Articles written by kevin mckinley
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Fortune tellers once existed in Canoe
The advent of Highway 31 brought about rapid transportation between the hamlets and towns of the area. Motorists could now travel routes in a few hours that previously would have taken a half day, full day or multiple days to traverse. On April 5,...
The Gordons were progressive farmers
Newspapers in our area have always profiled local residents and their human interests pursuits. Yet in an era when most people were "closer to the earth" it was well thought of to cover farms and agri...
Capell House links past and present
While walking the trails and streets of Wilcox County one could be forgiven for seeing the boundaries between the past and present becoming blurred before their very eyes. At places like Reaves...
The last stop on Old Stage Road
The Old Stage Road provided an artery connecting remote communities in the piney wilderness of South Alabama. The mail hack, which ran twice weekly between Mobile and Greenville brought news, company...
Along the coach roads of time
In the early days of Alabama the stage coach was king of the road. It was an era of virgin pine forests, unadulterated creeks and swampy low lands which could make travel lonely and dangerous. Many...
Alabama's lost communities of the Civil War
The War Between the States (Civil War) had the dual effect of altering the fortunes of men and communities alike. Prior to the war, some rural communities experienced the spring time of their...
Do you know about Florida Cowboys?
Most people are familiar with the tales of cowboys in the Old West leading herds of cattle from Texas to places such as Kansas. Movies such as Lonesome Dove have characterized cattle drives from Texas to Montana and movies such as Monte Walsh (with...
Family life in Little Escambia
Along Pecan Lane a series of old wood frame houses provide a historical context among the modern brick homes and Flomaton Speedway. Prior to the coming of Highway 113 this street was called Sardine...
Rolling commerce in the Old South
The decades that followed the War Between the States saw dramatic changes in the way people conducted day-to-day business in relation to shopping and trade. Around the time of the war, salesmen would...
Nettie Quill was queen of the river
Alabama's rivers have always been a major transportation artery for commerce and travelers. In the early days of Alabama, flat boats and canoes made the journey down rivers and creeks carrying news...
Rumbley's relic fuels mystery
Heck Rumbley of Monroe County, Alabama set down for an interview with The Monroe Journal in 1966 regarding his father, Thomas A. Rumbley, who was a surveyor, a tax collector and a Confederate veteran...
Looking at the past to be thankful
It's a time honored tradition on Thanksgiving to enjoy a meal with loved ones and, as we age, traditions with loved ones become all the sweeter as the years pass by like a river. Yet it's easy to...
The stones of William Station Cemetery
The use of Williams Station's original cemetery continued through the first decade of the 20th century. Thereafter, many bodies were removed to Oak Hill Cemetery. Yet in the quite, lonely cemetery at...
Tales from William Station Cemetery
The Williams Station Cemetery is situated at the western end of Church Street in Atmore. Yet to find the location it becomes necessary to search and look beyond the houses at the western extreme of th...
Heartbreak from Ashley Street
It's a small cemetery unknown to many and forgotten by others. Yet the narrow sidewalk which leads to an old cemetery at the western end of Church Street in Atmore holds history and heartbreak beneath its fading tombstones and grass covered...
Spooky traditions & tall tales
According to the dictionary, collective memory "refers to the shared pool of memories, knowledge and information of a social group that is significantly associated with the group's identity." For the...
Number please: Canoe's phone system
A slender young man in dusty overalls walked across the plank sidewalk from the busy wooden structure in downtown Williams Station known as the Carney Commissary in the early 1890s and towards his...
Life and death along the creek banks
Mrs. Annie C. Waters describes Sardine as "The northeastern area of Township 2N, Range 7E and has at different times been known as Sardine, Magnolia, and Stanley Cross Roads." Yet beyond the legal...
Sardine cans along the creek bank
The ghosts of our not so distant past haunt us every day. Not in the sense of apparitions and spirits floating through the air necessarily but the haunting is to be found off the roadsides and the...
Along the banks of Sizemore Creek
A whisper echoing through a gentle breeze, willow trees that witnessed life and death and an old white oak that stands in silent repose while holding in her wisdom acquired over a century of being...
A great victory at Chickamauga
As the morning of September 20, 1863 began, Confederate forces stood defiant amidst the hard won ground of the previous day's fighting. Longstreet's men now supported Bragg's fledgling forces and Lt....
Pinkney McKinley and the Bermuda Triangle
On a recent trip to Conecuh County I found myself with a few minutes to spare so I stopped by the library in Evergreen to do some light research on a McKinley ancestor who had lived in Conecuh in the...
Monroe Booker's Mill full of interesting history
After leaving the Antioch Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, we continued our way to Booker’s Mill. Relying on GPS proved to be a fallacy in the journey in that it took us down a dirt lane called Twin Bridges Road which led nowhere but it did...
Monroe Co. obits offer glimpse into past
The history of Southwest Alabama is like a patch work quilt composed of the lives of everyone who has called the area home. Each patch of the quilt tells a story and adds color to our area's history....
Dr. D.D. Cole and his adventures in Eliska
The Alabama River is a place of rich history and ancient cultures. Native Americans roamed the rivers in a time before the arrival of Europeans and thereafter Europeans mapped and settled the area....
