W.C. HANDY, Florence, Ala.
Visitors to the W.C. Handy Home and Museum can check out the two-room log cabin where William Christopher Handy was born to freed slaves in 1873. According to Handy's 1941 autobiography, Father of the Blues, the house was built by his grandfather William Wise Handy. It was moved six blocks to its current location to make it more accessible to the public—and so it could be expanded. A museum and library dedicated to black history and culture are now connected to the house. Displays include Handy's trumpet, flute, and the piano where he composed his most famous song, "St. Louis Blues." 620 W. College St., 256/760-6434, $2.
HELEN KELLER, Tuscumbia, Ala.
Made blind, deaf, and mute by an illness she had as a baby (it's speculated now she could have suffered from scarlet fever or meningitis), Keller overcame her disabilities with the help of a dedicated teacher called Anne Sullivan. In 1904, Keller graduated from Radcliffe with honors—she was the first blind and deaf American to earn a college diploma. The grounds at Ivy Green include the cottage where Keller was born, the main house where she grew up, and the well pump where she first understood Sullivan's sign for water. Inside the main house, there's her library of Braille books and her original Braille typewriter. 300 W. N. Commons, 256/383-4066, helenkellerbirthplace.org, $6.
HANK WILLIAMS, Georgiana, Ala.
The country music legend got an early start in music, forming his first band, the Drifting Cowboys, when he was 14. Williams' honky-tonk hits like "Hey, Good Lookin'" and "Your Cheatin' Heart" have influenced countless performers over the years. In 1930, at age 7, Williams moved into a modest house in Georgiana (now the Hank Williams Boyhood Home and Museum) with his mother and sister; they lived there for four years. On view today: pictures and paintings of the singer, some of his earliest records, custom curtains from his home in Nashville, and even a poster announcing the Canton, Ohio, concert that he never performed—he died of a heart attack at 29 on the way to the show. 127 Rose St., 334/376-2396, hankmuseum.com, $3.
Visitors to the W.C. Handy Home and Museum can check out the two-room log cabin where William Christopher Handy was born to freed slaves in 1873. According to Handy's 1941 autobiography, Father of the Blues, the house was built by his grandfather William Wise Handy. It was moved six blocks to its current location to make it more accessible to the public—and so it could be expanded. A museum and library dedicated to black history and culture are now connected to the house. Displays include Handy's trumpet, flute, and the piano where he composed his most famous song, "St. Louis Blues." 620 W. College St., 256/760-6434, $2.
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| (Courtesy Ivy Green) |
Made blind, deaf, and mute by an illness she had as a baby (it's speculated now she could have suffered from scarlet fever or meningitis), Keller overcame her disabilities with the help of a dedicated teacher called Anne Sullivan. In 1904, Keller graduated from Radcliffe with honors—she was the first blind and deaf American to earn a college diploma. The grounds at Ivy Green include the cottage where Keller was born, the main house where she grew up, and the well pump where she first understood Sullivan's sign for water. Inside the main house, there's her library of Braille books and her original Braille typewriter. 300 W. N. Commons, 256/383-4066, helenkellerbirthplace.org, $6.
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| (Courtesy Hank Williams Boyhood Home and Museum) |
The country music legend got an early start in music, forming his first band, the Drifting Cowboys, when he was 14. Williams' honky-tonk hits like "Hey, Good Lookin'" and "Your Cheatin' Heart" have influenced countless performers over the years. In 1930, at age 7, Williams moved into a modest house in Georgiana (now the Hank Williams Boyhood Home and Museum) with his mother and sister; they lived there for four years. On view today: pictures and paintings of the singer, some of his earliest records, custom curtains from his home in Nashville, and even a poster announcing the Canton, Ohio, concert that he never performed—he died of a heart attack at 29 on the way to the show. 127 Rose St., 334/376-2396, hankmuseum.com, $3.
