William Basil Wood
“The Father of Florence” – Florence Times, August 1, 1890 WILLIAM BASIL WOOD – A leading citizen of the Early day of Florence. Born Oct 20, 1820 in Nashville. Died April 3, 1891 in Florence. A quote from the Florence Times upon…
Category People
Biographies and influential residents.
The Crosby-Lambert House: A 2nd Frank Lloyd Wright House in the Shoals Alabama
Crosby-Lambert House A color rendering of the Crosby-Lambert House. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1958 at a proposed cost of $35,000. Though construction never began, the house was destined for Colbert County, Alabama. A single-story, flat-roofed one-bedroom residence of…
C.S. Tarpley, Esq.
Studying an 1837 map of Florence, Alabama we noticed, along what is now West Irvine, a large plot of land owned by an unknown person named C.S. Tarpley, Esq. Unknown, because it isn’t a name that we recognized from that…
Helen Keller’s Life and Legacy in Tuscumbia, Alabama
Helen Keller, born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1880, is one of the most inspirational figures in American history. Despite being rendered blind and deaf at just 19 months old, Keller overcame these immense obstacles and became a renowned author, political…
How John Coffee Preserved a Forgotten Chapter of Cherokee History
By 1829, the Cherokee Nation in the Southeast was under enormous pressure. Georgia was pushing to extend its authority over Cherokee lands, white settlers were moving into disputed territory, and the federal government was moving steadily toward a policy of…
J.P. Phelps: The Inventive Photographer from Sheffield
Meet J.P. Phelps, a man who made significant contributions to the world of photography in the late 1800s. Born in Muscatine, Iowa in 1848, Phelps quickly gained a reputation for producing superior-quality photographs and even ventured into the world of…
W.S. Canaday: From Barbershop to Spiritual Medium & Healer
In the late 19th century, amidst the bustling streets of Florence, a former barber named Winfield Scott Canaday of Indiana embarked on a fascinating new venture. He opened a unique establishment on South Court Street that caught the attention and…
Ferdinand Sannoner: The Man Who Named Florence
Ferdinand Sannoner was born in Tuscany, Italy in 1793. He was a highly educated individual who was a multilingual master at the age of sixteen. Sannoner was a highly regarded engineer at the age of eighteen. He worked as an…
Frances Hook’s Unforgettable Journey in the Civil War
In the annals of history, tales of courage and sacrifice often emerge from unexpected quarters. One such remarkable story is that of Frances Hook, a 14-year-old girl from Chicago, whose unwavering devotion to her brother led her to disguise herself…
Robert Cloud of Tuscumbia, Alabama
Robert Cloud was born on May 4, 1844, in Marshall County, Mississippi. At the age of sixteen, Cloud went to Arkansas and enlisted in Company E, Tenth Arkansas Regiment. He was quickly afterwards taken out of service by his father…