includes 

commercial and international space missions 

to the International Space Station, the moon 

and Mars. 

Space Camp’s sister program, Aviation 

Challenge, is a realistic “Top Gun” military 

training experience where young people 

enjoy hands-on learning activities and 

instruction from military and civilian pilots. 

Trainees gain an understanding of the 

basics of aerodynamics, flight physiology and 

wilderness survival. Aviation trainees spend 

an exciting and educational week in the 

great outdoors and in high-performance jet 

simulators training like military fighter pilots. 

There is something at the U.S. Space & 

Rocket Center for everyone in the family to 

enjoy together! 

The Center is opened daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Visit www.rocketcenter.com for more information 

or call 1-800-63-SPACE (1-800-637-7223) 

or follow us on Facebook and Twitter at 

RocketCenterUSA. 


146

Chances are very good that many large 

trucks’ engines on today’s highways are 

manufactured in Huntsville. 

The Navistar Diesel of Alabama facility 

produces Navistar’s engines ranging from 

the MaxxForce 5 (V-6) and MaxxForce 7 (V8) 

through the MaxxForce 10 (I6), all on a single 

production line. 

The Navistar Big Bore Diesels facility assembles 

the MaxxForce 11 and 13-liter engines 

especially designed for the Class Eight truck 

market, available in International ® , TranStar ® 

and ProStar+ ® vehicles. In 2012 the company 

added the MaxxForce 15-liter engine on its 

assembly line. 

While Navistar engines are made and sold 

throughout the world, it was not until 1999 

that the company purchased the Alabama 

facility once operated by Onan Corporation. 

While several sites competed for the Navistar 

facility, Huntsville won because that location 

offered the opportunity for a new and different 

type of engine plant. According to plant 

manager Lance Fulks, “We could have copied 

our successful northern plants, but we wanted 

this plant to be different. We’re doing that 

by hiring people from various backgrounds 

with a wide array of skills. This has allowed us 

to develop a culture based on new ideas and 

teamwork. The forethought that went into the 

development, hiring and training allowed us 

to be able to reinforce that culture.” 

An innovative business team structure 

drives the entire Navistar complex. Business 

team leaders must excel at people management, 

project management, business management 

and maintenance management. Business 

team leaders are designated for each department: 

Machining, Assembly, Quality, Materials, 

and Manufacturing Services. The plant’s open, 

empowerment-based culture allows freedom 

for employees to find methods that achieve 

the company vision. It is these diverse personal 

experiences that allow the plant and its 

teams to implement some of the best ideas in 

the industry. 

An inventive effort by Chuck Sibley, plant 

manager from 2007-2011, retained about fifty 

employees who, otherwise, would have been 

laid off during a short-term business lull. His 

forward-thinking decision not only helped the 

NAVISTAR DIESEL OF ALABAMA, LLC 

NAVISTAR BIG BORE DIESELS, LLC 

company’s own employees, but put Navistar’s 

best foot forward by having the employees 

take assignments as community volunteers 

for Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and 

Care Assurance Systems for the Aging and 

Homebound. Instead of building engines 

during that three-month period, they put in 

ten hour work shifts, during which they built 

homes for the less fortunate, built and repaired 

over fifty wheelchair ramps, and sorted clothing 

and household donations. It was a win-win 

situation for all. His efforts and the Employee 

to Volunteer program led to Navistar Diesel 

of Alabama being named as a finalist for the 

U. S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business Civic 

Leadership Center Corporate Citizenship 

Award, the nation’s highest honor for businesses 

engaging in corporate social responsibility. 


1 4 7

TECHNICAL MICRONICS CONTROL, INC. 

✧ 

Left to right: George F. Epps, owner/founder; 

Doris Humphrey Epps, corporate advisor, 

Michael W. Davidson, Ph.D., president/CEO. 

It is often said, “Give me lemons and I’ll 

make lemonade.” George Epps of Huntsville did 

just that, turning an almost defunct company 

into a forward-thinking, profitable venture. 

When a business that developed and 

marketed a special temperature measuring 

device was about to go under in 1967, after 

being established two years earlier, George 

bought the company, changing the name 

from Temperature Measuring Control to 

Technical Micronics Control, Inc., (TMC). 

A group of engineers had established the 

company, but the product was not successful. 

George invested in it a year later. When the 

IRS attempted to foreclose, George decided to 

buy the company. He says the early days were 

difficult; but, he assumed $50,000 in delinquent 

payroll withholding taxes, convincing the IRS to 

allow him to continue operating and repaying 

the taxes. At that point, company focus changed. 

It began providing precision aerospace 

chemical cleaning of missile components and 

chemical laboratory services. Emphasis was 

placed on providing technical support services 

to the Army Missile Command and industry. 

George became president and CEO, Harry 

Raney was vice president; and Raymond Bennett 

in charge of precision cleaning operations. 

At that point, TMC had eight employees when 

Doris (Dot) Humphrey joined as accounting 

manager in 1971. In 1972 she and Jim Minchey, 

vice president, submitted the winning proposal 

to provide technical support services to the 

Army, the company stabilized with twelve 

employees. TMC continued to win the contract 

by re-bidding every three to five years for the 

next twenty-six years. During that time, fifty 

employees were added, and the contract created 

a base for other capabilities. 

In 1975, TMC acquired a seven-acre facility 

in Huntsville Research Park; and ten years 

later, the company added a new building 

housing a chemical laboratory, administrative 

offices, and nondestructive testing laboratory. 

In 2000, TMC’s Industrial Valve Division 

was established in Decatur providing repair 

and testing of large industrial valves to companies 

located on or near the Tennessee River. 

For forty-six years, TMC employment has 

varied from the three original employees to as 

many as eighty-five. Today, with twenty-five 

employees, George has served as chairman 

and president, Dot was senior vice president 

from 1978-1985, when she became president—a 

position she held until 1996. She is 

now corporate advisor. Raymond was with 

the company twenty-seven years, serving as 

manager, vice president of operations, and 

president from 1996-2002. In 2001, Michael 

Davidson, Ph.D., joined TMC as president, 

a position he currently holds. 

TMC has been successful for forty-six years, 

meeting the needs of Huntsville, Alabama’s 

U.S. Army Missile Command, NASA/MSFC, 

NASA/SSC, and various commercial industries. 


148

Founded in 1975 by George F. Epps, Dot 

Humphrey, and Zeb Overstreet, Excellance, 

Inc., is one of the oldest and most respected 

manufacturers of emergency vehicles in the 

world. From its inception, the founders’ vision 

has been to produce the finest quality 

emergency medical and specialty vehicles 

available in the marketplace. 

Excellance’s customer base includes those 

for whom money is no object, such as the 

royal family of Saudi Arabia, to those who 

just want the best value for their limited 

budgets, such as volunteer organizations. 

Starting with bare chassis provided by 

truck manufacturers, all stages of the vertically-integrated 

manufacturing process are 

accomplished on the ten acre campus by 

trained craftsmen holding nationally-recognized 

certifications with over 900 years of 

cumulative experience. Welding is not only 

used for fabricating the all-aluminum body, 

but for creating the aluminum interior as 

well. The electrical system and custom paint 

process results in a finish unmatched by 

anyone. This attention to detail creates 

a highly-customized hand-crafted unit 

incorporating state-of-the-art features. 

In the 1990s, Excellance built twenty 

ambulances for Kuwait and two units for 

the Ukraine. Other international customers 

teaming with Excellance include Saudi 

Arabia, Morocco, Dubai, and Jordan. The 

2000s brought additional growth: Excellance 

doubled their facility to over 75,000 square 

feet of manufacturing space, adding a 

new paint building and new CNC machinery. 

The company also established several new 

fleet customers as well as managed the 

continuing growth of their current fleets. 

Excellance is proud of the units it has 

built for local organizations, including 

HEMSI, Madison County Rescue Squad and 

Redstone Arsenal. Good news gets around, 

and Excellance now provides its quality, 

custom-built units to agencies and organizations 

across the globe. It is now common 

to see Excellance vehicles in fleets serving 

New York City; Cleveland; Mobile; Richmond; 

Little Rock; Shreveport; Charlotte; Franklin; 

Indianapolis; Baton Rouge; Anderson; Camp 

David; Nashville; and Reedy Creek (Disney.) 

To date, the company has manufactured 

over 2,350 new customized vehicles and has 

remounted over 1,100 units onto new chassis. 

It is notable that Special Response Vehicles 

created by Excellance specifically for major 

incident response were present at both the 

World Trade Center and the Pentagon sites on 

September 11, 2001, and provided long-term 

support during the rescue and recovery efforts. 

Today, Excellance remains a privately-held 

corporation with Charlie Epps and Benjamin 

Epps (son and grandson, respectively, of one 

of the original founders) continuing the proud 

tradition started decades ago. This stability has 

sustained the core values that make Excellanceproduced 

vehicles the overwhelming choice 

of demanding clients around the world. 

EXCELLANCE, 

INC. 

✧ 

Above: The original founders, left to right, 

Zeb Overstreet, Dot Humphrey Epps 

and George F. Epps. 

Below: “From a sleepy little cotton town… 

to building state-of-the-art missiles, 

spacecraft, and ambulances…” 


1 4 9

TECHNI-CORE 

CORPORATION 

✧ 

The Kelly Boarding House in Lowell, 

Massachusetts, c. 1892. 

M. J. “Dawn” Reynolds, founder of 

Huntsville’s Techni-Core Corporation, arrived 

in Huntsville with the influx for NASA’s 

Apollo program in 1966. The theme of ‘from 

cotton mills to space’ is relevant to Dawn’s’ 

story as her family roots come from ‘Yankee’ 

country in Lowell, Massachusetts. 

Lowell was the birthplace for the Merrimack 

Mills textile plants and Huntsville is the 

birthplace for America’s Space Program. Her 

family estate, the Kelly Boarding House in 

Lowell, housed New England farm youths 

and Irish immigrants working in the cotton 

mills. The Merrimack River flow powered 

these cotton mills, and became the prototype 

for the Lincoln Mills in Huntsville. 

Dawn founded Techni-Core February 28, 

1978, to supply contract professional services 

for government and commercial clients. 

Since then, the company has spun off two 

more companies: Techni-Core Engineering 

(1988) and Techni-Core Network Services 

(1998). The idea for the pilot company began 

in 1969 at the end of the space program. She 

saw a need to transition engineers from the 

Space Program to weapons research for the 

Department of Defense. Because Huntsville 

had more Ph.Ds. per capita than any other 

city, she envisioned an opportunity and saw 

those individuals as a valuable talent pool to 

start the defense work under the U.S. Army 

located at Redstone Arsenal. 

Techni-Core was designated as one of 

the small businesses to support Boeing’s 

development of the International Space 

Station main lab module. In addition 

to maintenance of the robotic welder, 

Techni-Core assisted with development of 

a computer-based, résumé-sorting system, 

and the original virtual computer library of 

‘as-built’ visual documentation. 

Raising her two daughters in the corporation’s 

offices, both have chosen engineering 

careers applicable to technology on defense 

programs at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. In 

addition to their daytime engineering 

work, Christina D. Reynolds founded the 

‘Need-a-NERD’ company for Cyber Security 

consulting and Laura A. Ayers volunteers 

many hours for wounded veterans and their 

families, winning the Audie Murphy Patriotism 

Award, Spirit of America Festival in 2012. 

Now, more than thirty-five years later, 

Dawn remains active to transition the familybased 

corporations to the Next Generation for 

technology advanced projects in Cyber Security 

and Information Technology Engineering 

projects for the Department of Defense. 


150

Van Valkenburgh & Wilkinson Properties, 

Inc. (VV&W), is a locally owned and nationally 

recognized real estate company designed 

to serve a unique historic and high-tech 

community. VV&W was founded in 1985 by 

sixth generation Huntsville native, Richard 

Van Valkenburgh, and his wife, Nancy 

Wilkinson Van Valkenburgh, a space program 

newcomer. Both business and volunteer 

interests led to their founding the company. 

and certified residential specialists. Daughter, 

Victoria Van Valkenburgh, web company 

owner and law graduate, is their consultant 

on technology. Daughters, Julie V. Lockwood 

and Sarah Lauren V. Kattos, became two of 

the youngest people ever licensed within 

the state while still attending Birmingham- 

Southern College. 

VAN VALKENBURGH 

&WILKINSON 

PROPERTIES, INC. 

During urban renewal in 1974 when many 

historic structures were being lost, Nancy 

became a founder of the preservation group, 

Historic Huntsville Foundation, Inc. (HHF) 

and Richard served on the first board. Nancy 

was chairman during the 1977-78 term and 

Richard was a later chairman, when HHF 

received a “Save America’s Treasures Grant.” 

The couple realized that preservation 

would require private as well as public funds. 

This ultimately led to VV&W. Richard brought 

a background in commercial leasing and 

building material sales to the business; and, 

Nancy brought a passion for saving historic 

homes. Together they built a sales team of 

twelve full-time licensed sales associates and 

four support staff. 

From the beginning, the founders emphasized 

education. Both hold the prestigious 

designations of council of real estate brokers 

Vice-president of finance, Nancy’s sister, 

Sarah W. Hereford, is a CPA as well as a 

REALTOR ® . Nancy and Sarah’s mother, Sibyl 

Wilkinson, has served as office manager 

since the company’s founding and brings an 

extensive accounting background. Being 

active in professional activities keeps the 

team up-to-date. Richard has been local 

and state REALTOR of the Year. He is 2013 

President of the Alabama Association of 

REALTORS. He had the honor of installing 

his daughter, Julie, as 2013 President of the 

Huntsville Area Association of REALTORS. 

The entire team at Van Valkenburgh & 

Wilkinson is known to be among the hardest 

working and most productive people in 

North Alabama. They are also well-known, as 

a group and individually, for giving to community, 

civic and church endeavors, including 

sports, health, art, education, music, preservation, 

military support groups, and museums. 

The oval VV&W logo is patterned after 

bronze plaques that Richard’s grandfather, 

Joseph Bradley Van Valkenburgh, placed in 

city sidewalks during the 1920s. It is a 

reminder to innovate while continuing a legacy 

of service—that there is a debt to the past 

and an obligation to the future—to preserve 

what is good and to work for a better future 

for all. 


1 5 1

QINETIQ 

NORTH AMERICA, 

INC. 

✧ 

Above: QinetiQ North America, Defense 

Solutions, Headquarters Building at 

Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park. 

In 1986 a Veteran-owned 8a Small 

Business Company, “Westar Corporation” 

(Westar) was formed in Albuquerque, New 

Mexico. Westar was immediately successful, 

providing Test and Evaluation support to 

the Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM) 

in St. Louis, Missouri. Westar won prime 

contracts to support the Aviation Community 

and grew to approximately 

125 employees by the 

time it graduated from 8a 

status in 1996. In 1995, 

AVSCOM merged with 

Missile Command (MICOM) 

to form the Aviation and 

Missile Command (AMCOM) 

at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. 

Westar made a business 

decision to open an office 

in Huntsville, Alabama, to 

continue support of its 

Aviation customer. A oneman 

office opened in 

Cummings Research Park 

in October 1996. In the 

summer of 1997 a group 

of Westar engineers and 

support personnel moved 

to Huntsville along with 

their customers. The rest 

is history in the dynamic 

aerospace business environment 

of Team Redstone! 

With the strong leadership 

and vision of company officers and 

significant organic growth, the company was 

able to purchase COBRO Corporation, an 

aviation logistics company in 2001; Great 

Pond, a small software company; and ELMCO, 

known for its missile technical support/ 

modeling and simulation in December 2003. 

Westar’s capabilities expanded to include 

both Aviation and Missile support to DoD 

customers. Westar was growing and successfully 

providing engineering and logistics 

support to DoD, NASA, and commercial 

customers world-wide. The achievement of 

the company was noted by the British 

firm, QinetiQ LLC, which was formed in 

2001 by the privatization of the United 

Kingdom’s Defence Evaluation and Research 

Agency (DERA), rapidly becoming one of 

Europe’s largest aerospace defense companies. 

QinetiQ, LLC entered the U.S. market, 

strategically positioning the company with 

the purchase of several U.S. companies, the 

first being Westar in October 2004. Further 

acquisitions rapidly followed. By 2009, 

QinetiQ North America, Inc. (QNA), a 

U.S. company, was firmly established in 

the United States with approximately 

7,500 employees. 

Additional acquisitions, consolidations, 

and restructuring of QNA business units as 

well as organic growth into new business 

areas resulted in the “QNA Defense Solutions” 

business unit headquartered in Huntsville, 

Alabama. In 2013 there are approximately 

900 people in this unit with nearly 500 located 

in Huntsville. QNA Defense Solutions provides 

engineering, IT and logistics support 

to DoD, NASA, commercial activities, and 

foreign military customers worldwide. With 

hundreds of years of expertise on tap, it 

continues to ensure that its customers are 

always in the forefront of technology; utilize 

the most effective and innovative tools; 

and have the best decisional data to maintain 

program excellence. 

QinetiQ (pronounced “kinetic”) continues 

to exemplify its name…“energy today for 

tomorrow’s success.” QinetiQ is located on 

the Internet at www.qinetiq-na.com. 

When it’s critical…It’s QinetiQ 


152

The Clean Air Act of 1970 required all 

gasoline-powered vehicles to be equipped 

with catalytic converters within five years, 

and the Engelhard Corporation took the 

federal mandate seriously. 

A year before the law went into effect; 

Engelhard’s Huntsville plant, which would later 

be purchased by world chemical leader BASF 

Corporation, became operational, focusing primarily 

on developing and producing catalytic 

converters. Its challenge was to dramatically 

reduce vehicle-emitted pollution from the atmosphere. 

The company’s team, led by Carl D. Keith 

and John J. Mooney developed the first production 

catalytic converter in 1973, and gave birth to 

a new industry. Since production began, over a 

billion tons of air pollution has been prevented. 

Since BASF’s purchase of the company 

in 2006, it has become the global leader in 

catalysts, providing innovative, value-adding 

solutions to the markets it serves. By leveraging 

its industry-leading research and development 

(R&D) platforms and BASF’s worldwide 

infrastructure, the company continues to 

develop unique, proprietary technologies that 

drive customer success. 

In Huntsville, BASF manufactures exhaust 

system catalysts for light and heavy duty gasoline 

and diesel powered vehicles. In addition, 

it produces pollution abatement catalysts for 

stationary industrial applications, and ozone 

converters for aircraft. To better serve its customers, 

it provides prototype samples for 

future business opportunities and supports 

its customers with various analytical services. 

Huntsville was selected as the site for production 

because of the high technology base and 

associated highly-developed labor pool, plus 

favorable logistics to serve automotive customers. 

Built on a former 100 acre cotton field, 

the plant began operations in 1974, and started 

supplying catalysts for 1976 model automobiles. 

John Mooney and Carl Keith have received 

numerous awards from around the globe for 

the development of the catalytic converter. 

Keith, as division president, approved the 

selection of the Huntsville site, and fondly 

monitored the growth of his “baby,” initially 

using platinum and palladium. These catalysts 

promote oxidation of poisonous carbon 

monoxide and hydrocarbons to form water 

vapor and carbon dioxide. Today, rhodium is 

used to convert harmful nitrogen oxides to 

beneficial nitrogen and oxygen gases. 

Eugene Coward assembled the team as 

the first manager of the Huntsville plant. 

Ken Blamble oversaw plant construction 

and remained as engineering and maintenance 

manager. 

The plant expanded in 1993 with the 

introduction of the first generation of diesel 

catalysts. As clean air regulations continued to 

evolve, more sophisticated catalysts have been 

introduced. Ten additional plant expansions 

have allowed BASF-Huntsville to keep up with 

supply and demand. 

BASF has approximately 370 production 

plants globally, including six large verbund 

sites. Parent headquarters of BASF Corporation 

are located in Florham Park, New Jersey; 

while BASF overall is headquartered in 

Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF is located on 

the Internet at www.basf.com. 

BASF 

CORPORATION, 

INC. 


1 5 3

NORTHROP 

GRUMMAN 

✧ 

Above: Northrop Grumman’s main building 


Below: One of the type systems Northrop 

Grumman develops. 

Northrop Grumman, headquartered in Falls 

Church, Virginia, is one of the nation’s premier 

global security companies, offering an extraordinary 

portfolio of capabilities and technologies 

that enable the company to deliver innovative 

systems and solutions for applications that 

range from undersea to outer space and into 

cyberspace. Northrop Grumman’s core competencies 

are aligned with the customers’ needs to 

address emerging challenges in areas such as, 

unmanned systems, cybersecurity, command 

and control, and logistics; capabilities critical 

to the defense of the nation and our allies. 

Northrop Grumman employs approximately 

70,000 people worldwide, with 1,200 employees 

located in the Huntsville/Madison area. 

The names Northrop and Grumman played 

important roles in developing aircraft to support 

our efforts dating back to World War II. 

Jack Northrop and Leroy Grumman’s companies 

developed advanced aircraft including two 

fighter aircraft, the F6F Hellcat and the F-5A/B 

Freedom Fighter, and a bomber, the B-2 Spirit. 

These two visionaries paved the way for 

Grumman (founded in 1930) and Northrop 

(founded in 1939) to become the foundation 

of the company, Northrop Grumman, later 

merging with TRW, Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical, 

Westinghouse, Litton, and Logicon to become a 

worldwide leader in delivering quality products. 

As a result of the mergers, Northrop 

Grumman’s portfolio expanded as well as 

the research and development efforts into 

advanced technologies. Today, the company is 

known not only for aircraft, but is also recognized 

for its work in unmanned aerial systems, 

command and control systems, large-scale 

intelligence information systems, logistics, 

missile defense systems, advanced sensor 

systems, system sustainment, high-energy laser 

systems, and health information systems. 

The company has ten locations in the 

Huntsville/Madison area supporting U.S. 

Government customers. The company supports 

all the major U.S. Army and Department of 

Defense organizations located on Redstone 

Arsenal. Our customers include; Army Material 

Command, the Missile Defense Agency, U.S. 

Army Space and Missile Defense Command, 

Aviation and Missile Command, Marshall Space 

Flight Center, U.S. Army Security Assistance 

Command, and the Program Executive Offices 

for Aviation and Missiles and Space. 

The company’s passion for producing 

world-class systems is matched by the employees’ 

enthusiasm for supporting local civic 

activities. From raising money to support the 

fight against chronic disease to volunteering for 

disaster relief, the Huntsville-based employees 

have donated thousands of hours of their time 

on behalf of the community. In addition to 

its volunteer efforts, the company annually 

contributes more than $200,000 to local 

nonprofit organizations. Northrop Grumman 

is proud to be a member of the Huntsville/ 

Madison community…a great place to live, 

work and contribute to the defense of the 

nation as well as serve our local citizenry. 


154

THE SPENCER 

COMPANIES, 

INCORPORATED 

Young Guy J. Spencer arrived in Huntsville 

in 1925, landing a job that became his career. 

He was general manager of Alabama Oil 

Company of Huntsville, Inc., which had been 

incorporated in 1923. He fell in love with the 

business, later buying out companies and 

forming his own businesses. 

During this, The Spencer Companies’ 

ninetieth anniversary in 2013, son Guy, Jr., 

reflected on the business his parents founded, 

and he currently owns. 

Alabama Oil Co. was well-known for 

supplying quality petroleum products in 

Madison County and other North Alabama 

counties. After Guy, Sr., married Frances 

Strong, a sixth generation Madison County 

native, they purchased half of the company 

in 1941, marketing for Cities Service Oil Co. 

(later CITGO). In 1946, Guy and Frances 

started Pan American Distributors of Athens, 

an agency of Huntsville Motor Company. 

During their ownership auto manufacturers 

stopped producing cars like the Packard and 

Studebaker, so the company closed, and the 

name changed to Alabama Oil Co. of Athens. 

The three companies merged at that time. 

The same year that Spencer bought the 

company, he signed a contract with Pan 

American Petroleum Corporation, which 

became Alabama Oil Co. (AMOCO) in 1960. 

Guy and Frances purchased a half interest in 

AMOCO of Morgan County, marketing for 

Cities Service Oil Co., which became CITGO. 

Frances passed away in 1955; and in 1957, 

Guy and son, Guy, Jr., purchased the remaining 

half. That same year, a contract was signed 

with Pan American Petroleum Corp. 

Guy, Sr., passed away in 1964; and, in 1967, 

Amoco became the brand marketed throughout 

the region. Guy, Jr., purchased Mid-South 

Oil Co., a CITGO jobbership in 1978. 

In 1974, during a petroleum shortage, the 

company purchased a small ice manufacturing 

and packaging plan. That company acquired 

more ice companies and expanded throughout 

Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. The 

name was changed to The Spencer Companies 

to divert confusion from being an Alabama 

enterprise exclusively. The company supplied 

SEC football stadiums in all those states; while 

adding a 600 ton per day manufacturing plant 

onto an eighty ton facility in East Point, Georgia. 

Known as the Midsouth Ice Co. Division of 

The Spencer Companies, it supplied ice to the 

1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. 

Today, the company is affiliated with CFN 

Network of Commercial Fueling through its 

Spenco Commercial Fuels operation. 

In 2001, “We acquired a Shell jobbership 

in North Alabama and marketed motor fuels 

and convenience food items through independent 

dealers, while we operated Minitman 

Food Stores,” says Guy, Jr., the only child of 

the original owners. One of its suppliers sold 

its interests to Marathon Oil. 

His daughter, Sarah Spencer Chappell 

became the third generation in the business in 

1983, and son Guy “J” III started in 1991. 

Additional information is available on the 

Internet at www.spencercos.com. 


1 5 5

TOYOTA MOTOR MANUFACTURING 

ALABAMA, INC. 

In 2012, Toyota Motor Manufacturing 

Alabama, Inc. (TMMAL) was proud to 

announce its fourth expansion in ten years. 

“With every expansion, we reflect back on 

Toyota’s decision to build a plant right here, 

among the cotton fields of Northern Madison 

County,” TMMAL President Jim Bolte said 

at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new 

V-6 line that will launch in January 2014. 

“We know that there is no better place 

for us to call home and we’re excited to be 

expanding our Toyota family, providing even 

more jobs in a community that has been so 

good to us.” 

TMMAL is the only Toyota plant in the 

world to produce four-cylinder, V-6 and V-8 

engines under one roof. These engines go 

into eight of the twelve Toyota models built 

in North America and are shipped to six 

different North American assembly plants. 

“We wouldn’t be where we are today, 

without the dedication of more than 1,000 

Team Members who work safely every day 

to build the best quality engines possible,” 

Bolte said. By January 2014, TMMAL’s annual 

engine capacity will be more than 744,000, 

with an investment of more than $700 

million and 1,150 jobs. 

The first Toyota V-8 engine ever made 

outside of Japan came off the line at TMMAL 

in 2003. Since then, the facility has expanded 

three times to add V-6 and new V-8 and 

four-cylinder engines. These expansions 

more than doubled the plant’s initial size and 

production volume. 

The company is also committed to developing 

relationships in the community where 

its team members work and live. For example, 

to celebrate ten years in Huntsville, TMMAL 

donated ten gifts of $10,000 to ten different 

local nonprofits. The company also gave 

two Toyota vehicles to Hospice Family Care 

in Madison County and Huntsville Emergency 

Medical Services, Inc., and announced two 

separate $50,000 gifts to Habitat for Humanity 

of Madison County and Merrimack Hall 

Performing Arts Center. 

However, nothing demonstrated the true 

character of TMMAL like its service to the 

community following the devastating tornadoes 

that struck communities in North 

Alabama in April 2011. Toyota’s corporate 

offices pledged $1 million to the American 

Red Cross for recovery efforts, but the 

service of its team members is what most 

distinguished the company during this time. 

TMMAL team members served more than 

26,000 hours for tornado relief efforts in nine 

different Alabama counties. 

“We look forward to many more years of 

service in the community and business growth 

here in Huntsville, Alabama,” said Bolte. 


156

SPONSORS 

ADTRAN ..................................................................................1 0 6 

Alabama A&M University ...........................................................1 2 4 

Alabama Climate Control, Inc. ....................................................1 0 5 

BASF Corporation, Inc. ..............................................................1 5 3 

BID Designs ..............................................................................1 0 7 

Calhoun Community College ........................................................1 3 3 

Choose Life of North Alabama, Inc. ..............................................1 2 7 

Cinram Group, Inc. ....................................................................1 4 4 

Clinic for Women, P.A. ...............................................................1 3 2 

Crestwood Medical Center ...........................................................1 3 9 

Dental Professionals on Whitesburg ..............................................1 2 8 

Emerson Network Power .............................................................1 0 0 

Excellance, Inc. .........................................................................1 4 9 

Huntsville City Schools ...............................................................1 3 6 

Huntsville First United Methodist Church ......................................1 3 8 

Huntsville Ghost Walk ................................................................1 1 2 

Huntsville Hospital ....................................................................1 2 6 

Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau ................1 0 2 

Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society ................................1 1 9 

Huntsville & Madison County Railroad Authority ...........................1 0 4 

InfoPro Corporation .....................................................................9 8 

J. F. Drake State Technical College ...............................................1 3 0 

Lanier Ford ..............................................................................1 0 8 

Lockheed Martin Corporation ......................................................1 4 2 

Madison County Cooperative, Inc. ................................................1 1 0 

Navistar Diesel of Alabama, LLC 

Navistar Big Bore Diesels, LLC ...............................................1 4 7 

New York Life Insurance Co. .......................................................1 0 9 

Northrop Grumman ....................................................................1 5 4 

Oakwood University ...................................................................1 2 0 

Paul R. Weeks, DMD ..................................................................1 1 6 

Phoenix ....................................................................................1 2 2 

PROJECTXYZ, Inc. .....................................................................1 0 3 

QinetiQ North America, Inc. .......................................................1 5 2 

Randolph School ........................................................................1 2 9 

Redstone Federal Credit Union ......................................................9 6 

Robert L. Sublett Farms ..............................................................1 1 1 

St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church ........................................1 3 7 

Techni-Core Corporation .............................................................1 5 0 

Technical Micronics Control, Inc. .................................................1 4 8 

The Center for Cancer Care ........................................................1 3 1 

The Spencer Companies, Incorporated ...........................................1 5 5 

The University of Alabama in Huntsville .......................................1 3 4 

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Inc. ...................................1 5 6 

U.S. Space & Rocket Center ® .......................................................1 4 6 

Van Valkenburgh & Wilkinson Properties, Inc. ................................1 5 1 

Von Braun Center ......................................................................1 3 5 

S P O N S O R S 

1 5 7


158

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

J A C Q U E L Y N P R O C T E R R E E V E S 

Jacquelyn Procter Reeves, a graduate of New Mexico 

Highlands University, is the author of a number of books on 

history and true crime. She is editor of Valley Leaves, Associate 

Editor of Old Tennessee Valley Magazine, and past editor of 

The Huntsville Historical Review. In addition, she has been the 

contributing writer for a number of publications. Jacque is the 

curator of the historic Donnell House in Athens, founder of Avalon 

Tours, co-founder of the Huntsville Ghost Walk, and co-founder 

of Mischief and Mayhem Tours. She lives in Huntsville, Alabama. 

A B O U T T H E A U T H O R 

1 5 9

For more information about the following publications or about publishing your own book, 

please call HPNbooks at 800-749-9790 or visit www.hpnbooks.com. 

Albemarle & Charlottesville: 

An Illustrated History of the First 150 Years 

Black Gold: The Story of Texas Oil & Gas 

Carter County, Oklahoma: Then and Now 

Coastal Visions: Images of Galveston County 

Garland: A Contemporary History 

Historic Abilene: An Illustrated History 

Historic Alamance County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Albany: City & County 

Historic Albuquerque: An Illustrated History 

Historic Alexandria: An Illustrated History 

Historic Amarillo: An Illustrated History 

Historic Anchorage: An Illustrated History 

Historic Austin: An Illustrated History 

Historic Baldwin County: A Bicentennial History 

Historic Baton Rouge: An Illustrated History 

Historic Beaufort County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Beaumont: An Illustrated History 

Historic Bexar County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Birmingham: An Illustrated History 

Historic Brazoria County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Brownsville: An Illustrated History 

Historic Charlotte: 

An Illustrated History of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County 

Historic Chautauqua County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Cheyenne: A History of the Magic City 

Historic Clayton County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Comal County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Corpus Christi: An Illustrated History 

Historic DeKalb County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Denton County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Edmond: An Illustrated History 

Historic El Paso: An Illustrated History 

Historic Erie County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Fayette County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Fairbanks: An Illustrated History 

Historic Gainesville & Hall County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Gregg County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Hampton Roads: Where America Began 

Historic Hancock County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Henry County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Hood County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Houston: An Illustrated History 

Historic Hunt County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Illinois: An Illustrated History 

Historic Kern County: 

An Illustrated History of Bakersfield and Kern County 

Historic Lafayette: 

An Illustrated History of Lafayette & Lafayette Parish 

Historic Laredo: 

An Illustrated History of Laredo & Webb County 

Historic Lee County: The Story of Fort Myers & Lee County 

Historic Louisiana: An Illustrated History 

Historic Mansfield: A Bicentennial History 

Historic Midland: An Illustrated History 

Historic Mobile: 

An Illustrated History of the Mobile Bay Region 

Historic Montgomery County: 

An Illustrated History of Montgomery County, Texas 

Historic Ocala: The Story of Ocala & Marion County 

Historic Oklahoma: An Illustrated History 

Historic Oklahoma County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Omaha: 

An Illustrated History of Omaha and Douglas County 

Historic Orange County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Osceola County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Ouachita Parish: An Illustrated History 

Historic Paris and Lamar County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Pasadena: An Illustrated History 

Historic Passaic County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Pennsylvania An Illustrated History 

Historic Philadelphia: An Illustrated History 

Historic Prescott: 

An Illustrated History of Prescott & Yavapai County 

Historic Richardson: An Illustrated History 

Historic Rio Grande Valley: An Illustrated History 

Historic Rogers County: An Illustrated History 

Historic San Marcos: An Illustrated History 

Historic Santa Barbara: An Illustrated History 

Historic Scottsdale: A Life from the Land 

Historic Shelby County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Shreveport-Bossier: 

An Illustrated History of Shreveport & Bossier City 

Historic South Carolina: An Illustrated History 

Historic Smith County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Temple: An Illustrated History 

Historic Texarkana: An Illustrated History 

Historic Texas: An Illustrated History 

Historic Victoria: An Illustrated History 

Historic Tulsa: An Illustrated History 

Historic Wake County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Warren County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Williamson County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Wilmington & The Lower Cape Fear: 

An Illustrated History 

Historic York County: An Illustrated History 

Iron, Wood & Water: An Illustrated History of Lake Oswego 

Jefferson Parish: Rich Heritage, Promising Future 

Miami’s Historic Neighborhoods: A History of Community 

Old Orange County Courthouse: A Centennial History 

Plano: An Illustrated Chronicle 

The New Frontier: 

A Contemporary History of Fort Worth & Tarrant County 

Rich With Opportunity: Images of Beaumont and Jefferson County 

San Antonio, City Exceptional 

The San Gabriel Valley: A 21st Century Portrait 

Southwest Louisiana: A Treasure Revealed 

The Spirit of Collin County 

Valley Places, Valley Faces 

Water, Rails & Oil: Historic Mid & South Jefferson County 


160

King Cotton to Space Capital: The Huntsville-Madison County Story

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