Issue 120, Spring 2016
On the cover: Cullman’s First United Methodist Church has been restored since the April 2011 tornadoes. [Robin McDonald]
Features
“Put Their Shoulder to the Wheel”: J. D. B. De Bow’s Old South Vision for a New Alabama
In the middle of the nineteenth century, James Dunwoody Brownson (J. D. B.) De Bow carried significant influence with southerners. As editor and founder of De Bow’s Review, a monthly periodical, De Bow helped shape southern cultural and economic identity for approximately fifteen years leading up to the Civil War. However, the war illustrated the flaws in De Bow’s vision, and it’s possible that his ideas even expedited the Confederacy’s collapse. After the war, De Bow admitted his errors and once again looked to states such as Alabama to help show the nation a way forward—economically, socially, and culturally.
Lois Wilson: An Outsider Before Her Time
By Laquita Thomson
The art world began to recognize the Outsider Art movement in the late twentieth century, but well before that artists from across the south had been practicing the very things that would come to define Outsider Art. One such artist, Alabama native Lois Wilson, had brief periods of formal training in art, but throughout her life, she worked largely outside accepted artistic traditions and developed the techniques that later defined her as an Outsider artist. At the end of her life, Wilson worked tirelessly to establish the Fayette County Art Museum and help give back to her home state.
Newspapers, Party Politics, and Statesmen: Francis Scott Key’s Visit to Alabama
By Andrew L. Luna
In the early 1800s, the new state of Alabama faced numerous tensions over who could rightly claim its land. Disputes were particularly fierce between Native Americans, whose ancestors had roamed the land for generations, and white settlers, who believed that their claims held priority. As the US government determined how to enforce and interpret different Indian treaties, the tensions escalated, and newspapers pitted states’ rights advocates against proponents of strong federal government. Ultimately, to help alleviate tensions between rival factions, Andrew Jackson sought help and diplomacy from one of his administration’s most trusted personalities—Francis Scott Key.
Remembering, Recovering, and Rebuilding Alabama: Five Years After the Storms
By Lee Ann Hewett Wofford
The April 2011 tornadoes that swept across Alabama did significant damage to people and property. Although the property destruction pales in comparison to the lives lost, it still posed a formidable challenge for residents who hoped to rebuild and restore their communities. Five years after that tumultuous day, a preservationist reflects on how Alabamians in Cordova, Tuscaloosa, and Cullman have addressed the damage and worked to celebrate—and, when possible, preserve—significant landmarks across the state.
Departments
(Robin McDonald)
Southern Architecture and Preservation
Navigating the National Register
By Susan Enzweiler
Since its origination in 1966, the National Register of Historic Places (“Register”) has recognized those structures and sites with particular historic value. However, getting a site listed on the Register requires complex understanding of nuanced guidelines. In Issue 116, Spring 2015, of Alabama Heritage, this department addressed the rewards and penalties inherent in the National Register program. This quarter, Susan Enzweiler unpacks the nomination process, offering a primer for those who might seek to nominate a site of their own.
Alabama Governors
John Gayle (1831-1835)
By Samuel L. Webb
This quarter’s installment of “Alabama Governors” revisits the service of John Gayle, whose term was marked by his shifting relationship to both states’ rights views and to Andrew Jackson’s policies and by the growing conflicts between Alabama’s settlers and Native Americans who had lived in the territory prior to its statehood.
From the Archives
Alabama Women in Politics
By Dorothy Fouche
A new temporary exhibit at the Museum of Alabama in Montgomery focuses on the role women have played in Alabama politics. In conjunction with the opening of “Alabama Women in Politics,” this quarter’s “From the Archives” takes a look at significant archival materials that help reflect on the varied and important effects women have had on the state political system.
Alabama Makers
Broom-maker George Jones Jr. Turns Family Legacy into Functional Art
By Caroline Morrison
Alabama’s craftspeople often practice traditional methods that are increasingly rare in today’s highly mechanized economy. One such craftsman is Florence’s George Jones, a broom-maker who continues to create functional and decorative brooms using the traditional methods passed down from his ancestors. Jones’s business thus offers a product with artistic and practical value, all while honoring the rich heritage of the Alabama maker movement.
Portraits and Landscapes
Nothing Dismal About Dismals Canyon
By James Richardson
Dismals Canyon, designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service, packs a number of natural wonders into its eighty-five acres. Located in Alabama’s northwest corner, the landmark boasts impressive geologic features such as a rugged canyon and several waterfalls. It also hosts several biologic wonders, including a wide variety of native tree species and a resident population of Dismalites, or glow worms, that make a visit to Dismals Canyon a true natural delight.
Revealing Hidden Collections
Capturing the Moment: Alabama Women’s Scrapbooks and Commonplace Books
By Kathryn Matheny
Although official documents and histories offer great value, scrapbooks and commonplace books are additional, albeit often overlooked, resources for learning about a specific time and culture. Librarian Kathryn Matheny reviews several such books from the University of Alabama Special Collections, revealing compelling insights into the life and times of their creators.
Adventures in Genealogy
So They Said You Were Cherokee? DNA and Truth
By Robert S. Davis
Recent advances in DNA testing have allowed individuals to begin testing the veracity of long-held family lore, enabling individuals to determine specific facts about their ancestry. This quarter’s installment of “Adventures in Genealogy” features an account of one person who decided to explore his family’s stories about his Native American ancestry.
The Nature Journal
Brother Wolfgang
In the nineteenth century, a Bavarian monk arrived in Alabama, where he served at St. Bernard’s Abbey in Cullman. However, the contributions made by Wolfgang Wolf transcended the spiritual. In this affectionate portrait, naturalist L.J. Davenport retraces Brother Wolfgang’s path through Alabama and his significant influence on the state’s naturalist history.
Reading the Southern Past
Mobile—River, City, and Bay
Recently, several of Mobile’s native sons have stepped away from their typical professional realms to author texts exploring their connection to their hometown. E.O. Wilson has gained acclaim for his scientific work, particularly concerning ants, and John Sledge is best known for his contributions to Alabama’s historic preservation community. Their books—Wilson’s Why We Are Here:Mobile and the Spirit of a SouthernCity (photography by Alex Harris; Liveright, 2012) and Sledge’s The Mobile River (University of South Carolina Press, 2015)—offer fresh perspectives on these men and the town that shaped them.
