In May 1838 soldiers, under the command of U.S. Army General Winfield Scott, began rounding up Cherokee Indians in this area who had refused to move to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. About 16,000 Cherokees were placed in stockades in Tennessee and . . . — — Map (db m33318) HM
Tennessee. Lincoln County. Established 1809; named in honor of MAJOR GEN. BENJAMIN LINCOLN of the Revolutionary Army. After service at Saratoga, he was put in Chief Command in the Southern Colonies. Later, he was Secretary of War under the . . . — — Map (db m30570) HM
Home of Virginia Clay Clopton (1825-1915)
Author and Social Leader who was known in Washington society as "The Belle of the Fifties"
Whose first husband, Clement Claiborne Clay (1817-1882), was United States Senator from Alabama (1853-1861) and . . . — — Map (db m134092) HM
Gurley Cemetery sits nestled in the hills and forest
of John Gurley's 1830s farm. Originally a private
cemetery, the earliest known gravesite dates to 1831.
The cemetery appeared in the original plat map of
the Town of Gurley, and was approved . . . — — Map (db m289255) HM
There has been a settlement at and around the area presently known as Gurley since before the 1800s. Located in Madison County in in the rich agricultural, mineral and timber belt of northern Alabama, Gurley lies 16 miles east of Huntsville and 80 . . . — — Map (db m275318) HM
Located on land owned by John Gurley, pioneer settler, and named for him. His son, Capt. Frank B. Gurley, became a Confederate hero as a member of the 4th Ala. Cavalry. The settlement that developed around the water tank on Memphis and Charleston . . . — — Map (db m30574) HM
Approximately 150 yards north is the grave site of Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb, U.S. and Confederate Congressman. Cobb was born in 1807 in Rhea County, Tennessee. In 1809, his family moved to southeastern Madison County, Alabama, where he . . . — — Map (db m289641) HM
The Western Conference, Oct. 1-7, 1808 in Williamson County, Tenn., sent James Gwinn to the "great bend" of the Tenn. River. Gwinn organized at the home of Richard and Betsy Ford, the first Methodist Society of the six in the Flint Circuit. This . . . — — Map (db m78121) HM
In 1807, Major Thomas Freeman,
Deputy U.S. Surveyor, established a
marker here on the state line and
began surveying south toward the
middle of the state. This line, known
as the Huntsville Meridian, is the
reference for all property . . . — — Map (db m154301) HM
Near here lived
John Williams Walker (1783-1823)
President of Alabama's First
Constitutional Convention 1819
and Alabama's first U.S. Senator
1819-1822. Walker County in northwest
Alabama, created 1823, was named in
his honor. Four . . . — — Map (db m154289) HM
(Side 1)
1959-1975
I am Staff Sergeant Peter Drake in Vietnam. In school we called this place Indochina. I enlisted in the Army out of high school, like the large majority of my fellow infantrymen. We have draftees but the bulk of . . . — — Map (db m85464) HM WM
The Alabama red-bellied turtle was placed on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species List in 1987 and is of the highest conservation concern.
Alabama red-bellied turtles live almost exclusively in the fresh and brackish water of . . . — — Map (db m144914) HM
Dedicated October 17, 2020
by
The Alabama Gold Star Families Memorial Monument
Committee of Huntsville-Madison County Veterans Memorial Foundation and the Hershel "Woody" Williams Medal of Honor Foundation.
On behalf of a grateful community, . . . — — Map (db m268712) WM
Before statehood, the Alabama Territory had only limited rights of self government. Between July 5 and August 2, 1819, forty-four delegates from across the Territory convened in Huntsville to draft a constitution for statehood. Lawyers, . . . — — Map (db m26592) HM
On this spot, camped his army, October 11, 1813, after marching from Fayetteville, Tenn.,~"32 miles without halting,"~ enroute to the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. — — Map (db m30382) HM
Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, spoke his famous words as he stepped onto the surface of the Moon.
On July 20, 1969, President John F. Kennedy's mandate that America go to the Moon was fulfilled - Apollo 11's lunar module Eagle . . . — — Map (db m85465) HM
Of the 355 individuals that flew on NASA's Space Shuttles, 306 were men and 49 were women. Over the course of the program, astronauts from 16 different countries flew Shuttle missions.
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when . . . — — Map (db m247462) HM
Atlantis was named after the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966.
Atlantis was the fourth operational Shuttle and made its first flight, STS-51J, on Oct. 3, 1985. This Shuttle sent . . . — — Map (db m247466) HM
The U.S. Armed Forces Avaitor Statue depicts an aviator proudly featuring from a successful mission.
It pays tribute to all U.S. Military Aviators and commemorates their courage, their sacrifice, and their commitment to duty. The U.S. Armed Forces . . . — — Map (db m268703) HM WM
I am Sergeant Michael Dunn of the 1st Marine Battalion. I fought in the First Barbary War, also known as the Tripolitan War, because we battled pirates off the coast of Tripoli. The Mediterranean coast of North Africa had been a hotbed of piracy for . . . — — Map (db m85488) WM
The Battlefield Memorial is a symbolic remembrance of the battlefield or at the base camp for a soldier who has been killed. It consists of the soldier's rifle, with a bayonet attached, stuck into the ground with a helmet on top, dog tags hanging . . . — — Map (db m268715) WM
Bessie, or Elsie, as she was sometimes called, started her life in Huntsville in 1963. Meadow Gold Diaries (sic) mounted her to their advertising billboard that stood at the corner of Memorial Parkway and Governor's Drive. Painted as a . . . — — Map (db m114570) HM
In this house John Hunt Morgan was born June 1, 1825. This dashing cavalry leader of the Confederacy was killed at Greeneville, Tenn., Sept. 4, 1864. This house, built in 1823, was the home, 1849-1949, of the heirs of Stephen Neal, Madison . . . — — Map (db m32556) HM
After the Civil War, the future of African-Americans in the United States Army was in doubt. In July 1866, Congress passed legislation establishing two cavalry and four infantry regiments to be made up of African-American soldiers. The mounted . . . — — Map (db m75092) HM WM
Situated on 167 acres of some of the most scenic land in North Alabama, the museum and its grounds contain items of local and national interest.
This property was willed to the City of Huntsville in 1955 by Dr. William Henry Burritt . . . — — Map (db m27876) HM
C.B. "Bill" Miller, of Miller and Miller, Inc., had a positive impact in all areas of the transportation industry across the State of Alabama. He has erected bridges, railroads, parks, pedestrian walks, airports, drainage, wastewater facilities, . . . — — Map (db m54247) HM
On this site stood the Calhoun House, used as a Federal Courthouse, where desperado Frank James was tried and found not guilty, by jury trial, on April 25, 1884, for robbery of a government payroll near Muscle Shoals, Alabama, March 11, 1881. One of . . . — — Map (db m27771) HM
Brahan Spring Park, formerly Beaty's Spring, was the site of Camp Beaty, the encampment of Andrew Jackson's army of volunteers and militia after their celebrated non-stop march of "32 miles in 5 hours" from Fayetteville, Tennessee on October 11, . . . — — Map (db m105131) HM
Over 200 soldiers were sent from Fort Barancas, Fl. each summer 1888 to 1898 to recuperate from yellow fever and malaria. Approximately 20 acres with a hospital. Joseph Boan, son of Mary and Sgt. Joseph Boan was born at Camp Monte Sano July 1888. . . . — — Map (db m154274) HM
This church which had its origins in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was first mentioned at a meeting of the Presbytery on April 7, 1812. It became known as First Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Huntsville, Alabama. In 1828 the first building . . . — — Map (db m27782) HM
Commander Gene Cernan spoke these words as the last man to walk on the Moon.
Apollo 17 was the final Apollo mission and the crowning achievement of the entire Apollo program. The mission set numerous Apollo program records: the longest mission, . . . — — Map (db m85489) HM
Heavy-lift Transporter
Known as the workhorse of the U.S. Army, the Boeing Chinook is a tandem-rotor, heavy-lift transport helicopter designed to move personnel, supplies, and equipment in support of combat operations. Secondary missions . . . — — Map (db m247205) HM
Church Street was formerly
named Henry Street, after
Patrick Henry. He was an attorney,
an orator, and the first Governor
of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
He is most remembered for his address to the House of Burgesses in 1775, which he ended . . . — — Map (db m279910) HM
Throughout much of the twentieth century, Church Street was the heart of a vibrant black community, filled with movement, color, and sound. Those who lived, worked, or visited there described it as "an experience."
The area was a bustling . . . — — Map (db m154264) HM
I am Private Patrick O’Hara of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Before the war I was a fisherman working on a boat out of Bar Harbor, Maine. I didn’t volunteer for the Army until well into the second year of the war because it was way . . . — — Map (db m85490) WM
This rock entrance is all that remains of Camp Ala. SP-16, 3486 and Camp Ala. TVA-7, 3483 which were built here due to available water. They were part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's conservation projects. When WW II started the men enlisted . . . — — Map (db m55607) HM
Tandem-Compound Turbine Rotor
This turbine rotor was installed in 1954 at TVA's Colbert Fossil Plant near Tuscumbia, Alabama. For almost 60 years, high-pressure steam turned the rotor to generate electricity to power Tennessee Valley homes. . . . — — Map (db m247203) HM
(side 1)
Cold War-Global
1945-
I am Petty Officer Richard Williamson, Jr. I am proud that my dad served on the first nuclear powered fast attack submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN 571) which set all kinds of records in the 1950s . . . — — Map (db m85491) HM WM
Make no mistake - our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen have committed their lives to defending freedom and our American way of life.
The Soldier’s Oath
"I, (state your name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support . . . — — Map (db m71403) WM
Erected on November 21, 1905, a handsome monument was dedicated to the Confederate dead by the Virginia Clay Clopton Chapter #1107 United Daughters of the Confederacy of Huntsville, and was unveiled with proper ceremonies in which many veterans of . . . — — Map (db m27784) HM
Command module pilot Richard Gordon assured Pete Conrad, lunar module commander, that his landing was right on target.
Apollo 12 stands out as the first of the Moon flights to achieve a pinpoint landing. Despite a rocky start caused by . . . — — Map (db m85492) HM
Site of Alabama's first constitutional
convention, which began in July of 1819.
44 delegates met, debated, and
authored the document which
enabled Alabama to become the
22nd state admitted to the Union.
Restoration Partner
PPG . . . — — Map (db m154267) HM
Alabama Astronaut Joe F. Edwards flew the seeds that formed this tree aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor (OV-105). Launched on January 22, 1998, the seeds traveled with Edwards over 3.6 million miles. After 8 days, 19 hours, and 48 minutes of . . . — — Map (db m247204) HM
Dallas (Optimist) Park
1928-1949
Built in 1928, Dallas Park served as the baseball field for the Dallas Mill teams coached by H.E. "Hub” Myhand, who came to Huntsville in 1927 as physical director for Dallas Manufacturing Co. Until the . . . — — Map (db m154279) HM
Dallas Mills and Village
1892-1949
Chartered in 1890 by T. B. Dallas, Dallas Mills began operation in 1892 as Alabama's largest cotton mill, manufacturing sheeting. The mill village extended from Oakwood Ave. South to O'Shaughnessy Ave., and . . . — — Map (db m154280) HM
Discovery was named after one of the two ships used by the British explorer Captain James Cook when he discovered Hawaii and explored Alaska and northwestern Canada in the 1770s. Discovery was the third operational Shuttle and made its third . . . — — Map (db m247460) HM
This unmarked cemetery site was discovered during the relocation of a section of Meridianville Bottom Road in July 2012. Though no marked graves are present, this might be a family graveyard associated with the early settlers of Madison County. . . . — — Map (db m154283) HM
Platted in 1958, Edmonton Heights is among Huntsville's earliest planned suburbs designed for African Americans. Its development illustrates the combined effects of post-war growth and racial discrimination in federal and local housing policy upon . . . — — Map (db m277901) HM
The First National Bank of Huntsville and its predecessors:
The National Bank of Huntsville
1865-1889.
The Northern Bank of Alabama
1852-1865
(Operation suspended 1863-1865)
The Branch of the State Bank of Huntsville
1833-1852 . . . — — Map (db m27852) HM
ETO 1939-1945
I am US Army Air Force Sergeant Joe Makowski. I first served in North Africa and Italy as a B-17 Flying Fortress crewmember in the 99th Bomber Group, Twelfth Air Force. After completing 52 missions with the 99th, I could have . . . — — Map (db m85493) HM WM
The tank exhibited at the U. S. Space & Rocket Center is real. It was delivered to NASA in 1977 it was the first ever built for the shuttle program. The tank was used in the Space Shuttle Main Engine test program at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in . . . — — Map (db m98216) HM
Opened in 1944, the Fifth Avenue School became the focal point for major educational change on September 9, 1963, when Sonnie Hereford IV became the first African-American student to integrate public schools in Alabama. Following a lengthy court . . . — — Map (db m55722) HM
Housed on this site in brick building
44 ft. x 54 ft
Chartered by Mississippi Territorial Legislature December 11, 1816
Commenced operations October 17, 1817, shortly thereafter made depository for Huntsville Federal Land Office funds. . . . — — Map (db m27785) HM
Oldest Baptist Church (Missionary) in Alabama organized June 3, 1809 as the West Fork of Flint River Church. Presiding Clergy:
John Canterbury, John McCutchen and John Nicholson.
Renamed Enon Church and called John Canterbury as 1st pastor . . . — — Map (db m30378) HM
Organized June 15, 1818 by the Rev. Gideon Blackburn, D.D. One of the state’s oldest Presbyterian churches. This site was selected for the first church building, dedicated on Oct. 13, 1822. The second and present, sanctuary was dedicated on May . . . — — Map (db m121846) HM
Part of the 1892 East Huntsville Addition created by local businessmen to revitalize Huntsville and attract industry in the post-Reconstruction period. Many streets recall those individuals - Pratt, Wellman, Ward, and Wells. Huntsville's first . . . — — Map (db m44597) HM
The Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System (STS) began its flight career on April 12, 1981, with the launch of Columbia from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis flew the final . . . — — Map (db m247647) HM
On September 8, 1960, President Dwight Eisenhower formally dedicated the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as a new field installation of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) organization that had . . . — — Map (db m50147) HM
Glenwood Cemetery. Glenwood Cemetery replaced the original slave cemetery, known as "Georgia,” which had been established in 1818 and located north of the present Huntsville Hospital. Glenwood Cemetery was established in 1870 by the City of . . . — — Map (db m154245) HM
The Global War on Terrorism and Afghanistan War commenced on 11 September 2001, after Islamic terrorists hijacked and deliberately crashed four airliners in New York City, Washington D.C. and Shanksville, Pa. The following month, American air and . . . — — Map (db m85494) WM
On January 25, 1934, Oscar Goldsmith, Lawrence B. Goldsmith, Annie Schiffman Goldsmith, Robert L. Schiffman, and Strauss Schiffman gave this property to the City of Huntsville for an athletic field. The gift was in memory of Betty Bernstein . . . — — Map (db m130148) HM
These were among the last words from Apollo 1.
On January 27, 1967, the first scheduled Apollo flight, Apollo/Saturn 204, was undergoing routine launch pad tests. Soon after the crew was sealed inside the command module, a deadly fire exploded . . . — — Map (db m85495) HM
Gulf War-1991
I am Nathan Oscar Pardner, a M1A1 Tank Gunner. I came into the Army in 1988 after a year in Junior College. I was assigned to the 2nd Battalion 33rd Armor of the 3rd Armored Division in Germany. I qualified as a Master Gunner . . . — — Map (db m85531) HM WM
Harris Hill Cemetery is located Sec. 17, T3, and R1E, on the south side of Highway 72 East at the intersection of Moores Mill Road and Highway 72 East in a large clump of trees on a small rise. This is the old home place and family graveyard of . . . — — Map (db m43878) HM
Harrison Brothers, the oldest operating hardware store in Alabama, was founded in 1879 when James B. Daniel and T. Harrison opened a tobacco shop on Jefferson Street. In 1897 they purchased this building on South Side Square and expanded into the . . . — — Map (db m279904) HM
First Masonic Lodge in Alabama. Chartered Aug. 29, 1811, under the Masonic Jurisdiction of Kentucky. Original building on this site erected in 1820. — — Map (db m37907) HM
First American-made guided missile put on public display. First showing was May 14, 1953 at Huntsville, home of the world's largest rocket and guided missile research and development center, Redstone Arsenal. — — Map (db m34957) HM
(Front):Historic Viduta
"Viduta"-derived from Spanish "vida" meaning "life"
In a time when yellow fever, malaria, and cholera threatened, Dr. Thomas Fearn and his brothers Robert and George were drawn by the cool air and medicinal . . . — — Map (db m27795) HM
(Preface) Welcome to the Huntsville Water Trail at Big Spring Park, a celebration of our city's history, spirit, and ingenuity. Follow these signs to learn how the Big Spring helped shape Huntsville's creation, and how it's still helping us . . . — — Map (db m167110) HM
Site of Hotel Monte Sano, built in 1887 by the North Alabama Improvement Company with the assistance of Michael and James O’Shaughnessy. The 233-room hotel opened on June 1, 1887 and served as a health resort and haven for famous visitors including . . . — — Map (db m27796) HM
Built 1819 by H. C. Bradford, this home was later owned by John Read, John McKinley, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1837-1852), Bartley M. Lowe, M. C. Betts and Marie Howard Weeden (1846-1905) whose poetry and paintings preserve nineteenth . . . — — Map (db m221646) HM
City was scene of these "firsts" in Alabama:
1811 first town incorporated
1812 first Masonic Lodge chartered
1816 first bank incorporated
1819 first state constitution drafted
1819 first Governor inaugurated
1819 first session of . . . — — Map (db m27843) HM
The Alabama legislature authorized the Seminary on January 15, 1831. A board of trustees
owned stock in the enterprise. It replaced the Huntsville Female Academy organized in 1830. The new teaching staff, hired by Trustee James G. Birney, were . . . — — Map (db m154269) HM
Ratified in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote. To register to vote in Alabama citizens were required to meet a series of residency and property requirements, pass a literacy test, and pay a poll . . . — — Map (db m191678) HM
Ratified in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote. The Twickenham Town Chapter, NSDAR honors the history of Huntsville's pioneer suffragists, who met here at the home of Alberta Chapman Taylor . . . — — Map (db m160637) HM
fighting in the forces, which guard my country and our way of life. Welcome to your Patriots Walkway. You’re invited to take a short walk through our American military history from the Revolutionary War through today’s conflicts. Did you know our . . . — — Map (db m85533) WM
Fire towers are a symbol of forest conservation even though their original role has been replaced with aircraft surveillance. Many of the towers across the U.S. have been abandoned or destroyed making ours one of the few remaining. The 100 ft . . . — — Map (db m297521) HM
Born in Virginia; graduate of Princeton; lawyer, planter, and politician. President of the Alabama Constitutional Convention held July 5-Aug 2, 1819 in what is now Huntsville; 1 of 8 signers from Madison County; and 1 of 44 delegates from 22 . . . — — Map (db m235545) HM
The Korean War opened on 25 June 1950, when the armed forces of communist North Korea invaded South Korea and marked the first crisis faced by the newly formed United Nations. Led by the United States, a coalition of eighteen UN Nations provided . . . — — Map (db m85534) WM
(side 1)
Korean War
I am Gunnery Sergeant Robert L. Koch of Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division (the OLD BREED). I fought in the Pacific in WWII and joined the Reserves after the war. I thought I was . . . — — Map (db m85536) HM WM
(side 1)
Korean War
I am Carlos Jesus Rodriguez, Rifle Squad Leader in F(Fox) Company 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division (The Bayonet Division). I was stationed in Japan. As an occupation Army, we GIs (Government . . . — — Map (db m85535) HM WM
I am Trooper Able Freeman of the 9th Cavalry Regiment. I had been a field slave in south Alabama before and during the Civil War; but after the war, I had nowhere to go when the Union occupied the area. I wandered around living hand-to-mouth for . . . — — Map (db m85542) WM
In 1918 William Lincoln Barrell of Lowell MA. purchased Abingdon Mill and transformed it into a large textile center of all concrete construction named Lincoln Mill Village. Phillip Peeler served as its superintendent from 1934-1953. Built in 1929 . . . — — Map (db m39758) HM
Commander Jim Lovell's words initiated heroic efforts by crew and mission control to salvage a crippled spacecraft and return Apollo 13 safely to Earth.
The Apollo 13 mission is the only Apollo flight remembered primarily for the effort to . . . — — Map (db m85543) HM
Arthur H. Lowe of Fitchburg, Massachusetts,
opened Lowe Manufacturing Company in Huntsville
in 1901. Shortly after its opening, Eastern
Manufacturing Company constructed a weaving mill
on the adjacent property. The companies combined
in 1907 . . . — — Map (db m299418) HM
He proposed this pool to the residents, found the site, raised funds and crews, and put both to work. He trained residents of all ages and professions to operate bulldozers, bend and tie rebar, pour concrete, and plumb a pool. (The deck on the . . . — — Map (db m108684) HM
John Lowry moved his family from Virginia and purchased land on Meridianville Pike in 1809. He was the contractor for Madison County's first courthouse in 1811. His grandson, John Tate Lowry, a leading merchant with Lowry, Hamilton and Company, . . . — — Map (db m130812) HM
Lynching in America
More than 6,500 Black men, women, and children were the victims of lynching in the United States between 1865 and 1950. After the Civil War, many white Southerners remained committed to the ideology of racial hierarchy and . . . — — Map (db m279892) HM
Made a county in 1808 by order of Governor of Mississippi Territory.
Area ceded 1805, 1806 by Cherokees, Chickasaws.
This was the first land in Alabama ceded by these great civilized tribes. — — Map (db m27848) HM
In 1836, on these same grounds, Madison County, Alabama constructed its first courthouse.
On April 16, 1849, Madison County authorized $300 to be paid toward the purchase of a town clock and bell. On January 21, 1850, Madison County furthermore . . . — — Map (db m279553) HM
Madison Street is named after James Madison, author of the first ten Amendments to the Constitution, called "The Bill of Rights." He served as the fourth President of the United States and is often called "The Father of the Constitution." — — Map (db m279905) HM
The Pathfinder’s three main engines are real. The two lower engines powered the first flight of Columbia in 1981. The engine located at the top was used in ground test firings.
At launch, the three Space Shuttle Main Engines (fed liquid . . . — — Map (db m98026) HM
This plaque was placed here by
Citizens of Huntsville and
Madison County, Alabama,
In Honor Of
Major General H.N. Toftoy, USA.
Who was Commanding General
of Redstone Arsenal
from September 1, 1954, to March 31, 1958.
It was unveiled . . . — — Map (db m27906) HM
Once John Hunt started bringing settlers in, the town began growing fast. Within five years, LeRoy Pope — who had big plans for the area — bought Big Spring and much of the land around it, including the site of John Hunt's cabin.
Then in 1823, . . . — — Map (db m279897) HM
(side 1)
Established 1818
by the City of Huntsville
Maple Hill Cemetery
has become the final resting place of many citizens of this community. Here lie brave men who served in the major wars of our nation, many public servants, . . . — — Map (db m28791) HM
