Love and History

Two of my Favorite Things!

Everyone knows Valentine’s Day is in February. For some, it slips up on them, but for the most part, they can still run out and pick up a beautiful heart shaped box of delectable chocolates, find a romantic card, if they are really running late you might even get an exquisite piece of jewelry.  It seems the closer to the day (or hour) the more guilt there is and the better the gift!

Enjoy the annual Chocolate Walk in Athens.

Here is a way you can escape the ‘honey I’ve been so busy’ or ‘it just comes to close after to Christmas for me to remember everything’ excuses. Athens Main Street will be having their Chocolate Walk on February 11th Downtown Athens where you can go as a couple for a wonderful night. You do purchase a $5 ticket to participate, however the enjoyment of going to each merchant to receive a scrumptious chocolate delight until you fill your box, will… well, be a new experience then and possibly later!

Make sure you go to our new Lucius or LuVici’s for a romantic dinner or to Village Pizza to see what they have on the menu to temp your palate and show off your collection of tasty bonbons while you are out!

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But did you know February is also our Black History Month?

Black History Month is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February and in the United Kingdom in October.

The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week.”  This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which dates Black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century.

Trinity School, circa 1930

In Limestone County we have relevance of our Black History. In 2015 Trinity School was revitalized and opened as the Pincham-Lincoln Community Center. The center is part of Trinity School; Limestone County's only all-black high school until the Limestone County School System was ordered by a federal judge to integrate in 1970 or face $3,000 a day fine for each day the system remained segregated.

The site served as a Union Civil War fort called Fort Henderson (built in 1863) and was situated on Coleman Hill. It was a five-sided earthen fort with some frame buildings and underground bomb-proofs. Abatis lined the 15-foot deep perimeter ditch, a small portion of which is still visible today. It was here that runaway slaves fought and were captured by Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

After the war, missionary Mary Fletcher Wells established Trinity to educate former slaves. The school educated black students from 1930 through the 1970s and was the first school in the northern half of the state to provide kindergarten instruction for blacks. Among its most prominent students was world renowned singer Patti Malone. The school served the community until integration and then fell into disrepair.

Trinity High School class of 1935

The Athens-Limestone Community Association started an effort to save the remaining part of the fort and some of the school. The City of Athens obtained a $290,000 Community Development Block Grant from ADECA to build the Pincham-Lincoln Community Center to serve the community with educational, cultural and other programs.

ALCA raised the match money and secured $25,000 from Athens-Limestone County Tourism to save the old band room from being destroyed. It will eventually become a museum and archives facility for the site.

The project received support from other various facets of the community from Trinity staff and students, City of Athens, Limestone County Commission, the Limestone County Legislative Delegation, Athens Rotary, NAACP, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Resource Conservation and Development Council, and many others.