2026 Aug 7, Visiting Maury County and First Friday with Travel Lady Lawrenceburg.

 We stopped at Hardie's in Loretto for breakfast, where I ordered a sausage, cheese, and biscuit. Hubby ordered a ham and biscuit. We traveled to Loretto Faith Baptist Church, where we parked along with several others and waited for our bus. We loaded onto the Elixir Starship bus with driver Steve Carter. Steve had picked up a group in Florence, and now we were headed to pick up a group at First Baptist Church in Lawrenceburg. We were on our way by 8 A.M., stopping in Mt Pleasant to pick up four more people. 

Our first stop was St. John's Church (Episcopal Church Ashwood) in Mt. Pleasant. It was built by Leonidas Polk in the early 1800s. We were greeted by our guide, who invited us inside the church, where we learned about its history. Built around 1841, now used only for special occasions, burials, and Whitsunday. 

He also told us that the church was broken into and sustained significant damage, and that they now have a security system to alert them to vandals. 

We walked outside to visit the cemetery, where several members of the Polk family are buried, among others. This tombstone was interesting: Trezevant (Ted) Yeatman III. Born Dec 16, 1951, died Nov 1, 2009. He was a historian and biographer of Frank and Jesse James. (a bank robber).

We thanked our guide and rode to our next stop, Rattle and Snap Mansion Museum. Rattle and Snap was built for George Washington Polk, a son of William Polk. His brother, Lucius Junius Polk, built Hamilton Place; he married the grandniece of Rachel Donaldson Jackson, the wife of President Andrew Jackson. 

Col WM Polk built Ashwood Hall for Leonidas Polk; both houses burned to the ground. The Polk family built St John's Church, which we visited.

The home was built on land won by the William Polk family from the governor of North Carolina in a game of "Rattle and Snap." The game of chance is said to have been played with beans. 

The home is now a private residence bought by a couple from California, one of whom is a retired eye doctor. We were split into two groups to tour the residence's lower level. (The couple lives in the back part of the house. The house is full of the Polk family's furniture and household items from the period, bought at auctions and estate sales. The couple bought the house in the early 2000's and did extensive restoration, which took several years.

Our next stop was Mt Pleasant Grille, where we were served a buffet-style meal. I ate green beans, creamed potatoes, a hamburger with gravy, onions, and Mushrooms, a salad, and, for dessert, a slice of cheesecake of our choice. After our meal, some of us visited the Museum next door. Several of us walked around the town visiting different shops. Our next stop was Rippivella in Spring Hill, TN.

No photos were allowed inside; I'm not sure why, since there wasn't much to see.

Our guide was very informative about the home and its involvement with the Civil War. At different times throughout the year, they hold a Civil War reenactment. After a visit to the gift shop, we were on our way to our next stop.

We stopped at the Visitor Center in Columbia for a restroom break and information. Outside were a couple of historic markers and statues of James K Polk and his wife, Sarah Childress Polk.

Next, we walked across the street to the Polk Museum for a guided tour.

First, we watched a film about President James K Polk and his family. After the guided tour of the Museum, we were free to visit the kitchen, the slave quarters, and the outdoor gardens.

When we finished, we walked a couple of blocks to the courthouse square to attend First Friday in Columbia.

We stopped for a brownie Sundae at Hattie Jones Creamery. We ate a slice of pizza from one of the food trucks. We stopped in the Tennessee Distillery to use the restrooms, look around, and rest. We heard thunder, and it started to lightning, so we headed to the bus. A few people were still not on the bus; they were either shopping or eating. As it began to rain, the last passenger made it to the bus just before the bottom fell out. It began to storm as we set out on our journey back to Lawrenceburg.

We dropped the first group at First Baptist Church in Lawrenceburg. Then we began our journey to Faith Baptist Church in Loretto, where we were let off.

The bus continued to Florence to drop off the last passengers.

We were both very tired when we arrived home. We went to bed early; it had been a long day.

Spent

Hardies $11.81, Pizzas $14.00, Coke $5.00, Brownie Sundae $14.00

James K Polk Museum $13.17 posters of Presidents, VPs, and signers of the Constitution.

Photos

8711-8734 St John's Church & Cemetery, Mt Pleasant Church @ 8:59–9:41 A.M.

8736-8792 Rattle and Snap Plantation Museum, Mt Pleasant, @ 9:49–11:32 A.M.

8793 Mt Pleasant Grille @ 11:46 A.M.

8794-8820 Mt Pleasant Museum, Mt Pleasant, TN @ 12:35–12:50 P.M.

8821-8822 Rippavilla Spring Hill, TN @1:58 PM

8823-8830 Columbia Visitor Center, Columbia, TN @3:42-3:47 P.M.

8831-8856 Polk Museum and grounds @3:47PM

8857-8882 First Friday in Columbia, TN @ 5:07–7:11 P.M.

2025 April 19, Walking Tour Historic William Winston Home and Stage Coach Stop. Guide Lorie Johnson (Tuscumbia, AL)

We began our walk at the old location of the Cold Water Bookstore. We walked to the Stagecoach Stop and entered the one-room Stagecoach Cabin. After everyone returned, we took a group picture in front of the cabin.  

Group picture

The Coldwater Stage Stop, located on South Dickson Street, was built in Tuscumbia between 1815 and 1830. It served as a stop on Andrew Jackson's Military Road. It is thought to have been one of several log cabins operated as hotels by Michael Dickson, the first white settler in the town.

We continue up Main Street, and our guide identifies sites of interest. 

Maude Lindsey's photo is on top of the piano in the front room, and most of the items in this room belong to her. 

She talked about Maude Lindsey, the granddaughter of William Henry and Judith Winston. Her father was Robert Burns Lindsey, and her mother was Sarah Miller Winston Lindsey. Robert Lindsey was the 22nd governor of Alabama. 

Maude Lindsey taught music at a kindergarten in Tuscumbia. In 1898, she founded and became a teacher at the first free kindergarten in Alabama.

Her home is across the street from the Tuscumbia Courthouse. 

We also visited the Helen Keller Library and the Institute for the Deaf and Blind. 

We continued to Deshler High School, which was built on land donated by  Gen David Deshler.

Brig. Gen. James Deshler's painting hangs in the home's hallway.
His father, Major David Desheler, and his mother had three children, but all three died. So, they gave the land to the city of Tuscumbia.
His request was that the school be built in honor of his son, who was killed in the Civil War.

Mrs. Judith M. Winston, who was upstairs in her dwelling, was caught under the falling timbers and died in a few minutes after being brought down. 
Article about Mrs. Judith Winston's Death 
A terrible Tornado on Nov 22, 1874 
Great Destruction of Property 

When the tornado hit, Mrs. Winston went to the top of the stairs to check the weather.

The stairs were rebuilt after her death. Born Mar 10, 1806, died Nov 22, 1874. 

William Winston was born Mar 24, 1789, and died Apr 27, 1857. So William Winston had died several years before the tornado hit and killed his wife, Judith Winston. 

As you walk up the sidewalk to the home, you can see a historic marker and a piece of fence.

This is a piece of the original fence made in Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century for the Winston Family Cemetery in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
Given by Al, Andy, and Nancy Winston Blackburn 
In memory of their mother 
Judith Winston, 1948 D.H.S.
Graduate 2006

William Winston Home 
Clark T. Barton began constructing the home that would become the center building of Deshler High School in 1824. William Winston purchased and completed the Georgian-style dwelling in 1833. 
The largest remaining antebellum house in Tuscumbia. It features a winding staircase, eight fireplaces, ten original closets, and an inscription on the cellar wall written during the Union occupation, saying. 
It is a dam shame to destroy this mansion." The original log kitchen was placed at the NW rear corner to avoid fire near the house. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. April 1982. The house and property were purchased by the city of Tuscumbia in 1948 for the site of the new Deshler campus, relocating from property bequeathed by Major David Deshler (from his Main St residence, 3 blocks north), memorializing his son, Brig Gen James Deshler C.S.A., killed leading charge at the Battle of Chickamauga, Sept 20, 1863.
William Winston (1789-1857), the father of Alabama Gov. John Anthony Winston
Grandfather of Maud Lindsey, a famed educator and author of children's books.
Father-in-law of Robert Burns Lindsay, the only foreign-born governor of Alabama. 
Winton family cemetery is located approximately one mile northwest of the house.

I was excited about this walking tour because I had never been inside the Stage Coach Cabin or the William Winston Home. 

There is a rich history associated with this little town where I grew up, but I moved away when I was twelve. 

It's always interesting to learn about the town where you grew up. 

https://quadcitiesdaily.com/april-saturday-walking-tours-in-tuscumbia-and-sheffield/

2024 Saturday, Sep 7, Train Ride from Chattanooga to Chickamauga, Ga (Day Trip) Backroads Tours (Train Ride)

Train 5000 from Chattanooga, TN, to Chickamauga, Ga

On Saturday, we had to be in Scottsboro by 7:00 A.M., which is about a 2-hour drive. We loaded onto the bus. There were 30 of us, including the driver. We rode to Chattanooga to ride the train to the Civil War battle town of Chickamauga, GA. We visited the Gordon-Lee Mansion and walked among the Jeeps at the festival.

Wilder Brigade Monument 

We stopped at the Wilder Brigade Tower in the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.

There are 136 spiral stairs to the top if you dare.

Lunch was served as if we were in a fine-dining establishment.

It was a beautiful day, traveling and making new friends.

We arrived home around 8 P.M. on Saturday night.

Lunch on the train

bowl of fruit cocktail, potato salad, cole slaw, tomato, lettuce, baked turkey, and Swiss cheese on a croissant. For dessert, we had chocolate cake or red velvet Cake.

Chocolate Cake 

Red Velvet Cake 

The train we rode and the Visitor Center/Depot in Chickamauga 

We stopped at Chick-fil-A in Athens for dinner.

I ordered a kid's chicken nugget meal with waffle fries and Ice cream, and my Hubby ordered a Number 1.

2023 Sep 22, James D. Vaughn, Old Jail Museums and David Crockett's Log Cabin Lawrenceburg, TN

 Today, we rode to Lawrenceburg.

Our granddaughter didn't have school today and wanted to visit a museum. 

She has become interested in museums just this year, so we are always looking for a new one to visit.

Today, we went to the James David Vaughn Museum located at the 

Visitor Center 31 Public Square Lawrenceburg, TN 38464. 

Opened Monday-Friday 9:30–11 A.M. and 1–3 P.M. Call to get an appointment (931)762-8991 

A Piano, Microphone, and Worship and Service Hymns of James D. Vaughn 

Sheets of his music: Gospel Chime, Working on the Road, Hills of Tennessee, Jesus Forgives and Forgets, I Believe in the Lord, Jesus is All I Need, Talk it Over with Jesus, Love Lifted Me, My Loved One is waiting on me, Heaven Must be my new home, and O what a blessing he is to me.

Vaughn School of Music 

David Crockett Log Cabin (Closed for Repairs)

Old Jail Museum, Waterloo Street, Lawrenceburg, TN 38464
Opened only 
Tuesday-Friday 10–2 P.M. 
Please call (931-212-1944) 

The jail cells, the Sheriff's office, and the home are upstairs. You can walk inside the cells that once housed prisoners, which Ave didn't like. She would not go inside the prison cell blocks.

Newspaper Article about Sheriff Greg O'Rear killed by a prisoner. 

Inside the cell with the prisoners

The museum featured artifacts about people, places, Military Uniforms, School Uniforms, cameras of every shape and size, famous people from Lawrence County, Old Apple Computers, bicycles, quilts, and more. You just have to come to see for yourself. 

Our historian could go on all day and never cover everything in this building. It is loaded with information about Lawrenceburg and is well worth a visit.

A.L. Cantrell Lawrence Co Confederate Veteran 
I lived to be 112 years old 
Bet he had some stories to tell!

People from Lawrenceburg have gone on to be famous or essential in various fields.

Senior Texas Ranger Captain Bruce Casteel (also Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, Waco, Texas) 

David Crockett 1786-1836 King of the Wild Frontier  

James David Vaughn 1864-1941Gospel Song Writer  

Silas Mercer Beasley 1834-1914 Early Settler 

Rollie D. Beckham (1879-1978)

Fred Dalton Thompson 1942-2015 Actor, politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, and radio personality

J.H. Stribling (1863-1951)Church leader, entrepreneur, financier 

2023 July 7, Day trip to Savannah and Shiloh, Tennessee

 We started our day at the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah. 

A true air-breathing MOSASAUR

The City of Florence, a St. Louis and Tennessee River Packet Company boat, was named to honor the fast-growing city at the foot of Muscle Shoals. Upbound near Coffee Landing on February 8, 1913, she got out of control and was lying cross-stream when the towboat Tomahawk, down-bound and loaded with crossties, rammed and sank her. One member of the crew and a young passenger lost their lives in the accident.

The picture below shows a ship with two girls on it.

12-year-old Ruth Tarbet (left) was one of two casualties of the sinking ship. The daughter of a prominent Saltillo merchant, Ruth, and her daughter had boarded the doomed steamer for the short trip to visit relatives in Savannah.

We saw this picture in the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah.

US GRANT HDGS

We stopped to take pictures of the cannons and cannonballs before crossing the Tennessee River and heading to Shiloh. 

HAGY'S CATFISH HOTEL 

We ate fried catfish, coleslaw, hush puppies, and grilled veggies. Ava ate fried chicken fingers and fries. She said those were the best chicken fingers she had ever eaten, and told our waitress she rated the food 100. She ate every bite. We took several pictures at the restaurant and near the Tennessee River. 

Garfield's Cabin 

The History of Garfield 
Garfield's Cabin 
If the cabin walls could talk, they would reveal the intriguing story of Garfield Luster, an extraordinary yet excellent resident for many years.
The story begins on a hot summer day around 1920 when Mr. Narvin Hagy, a local traveling salesman, gives Garfield a ride.
During this time, Garfield worked for a family that had mistreated him for many years. He fled this harsh environment and met Mr. Norvin Hagy on an old gravel road. 
Mr. Hagy lived on a large farm, near the Shiloh National Military Park. His parents were Frank and Mary Hagy. Frank, who had grown up on the farm, was 13 when the "Battle of Shiloh" took place around their home in April 1862.
Garfield eventually established a close bond with the Hagy family and settled in with them.
Over many decades, he helped care for four generations of the Hagy family.

He not only cooked but also did laundry and performed other basic household chores, and he helped raise the youngsters—a duty he enjoyed the most. He nurtured the young family of Norvin and Dorothy Hagy, showering them with devotion and care as if they were his own children. 
But Garfield did more than comfort, console, and, when necessary, scold the children; he could also entertain them. 

Many years before the fables of Uncle Remus were popularized by Hollywood, Garfield charmed the young Hagys with his folktales of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. Another of his talents was acting. He could dress up as a comical character called "Aunt Emiley" and play her so convincingly that the children would momentarily forget they were watching Garfield in disguise.


One of Garfield's favorite stories was about how he got his name. He always chuckled when he recounted how it was bestowed upon him following the assassination of President Garfield.

Like his namesake, Garfield experienced hard times. He refused to dwell on the fact that he had had enough occasion to recall his unhappy childhood. Garfield was born and raised in the small rural community of Red Bay, North Alabama, likely the son of a former slave.
Garfield was deprived of a formal education, although he was brilliant and could have excelled in school if given the opportunity.

Even though he was not articulate, his speech was full of folksy Southern colloquialisms: molasses, poor naillue blazes, sharp as a tack, strong as an ox, to quote a few.

King Kong 911 1h
Garfield lived a long and happy life in Shiloh with the Hagy family.
However, he suffered much bereavement at the death of Norvin Hagy in 1960, never fully recovering from the loss of a man who had provided a sanctuary for the most significant part of his life. 

Shortly after Mr. Hagy died in 1961, Garfield was diagnosed with prostate cancer. During the last weeks of his life, Norvin Hagy Jr. and his wife, Teke, took Garfield home for a final visit with his relatives, who at the time were living in Mississippi.
After his funeral at his church, Saint Rest in Guys, Tennessee, attended by the Hagy Family, Garfield was laid to rest in a small grove of trees. 
The Hagys will always remember Garfield with great love and gratitude for enriching their lives.

By: the Hagy Family
Dr Don Hagy/Dean Hagy

Next, we stopped at Shiloh Battlefield. The museum was closed for repairs, but you could watch a film there. We did not stay to watch the movie. We heard gunfire and went to investigate.  

Young Park Ranger giving a demonstration. 

A young man (Park Ranger) was doing a reenactment and was finishing up when we arrived. But he did show Ava the bullet and let her feel the weight of the gun ( I think he said it weighed 10 lbs). When we stopped at the Tennessee River Museum, there was a gun ball behind glass that you could put your hand through to see if you could pick it up with one hand, weighing 7 lbs. So, she compared the two. 

Park Ranger talking to Ava about being a nurse in the Civil War

We stopped at the Book Museum, where we bought her a book about not being a Nurse in the Civil War. We walked to the National Cemetery, where a young woman was giving a talk about the battles between the North and South at Pittsburg Landing.

Ava had read several pages about the Civil War in her book and was asking questions about it.

The Park Ranger finished her talk, but Ava kept asking her questions. It began to sprinkle, so we hurried back to the car. We rode around the park, stopping for a few pictures. 

Shiloh Log Church 

We stopped at the old log cabin church to take a few pictures.

We started for home, and the sky got darker and darker, and it began to rain. The closer we got to Alabama, the harder it rained.

Our last stop was at Wendy's for a Strawberry Frosty. That's what Ava wanted, and I had never tried one. We all ordered a Strawberry Frosty, and it was good. Ava and I played a game all the way home in our Imaginary worlds.

2021 April 24, Touring the Antebellum Home of Presbyterian Minister Robert Donnell Athens, Alabama with Tour guide Alice Tiller

Pleasant Hill 

Home of Rev. Robert Donnell (1784-1855) 

Built abt. 1849 by Rev. Robert Donnell, a native of North Carolina, and his second wife, Clara Lindley Donnell. 

He was greatly inspired by the Great Spiritual Revival of 1800 and became a Presbyterian circuit rider, one of the "flaming fires" because of their spiritual intensity. Donnell held the first camp meeting in the settlement that became Huntsville, started new churches in North Alabama and Tennessee, and retired as minister of the Athens Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

The North Alabama Presbytery was named in his honor for his service and dedication. After Rev. Donnell died in 1855, the house and surrounding acreage passed to his son, James Webb Smith Donnell. J.W.S. Donnell and his family lived here during the Civil War, despite the Union Army's efforts to apprehend him for allegedly aiding the Confederacy. 

In 1862, during the sacking of Athens, Federal troops camped on the house grounds, looted, and damaged the house through bankruptcy after the war. 

It served as a boarding school for boys for a time and later as the home of Athens School Superintendent Julian Newman and his family. 

 Local historians and authors Christine W. Edwards and Faye A. Axford initiated a campaign to save and restore the house in the 1970s. Local citizens, businesses, and Donnell's descendants contributed to the restoration of this historical landmark.

Pleasant Hill Historical Marker

Pleasant Hill Historic Marker

Donnell House

The Donnell House is located at 601 South Clinton Street. 

It hosts events throughout the year, such as a Christmas tree presentation during the holiday season. Because it is located on the campus of Athens Middle School, students have conducted school projects, including interpretive videos centered around the house's history. 

April is the month to showcase local history in Alabama counties by featuring walking tours every Saturday. I chose the Robert Donnell House & Museum to tour; it was the only walking tour that I had not attended. 

 *Tour options were: *Beaty Historic District *Downtown Athens Historic District *Athens City Cemetery *Athens State University *Houston Historic District. All the above are excellent tours, and many tour guides dress in the period-appropriate attire for the tour. 

 Unfortunately, the Governor George S. Houston Library and Museum was not offered this year. 

 The Donnell House and Museum were hosting a wedding later that day, and food was being prepared and finger foods placed on the table.

Wedding Buffett

What caught my eye was the Armadillo pink cake. Hanging in the parlor were pictures of Rev Donnell and his two wives. 

Two staircases led to the upper level, showcasing the home's history and its occupants. 

 Outside was a 1830s log cabin donated by Don and Ed Horton, sons of Judge James Horton, and nearby was an herb garden. 

 I had often driven past the Donnell House Museum, but I had never noticed it until the tour, because it was located within the Athens School system.