The first comprehensive, illustrated history of Alabama's railroad system

The Indiana, Alabama & Texas Railroad emerged from a proposal to build a line between Mobile, Alabama, and Evansville, Indiana. Despite its grand plans, the railroad completed only about 30 miles of narrow gauge track from Clarksville, Tennessee, toward Princeton, Kentucky. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad purchased the railroad in 1886 and converted the line to standard gauge. The Louisville & Nashville abandoned the route, later known as the Clarksville & Princeton Branch, in May 1933, relegating it to the history books. Author Todd DeFeo recounts the captivating story of this largely forgotten railroad.

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. The WPA Guide to Alabama takes the reader on a journey of through the heart of Dixie, from the Gulf coast to the rich Black Belt region and the scenic Cumberland Plateau. First published in 1941, the guide goes beyond the popular images of cotton fields and plantation houses of the old south and brings to light the “magic” of Birmingham’s burgeoning manufacturing industry, the vibrant university life in Tuscaloosa, and, in Mobile, the cultural diversity of Alabama’s port city. The guide includes striking photos of Southern poverty during the Depression.

Many of the people and events in Blount County history are well documented. Others, not so much. This book of essays is an attempt to revisit some of the well known events of our county's past, add a little more background, and present our history from a Blount County point of view. In addition to illuminating some familiar topics, this book attempts to bring to light people and events who played significant roles in the development of Blount, but were somehow overlooked or skimmed over by the primary reference books-people and events which were the topic of conversation among our ancestors but over time, have been forgotten. These fun to read tales will promote a greater understanding of the history of Blount County.

Of unique interest to the student of nineteenth century America is this account of the Alabama Clays, who in their private life were typical of the slaveholding aristocracy of the old South, but as lawyer-politicians played significant roles in state and national politics, in the development of the Democratic party, and in the affairs of the Confederacy. In the period from 1811 to 1915, the Clays were involved in many of the great problems confronting the South. This study of the Clay family includes accounts of the wartime legislation of the Confederate Congress and the activities of the Confederate Commission in Canada. Equally interesting to many readers will be the intimate view of social life in ante-bellum Washington and the story of the domestic struggles of a plantation family during and after the war, as revealed through the letters of Clement Claiborne Clay and his wife Virginia.

Compiled by workers of the Writers' Program of the Works Projects Administration in the State of Alabama. Sponsored by the Alabama State Planning Commission.

Chapter Twelve. The State and Social Welfare -- Chapter Thirteen. Conclusion -- Appendix -- Bibliography -- Index