Neighbors: April tours will explore area cities’ past
From The Decatur Daily
Regaling listeners with tales of bootleggers, brothel owners, murders, Civil War soldiers and civil rights activists, local historians will bring to life the historic people, places and events of north Alabama during the April Walking Tours.
The free walking tours, a statewide initiative organized by Alabama Tourism Department, expose participants to the cultural, architectural and industrial impact of cities and towns in the state.
Here’s a peek at the educational and entertaining adventures that await in Decatur, Athens and Mooresville.
Decatur
Tours led by historians John Allison, Peggy Towns, Phil Wirey, Caroline Swope and David Breland will take spectators into the history of Old Town, Old Decatur, Albany, Delano Park, Decatur City Cemetery and the city’s criminal past.
The slate of walking tours will begin April 2 with Allison offering a look into Old Decatur’s criminal history. Expect to see the sites of old saloons, brothels and murders.
“I’ll be taking people to the locations of a lot of Decatur’s more notorious crimes,” said Allison, the Morgan County archivist. “At one time, Decatur was considered one of the more dangerous cities in Alabama. It was difficult to recruit people for the police department in the early 1900s because it was perceived as so dangerous.”
To find the infamous tales, Allison searched through old newspapers, funeral book records, which included deaths due to gunshots, and Circuit Court records.
“I guarantee people that I’ll tell you some stories you’ve never heard before. A lot of them I’ve only recently found out about,” Allison said.
While running for king of Carnegie Carnival, Allison offered a similar tour of Old Decatur. Almost 100 people registered for the event. The interest came as no surprise to Allison.
“Look at the Lifetime Movie Network. Eleven months out of the year it’s just crime, and then there’s a month of Christmas movies. People love to binge watch ‘Law & Order.’ People just really have an appetite for this stuff,” Allison said.
The tour will begin at the Morgan County Archives, 624 Bank St. N.E., and feature the Railroad Depot and sites on Church Street.
On April 9, participants will explore the history of Old Town and the Scottsboro Boys.
“I want the people to come back knowing the untold stories and the rich history of Old Town,” Towns, a historian and author, said. “I don’t like to look at it so much as Black history, even though it is. It’s more so, however, the history of our town.”
During the tour, Towns will talk about the once thriving Vine Street, Mike Naime and his lion Leo, the 106th U.S. Colored Infantry, the city’s oldest hospital and Winnie Parker, the first woman of color to own a business in Decatur.
The tour, which will begin at the Turner-Surles Center, 702 Sycamore St. N.W., will highlight the business, cultural and judicial history of Old Town.
“We’ll walk in the footsteps of civil rights activists like Dr. (Joseph) Lowery, who was here for the Tommy Lee Hines trial,” Towns said.
The tour will end at First Missionary Baptist Church, which served as a gathering place during the Scottsboro Boys trial.
“It is important we tell these stories. If we don’t, they’ll get lost as they have before. It’s important that we know who we are,” Towns said.
Other tours will feature the 167-year-old Decatur City Cemetery on April 16 led by Wirey. Meet at the cemetery’s chapel. Swope will lead walkers on a tour of Delano Park and examine the architecture of Albany on April 23. Meet at the Delano Park Rose Garden. On April 30, the tours will culminate with a look at Decatur’s transportation history, including streetcars and railroads, led by David Breland. Meet at the Old State Bank.
All of the tours will begin at 10 a.m. and last an hour.
Athens
Guides will entertain walkers with the lore and legends of Athens’ historic districts, homes and city cemeteries during the Saturday walking tours.
Explore the history of the Beaty District on April 2 with Bill Ward, the 200-year-old Athens State University on April 9 with Jamie Mikell, the Houston District and the Governor Houston home on April 16 with Will Weir, and the downtown square and courthouse on April 23 with William Pepper.
Tours of the historic Donnell Home, which played a role during the Civil War, also will be available on April 9, 16 and 23, Teresa Todd, president of Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association, said.
Expect to learn about the architectural styles of the homes, the sacking of Athens by Union Col. John Basil Turchin and the opera singer’s ghost at Athens State during the walks.
Participants should meet at the Athens-Limestone Visitors Center, 100 North Beaty St., at 9:45 a.m. Tours will last 1-2 hours.
Mooresville
Walking the tree-lined streets of Mooresville, which incorporated in 1818 — year before Alabama became a state — people will hear about the historic buildings and prominent figures associated with the town.
There is the 1840 Post Office, Alabama’s oldest continuously operating post office, the 1839 Greek Revival Brick Church and the 1821 Stagecoach Inn and Tavern.
Shirley McCrary, whose grandchildren are eighth-generation Mooresvillians, said walkers also will learn about Andrew Johnson, who worked as a tailor’s apprentice in Mooresville before becoming the president of the United States, and Gen. James Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, who preached in the town’s 1854 Church of Christ.
To participate in the walking tour, park in the lot at the front of town and walk to the post office by 9:45 a.m. Expect the tour to last an hour to an hour-and-a-half.
