Air Date: September 3, 2024
Ms. Jasponica Florence, chair of the local arrangements committee for the AHA’s 2024 Fall Pilgrimage to Phenix City, discusses the history of Phenix City (beginning with why the city name does not have an “O”); the pre-meeting tour sites in Russell County, AL; the Pilgrimage tour sites in Phenix City (with special emphasis on the Franchise Baptist Church and South Girard School); and the special program devoted to antebellum enslaved / manumitted bridge builder and native son Horace King.
Links referenced in the interview:
Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/
Fall 2024 AHA Newsletter (download PDF): https://www.alabamahistory.net/_files/ugd/3aaf16_7bf43642929b4d948f835115a0123a4f.pdf
Phenix City (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/phenix-city/
Movie, “The Phenix City Story,” 1955: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048488/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk ; (EOA) https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/the-phenix-city-story/
Ft. Benning / Ft. Moore (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Moore
Crawford Masonic Lodge (Historical marker Database): https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=111586
Crockettsville Store Museum: https://www.citizenofeastalabama.com/news/local_history/gazebo-crockettsville-general-store-open/article_34ff6bf8-8547-5972-976a-a3518c63170b.html
Ft. Mitchell (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/fort-mitchell/
Jones Store Museum: https://www.citizenofeastalabama.com/news/local/jones-museum-smiths-station-celebrates-opening-of-historic-jones-store-museum/article_8db09708-9a9a-5a51-b6c6-7d13316995df.html
Museum of Wonder: https://museumofwonder.com/
Russell County Courthouse at Seale (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_County_Courthouse_at_Seale
Horace King (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/horace-king/
Tom Lenard’s documentary, “Horace: The Bridge Builder King” (1995-96), part I: https://youtu.be/4qQWPX3oaNU?si=eYGI1Ijsg_W663PX
Albert Patterson (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/albert-l-patterson/
Phenix City Old Post Office (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenix_City_Post_Office_Building
Russell County Courthouse (EOA): https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/media/russell-county-courthouse/
South Gerard School (Historical Marker Database): https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=253870
Trinity United Methodist Church: https://www.trinityumcpc.org/
New Central Missionary Baptist Church (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/NewCentralmbc8
Franchise Baptist Church: https://www.franchisebaptist.org/our-history/
Whitewater Rafting in Phenix City: https://alabamarecreationtrails.org/trail/chattahoochee-river-whitewater-phenix-city/
_Overcoming Twenty-Five Years of Separate but Unequal_ (iPublisher, 2021): https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/821211-overcoming-25-years-of-separate-but-unequal
Rather read? Here's a link to the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3m3v6z3z
*Just a heads up – the provided transcript is likely to be less than 100% accurate.
The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff and its associate producer is Laura Murray.
Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website www.alabamahistory.net.