The Light of the Bridge

The sky was a soft blue on a spring day when I photographed 

this light in Heritage Village.

This is the original light that stood at the Edmund Pettus Bridge from 1940 

until the 1960s. (See yesterday's post for Signs, Signs.) The light was saved

 by the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society. 

Linking to Skywatch Friday and City Daily Photo Blogs

Where Oh Where?

Anybody know where this sign is located in Selma?

The plaque is attached to the pole of the original light used 

on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The light was used from 1940

 to circa 1960 and restored by the

 Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society. 

Linking to Signs, Signs and City Daily Photo Blogs

Saving the Historic YMCA

 "It has been said that, at its best, preservation engages the past in a conversation

 with the present over a mutual concern for the future."

 William J. Murtagh, Keeping Time: The History and Theory of Preservation in America 

It's  Q Week over at ABC Wednesday, and this QUOTATION about historic preservation works well with the tremendous task of saving Alabama's first YMCA.

Touring the renovation progress with members of the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society is Selma Mayor George Evans, right. The society purchased the 1885 building and is working to stabilize it for further restoration and future use. Donations are welcome!  

Linking to ABC Wednesday and City Daily Photo Blogs 

Corn Grits

What could be more rural AND more southern than stone-ground grits?

Corn grits are sold at Kenan's Mill during special events such as the 

Kenan's Mill Fall Festival and  Spring Pilgrimage. Maintaining a mill like this

 is quite a job, and the creek doesn't always flow so swiftly.

 But it's  an historic site worth saving and an ongoing project

 of the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society. 

Linking to Rural Thursday and City Daily Photo Blogs  

K is for Karlyn

Did you KNOW that Dallas County once had several thousand farmers, 

that fear of the boll weevil prompted the hiring of our first county extension agent

 or that numerous black-owned businesses once lined Selma's Lapsley Street?

Duke University graduate student KARLYN Forner shared her research

 of Selma's socio-economic and political highlights from 1910-1920 at Tuesday's

 quarterly meeting of the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society.

 She's researching the 20th Century history of our town for her dissertation

 and previously shared the decade from 1900-1910.

 Now, we're looking forward to the next decade!

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the Letter of the Week is K!

Siegel's Servants Quarters

Most of the little houses like this one have long ago been torn down,

 but the Siegel's Servants Quarters has a home in Heritage Village.

 Built around 1900, the building is on the Historic Register.

 Historic Village is the project of the

 Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society. 

Several small, historic structures were moved to this site. 

The village is annually featured on the Selma Pilgrimage,

 and this year will feature demonstrations of early crafts such as 

basket weaving, pottery, quilting and soap making.

 (I hear that there may be a few chickens and goats too!) 

Touring Kenan's Mill

Visitors to the Kenan's Mill Festival on Saturday tour the interior and hear how cornmeal was made. This mill was built in the 1860s and ground meal until the 1970s. It was restored by the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society, and the grounds can be rented for special events at reasonable rates.  

More photos on the Kenan's Mill Facebook page!

Y'all Come to the Kenan's Mill Festival!

This festival is always a treat! 

Not only is the food delicious, but the live music is superb, and you get to see cornmeal ground at the 1860's gristmill. 
Don't forget to buy some! Oh, and  stone-ground grits are for sale too!

Cross the swinging bridge across Valley Creek to see the old brick kiln, but if you'd rather not take that challenge,
head back across the iron bridge to take the trail from there.

Tour the miller's house, then sit upon a bale of hay 
or your lawn chair and listen to the music!

Kids and adults will both enjoy tractor-pulled hayrides, and somewhere in the midst of all this,
a team of investigators will share their findings of unusual sights and sounds at Kenan's Mill. 
You might be surprised...or NOT!

Saving the Historic YMCA

Selma's historic YMCA building on Broad Street is falling down, and while some want to raze it, others want to save it.

A standing-room only crowd attended a presentation held by the Historic Preservation Society the other night, and now a committee will meet with the owner, the city and an architect.

Built in 1885, the YMCA building was the first in Alabama and one of the first in the South. At right, Linda Derry, chairman of a Black Belt Heritage Area committee, informs the audience via slides.

Special thanks to guest photographer Jacque Johnson.

Shadows (May Theme Day)

It's May Theme Day for the City Daily Photo Blogs, and SHADOWS is the subject.

These shadows are found at the entrance of the former Tremont School, Selma's first high school on Tremont Street. The early 20th Century building was designed during the Progressive Era of American education and featured big windows to allow sunlight, "nature's great disinfectant," inside. It also had a gymnasium and rooms for domestic arts and manual training. The school board acted upon a recommendation to install a work of art such as "Boys Playing on Trumpets." Sure enough, that's the plaster replica that was found near its entrance.

The school has been owned by the City of Selma since 1957 and used for storage. Today, it's a proposed restoration project of the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society.

To see more photos and information on Tremont School, click HERE.

To continue your journey of shadows around the world,
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Corner of Heritage Village

Here's a view of the corner of Heritage Village at Mabry Street and McLeod Avenue.

The 19th Century structures in the background include a doctor's office, law office, tenant house and pigeoncote. The village is a project of the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society.

Directly behind the butterfly sculpture is the historic circa 1850 Gillis House.

Pilgrim's Rest

Society's Queen City Swallowtail found a shady spot to rest in the Mabry Street corner of Heritage Village.

This butterfly sculpture was painted by Candi Duncan and is sponsored by the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society.
For an inside view of the wings, click HERE.

The Historic Selma Pilgrimage & Antique Show is the Society's next big event March 20-22, and the 19th Century law and doctor's offices, servant quarters and pigeon cote are among many venues that will be open for visitors.

Click the photo to see a larger view.

The Foundry

Steam engines...cotton presses...iron and brass castings...locomotive engines...boilers...and tons of other equipment. All were manufactured at some time at The Foundry. Significant in Selma as an American Industrial Revolution site, it may also have supported the Confederate Naval Arsenal, which was burned after the 1865 Battle of Selma. However, the earliest documentation for work done there is 1869.
The Foundry will be on tour during Selma's Historic Pilgrimage March 14-16, and visitors can view some of the equipment used during a succession of industrial progress.

The Pigeon Cote

Ever had pigeon for dinner? Apparently, this bird was an item a century or more ago. This old pigeon cote on the grounds of Heritage Village is an historic structure. It was built back when pigeons were raised for food. To see more pigeon cotes, some of which are centuries old, follow this link.