History
Our past lives here. The people, records, and places that keep it alive.
Road Camp 12: The Berrydale Fire That Killed 38 Prisoners
On a Sunday night in 1967, fire swept through a wooden prison barracks in the Florida Panhandle. Fifty-one men were inside. Only thirteen survived.
The Constable, the Missing Return, and the Cost of Justice
An Alabama constable failed to return a court order. In 1833, the dispute that followed forced the state’s highest court to weigh legal formalities against the price of getting justice.
Three Arpents in Mobile: The Land Dispute Ryder Did Not Live to Finish
A claim that began with a Spanish land grant in 1810 reached Alabama’s Supreme Court in 1833. Between those dates lay a disputed lot, a business winding down, and a lawsuit inherited by Ryder’s heirs.
From Mobile by Firelight: The River’s Wood Yards
An 1859 travel account follows a steamer out of Mobile, past fireflies, fuel stations, and the labor that kept it moving.
The Alabama Town Name Worth Eight Arguments
Thomas Maxwell answered a civic booster’s list with one of his own: eight reasons to spell Tuskaloosa with a K.