Five Mile Creek Local History Committee

Chair: Staci Glover, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Members include:  Betty Henderson, Historian of Center Point, Tynette Grissom, representing Cardiff area families, Dr. Pam Sterne King, UAB professor of history, Dr. Bob Corley, UAB Center for Urban Studies, Dr. Ken Kirby, Samford University, and Alesha Hardin, graduate of the UAB history program.

In the first meetings this year, current resources were identified including existing work by Ken Kirby and Staci Glover. Cities that have been targeted in the past for oral history will continue to be used as a resource including Brookside, Cardiff, Center Point, Republic, and Tarrant.   The group is working on defining the collection process for artifacts, finding a depository for artifacts, establishing a curriculum for schools, and establishing an oral history protocol. Cawaco RC&D Council provided funds for the purchase of two FEMA travel trailers to temporarily hold artifacts, and to use as a location to conduct oral history interviews and scan photographs and documents for preservation.  Graysville and Center Point fire stations agreed to house the trailers on their property. 

Mission Statement

Five Mile Creek Greenway Partnership local history committee is a committee of the Five Mile Creek Greenway Partnership.  The purpose of this committee will identify, collect and disseminate the history of the Five Mile Creek watershed and the peoples that work along it.  The information will be used as a part of the watershed plan which is ultimately to clean up and preserve the Five Mile Creek water shed area. 

The committee serves as a response to a larger plan to connect parks along the greenway. 
Scope statement (f) in the Intergovernmental Agreement Establishing the Five Mile Creek Greenway Partnership speaks to the role of the committee:
“Promote an appreciation for Five Mile Creek’s natural, historical and cultural heritage and that of its neighborhoods”

Objectives:

• Develop an oral history library both written and recorded
• Continue recordings of oral histories throughout the watershed
• Develop standardized form of questionnaire for the interviews
• Identify the people to be interviewed
• Designate representative communities – Brookside. Cardiff, Center Point, Republic, Tarrant, Graysville, Birmingham, Fultondale, Gardendale
• Target diverse community history including unique immigrants such as Russian orthodox, French, African Americans, mining and agricultural communities
• Find location(s) to house the copies of the oral histories and artifacts
• Deposit primary info archive of Birmingham Public Library
• Record written interviews on tape
• Collect and catalogue – artifacts, letters, documents, photos with appropriate releases
• Collect church and civic organization histories
• Identify historic buildings
• Identify eligible historic districts, buildings of historical significance
• Identify buildings and districts eligible for the National Register, access funding
• Seek funding to address objectives