In the first half of the twentieth century, Phenix City, Alabama became a notorious haven of crime. Prohibition in Alabama began in 1915 (ended in 1933) and Phenix City developed as a large-scale alcohol manufacturing and distribution hub, along…
From the Creek game of stickball ( from which the game of lacrosse developed) in the nineteenth century along the banks of the river, to the twenty-first century whitewater rafting, Columbus’ recreation history is rich and colorful. Recreation…
In June 1832, local entrepreneur Daniel McDougald and Robert Collins from Macon paid $35,000 for the one square mile grant directly across the Chattahoochee from Columbus that the Treaty awarded to mixed blood Benjamin Marshall. They published in the…
White's Books and Stationary and Bonita Photo-plays movie gallery advertising Cap'n Kidd directed by J. P. McGowan with five cars parked on 12th Street.
Owned by William Young, the Eagle Mill was built in 1851. Throughout the city, seventy percent of the mill workers were women and children as they had small and more dexterous hands, and they were cheaper to hire. During the Civil War, Columbus…
Born into slavery in South Carolina, Horace King (1807-1885) and his owner John Godwin moved to Columbus in 1832 to support the rapid development of recently ceded Creek lands. King and Godwin’s initial contract was Columbus’ first bridge…
Since their founding in the mid-19th century, the Iron Works and One Arsenal Place first manufactured agricultural tools for the local plantation economy. During the Civil War, these facilities became a lead producer of textiles and gunboat parts for…
The Creek Indians, British, and Spanish colonists had established trading relationships in the American southeast since the seventeenth century. The Creeks were adept diplomats between these two European powers. However, the newly formed nation of…
There were settlements on both banks of the Chattahoochee prior to the founding of Columbus. The community of Wewoka was home to three hundred people who lived in log cabins and tents along the eastern banks of the river. Residents were involved in…