Tag: history of alabama 1895

This image of Constable J. L. McGowan standing, rifle in hand, over the corpse of ?Railroad Bill? strapped to a wooden plank, sold for 50 cents in the days following the notorious outlaw's death in March 1896.

The Legend of Railroad Bill

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There is a legend in south Alabama, associated with the spirit of a man known as, “Railroad Bill”. This story, from slave cultures, during the post-Civil War era, during the reconstruction of the South, documents a “Robin Hood” type character who stole from food trains and sold the items to poor, rural southern families for less than they could buy them in general stores.

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Moonshiners of Thorsby, Alabama 1907

Moonshiners of Thorsby Alabama, 1907

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Each autumn, the town of Thorsby celebrates its heritage with the Annual Swedish Festival that includes an arts and crafts fair, a pageant, music, car and motorcycle shows and food native to the American South. The town maintains a museum in the old Norwegian Lutheran Church, now called “Helen Jenkins Chapel”. A Scandinavian Cemetery is available for visits any time.

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