PODCAST · history
Lily Flagg's Signal
by Lily Flagg's Signal
Welcome to Lily Flagg's Signal, a lovingly-researched history podcast that explores the lore and legends of Huntsville, Alabama. New episodes are posted every other Monday through the season. Join this history-nerding adventure to learn more about our city and how the past impacts our present, including first-hand sources on well-known Huntsville lore, misconceptions about popular tall tales, and historical events and people who don’t get talked about often enough.Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast
Episodes
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A Huntsville, Alabama, History Overview, Part 1: From the First Humans to Statehood
It’s finally time for the first installment in a much-requested series: a general overview of Huntsville, Alabama, history. This episode will cover the area's past from the first humans arriving in the area approximately 11,500 years ago all the way to Alabama’s statehood in 1819. Along the way,...
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Archaeology Education and More with Daniel Rhodes
On today's episode, I have returning guest Daniel Rhodes, the president of the Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society, a professional archaeologist, and an actual real-life friend of mine. Join us as we chat about making archaeological education available in the classroom, what to do if you...
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A Very Special Huntsville Historic Theater Walking Tour
Much of Huntsville’s history can be told through its theaters, including its growth, its conflicts, its industry, its debauchery, and glimpses into everyday life for over two centuries. This audio walking tour will guide you through downtown to locations of stage and screen past to showcase the...
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Interview with Huntsville's Historic Preservation Planner - Katie Stamps
What's the best way to get your request approved to change your historic house's exterior? Can I put a historic marker in my yard? What house would you steal if you were a Scooby Doo villain? Have you ever thought about how one day, 1990s McMansions will be considered historic? Katie Stamps,...
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Bamboozled! ...by the confederate monument - Full Episode 33
I love April Fool’s Day, a day of pranks and misinformation and tomfoolery, so I wanted to tackle a subject that seems to have bamboozled Huntsvillians for a while now: the confederate monument, and really the city’s relationship with the confederacy as a whole. There’s a lot of misinformation…
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The Black Widow of Hazel Green - Full Episode 32
If you've spent a Halloween in the Huntsville, Alabama, area, odds are you've heard the tale. Elizabeth Evans Dale Gibbons Flanagan Jefferies High Brown Routt, the so-called Black Widow of Hazel Green, six times married and six times widowed. That summary doesn't even scratch the surface of the...
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House Scootin' Boogie - Full Episode 31
Sometimes, the only way to save a historic structure from demolition is to relocate it - or as I decided to say, "scoot" it - and this was the case for multiple buildings in Huntsville’s past. Today’s episode covers a few of these instances, including the log cabins at Burritt on the Mountain…
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A Very Special 1901 Black Business District Walking Tour
In this second-of-its-kind episode, we're doing something a little different: an audio walking tour through the northern part of downtown Huntsville, Alabama, set in the year 1901. We'll be exploring the Historic Black Business District and discussing the people, shops, churches, and…
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How Do You Spell Sesquicentennial? - Full Episode 30
The thing about throwing a 150th birthday party for a growing city is that you get to pull out all the stops, like holding a week long party with a thousand-person stage production, beard growing contests mandated by the mayor, and an arsenal-sponsored beauty queen. However, such a milestone is...
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Getting Schooled (Huntsville Female College) - Full Episode 29
Have you ever wanted to pay your student debts in bacon, win a gold medal for cleanest dorm room, learn to fight with a broom, and become multi-lingual while enjoying the finest dining inside a Greek-temple-esque building and being banned from the local theatre? If you answered yes to any of…
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A Brief History of Huntsville - Full Episode 28
This podcast has been featuring highlights on individual topics from Huntsville's past for , but it's about time this show had a nice little round-up of the basics of the city's history, like the story of its founding and being named for John Hunt, the journey to statehood, some recognizable...
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Easter Denim - Mini-Episode 7
In the spring of 1962, Huntsville businesses were segregated, Easter Sunday church-wear was a fashion statement, and explicitly boycotting a business could get you arrested, but Huntsville's Community Service Committee had a plan to make a statement - and an economic impact - in favor of...
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Interview with the Pope's Tavern Crew - Brian Murphy and Daniel Rhodes
What is Pope's Tavern and why does it have an active archaeological dig? I'm glad you asked! Join me in my chat with Brian Murphy, director of Florence (Alabama) Arts and Museums, and Daniel Rhodes, Pope's Tavern archaeologist and host of the Archaeology After Dark podcast, as we discuss the...
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Raising the Flag over "Reveille" - Full Episode 27
When the Civil War came to his newspaper office’s doorstep, a former Alabama governor’s son left his printing press behind and attempted to “strut to Guntersville” in 1862. A group of Ohio infantrymen and a journaling army band member soon took over and began printing their own publication: the...
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The City Hall War of 1924 - Full Episode 26
They say you can't fight city hall, but what happens when city hall fights itself? On one side: the newly elected mayor (Frasier Adams) and his chosen city clerk, police chief, and other officers. Their opponents? The aldermen and their choices for city officials, including a separate police…
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The Way of (Huntsville's) Water, Part One - Full Episode 24
Huntsville's water works had its bicentennial this year, and a lot has happened in the two hundred years that residents have been pumping spring water throughout the town. In just the first 35 years, there were public spats, lots of hollowed out logs, a high turnover rate of ownership, some cool...
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The Way of (Huntsville's) Water, Part Two - Full Episode 25
In honor of the bicentennial of the Huntsville water works this year, I've done a two-part episode sharing history and fun facts. In this episode I'll be talking about the system in its time as a public utility, starting in 1858, including expansions, odd fire fighting techniques, diseases, and...
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Nurse Dent - Mini-Episode 6
The library has multiple folders of letters applauding her, it would take a full page to list all her accolades and firsts, and her awards would cover a full wall, but most importantly: her work in public health touched and improved countless lives. Join me today in discussing Nurse Johnnie…
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Interview with Chauncey Robinson - Mud Creek Archive
In this week's episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Chauncey Robinson, the founder of the Mud Creek Archive, a non-profit whose many local history projects include historic cemetery restoration as well as researching and documenting Huntsville's Black Business District. Join us as we…
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All-Request Line - Full Episode 23
Bricks! Tallulah! Frogs! Mysterious writing in cement! You asked and I answered this season's requests-only episode. All topics were submitted by listeners like you, and the questions led to fun facts about gargoyles, wild fonts in saloon advertisements, and the histories that lie beneath our…
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Shelta: the Party Cave - Full Episode 22
What do indescribable natural wonders, an underground barbecue feast, an "Iowa syndicate", and some rare crayfish have in common? They all could be found in Shelta Cave, a now-protected area that was one of Victorian-era Huntsville's weirdest tourism destinations! Join me on this journey to...
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A Very Special 1901 Downtown Walking Tour
Have you ever wondered what a walking tour through downtown Huntsville, Alabama, may have sounded like in 1901? This "episode" is just that, complete with building histories, descriptions of businesses, notes on current events, and background sound effects. The tour starts at the corner of Eustis...
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The Colorful Madam Mollie Teal - Full Episode 21
"Did you know Huntsville's first hospital was originally a brothel?!" That's a clickbait-y fun fact that gets thrown around a good bit, but like most stories, there's a lot more to it. In this episode, I dove down a rabbit hole of census records, newspapers, misspellings, and pedantic court…
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Three Cheers for the CCC - Full Episode 20
Members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were responsible for nature preservation and park construction across the country. From construction updates and literacy initiatives to silly poetry and inside jokes we'll never understand, the newspapers of Huntsville's CCC camps offer a fun look...
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Interview with Tara Sloan - Preserving Huntsville's Cemeteries
Did you know Huntsville has nine historic cemeteries, some of which are still active and all of which require constant maintenance and preservation? Join me as I talk with Tara Sloan, the interim director of the city's Cemetery Department, about monument restoration, documenting headstones, and...
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Interview with John O'Brien - Huntsville Place Making
This week's episode is an interview with John O'Brien, local author and historian, on the who, why, and where of how the "Huntsville" we know it was shaped. Join us for a chat on place making, Huntsville's red light district, the early housing authority, urban planning, the city beautiful…
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Fall 1918 Doom-Scrolling - Full Episode 19
In modern times, we’d call it doom-scrolling: aimlessly flipping through articles filled with frustrating, frightening, or otherwise ominous news. In Fall of 1918, though, it was just called reading the news. From war to an influenza epidemic to power outages to literal snake oil salesmen, there...
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AI versus Huntsville History - Mini-Episode 5
*And now for something completely different* I asked ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence program, to write a trailer for the podcast and share some fun facts about Huntsville, Alabama. The results were so humorous, I felt like I needed to share them alongside some of my actual approaches to...
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Soup, Trains, and the Hotel Monte Sano - Full Episode 18
Whether it’s a relaxing health retreat in nature, a destination to party all night, or a way to attract wealthy investors into town, there’s (apparently) nothing like a resort vacation, and for a short time in the late 1800s, Huntsville was home to one such resort. The Hotel Monte Sano offered...
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Queer History in the South - Live Panel to Benefit Invisible Histories Project
When people talk about LGBTQ history, they'll often mention Stonewall in New York, Harvey Milk in California, or maybe HIV/AIDS protests in the mid-Atlantic region. Rarely does the American South first come to mind, but that's not due to a lack of historical places, events, and groundbreakers.…
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The Man with the X-Shaped House, Part 2 - Full Episode 17
Dr. William Henry Burritt was a lot of things: a homeopathic doctor, a car guy, an inventor, a world traveler, and the eccentric brains behind one of Huntsville's weirdest homes. In part two of this two-part show on Dr. Burritt, I'll be discussing his third wife, his second mansion, and the…
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The Man with the X-Shaped House, Part 1 - Full Episode 16
Dr. William Henry Burritt was a lot of things: a homeopathic doctor, a car guy, an inventor, a world traveler, and the eccentric brains behind one of Huntsville's weirdest homes. In part one of this two-part show on Dr. Burritt, I'll be discussing his "origin story" as well as the construction…
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Anne (Royall) With an "E" - Mini-Episode Four
You know I love a good primary source, and when it comes to early-statehood-Alabama there's no source like travel writer (and convicted "common scold") Anne Royall. Unafraid to bash the manners of "high society" women, call out hypocrisy in the church, or insult the appearance of those she met,...
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CHASE-ing Trains - Full Episode 15
All aboard, next stop: Chase, Alabama, the home of the North Alabama Railroad Museum. Along the way, we'll be passing through a nationally-famous wholesale nursery, some weird telegraph code words, restored locomotives, a former mayor, some US Postal Service history, the tiny little train depot...
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You Asked For This (Listener Request Episode) - Full Episode 14
It's the listener request episode! I've been encouraging listeners to submit local history questions these past few months, and in today's show I'm answering some of them. We'll be talking about a watercress salad themed party, an eccentric man's basement, road rage on Memorial Parkway (the...
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Four Courthouses and Counting - Full Episode 13
Downtown Huntsville has been home to numerous buildings over the years, including four courthouses in the middle of the square. From gilded eagles to Greek temples to wild animals on the square to the ultimate space-race era modernism, join me on a journey through the drama and design choices of...
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Virginia McCormick's Sea Shanty
In episode 12, I talked about Virginia McCormick's impact on the Huntsville community for the first three decades of the 1900s, but what I didn't get to discuss as much was her music. Listening to, playing, and apparently writing music were hobbies of hers, as well as a part of her mental health...
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Meet Virginia (McCormick) - Full Episode 12
She was an heiress, but her best known parties were open to some of the poorest citizens in town. She was declared legally unable to manage her own interests and finances, but she was a renowned musician, respected community member, and well-loved friend to many. Local legend calls her a recluse,...
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The Non-Battle of Huntsville - Mini-Episode 3
Though the city changed hands multiple times during the Civil War, there was no "battle" for Huntsville. In April of 1862, American forces were able to walk right into town and take control, but how? In today's mini-episode, we're talking Civil War diaries, Morse code, the importance of trains…
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Interview with Reagan Grimsley - Preserving Huntsville History
The Lily Flagg's Signal Preserving Huntsville History series is a collection of interviews with local historians, preservationists, storytellers, and other experts passionate about saving and sharing the history of Huntsville, Alabama. In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with Reagan...
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A Sign of the Times - Full Episode 11
In honor of the last month of the Huntsville Times's print editions, join me on a journey through the early 1900s newspaper business, a bizarre stone "wedding cake" style house, and Jacob Emory Pierce, the founder of the Times and the root of an impressive number of local legends, scandals, and...
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Jesse James Did Not Rob the Bank Downtown - Full Episode 10
What started as my quest to bust a local myth led to an even more interesting story of outlaws, betrayal, and a so-called "trial of the century" that could rival any episode of Perry Mason. In this episode, we're going on an adventure through a Muscle Shoals robbery, an often-overshadowed sibling...
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Ding, Ding, Ding Went the Street Car - Full Episode 9
There's no mode of transportation that brings up feelings of nostalgia quite like street cars, and good news: Huntsville had its own electric street car system for over three decades! Hop on for a ride through local rail history, overly optimistic news articles, and one of the coolest parties the...
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Just Milling Around, Part Two - Full Episode 8
In this episode, part two on Huntsville's mill villages, we'll be talking about the big shots (a.k.a. the guys who got streets names after them) who started the many mills in town, as well as the day-to-day lives of people who worked in these facilities and lived in the surrounding villages. Join...
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Just Milling Around, Part One - Full Episode 7
There's a lot to talk about regarding the history of Huntsville's mills. So much, in fact, that this will be a multi-part series! Here in part one, I'll be talking about mill life in the early 1900s, including how images of children working at Merrimack and Dallas Mills were part of a national...
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Spires, Bells, and No Horses – Full Episode 6
A storm damaged spire creatively repaired, church bells missing due to miscommunications, Civil War legends about horses, a building relocated brick by brick across town, explanations behind lots of historical designations, and more await in the story of downtown Huntsville’s only National…
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Obligatory Space Race Discussion - Full Episode 5
You had to know it was coming: an episode about the era when the Rocket City started making rockets. Rather than a same-old discussion on who designed and flew the rockets, I instead wanted to focus on how the space race changed Huntsville as a city and some of the "by-products" of the population...
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Newspapers! - Full Episode 4
What combined the rapid-fire news blurbs of Twitter, the advertising-disguised-as-commentary of Instagram influencers, the political-leaning news of that link your conspiracy-theorist-uncle just sent you, the social updates on people you don’t know of Facebook, the sensationalized murder stories…
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Signal's Lily Flagg - Full Episode 3
Signal's Lily Flagg: she set a world record in Huntsville in 1892. She had elaborate parties thrown here in her honor but was invited to neither. She was disqualified from a competition at the Chicago World's Fair for being too good at what she does. She had multiple streets, businesses, a…
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Behind the Scenes at the Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll (Who Was Bessie Russell?) - Mini Episode 2
The Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll is one of my favorite reenactment events, as it's a time that thousands of Huntsville residents come out to see local historical figures "come alive". As one of the sixty or so costumed character actors at this year's stroll, I thought it would be fun to share a...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to Lily Flagg's Signal, a lovingly-researched history podcast that explores the lore and legends of Huntsville, Alabama. New episodes are posted every other Monday through the season. Join this history-nerding adventure to learn more about our city and how the past impacts our present, including first-hand sources on well-known Huntsville lore, misconceptions about popular tall tales, and historical events and people who don’t get talked about often enough.Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast
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Lily Flagg's Signal
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Lily Flagg's Signal have?
Lily Flagg's Signal currently has 52 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Lily Flagg's Signal about?
Welcome to Lily Flagg's Signal, a lovingly-researched history podcast that explores the lore and legends of Huntsville, Alabama. New episodes are posted every other Monday through the season. Join this history-nerding adventure to learn more about our city and how the past impacts our present,...
How often does Lily Flagg's Signal release new episodes?
Lily Flagg's Signal has 52 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Lily Flagg's Signal?
You can listen to Lily Flagg's Signal on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Lily Flagg's Signal?
Lily Flagg's Signal is created and hosted by Lily Flagg's Signal.
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