Etowah County

by Mike Goodson

Overview

Etowah County, located in northeast Alabama, was formed in 1866 from parts of Marshall, Calhoun, St. Clair, DeKalb, Blount, and Cherokee Counties. Originally known as Baine, the area was named Etowah County in 1868. Although the smallest county in Alabama in land area, Etowah is rich in local history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738567204
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	02/11/2009
Series:	Then and Now
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Author Mike Goodson, a native of Alabama City, writes a weekly column in the Gadsden Times and has authored three Arcadia titles on the county's history. He is married to the former Ann Moore of Gadsden.

Editorial Reviews

Title: Goodson to sign copies of book today
Author: Cyndi Nelson
Publisher: Gadsen Times
Date: 5/1/09

Mike Goodson, an Alabama City native whose weekly "History Revisited" column has appeared for many years in The Gadsden Times, will be signing copies today of his most recent book, "Then & Now: Etowah County."

Goodson will be signing copies from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. today in Gadsden Christian Bookstore, 434 Broad St., during First Friday. Books will be available for purchase during the signing.

This is Goodson's fourth book for Arcadia Publishing. His first two, "Etowah County" and "Etowah County Volume II," were co-authored with Bob Scarboro and are part of Arcadia's "Images of America" series. The third, "Gadsden: City of Champions," is part of the publisher's "Making of America" series.

In "Then & Now," Goodson took photographs from the Scarboro Collection, which now is housed in the Gadsden Public Library, and paired them with modern photographs of the same sites or structures. The cover, for instance, depicts the Pitman Theatre with a crowd gathered to welcome Mary Badham and Phillip Alford, stars of "To Kill a Mockingbird." The bottom photo was made April 5, 1963, when Alford, a child star and Gadsden native, and his co-star came for the local premiere of the film. The top photo was made April 5, 2008, when the two returned for a screening of the film during Gadsden Reads: "To Kill a Mockingbird," a community literacy project.

Pairings in the book show homes that have been restored or preserved, such as those in Gadsden's historic district, and businesses that have evolved through the decades, such as the Magic Burger. Others show the stark contrasts between what was "then," such as the Elliott Peach Orchard, and what is "now," the Gadsden Country Club on the site where the orchard once stood.

In addition to writing about history, Goodson frequently hosts walking history tours.

He teamed with local filmmaker Grover Brown to produce a documentary, "Ghosts of Gadsden," based on a "ghost tour" Goodson led Oct. 30 through Gadsden. Copies of the DVD are available at Little Faces Doll Shop on Broad Street.

For information on the book signing, call the store, 546-5911.

From the Publisher