Local history resource spotlight: UAH archives
MADISON – Gold mines of local history are sitting right in front of us.
Thanks to local history pioneers such as Frances Cabaniss Roberts, John Rankin, Beverly S. Curry, Percy Keel, and many others, countless artifacts and oral stories that document the history of Madison, Huntsville, and greater North Alabama are preserved in archives, offices, and record centers around the region.
UAH’s archives is one of those places and is unique for its well-rounded assortment of Alabama history, political history, and space history.
It boasts some of the most consequential collections of Alabama history, including the Frances Cabaniss Roberts, Harbor P. Jones, Harrison Brothers Hardware, Huntsville Housing Authority, and Goldsmith-Schiffman collections. These collections contain artifacts of family histories, land ownership, store ledgers, 1960s urban renewal, and temple records.
The UAH archives also hold the collections of Alabama representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives Robert “Bob” Jones and Robert “Bud” Cramer, and U.S. Senator John Sparkman.
The archives’ collections on space history also tie Huntsville to national and international developments. The John P. Rankin and a former chief engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center David Mobley collections repre- sent two Madison residents who left their artifacts and records in personal historical collections at UAH. The Saturn V collection details the achievements and technical work of the Apollo program. What’s more, the collections of the German Operation Paperclip scientists like Ernst Stuhlinger, and Konrad Dannenberg show a human interest side to space history with personal letters, home movies, and artifacts from their wives and children.
“I think maybe that’s what separates our archive and what we collect from a lot of other places that collect space history is it’s not just the technical documentation. It’s also the human story and kind of how the Germans acclimated to life here in Huntsville,” explained Archivist Drew Adan.
UAH’s science fiction collection documents the imaginative side of space history and the space program’s impact on popular culture with over 6,000 books and periodicals.
UAH’s extensive oral history collection adds yet another layer to space history with voice recordings of scientists sharing their firsthand, personal perspectives in casual conversation on the Apollo program and their lives in Huntsville.
Oral history continues to be a significant part of UAH’s efforts to preserve local history and tell it in a unique and personal way. Every Friday, the archive team interviews Redstone Arsenal military and NASA personnel on their work and contributions to America’s defense and space programs.
Many of these oral histories are among the items from the archives that are readily available to the public online. UAH makes many digitized documents and artifacts accessible to the public at home through their online database, LOUIS, and JSTOR.
“We’re one of the few departments on campus that’s available to anyone in the public,” said Adan.
UAH archives is not only a resource for the community but the community is a resource for the archives as well.
“So, we engage with the public coming in to utilize our materials and then also as donors,” said Adan. “All of our material comes in through donations from the public, and part of that is generated by us going out in the community and making sure that people are aware of what we collect, the types of materials that we have and making the case that we are the best home for these materials and that we’ll provide them a long-term home and provide access to those materials for researchers that are interested in kind of looking into their legacies.”
The UAH archives webpage is a great place to start a journey into learning about and preserving local history and exploring what the archives has to offer. Many digitized items and further information on the archives are available at libguides.uah.edu.
