The headline of the Valley Times-News on July 24, 1969, “Welcome Home Apollo 11,” greeted readers with the jubilant news that the three astronauts who had ventured farther than any human beings before had returned safely to earth. The crew of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins, made history when Armstrong […]Read Post ›

On this day in 1914, Joe Louis Barrow was born near LaFayette in Chambers County. One of Joe Louis’ cousins later remembered that “Joe could holler loud as a wildcat.” Despite his healthy lungs, there were few indications from his childhood that Joe Louis would become one of the world’s greatest boxers. In 1926, the […]Read Post ›

Even before the guns fell silent on November 11, 1918, Chambers County began to feel the costs of war. Whether it was scrimping at the dinner table to send food overseas, knitting sweaters for the Red Cross, or enlisting in service, the Great War affected nearly everyone who lived through it. On April 9, 1919, […]Read Post ›

Chambers County joined the rest of the world in celebrating the armistice of November 11, 1918. In Riverview, the ceremonies started at noon. Businesses closed and the entire mill workforce made its way over to the celebration. The Riverview band played and leading men, such as Mr. E. I. Oliver, R. H. Bledsoe, and B. […]Read Post ›

History is filled with stories of both the living and the departed. Sometimes even the undead wander into the archives. Miss Nell Orr, a LaFayette native, enlightened young minds at Langdale school for 40 years. In her spare time, she gathered and preserved local history. She combed dusty ledgers stored at the courthouse and compiled […]Read Post ›

On September 28, 1836, the East Liberty Baptist Association held its first session.* Since the formation of the county in 1832 and the establishment of its government in 1833, ministers, both Methodists and Baptists, had been among the earliest settlers. In his history of the East Liberty Baptist Association, Dr. William Carey Bledsoe refers to […]Read Post ›

Born on September 6, 1757, Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, joined the American Revolution as a young man. He became a close friend and aide to General George Washington. In 1825, Lafayette visited Alabama. He had arrived in the United States in 1824 at the invitation of President James Monroe. As the last […]Read Post ›

There may not have been fireworks, but there was still plenty of celebrating on July 4, 1918. Lanett’s War Service Station diary, kept by station secretary Lillian Warner and her assistants, reads as follows on July 3, 1918: “Visited- some of our mothers. Had six visitors. We were busy this afternoon decorating the Mill truck […]Read Post ›

Since May 25 is unofficially designated as Towel Day, Cobb Memorial Archives is taking a few moments to remember the millions of towels produced at Fairfax Mill and the people who made them. On June 29, 1915, the West Point Manufacturing Company approved plans for a new mill that would specialize in towels. With the […]Read Post ›