UAH Archives and Special Collections

UAH Archives and Special Collections Special Collections and Archives collects, organizes, preserves, and makes accessible materials of enduring value.

08/21/2026

To commemorate the start of the 2026 Fall semester, we’ve unearthed a 1990 UAH Orientation video from the archives. Follow the link in our bio to watch the full video on LOUIS!

July 24, 1969 marks the homecoming of Apollo 11 and the first astronauts to visit the surface of the moon. 🌕This pamphle...
07/24/2026

July 24, 1969 marks the homecoming of Apollo 11 and the first astronauts to visit the surface of the moon. 🌕

This pamphlet from the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Mission Celebration in Huntsville contains the biographical information of the three astronauts as well as Wernher von Braun, then director of Marshall Space Flight center.
The back of the pamphlet congratulates the NASA and aerospace employees in Huntsville “who have made this historic achievement possible.”

07/16/2026

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. At 9:32 a.m. EDT, Neil Armstrong, “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins began their historic journey to the surface of the moon.

This Technicolor film shows the "V.I.P. crowd at the V.I.P. stands" at the Apollo 11 launch, watching the rocket as it takes off. Included are many contemporary celebrities, such as Lyndon B. Johnson, Spiro Agnew, Johnny Carson, Hugh O'Brian, Barry Goldwater, Lady Bird Johnson, and Hermann Oberth.

Watch the full video on JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.41572920

To mark the 250th Independence Day, we’re highlighting photographs from the Burwell Family Collection that document Hunt...
07/02/2026

To mark the 250th Independence Day, we’re highlighting photographs from the Burwell Family Collection that document Huntsville’s 1899 Fourth of July celebration and offer a glimpse of how our community celebrated American independence more than a century ago, when thousands gathered in the heart of Huntsville.

That tradition continues this year as “Huntsville Salutes America’s 250th” presents a variety of local programming to commemorate the nation’s founding. Much like the 1899 Fourth of July parade and festivities, the 2026 Fourth of July celebration on Saturday will host the American Eras Parade, live performances, family entertainment, and fireworks.

As Mayor Tommy Battle stated, “Huntsville’s legacy of innovation, service and community spirit makes it the perfect place to celebrate our shared American story.” The Burwell Family Collection reminds us of where we’ve been and invites us to celebrate how far we’ve come. Learn more at america250huntsville.org.

Image: Chattanooga fire engine in the Huntsville Fourth of July parade 1899



Chattanooga fire engine in the Huntsville Fourth of July parade 1899.

From page two of the July 12, 1899, edition of the Huntsville Weekly Democrat newspaper: “With no fear of contradiction, we assert, that no city has gotten up as magnificent a spectacle on two week’s notice, as the 4th of July celebration by the people of Huntsville” (Newspapers.com).

Greasy pole climb and crowd in downtown Huntsville during the 1899 Fourth of July celebration.

“The greased pole climb, the greased pig catch etc., all took place seratim, amid the merry laughter of the crowd, which seemed never to weary of the sight” (Huntsville Weekly Democrat).

The steeple of First United Methodist Church, still operating today, can be seen in the background.

A Chattanooga fire engine in a race from Clinton St. to the First National Bank during the 1899 Fourth of July celebration.

Fire engines from Nashville and Chattanooga made the run for a prize of fifty dollars–won by the Chattanooga Company. However, Nashville claimed that tampering had taken place, costing them the prize. (Huntsville Weekly Democrat)

Yesterday in the Archives we celebrated Scout Lana Lien’s Eagle Scout project revitalizing the Huntsville Spacewalk Trai...
06/24/2026

Yesterday in the Archives we celebrated Scout Lana Lien’s Eagle Scout project revitalizing the Huntsville Spacewalk Trail. With the help of Digital Archivist Charlie Gibbons, Lana used archival materials from the Monte Sano United Methodist Church Collection to conduct the background research needed to gain support for the trail revitalization from Monte Sano State Park, Burritt on the Mountain, and the Land Trust of North Alabama.

The new version of the trail, officially instituted this April, Huntsville Spacewalk 3.0, circumnavigates Monte Sano, tracing the historic 2.0 route in the State Park and at Burritt, and adds a new section that crosses the Land Trust.

Explore Monte Sano materials in the UAH collections on JSTOR and look out for an upcoming article in the UAH news with further information on Lana and her project!

Lana with John Allen, Christel McCanless, Charlie Gibbons, and David Moore (from left to right).

On this day in 1983–43 years ago–NASA astronaut Sally K. Ride made her mark on history by becoming the first American wo...
06/18/2026

On this day in 1983–43 years ago–NASA astronaut Sally K. Ride made her mark on history by becoming the first American woman in space when the STS-7 mission aboard the Challenger Space Shuttle was launched.

This North American Space Operations pamphlet in the archives features images and information on the STS-7 and its crew.

It’s International Archives Day! We want to thank our team and partners at the UAH Archives—along with the archivists an...
06/09/2026

It’s International Archives Day! We want to thank our team and partners at the UAH Archives—along with the archivists and staff around the world who work to preserve and share the historical records of their communities.

Stop by our new display of items from the Aircraft Engine Historical Society (AEHS) collection featuring manuscripts, books, publications, drawings, charts, film, audio, and ephemera that document the history of aviation operations, research, and design. ✈️

A special thanks to AEHS and donors such as Chris Stuhlinger, George Martin, and Saverio Morea for their contributions to the collection.

60 years ago on June 2, 1966, NASA’s Surveyor 1, an uncrewed “soft-landing” vehicle, became the first American spacecraf...
06/02/2026

60 years ago on June 2, 1966, NASA’s Surveyor 1, an uncrewed “soft-landing” vehicle, became the first American spacecraft to touch down on the surface of the moon. 🚀🌕

The thousands of images transmitted through its television camera system revealed that the lunar surface was stable enough to support landed vehicles and humans—key information in preparations for the future Apollo missions. 📸👩‍🚀
(Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Science Operations Center)

Images: Illustration, cover, and pages from a 1959 report to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Working Group on Lunar and Planetary Surfaces titled, “Preliminary Study of an Unmanned Lunar Soft Landing Vehicle (Scientific Application).”

Search UAH Archives on JSTOR to explore our digitized collections!

Aligning with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “All People Were Created Equal” May initiative, the theme o...
05/22/2026

Aligning with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “All People Were Created Equal” May initiative, the theme of Huntsville’s 2026 Historic Preservation Month centers on Indigenous history and the experiences of the people who first inhabited this land.

These records from the Willstown Cherokee Mission Site were compiled in the early 1970s as part of a TARCOG (Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments) and TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) survey of historical sites in North Alabama, more than a decade before the site was formally recognized as part of the National Park Service’s Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. They’re an example of the local and regional documentation work that often precedes and enables broader historic designation and protection.

The Willstown mission and school was established near Fort Payne in 1823 and closed before the Cherokee removal in 1838. These records offer insight into a once-thriving Cherokee settlement and mission community, while also reminding us of the larger histories of displacement that forever altered Indigenous places and people across the region. Preservation is not only about protecting historic material, but also about ensuring the full histories they represent and the communities connected to them remain visible.

Follow the link in our bio to explore the full collection. 🔗

Images: 1974 historical survey documents and photograph records of the Willstown site near Fort Payne, AL.

May the 4th Be With You. 💫 To celebrate, we’ve found some classic titles in the Special Collections & Archives including...
05/04/2026

May the 4th Be With You. 💫
To celebrate, we’ve found some classic titles in the Special Collections & Archives including a first edition of Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker.

You can explore more of the book collection through the Salmon library catalogue!

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