Exploring the Old Federal Road

By Mark Dauber

In the early 1800s when surveyors began exploring the land that would become the Federal Road and ease passage between Washington, DC, and southern ports, they faced rough and wild terrain known, if at all, only by Creek Indian tribes. Soon, though, that land became much more passable, aided in part by manipulation—and at times, outright defiance—of long-standing treaties protecting the Native Americans’ claims to the land. Using various means, including the threat of impending war with Britain, the government gained the necessary land to create the Federal Road. For several decades, it offered a significant and much-traveled route, aiding the advent of “Alabama Fever” as settlers used it to move into the new state. Though it eventually fell into decline as trains and steamboats offered more efficient means of transport, today the Federal Road remains an important component of Alabama’s transportation history.

Coach John Heisman on Stage at Auburn

By Ralph Draughon Jr.

Although best known for the trophy bearing his name, John Heisman also left quite an impression on the Auburn community—not just as the university’s football coach, but as an actor. Ralph Draughon Jr. takes readers through a fascinating profile of Heisman, showing how the qualities that helped him win football games stemmed from his training as an actor. The symbiosis did not end there: at times when the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (as Auburn University was known in Heisman’s day) football team struggled financially, Heisman and the A.P.I. Dramatic Club came to the rescue, staging plays and earning the necessary funds to keep the football team financially solvent.

Ever the showman, Heisman himself starred in many of these productions, regaling audiences with his portrayals of disparate characters drawn from Shakespeare, everyday life, and many sources in between. The A.P.I. Dramatic Club remains relatively unknown among the contemporary Auburn Community, but Draughton’s article reminds us of the value of dramatic arts—and of the coach who loved them.

A Force of Nature: Mary Norman Moore

By Ann Marie Lang

Although Athens State University now serves approximately 3,500 graduate and undergraduate students in a vibrant educational system, the institution’s future was not always so bright. Back at the turn of the twentieth century, the school (then known as Athens Female College) had suffered from administrative instability and infrastructure issues. Luckily for AFC—and for the many generations of students who have attended Athens State in the century since that time—the school hired Mary Norman Moore as its new president. Serving in two different terms, Moore helped develop the institution’s identity, bolster its endowment, earn appropriate accreditation, and cement its place in the state’s roster of valuable educational entities. However, in keeping with Moore’s humility, little is known about her valuable role—a situation author Ann Marie Lang serves to remedy in articles such as this one, which highlight the significance one woman had on her community and its youth.

Alabama Treasures

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge

By Thomas V. Ress

Prior to the 1930s, the area now known as the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) remained an under-utilized expanse where tens of thousands of acres languished, waiting for a purpose. That purpose arrived with the construction of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) dams along the Tennessee River. As the first such refuge in the state, the Wheeler NWR proved that allocating land for environmental purposes could have a valuable impact on animal populations. Today, the refuge lives up to its name, offering protected habitats to nearly eighty thousand birds along with a diverse range of other animals. As Wheeler NWR celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary this year, we’re reminded of the value of setting aside land to help nurture the world around us.

Portraits & Landscapes

The Path to the Schoolhouse Door

By Earl Tilford

Stories describing the desegregation of the University of Alabama often focus on the seminal events that define this process. However, in actuality, the struggle to integrate the state’s flagship campus began much earlier than often realized, and it was made possible by a number of little-known individuals, some of whom came to Alabama specifically for this task. Earl Tilford presents that “behind the scenes” story, showing how many forces and people worked together to allow students of all races to pass through the schoolhouse door.

Revealing Hidden Collections

Collected Memory: Alabama Women’s Scrapbooks

By Nancy B. Dupree

Alabama women’s scrapbooks, quite in vogue in the early 1900s, comprise a little-explored component of the A. S. Williams III Americana Collection at the University of Alabama. In turning her attention to these fascinating record books, archivist Nancy Dupree has uncovered valuable information about social and cultural practices of Alabama teens at the turn of the century. These scrapbooks, which reveal the practices and preferences that defined the lives of young women, offer significant primary research to complement the secondary knowledge we have of Alabama women in this period.