Article Abstracts and Supplements
The Lost Capitals of St. Stephens and Cahawba
By Nan Fairley
Alabama’s first two capitals nearly vanished when politics, economics, and the weather conspired to move the capital elsewhere. Using a variety of sources, including nineteenth-century newspaper accounts, Auburn journalism professor Nan Fairley brings back to life the bustling towns of St. Stephens, territorial capital from 1817-1819, and Cahawba, the first state capital from 1820-1826. The residents of St. Stephens and Cahawba could hardly have imagined that their busy streets would become little more than wide paths, but they would surely be glad to know that their descendants have now decided to preserve what is left of the two towns’ histories. The St. Stephens Historical Commission is working to preserve Old St. Stephens through archaeological excavation and land acquisition. Call (334) 246-9303 for information on the St. Stephens support group. Old Cahawba is maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission and a private support group, Cahawba Concern. The park now encompasses some two hundred acres and is open for walking tours. Call (334) 875-2529 for more information on Old Cahawba.
The Moundville Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore
By Vernon James Knight, Jr.
Almost a century ago, a Philadelphia businessman and adventurer set out to explore the earthworks left by prehistoric peoples on every navigable waterway in the Southeast. It was an ambitious project, and one that led him to some of the most significant archaeological finds of the twentieth century—including some in Moundville, Alabama. With twenty-nine earth mounds, twenty of them arranged in a large central plaza, Moundville was the largest community of its kind in its heyday, around A.D. 1300. This article tells the story of Clarence Bloomfield Moore’s excavations and how his work remains a subject of controversy. The article’s author, a professor of anthropology at the University of Alabama, also edited and wrote an introduction to The Moundville Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore, published in 1996 by the University of Alabama Press.
Huntsville and the Space Program: The Beginnings Through 1960
By Mike Wright
From sleepy little cotton town to high-tech space center, Huntsville has grown rapidly since the day in 1950 when a group of German rocket scientists arrived from Fort Bliss, Texas. Marshall Space Flight Center historian Mike Wright traces the beginnings of the space program, from young Wernher von Braun’s fascination with outer space and rockets to the launch of Explorer I, America’s first Earth-orbiting satellite, on January 31, 1958. Huntsville grew along with the space program: The town that once bore the dubious distinction of "Watercress Capital of the World" became the "Rocket City." Its population tripled between 1950 and 1956, and such developments as the Huntsville Industrial Center, a University of Alabama branch campus, and the Rocket City Observatory bespoke the town’s rapid development. In 1958, the nation’s space program was assigned to a civilian agency, the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The story of NASA in the 1960s appears in issue 49.
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