Metropolitan Library System

Southern Cultures Volume 20: Number 1 – Summer 2014Table of ContentsFront Porchby Jocelyn R. Neal"One of the challenges-and, simultaneously, deep pleasures-of studying the South is that the disciplinary walls of the academy neither contain nor constrain the work."Rewriting ElizabethA Life Lost (and Found) in the Annals of Bryce Mental Hospitalby Lindsay Byron"Her name was never to be spoken. Even upon the lips and within the hearts of her own children,...

The storied history of the iconic Atlanta department store. In 1867, less than three years after the Civil War left the city in ruins, Hungarian Jewish immigrant Morris Rich opened a small dry goods store on what is now Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Over time, his brothers Emanuel and Daniel joined the business; within a century, it became a retailing dynasty. Join historian Jeff Clemmons as he traces Rich's 137-year history. For...

A beautiful Southern city distinguished by its opulent homes, towering church steeples and hospitality, Charleston, South Carolina, has long been associated with the genteel side of Southern living. However, beyond the outward appearances that most people associate with Charleston, there is another side that most visitors and residents would dare not believe is part of the very fabric from which the city's history was woven. Wicked Charleston: The...

Florida was the third Southern state to secede from the United States in 1860-61. With its small population of 140,000 and no manufacturing, few Confederate resources were allocated to protect the state. Some 15,000 Floridians served in the Union and Confederate armies (the highest population percentage of any southern state), but perhaps Florida's greatest contributions came from its production of salt (an essential need for preserving meat and manufacturing...

Perched on the banks of the Cumberland River, Nashville is best known for its role in the civil rights movement, world-class education and, of course, country music. In this unique collection of columns, longtime journalist and Tennessee native George Zepp illuminates a less familiar side of the city. Learn the secrets of Timothy Demonbreun, one of the city's first residents who lived with his family in a cliff-top cave; Cortelia Clark, the blind...

Park City's tree-shaded streets frame a neighborhood with an identity all its own. The distinctive homes designed by famed architect George Barber lend Park City its unique visual appeal and local flavor. Yet behind the well-preserved, innovative architectural designs is a history that stretches back to Knoxville's earliest beginnings. Knox County's first sheriff, Robert Houston, was a Park City resident, establishing the county's first court in the...

Myths and Mysteries of Florida reveals the dark and ominous cloud of mysteries and myths that hovers over the Sunshine State. This book offers residents, travelers, history buffs, and ghost hunters a refreshingingly lively collection of stories about Florida's unsolved murders, legendary villains, lingering ghosts, terrifying myths, and haunted places.

Hiltons is located in the southwest corner of Virginia and was named for the Reverend Samuel Hilton, who moved to the region from North Carolina in 1795. In the 1880s, Hiltons became a vital link for goods being transported both to and from the region when the railroad was constructed from Bristol to Appalachia. U.S. Highway 58 winds through Hiltons to Virginia Beach, providing many miles of scenic travel on what was, for many years, an important...

This book tells thirty stories of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky-from early European exploration to the end of the Civil War. Readers will be introduced to well-known characters, little-known heroes, and events that changed history-from "How 'Old Glory' Got Its Name" in Tennessee and "The Court-Martial of Daniel Boone" in Kentucky to "The Invention of the Cotton...

The enigmatic hills and woodlands of the Chattanooga area are a sanctuary of history, and the hometown of author Alexandra Walker Clark. Clark has chronicled the history of her hometown for the Chattanooga Times and the Chattanooga History Journal, and in this collection she combines some of her favorite stories to take readers behind the scenes for a fascinating look into the unique history and culture of the region. Absorb the city's rich ethnic...