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

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 atop 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 hallway of the home.
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 when the school was built, it would honor 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 November 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 April 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 Balttle of Chickamauga ept 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/

2016 Christmas Letter Activies for the year

On January 1, 2016, Hubby and I traveled to Franklin, Tennessee, to the Thoroughbred Theater to watch the action, adventure, Sci-Fi, and fantasy movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In February, I took several classes at the Apple store 

Stay Connected, Sketch, Draw, and Paint with iPad, Explore Apple TV, & Perfect Your Photos on Mac

On March 4, 2016, I toured the Rippavilla Plantation in Springhill, TN.

On March 8, 2016, My Husband and I traveled to Waynesboro, Lawrenceburg, Mt Pleasant, Columbia, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. 

On April 1 & 2, I attended Mule Day and Mule Day Parade in Columbia, TN. 

On April 5, Hubby and I traveled to Red Bay, Alabama, to tour the Tiffen Motor Plant.

On April 12, Hubby and I traveled to Elkmont, Alabama, to tour the Belle Chevre Goat Cheese Factory. 

On April 9, I attended the Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Athens, Alabama, and Earth Day in Sheffield, Alabama. 

On April 17, I attended the Athens Cemetery Stroll. 

On April 30, I participated in the Stroll at Athens State University.

On April 23, Hubby and I traveled to South Pittsburg, Tennessee, for the Cornbread Festival.

On May 20 & 21, I attended the UNA Storytelling festival

On May 2, in the afternoon of Hubbyat, Hubby and I attended Jacob and Lindsey's wedding rehearsal at East Florence Depot.

Hubby and I attended Lindsey Smith and Jacob Hughes's wedding at Oliver's Barn on May 21. 

On June 25, I attended the Helen Keller Festival in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

On June 28, Hubby and I traveled to Scottsboro, Stevenson, Menton, Fort Payne, and Section, Alabama.

On July 23, I attended several W.C. Handy Festival events.

On August 19, Hubby and I attended the Watermelon Festival in Russellville, Alabama.

On September 1, Hubby and I rode to Corinth, Mississippi, where we toured several historic sites. 

On September 5, 2016, Hubby and I traveled to Smith Lake in Cullman to attend the Sweet Tater Festival.

On September 8, I rode to Huntsville to tour the Scarecrow Trail at the Botanical Gardens. 

On September 9, Hubby and I attended a performance by Arvel Bird, a Celtic Indian.

On September 10, I attended Oka Kapassa in Tuscumbia, the British Car Show in Rogersville, and Joe Wheeler's birthday party at the Wheeler Plantation.

On October 1, Hubby and I traveled to Centerville, Tennessee, to attend the Banana Puddin' Festival, Car Show, and Quilt Show. 

On October 5, I traveled with a group of women from our church to 

2800 Pittsburg Church Road, Petersburg, KY, to tour the Creation Museum. We spent the night in Dry Ridge, Kentucky.

On October 6, we traveled to 1 Ark Encounter Drive, Williamstown, KY 41097, to tour the Ark Encounter. 

On October 15, Hubby and I took a Monterey Fall Foliage Excursion train ride to Nashville. 

On October 22, I rode to Lawrenceburg for the Mimosa Cemetery stroll. On November 9, Hubby traveled to Huntsville to visit NASA and Bridge Street. 

On November 12, I took the Pathway to Prayer trolley Tour in Florence, Alabama. 

On November 15, Hubby and I traveled to Nashville to tour the Opryland Hotel's three gardens, decorated for the Christmas Holidays, and to walk through the ICE HOUSE, featuring carvings of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Christmas manger scene. 

November 24, Thanksgiving Dinner at Mike's with family 

On November 26, my sister-in-law and I rode to Huntsville to walk through the Christmas Tree Tinsel Trail, Madison's Christmas Card Lane, and shop at Bridge Street.

On November 29, Hubby and I rode to Lebanon, Tennessee, to tour the town and Chad's Winter Wonderland of Christmas Lights. We rode to Nashville to drive through Jellystone's Dancing Christmas Lights and then to Opry Mills for Shopping. 

On December 1, Hubby and I attended the Athens Christmas Parade.

On December 2, Hubby and I attended a prayer for Peace at Pope's Tavern, where a Christmas tree was also lit in Wilson Park.

On December 3, I attended a talk about George Colbert at the Visitors Center.

On December 5, I attended Christmas Dinner and exchanged gifts with my Church Class.

On December 7, Hubby and I attended a Christmas dinner and Christmas Program at our church.

That morning, I attended our Lady's bible Class Christmas luncheon.

On December 9, Hubby and I attended the Florence Christmas Parade.

On December 10, Hubby and I attended Dickens of a Christmas from 9 to 12, and from 2 to 4 P.M., we participated in the Leipers Fork Parade.

On December 11, I took my granddaughter's pictures for graduation.

December 12-14: Hubby and I spent a few days in Gulf Shores. We rode to Theodore to walk through the Christmas lights at the Bellingrath Gardens. We spent a few hours on the beach, watching a miniature train show and walking through Heritage Park.

On December 17, my granddaughter, Hannah Hughes, will graduate from UNA on December 17, 2016, at 2:30 P.M. with a degree in Elementary Education.

On December 24, we will have  Christmas with the kids and grandkids. 

December 19-24: Hubby is taking off for Christmas Vacation.

On December 25, my middle son will be celebrating his 47th birthday.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 

Governor Robert Burns Lindsay and daughter Maud McKnight Lindsey Historic Markers

Maud Lindsey's home as it looks today

 Governor Robert Burns Lindsey, July 4, 1824- Feb 13, 1902 

A native of Lochmaben, Scotland, Robert Burns Lindsey was Alabama's only foreign-born governor. He immigrated to North Carolina in 1844 and relocated to Tuscumboa in 1849, where he worked as a teacher and read law, obtaining admittance to the Alabama Bar in 1852. The following year, residents of Franklin County elected him to the Alabama House of Representatives. In 1854, Lindsay married Sarah Miller Winston, sister to John Anthony Winston, who served as governor from 1853 to 1857. The couple had nine children, four of whom survived to adulthood, among them educator and author Maud McKnight Lindsey (see other side). 

In 857, Lindsay won the election to the Alabama Senate. In 1861, he joined Colonel Philp D. Roddey's Fourth Alabama Cavalry, CSA. At war's end, voters returned him to the Alabama Senate. In 1870, Lindsey became the first Democrat elected governor of Alabama since the end of the Civil War. His turbulent two years in office amidst Reconstruction were beset by economic and political difficulties, compounded by the failure of a state-supported railroad venture. Declining to run for reelection in 1872, Lindsey returned to Tuscumbia, where he continued a limited law practice, hampered by ill health, until his death. 

Sponsored by the Maud Lindsay Study Club, The Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation, and the Alabama Historical Association, 2022.

Maud McKnight Lindsay
May 13, 1874-May 30, 1941

International educator and author Maud Lindsay was born at this home, then a frame structure, in 1874. She was the daughter of Governor Robert B. Lindsay (see other side) and Sarah M. Winston Lindsey. 

In 1898, after working in a private kindergarten in Tuscumbia, "Miss Maud" crossed social barriers and established Alabama's first free kindergarten program in the working-class cotton mill district of East Florence. 

She remained the teacher and principal of the school for more than four decades. In 1900, Milton Bradley Company published Lindsay's first book. Mother Stories. She subsequently authored sixteen additional works, many of which reflected her childhood experiences in Alabama. Although she had no formal higher education, Lindsay became a sought-after speaker.

She lectured on the art of storytelling at New York University. Rebuffing many offers to teach elsewhere, including an invitation from renowned Italian educator Maria Montessori, Lindsey chose to remain in Alabama. Her childhood friend Helen Keller described her as "one of the truly progressive women of the southland and an example of Alabama's true wealth and greatness." Lindsay was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1995. 

Maud Lindsey Kindergarten, Florence, Alabama 

Maud McKnight Lindsey 
The Florence Free Kindergarten 

2024 May 20, 21, 29, Sites we took AVA

Ava in a Space Suite 

 2024 May 20, Monday, Trip to Space and Rocket Center 

Today, we rode to Huntsville to the Space and Rocket Center 

We took Ava, and she loves museums.

We saw Science on Orbit and Space Craze. Your mission begins here, Huntsville, Rocket City, Home of the USA's Redstone Arsenal. There were games to play, rides, a space shuttle, rockets, helicopters, planes, and pictures of every astronaut who has flown in a rocket or shuttle. There was a lot of construction, and many visitors were not allowed to enter the area.

Ava got inside one of the modules, where you had to lie down with your feet propped above your head. We looked inside "Ch-47D Chinook Helicopter. Two soldiers were guarding the shuttle(they were statues)

We saw Saturn's Brain and steering. Several school groups were present, and we met a family from Sweden.  

 

We ate lunch at Culvert in Madison.

We were going to Cracker Barrel but got caught by a train, so we turned around and went to Culvert. 

My Hubby and I shared a three-piece, hand-cut, hand-battered fried cod meal with onion rings and Coleslaw. We also have the yogurt Snickers swirl, which is the day's flavor.

We ordered a kid's chicken fingers meal with fries and a drink for Ava.

She also ordered one scoop of chocolate yogurt, but was brought the Snickers Swirl, which she would not try.

So, Hubby ate hers, and we bought her a chocolate yogurt 

They also forgot that our coleslaw was out of stock, and we had to go to the counter to get one. They were out of coleslaw 

I guess they didn't want to go back to find more

They had a new employee. Everyone was ready for bed that night. 

Ava and the Space Shuttle 

2024 May 21, today we took Ava to the Muscle Shoals Municipal Court Building, Spring Park, and the Tuscumbia Train Depot  

To see the TVA display and learn about Muscle Shoals.

We saw cicadas covering all the Crapes Myrtle trees.

Inside, I met a city worker from Muscle Shoals, and we discussed the area's history. He told me there were graves of American Indians with stone markers, and you cannot read the names. He said there were graves all over the shoals that were unclaimed and destroyed. He said I had worked here for years before I took the time to read all the history here. He said I didn't care much for history growing up, but he knew a great deal about the area. He said he and another worker had to fix the sewage off the cliffs he supervised once. Someone else went over the cliffs. He said that he found old bottles dating back to the 1800s. He gave one to him and said I am going back to collect the rest.

Upon entering the Municipal building, you will see a Chandler four or five-arched gateway leading to and inside the museum area. 

Inside the Museum, we saw Welcome to "Pathways…A Walk through the History of Muscle Shoals."

Explore these exhibits and discover a city rich in history.

See original artifacts from the real estate boom when Henry Ford said he would "employ one million workers and build a city 75 miles wide," to when Muscle Shoals was known as "The Hit Recording Capital of the World."

Muscle Shoals has become one of the most progressive cities in Alabama, a place where thousands call home.

Ava and Hubby at  Muscle Shoals Municipal Court Building

History of FAME Recording Studios and its owner, Rick Hall. 

A light pole with street signs of Wilson Dam Highway and Sheridan Avenue. 

Cases full of the History of Muscle Shoals, the first Mayor of Muscle Shoals, George Lewis McBride, and his wife, Susie. 

Pictures of President Roosevelt and Eleanor hang on the walls.  

There was a lot of information about the TVA Wilson Dam building. We walked outside, and the Crape Myrtles were covered in Cicadas. 

Ava in the Little Red Caboose 

After we left Muscle Shoals, we went to the Tuscumbia Train Depot. 

Paid five dollars each to go inside 

The curator shared the history of the depot with us.

They had the original carriage that Helen Keller rode in as a child 

We walked around outside, looking at all the train cars. 

Next, we rode to Spring Park. 

The water was turned off going to the waterfall

So there was no fresh water entering the spring 

There were a few ducks and geese in the water 

It was lunchtime, so we rode back to Florence and ate lunch at Cracker Barrel.

Ava ordered Confetti pancakes with bacon.

Ava ordered confetti pancakes with bacon and a doctor pepper to drink 

I ordered grilled chicken fingers with pinto beans, a slice of onion, cornbread, chow chow, and iced tea 

Hubby ordered steak, eggs, and hash browns with biscuits and iced tea to drink

Hubby bought two large chocolate chunk candy bars 

2024 May 29, Wednesday, McFarland Park took AVA 

Today, we rode to McFarland Park to let Ava play on the playground 

I listen to bird sounds 

We got our B12 shots and paid the utilities 

We rode to Sheffield to pick up our monthly check

We rode to Champy's for lunch

Hubby and I split a Catfish meal

Of the 4 pieces of Catfish fries, Hush Puppies, and coleslaw, I ordered 2 chicken finger meals with fries. 

We rode to Aldies for a few groceries 

Then we headed home 

Catfish, fries, slaw, onion, and Hushpuppy

Ava at Champy's