[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18935-S18937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       MEASURE PLACED ON THE CALENDAR--HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 132

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kempthorne). The clerk will read a bill 
for the second time.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A joint resolution (H.J. Res. 132) affirming the budget 
     resolution will be based on the most recent technical and 
     economic assumptions of the Congressional Budget Office and 
     shall achieve a balanced budget by fiscal year 2002 based on 
     those assumptions.

  Mr. DOLE. I object to further consideration at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The bill will be placed on 
the calendar.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  
[[Page S18936]]


                 THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF TUSCUMBIA, AL

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, my hometown of Tuscumbia, AL is in the 
midst of celebrating a very special day in its history. On December 20, 
1820--175 years ago--Tuscumbia was officially declared to be a city in 
the State of Alabama. Hers is a rich and colorful history, steeped in 
the tradition and development of Alabama and of the Nation.
  Tuscumbia's recorded story is, first, one of French settlers, who as 
far back as 1780 established a trading post on Cold Water Creek near 
the Tennessee River about 1 mile from the present-day northern city 
limit. This creek, which runs through Tuscumbia, is the outlet for the 
immense spring which rises from the ground near the center of the city. 
It had probably been a center of Indian activity for many centuries 
prior to that.
  When the French colony was established, Nashville, TN was the most 
important American trading station in what was then the southwestern 
United States. Nashville and the settlements to its south were 
frequently subjected to hostile incursions by Indians stirred up by the 
French.
  In 1787, Col. James Robertson organized an expedition, marching south 
and across the shoals of the Tennessee River where he found the Indian 
village near the mouth of Cold Water Creek. The Indians and their 
French allies retreated a short distance up the creek to where 
Tuscumbia is located and here Col. Robertson attacked and defeated 
them, capturing the trading post and a large quantity of supplies.
  In March 1817, Congress passed an act establishing the Territory of 
Alabama. The town was first surveyed and laid out as a city by Gen. 
Coffee that same year, 1817. When the territorial legislature assembled 
at Huntsville in October 1819, a bill was passed incorporating the town 
of ``Ococopoosa,'' which means ``cold water.'' At another session of 
the territorial legislature a few months later, the name of the town 
was changed to Big Spring, and on December 20, 1820, the legislature of 
the new State of Alabama officially incorporated it as a town. The name 
was changed on December 31, 1822 to Tuscumbia, after a celebrated chief 
of the Chickasaw Indians who had befriended the Dickson family, the 
first American settlers who arrived in 1815.
  When Tuscumbia was established, the Tennessee River was navigable 
from the Ohio River until it reached the shoals near Tuscumbia. The 
shoals extended to nearby Decatur, where the Tennessee River again 
became navigable up into the State of Tennessee. About this time, a new 
enterprise known as the railroad became commercially viable in the 
United States.
  The very first railroad to be built west of the Allegheny mountains 
was one that connected Tuscumbia to the Tennessee River. It was 
completed in 1832, 2\1/8\ miles long. In 1834, the Tuscumbia, 
Courtland, and Decatur Railroad was built in order to serve as a 
connecting link between the 2 portions of navigable waters of the 
Tennessee River. Over the next 25 years, there was an enormous amount 
of trade with New Orleans by water. Magnificent steamers, some of them 
carrying as much as 6,000 bales of cotton, glided up and down the 
rivers. Some of these ships were palatial in their accommodations and 
furnishings. Excursions on one of these elegant boats to the Crescent 
City were very popular. Other steamers ran to cities along the Ohio 
River and to St. Louis. River traffic became less popular around 1857, 
when the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was connected with the 
Tuscumbia, Courtland, and Decatur Railroad.
  Until completion of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, the 
Tuscumbia Post Office was a major distributing office, and probably the 
largest and most important one between Nashville and New Orleans. A 
number of State lines converged here.
  Tuscumbia's story is also a tragic one of war and destruction. During 
the War Between the States from 1861 to 1865, there were few areas of 
the South more completely devastated than the beautiful Tennessee 
Valley. Tuscumbia was at the center of the fiery track of the armies of 
both sides. Large blocks of brick stores and many private homes were 
destroyed and condemned. Cavalry horses roamed at will through grounds 
that were the pride of their owners.
  Americans have, thankfully, rarely experienced the infliction from an 
enemy army's occupation. But the people of the Tennessee Valley area, 
including Tuscumbia, during the time of the Civil War were all-too-
familiar with looting, burning, and other atrocities. In her book 200 
Years at Muscle Shoals, Nina Leftwich recalls some of the conditions 
these citizens faced. The following passage appears in her historical 
writings:

       The story of the wrongs inflicted upon the defenseless 
     citizens of Tuscumbia during the occupation by the Federals 
     is best told by an account of it written by Mr. L.B. Thornton 
     [the editor of the local newspaper] soon after it occurred:
       ``The Federal army first made its appearance in Tuscumbia 
     on the 16th of April 1862 under General Mitchell . . . They 
     broke open nearly every store in the town, and robbed them of 
     everything they wanted, arrested a great many peaceable 
     citizens, forcing some to take the oath of allegiance to the 
     U.S. government, robbed the masonic hall of its jewels and 
     maps, and broke open and destroyed the safes in the stores 
     and offices. They destroyed my office by breaking my desk and 
     book cases, and destroying the papers, and took them from my 
     office 30 maps of the state of Alabama . . .
       ``Ladies could not safely go out of their houses. Citizens 
     were arrested and held in confinement, or sent off to the 
     North, in many cases without any charge being made against 
     them, and the citizens were not permitted to meet on the 
     streets and converse together. Person nor property was safe 
     from the soldiers. They took from private citizens whatever 
     they wanted--hogs, sheep, cattle of every kind, vegetables, 
     corn, potatoes, fowl of every description . . . When they 
     evacuated the town, they set fire to it in 4 or 5 different 
     places * * *''

  More than 30 of Tuscumbia's brave young men were killed during the 
war, and for years after the sound of battle had died away, the town 
sat on the ashes of desolation, waiting for a brighter day to dawn. 
That day did come when the industrial city of Sheffield was founded, 
bringing jobs and trade to Tuscumbia.
  Colbert County was established on February 6, 1867, when it was 
separated from Franklin County, one of the original Alabama counties. 
Later that same year, the county was abolished by the Constitutional 
Convention. After Alabama was readmitted to the Union in 1868, the new 
government reestablished Colbert County. This new county need a county 
seat, and on March 7, 1870, an election was held to determine if 
Tuscumbia or Cherokee would be the permanent county seat. Tuscumbia won 
by a vote of 1367 to 794.
  Writing in 1888, Capt. Arthur Henley Keller, who authored the book 
History of Tuscumbia, Alabama, described Tuscumbia as having ``caught 
the contagion of progress and enterprise, and within the last 2 years 
has doubled her population. Observant and far-seeing men recognize the 
fact that she has every natural advantage that any other place in 
Northern Alabama has, and that which money can never secure. Her 
society is as good as can be found anywhere. She has churches of all 
denominations and first-rate schools. The Deshler Female Institute 
stands in the front rank of Southern schools. It stands as a monument 
to the memory of Brigadier Gen. James Deshler, of Tuscumbia, who was 
killed at the battle of Chickamauga.''

  The story of Tuscumbia is that of leaders like Robert Burns Lindsay, 
who served as Governor of Alabama in the early years of the 1870's, 
which were difficult years of Reconstruction. He opposed secession, 
along with most of the residents of north Alabama, but after Alabama's 
ordinance of secession was enacted, he remained loyal to his adopted 
state.
  In 1870, Lindsay was elected Governor of Alabama. His leadership was 
important during those tough Reconstruction years and he fought 
mightily to end that difficult era of occupation.
  Governor Lindsay and his wife Sarah had a daughter named Maud 
McKnight Lindsay. She attended Deshler Female Institute and received 
kindergarten training. She went on to teach kindergarten in Tuscumbia 
and served as the principal of the Florence Free Kindergarten, the 
first free kindergarten in Alabama. She became a great leader in the 
cause of educating young children and was the author of many childrens' 
books. She passed away in 1941.
  No history of Tuscumbia would be complete without the story of Helen 
Keller, who was born at Ivy Green in 

[[Page S18937]]
1880. In fact, the Keller family first settled in Tuscumbia around the 
time of its founding in 1820. Her grandfather was very involved in the 
railroad development. His son was Captain Arthur Henley Keller, a 
colorful confederate soldier, lawyer, and newspaper editor who wrote 
the history from which I quoted earlier. Capt. Keller was Helen's 
father.
  When she was only 19 months old, she suffered acute congestion of the 
stomach and brain which left her deaf and blind. It was right behind 
the main house at Ivy Green at the water pump that Helen Keller, under 
the tutelage of her teacher Anne Sullivan, first learned that every 
object had a name. The word ``w-a-t-e-r'' was the first one she 
understood, but ``teacher'' became the most important word in her life.
  Tuscumbia native Helen Keller contributed so much in her lifetime as 
an educator, author, and advocate for the disabled. She furthered the 
cause of improving education and general conditions for the handicapped 
and disabled around the world. During World War II, she visited the 
sick and wounded in military hospitals. Today, Ivy Green is host to an 
annual weekend festival celebrating the life and accomplishments of the 
``First Lady of Courage.'' Thousands of people from all across the 
world pay visits to see where Helen Keller lived as a child and where 
she learned to overcome obstacles to become an inspiring heroine. Each 
summer, thousands also attend live performances of the play ``The 
Miracle Worker.'' This most famous daughter of Tuscumbia is a symbol of 
hope to those around the world who have ever doubted their ability to 
persevere and achieve. She passed away in 1968.
  An integral part of the story of Tuscumbia is the founding of the 
Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the great achievements of the New 
Deal. Congress created TVA in 1933 and gave it the overall goal of 
conserving the resources of the valley region. Congress also directed 
TVA to speed the region's economic development and, in case of war, to 
use the Tennessee Valley's resources for national defense. It provided 
many much-needed jobs during the dark years of the Great Depression and 
contributed to our military success during World War II.
  Congress established TVA after many years of debate on how to use the 
Federal Ggovernment's two nitrate plants and Wilson Dam at Muscle 
Shoals. During the ensuing 62 years, TVA has built dams to control 
floods, create electrical power, and deepen rivers for shipping. It has 
planted new forests and preserved existing ones, led the development of 
new fertilizers, and is now involved in solving the nation's 
environmental problems. The lakes created by damming the Tennessee 
River and its branches add to the beauty of our region. Besides 
providing electrical power, water recreation, and navigable waterways, 
TVA has been a major contributor in the economic growth and development 
of this area and all of north Alabama.
  Attracted by TVA electrical power, Reynolds Metals Co. was located at 
Listerhill, AL, and for more than 50 years, many Tuscumbians have been 
provided jobs there. During a somewhat similar period, the Robbins 
plants located in Tuscumbia have impacted the economy of the city and 
region.
  During a very crucial period in the development of the Tennessee 
Valley, the northern part of Alabama was represented in Congress by a 
Tuscumbian, the Hon. Edward B. Almon. He was elected in 1914 and was 
very much involved in the congressional authorizations for Wilson Dam 
and the two government nitrate plants. He played an important role in 
passing the National Defense Act of 1916, which was highly instrumental 
in the development of this area. He was the Congressman when the TVA 
was created. He died a short time after the TVA act was signed into 
law, and was succeeded by another Tuscumbian, Archibald Hill 
Carmichael. He served during the most formative years of the Roosevelt 
era.
  Earlier, I mentioned Brig. Gen. James Deshler, for whom Deshler 
Female Institute was named and whose name our high school bears. I 
should also mention that his father, Maj. David Deshler, played an 
important role in the development of Tuscumbia, particularly with 
regard to the railroads.
  The name of Gen. John Daniel Rather is also indelibly etched into the 
railroad history of Tuscumbia. He served as a director and officer of 
the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. While he was its president, it was 
merged with the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad to 
become the Southern Railway System.
  Tremendous contributions to the State's educational system came from 
2 Tuscumbians, Dr. George Washington Trenholm and his son, Dr. Harper 
Councill Trenholm. And no history of Tuscumbia would be complete 
without mentioning Heinie Manush, a professional baseball player who 
was the first Alabamian to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame at 
Cooperstown, NY. He compiled a life-time batting average of .330.
  I hope the celebrations and events over the last 3 weeks have brought 
Tuscumbians a better understanding of the city and area's history. As 
the 175th birthday of our beloved Tuscumbia comes to a close, and as we 
start speeding toward her 200th anniversary in the year 2020, I hope 
that each resident will take a moment to reflect upon how blessed they 
are to be from there.
  I think back upon my life and career there and cannot imagine them 
having been anywhere else. It is a progressive little city that has 
changed a great deal over the years, but it is also one that has always 
retained its small-town charm and the many qualities that make it such 
a unique place to live. Since her birthday 175 years ago, Tuscumbia has 
aged gracefully and improved with time. As I said back in March when I 
announced my retirement from the Senate, I will enjoy the remainder of 
my days in my hometown after I retire, for Tuscumbia is a wonderful 
little town to be from and the best little town in America to go home 
to. I wish Tuscumbia a happy birthday and look forward to enjoying many 
more with her well into the next century.

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