Leeds Scenic Byway News & Events

End-Of-Year Thank You Letters Are In The Mail

Pat Hall — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:40:42 GMT

End Of Year Thank You Letters Are In The Mail

2007 end-of-year Thank You Letters are currently in the mail. If your 2007 donation to LSBMT is tax-deductible, and you do not receive your letter before February 15, 2008, contact pat@leedsscenicbyway.

Byway Has New Oakridge Welcome Station -- First Official Service is a Genealogy Workshop

Pat Hall — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:16:10 GMT

New Welcome Station to Host St. Clair Historical Society Genealogy Workshop

Where: Leeds-St. Clair County
Oakridge Welcome Station
1445 Ashville Road

Keynote Speaker
Robert Davis
Shiloh Cemetery Survey Available
Lunch on your own, Cemetery Walk , Historic Cedar Grove Church
Within ¼ mile

When: Saturday February 09 9:00 a. m.

COST $20.00
Send Reservation Checks to
Ann Coupland
150 Ware, Ave.
Odenville, AL 35120

Workshop Location
JFS Allstate Agency
1445 Ashville Road
(Across from Cedar Grove Church
Leeds/St. Clair County )
Alabama Historic Scenic Byway Oakridge Welcome Station

Historic Leeds Wall Mural Restoration Project

Pat Hall — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:40:39 GMT

SPONSORS SUPPORT THE NEXT STAGECOACH STOPS PRINTING

Pat Hall — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:14:38 GMT

Update of Calendar Sponsors for second reprint and 2008-2009:

Monkey's Uncle full page

Leeds Commercial Development Board full page patron sponsor

Don and Jean Mock; Donald Mock II and Joseph (Pep) Mock 3/4 page

Otis Stewart full page

Donations:

Eddie and Carol Phillips

Tom Hall

John Looney Family in Springfield, MO

Pat Hall — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:24:05 GMT

From: "Pat Hall"

Here's an interesting piece - while we do not believe that this is the same John Looney of the Pioneer House in St. Clair County, Alabama - there in all probability is a family connection somewhere along the line. The information is simply fascinating and the way that the local community leaders dealt with the information is particularly interesting for its openness, caring and compassion.

----- Original Message -----

From: Ann Coupland

To: Paulette Gilchrist ; Pat Hall ; Joe Whitten ; Jean Smith ; Carolynne Scott

Sent: Friday, August 31, 2007 3:00 PM

Subject: Check this out!

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ozarks Local News		Published Friday, August 31, 2007

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Gravesite now a historical landmark

Site near Willard is resting place for pioneer, his slaves.

Wes Johnson
News-Leader

As a young boy, Joe Cosby remembers standing on a jumbled pile of weathered stones, tossing rocks into the weeds to flush rabbits.

"I didn't know it was a grave," said Cosby, a former mayor of Willard.

Ironically, that pile of hand-hewn stones marked the burial site of John Looney, a distant relative.

It also marked the resting place of Looney's slaves.

On Saturday, Looney's burial ground will be designated a Greene County Historic Site, the first such recognition for a burial plot.

Looney established a farm northwest of the future town of Willard in 1831 and died in 1839. He was one of the earliest pioneers to settle in what would become Greene County.

In later years, as Cosby worked to restore the grave site, he unearthed even more of his relative's past.

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While clearing the site, Cosby dug up two nameless headstones only a few feet away from Looney's grave.

Greene County Historical Society researchers now know they mark the graves of slaves that Looney owned.

Flanked by tall trees at the edge of a cornfield, the graves tell the story of a different era, decades before the Civil War put an end to slavery.

"I don't believe we know of another single gravesite as early and historic as this," said Louise Jackson, chairwoman of the Greene County Historic Sites Board. "It was clearly marked and has been carefully maintained by the family."

Jackie Warfel, a Historic Sites Board researcher, said John Looney gave his last name to the slaves he owned.

The Looney name — both black and white — flowed through Springfield history through their descendants.

Relatives from both lineages plan to attend Saturday's ceremony, many arriving from out of state.

Looney, who homesteaded 160 acres northwest of Willard in 1831, owned eight slaves at the time of his death.

Their names and property value — Peter ($850), Henry ($800), James ($750), Lot ($550), Lige ($450), Carey ($325), Haner ($125), Carline ($125) — were noted in a handwritten accounting of his estate.

Warfels said Looney family members bought the slaves after John's death and later emancipated them.

"You have to remember this was a time when owning slaves was common," she said. "Slaves sold for $800 to $900 and land went for $1.25 an acre. A landowner's wealth was in his slaves."

Warfel said she hopes publicity about the historic site may help identify all who were laid to rest there.

"We don't know the names of the two that were buried here," Warfel said. "We think there are five graves, but only two have been found."

Father Moses Berry, curator of Ozarks Afro-American Heritage Museum in Ash Grove, and Denny Whayne, a Springfield city councilman, plan to attend Saturday's ceremony.

Both trace their lineage to John Looney's slaves.

"Someone asked me recently if it was odd that slaves were buried in the same area as their master," Berry said. "To me, it shows relationship. People back then worked together no matter what hardships they faced. They lived together, died together. History is not flat — it has all kinds of dimensions."

Berry said it's wrong to think the close proximity of the graves indicated the master was a benevolent slave owner.

"The institution of slavery itself is contrary to benevolence," Berry said. "Was he a benevolent slave owner? That's an oxymoron. A loving slave owner? Perhaps."

Whayne applauded marking the graves as a historic site.

"It's historic because there hasn't been any knowledge to these graves until now," Whayne said. "History can be exciting. The more you research the more you find. This state was a slave state, but a lot of people may not know that."

Springfieldians Ralph and Evelyn Looney have reams of information about John Looney — Ralph's great-great-great-great grandfather.

Evelyn Looney said the stories of many Greene County pioneer families already have been told.

"I think it's great that the Looney story is being told," she said. "I think it's especially important for people in Willard to know how their area got its start."

Cosby, who restored the grave site, said he remembers climbing through the old, two-story log home that John Looney built at the site that's now a dairy farm.

"I stayed all night in that house many a time," he recalled. "It had little slots cut in the sides that were gun ports. John wasn't sure if the Indians were friendly."

The log home decayed over the years and eventually was torn down in the 1970s.

The only evidence of John Looney's presence today is his grave, and those of his slaves.

"These were the first people that walked on this land, except for the Native Americans," Warfel said. "This site could could have easily been bulldozed over. A lot of them have been."

Museum Hours

Pat Hall — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 19:46:18 GMT

The Leeds Historical Society's Bass House Museum (circa1863-1865) is now open to the public on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Group tours of the museum, located at 1129 Montevallo Road in Leeds, can be scheduled any day of the week. but must be arranged in advance by calling Mary Lou Goodson at 699-8817. No admission fee is charged, but visitors may wish to make a donation to the Leeds Historical Society. The museum, which showcases local history, is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day

Rowan Oaks Historical Home (circa 1904), at 1900 Montevallo Road in Leeds, can be rented for special events, such as meetings, teas, parties, weddings, rehearsal dinners, receptions, anniversary parties and vow renewals. For information and prices, contact Loretta Veasey at 699-8253.

Historian; Executive Director

Pat Hall — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 09:08:10 GMT

I am the Executive Director of Leeds Scenic Byway known as Alabama's Stagecoach Route Through Leeds. This byway connects Ashville, Alabama--early home of a known John Looney--and Montevallo, Alabama. It is the longest length of daily traveled stagecoach route between these entities, and it links the culture. I not only serve as Executive Director of Leeds Scenic Byway but also as Director of educational outreach for the John Looney House in Ashville, Alabama. The house has been restored and kept by St. Clair Historical Society since 1972.

Comment: Wes, as you can see, I am a director type and do not have the skills to register with your site blog. It will be next week before I can work with my technical assistant to add a blog to your site. However, I think it is you who sent me the faxed information about the John Looney gravesite along with the sketch of the Missouri John Looney House that no longer exists. I looked at your site today. I wanted you to know that a team of our genealogists are working on a possible connection with your Looneys, and that the neighbors at Willard and Springfield are invited to come to John Looney House, Ashville, AL on October 13, 2007, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., for a laid back day at a pioneer log home probably very like the one you have lost in your neighborhood. Congratulations on finding and preserving that old grave site. Way to go, Springfield/Willard! It looks like you are into historic preservation and low impact development.

I am guessing at what your email would be; I hope you get this.

I enjoyed our conversation yesterday, and I was glad to hear about your Montgomery Advertiser connection.

Reply if you get this one and you are the agreeable reporter that chatted with me yesterday, August 31,2007.

Pat

WHO WE ARE; WHAT WE ARE; WHERE WE ARE

Pat Hall — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 09:13:25 GMT

Earlier this year , the National Scenic Byways program officially announced the Stagecoach Route at Leeds to be Alabama's newest scenic byway. Since that time, the Leeds Scenic Byway's management team has been working hard to protect, preserve and promote the byway and to bring tourists to downtown Leeds.

The Leeds area already draws 2.5 million out-of-state guests annually to Barber Motorsports and other nearby tourist attractions. Bass Pro Shops, when it opens next year, will bring even more tourists to the immediate vicinity of Leeds.

The byway follows the Highway 119/411 corridor, which remains on the road to everywhere in Alabama. The Leeds byway is the perfect companion to other central Alabama tourist attractions and a place from which to launch one-day trips to recreational areas in three counties.

The byway management team is a tax-exempt nonprofit public charity appointed as the stewardship organization for the Leeds byway. The role of the management team is to preserve, promote and protect the byway. Members of the board include Carl Marbury, Chris McLaughlin, Pat Hall, Hayes Parnell III, Carol Phillips, John Saddler, Cary Kennedy, Donna Lynn Isbell and Willa Dean Hinson.

Lifetime members include those who served as a corridor advocacy group promoting the naming of the stagecoach route through Leeds. These members include citizens and officials from Jefferson, Shelby and St. Clair counties as well as representatives from Leeds clubs, homeowners groups and city council members. Membership is free to interested individuals. Interested individuals should contact a board member.

As an initial promotion, the management team published Stagecoach Stops, an 18-month event calendar that features historic downtown Leeds and includes scenic and historic photos of the byway as well as a list of attractions and events. Copies of the calendar will be available in a limited number at Rowan House, Bass House Museum, and the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce.

This publication was made possible by grants from Alabama Tourism and Alabama Power as well as private donations. At the time of this writing, copies of the first printing are already taken. Because interested community leaders are backing the publication, the byway team is preparing a newly revised edition two of the calendar to be released early in September. Every attempt will be made to provide calendars to the public.

Future plans are promising. The Alabama Scenic Byways Commission and the state tourism bureau are developing directional signs for the byway that will be on the major freeways and U.S. Highway 280. Also, the 2007-2008 official Alabama highway map will feature Leeds as a scenic attraction.

In addition, Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel, visited Leeds and toured the byway earlier this year. He has since provided four historic markers for Leeds locations; one is for the Bass House Museum, two for the Depot and one for the Shiloh Cemetery.

Alabama Power and the Leeds Chamber of Commerce are partnering with the byway team in presenting a leadership conference about developing a strong Leeds byway program that will add to the tourism package of the greater Birmingham area.The byway management team is finalizing plans for the August 25 conference. Leaders from organizations and businesses will bring ideas about marketing a scenic, historic area steeped in Southern Appalachian heritage.

Alabama's Stagecoach Route Through Leeds emerged from the American War of 1812 and its indian skirmishes. More than 22 markers in Leeds document the stagecoach road.

More than 33 homes, businesses, churches and cemeteries appear on the eight-mile byway through Leeds. They display county, state or national markers. Leeds Historical Society opens to the public, by appointment, Rown House Stagecoach Stop at state Highway 119 and Elliott Lane as well as the Bass House Museum at state Highway 119 and Leslie Street.

The historical park two blocks south of the Bass House Museum displays a monument to the three Medal of Honor recipients who were Leeds natives. Leeds is considered to have the most Medal of Honor recipients per capita in the United States.

Bridges along state Highway 119 and U.S. Highway 411 through Leeds have markers identifying the historic Little Cahaba River. The river is uniquely beautiful and entwined with early Alabama history.

The stagecoach road through Leeds travels beside the Little Cahaba River when not crossing it. Among the Cahaba Valley's historic treasures are American Indian archives and horse and cattle farms. Historic homes, churches, businesses and cemeteries cluster into the city of Leeds.

Today, nature enthusiasts enjoy the Leeds scenic setting for bicycling, canoeing, horseback riding, nature photography and fishing. Canoe, flat-boat and houseboat rentals are available at lake Purdy. Local horse farms offer riding lessons.

Bank-side fishing is free, and picnic sites locate beside the Little Cahaba River. Turning off state Highway 119 onto Zeigler Road leads about a mile west to Bass Pro Shops and Barber Vintage Motorsports.

Turning east at state Highway 119 and Parkway Drive leads to Old-town downtown Leeds, which was incorporated in 1887. Leeds is a tree city and a bird sanctuary. Flowers on downtown streets display each season's hues. Shops, a theater and art center, a library and more flourish in the Old-town district. The Leeds cement plant's downtown office building was designed by acclaimed 1930s industrial architects.

The 9th Street District, north off Parkway Drive, is listed on the National Register of Historic Districts. The Historic Depot and Davis House located here are open to the public by appointment. Here, restored buildings house shops.

Three blocks north, 9th street becomes Whitmire Street, and, two blocks farther north, it intersects with U.S. Highway 411.

Two blocks south of the traffic light, Shiloh Cemetery, the oldest Cumberland Presbyterian burial ground in middle Alabama, has graves dating as early as 1819.

Continuing north leads to I-20. Sites along this route include historic homes and churches. Cedar Grove Cemetery was a 19th-century burial ground.

Ultimately, Leeds is "Central Park" to largely urban Jefferson County. It is a getaway for those who love nature and a small-town atmosphere but also like the cultural and social events of a large city with arts, a zoo, theater and more. The new scenic byway threads itself through he landscape, knitting a very promising tourism package.

Pat

As you can see, we have our Leeds Scenic Byway website and our News & Events information page up and running. Please feel free to add relevant information about events concerning the Leeds Scenic Byway area to our information page. Your input is always welcome!