In the Stacks: Dead Towns of Alabama

Curious about a local road trip for the summer? Interested in odd bits of lost local culture? Just curious about where some of the roads got their names? Try out W. Stuart Harris’s Dead Towns of Alabama. A encyclopedic collection of blurbs and short anecdotes about towns, settlements, and sites around the state.

The information ranges from tiny to fairly interesting, and it often fills in formative gaps for the early development of the state. The 1977 edition has a surprising lack of maps or precise locations, but it does have bits like this, about the town of Ditto’s Landing:

Situated on the north bank of the Tennessee River, this early Madison County river landing was 10 miles south of Huntsville, approximately where U.S. Highway 231 crosses the river today. John Ditto, a Pennsylvanian, was possibly the first white man to reside in what is today Madison County. He operated an Indian trading station long before the settlers came into the region. He established the first landing used by the pioneers between Chattanooga and Colbert’s Ferry.

In 1820, John Hardie operated a store at Ditto’s Landing, where he received and distributed goods for the firm of Read and White (see Mardisville). Colonel James White, who owned an ironworks and a salt firm in East Tennessee, shipped his products to Hardie by way of the river.

It goes on to say that it was later changed to Whitesburg, in honor of Colonel White.

So, maybe a hobbyist/specialist resource, but it is worth at least a browse. We have it here in the stacks as a physical book with call number F334 .H37 (this on the second floor, north section). We also have it as an ebook through our Ebsco Ebook Collection. That ebook is viewable by only one person at a time, so if it says that it is in use, try again later.

If you are curious about getting your own copy, you can order it from the University of Alabama Press, as a paperback, for $19.95. There, it is described as

This easy-to-use reference work documents the many long-vanished towns, forts, settlements, and former state capitals that were once thriving communities of Alabama.

Dead Towns of Alabama is not merely a series of obituaries for dead towns. Instead, it brings back to life 83 Indian towns, 77 fort sites, and 112 colonial, territorial, and state towns. W. Stuart Harris conjures up a wealth of fascinating images from Alabama’s rich and colorful past–images of life as the Indians lived it, of colonial life in the wilderness, of Spanish explorers and French exiles, of danger and romance, of riverboats and railroads, of plantations and gold mines, of stagecoaches and ferries. Overall, it presents a thoroughly absorbing panorama of Alabama’s early history.

Here we learn about two former capitals–St. Stephens and Cahaba–that have deteriorated to mouldering ruins now. We learn about once thriving communities–county seats, river landings and crossings, trading posts, junctions, and other settlements–that time has forgotten. Absent from most maps, these sites come alive again in Harris’s fascinating account, filled anew with the bustling activity of their former inhabitants.

First published in 1977, Dead Towns of Alabama is a unique guidebook to every region of the state. It is an invaluable resource for historians, students, tourists, and anyone interested in exploring Alabama’s interesting historical and cultural past.

Happy dead town hunting…

Database Trials — IBISWorld and CRCnetBASE Engineering ebooks

Running through March 31st, Salmon Library is providing free trial access to two databases: IBISWorld and STMnetBASE ebooks.

Billed as “The largest provider of industry information in the U.S.“, IBISWorld provides thoroughly researched, accurate and current business information. This database provides a robust selection of industry analysis for areas such as market conditions and forecasting, clearer pictures of supply chains, major products and services, key statistics, or even a means of keeping up with competitor activity in an industry. IBISWorld’s comprehensive reports will keep you informed. Marketing and new product development students and faculty will especially find this a useful tool. Click here to access now!

Offered by Taylor & Francis, this collection focuses on engineering ebooks. It includes over several cutting-edge and bestselling reference works, as well covering subject areas such as: mass transfer, chemical processing and design, power engineering, telecommunications, and structural engineering, to name a few.. With access to the latest handbooks in civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering, the Engineering Collection is definitely worth exploring for engineering related topics. Click here to access now!

 

New at the Library in 2011


It’s going to be an exciting academic year of change at the UAHuntsville Library in the 2011 – 2012 academic year.  We have a number of new features and resources this year, some which are already here and some that are coming soon.

New furniture, workspaces, and improved study rooms are coming to the library in October.

We hope to have this all installed in the building during Fall Break, and are planning an Open House the week of Homecoming at UAHuntsville.  More information will be coming, but we plan on having a free concert in the building or just outside with local Indie Folk / Acoustic band Ashlyn Maine.

Read more about our new furniture at our earlier blog post, and become a fan of Ashlyn Maine on their Facebook page.

Scopus Database Now Available

Please go to http://www.scopus.com/home.url in order to access the Scopus database now available from the UAHuntsville Salmon Library. Access has been set up via IP Authentication (on-campus only).

Scopus, launched in November 2004, is the largest abstract and citation database containing both peer-reviewed research literature and quality web sources. You can find a wealth of easily accessible information about getting the most from your Scopus access, including demos, tutorials and downloadable user guides at http://info.scopus.com

New Vending Machines on our First Floor

Students have long asked for them, and we’re happy to finally have three new vending machines available on our first floor!  There is a can machine, bottle machine, and also a snack machine available behind the copy machines on the first floor.  Drinks range in price from sixty cents to $1.25, and snacks are available for up to a dollar.

New eBook collections from Springer

A big thank you to the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL) for our new access to selected 2011 eBooks from Springer. Ebooks are available in the following collections:

Access Journals from SpringerLink

You have access to approximately 1700 American journal titles from 1997 to present on SpringerLink! The world’s most comprehensive online collection of scientific, technological and medical journals, books and reference works.

Get Searching or Click here for SpringerLink’s featured journal titles by collection

Improved Mobile Access

We’ve improved the mobile version of our website optimized for iPhones so that you can now enjoy more efficient access resources such as LibGuides, Academic Search Premiere, and much more.  You can now also search our catalog directly from your device as well!

If you are using an iPhone or iPod Touch, you will be automatically redirected to the mobile version of our site.  We also hope to have a version compatible with Android devices soon.

We hope you are all settling in well for the new academic year at UAHuntsville!  Remember, you can Ask Us Anything at the Library.  Be sure to Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter for more information.  You can also get in touch with us through either of those resources.  Even if the answer to your question isn’t in the library, we can point you to the best resource on campus to help.