In May 1918, A branch of the American Red Cross Canteen Service was established in Birmingham, Alabama where it was housed in the Birmingham Terminal Station to service the many troops traveling by train during WWI. The Birmingham station was one of many operated by the Red Cross Canteen Service.

It was 1823 and the state of Alabama was still in its infancy. Thousands of settlers were flocking to Alabama in hope of a new life on the frontier. By the 1820s it is estimated that 5,000 Baptists ministered and worshipped throughout the state.

The earliest known map of the New World was drawn in 1500 by Juan de la Cosa. It is known as the Juan de la Cosa Map or the Universal Chart of Juan de la Cosa after its creator.

Around town the stadium is often affectionately referred to as The Old Gray Lady. The stadium was dedicated on November 17, 1927.

Nursing in Alabama cannot be discussed without mentioning Ida Vines Moffett.

Like the pandemic we are currently experiencing with COVID-19, the world was changed by the Spanish Flu Epidemic.

Benjamin Sterling Turner (1825-1894) was the first African-American elected to represent Alabama in the United States Congress.

2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of the First World War.

Built in 1868 the Jail at Houston is the oldest standing jail in Northern Alabama.

WHEREIN the frauds of Romish Monks and Priests and farther Discover'd, 1691.

The Alabama Medical and Surgical Age was published between 1888-1900.

These ambrotypes are a portrait of Bernice Strange and her diploma from East Alabama Female College.

Colonel James Murfee was Howard College's sixth president, installed in 1871.

In Special Collection, we are celebrating the graduation of the Class of 2017 by looking back at commencement materials from Samford University's history.

Scrapbooks have been around in one way or another for centuries. People have always tried to keep memories documented, whether in a diary or a more eclectic form.

Before there was a vote, arguments for a new name for Howard College were being heard across campus.

Howard College was formally incorporated on December 29, 1841.

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights, was passed a year before the end of the World War II.

Here at Samford we're getting ready to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the founding of our university.

Reid Chapel was to be the center for religious education when the new Homewood campus of Howard College was erected.

Samford's president Andrew Westmoreland sends a weekly email out to all students, faculty, and staff, known as the Monday Mission.

Major Harwell G. Davis (November 23, 1882-August 8, 1977) was President of Howard College from 1939-1958.

The Aldine Press was located in Venice and began printing in 1494, forty years after the completion of Gutenberg's bible in 1454.

Most people are familiar with the story of the pilgrims and Thanksgiving. However, Thanksgiving didn't become a nationally recognized annual holiday for almost 200 years.

Among the things people have done to decorate books over the years, putting clasps on them is one of the more uncommon today, but historically was pretty popular.

April 16, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from the Birmingham Jail."

Charles H. Spurgeon, The Prince of Preachers, was the foremost preacher of the 19th century.

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

In the past, course registration was done at a specified location on campus.

In May of 1787, the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to address the governing of the United States of America.

This flag is made of linen and was sewn by hand during the centennial year of the United States by Matilda Baker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Photos from IGHR at Samford University Library

Libby, whose formal name was, Oser's Lady Liberty, was a registered English bulldog owned by David and Rhonda Oser of Vestavia Hills.

On December 19, 1871 the city of Birmingham was incorporated by an act passed by the Alabama Legislature.

The Authorized Version of the Bible, commonly known as the King James Version (KJV), was commanded by King James VI & I in 1604 at Hampton Court.

William E. Butterworth III grew up around New York City and Philadelphia.

James E. Horton was born in Limestone County, Alabama in 1872.

2011 is the sesquicentennial anniversary of the American Civil War.

Julia Tarrant Barron played an important role in Alabama Baptist history.

2010 marks the centennial anniversary of the Entre Nous, Samford University's yearbook.

Baseball and the Barons have been in Birmingham since around 1885.

This antique secretary's drawer shows how family history can be found in the least likely of places.

Commencement Exercises Over the Years

The 1845 Howard College catalog lists a tuition price of $25.00 per term.

Daniel Pratt, Alabama's first great industrialist, was born in 1799 in Temple, New Hampshire.

In 1609 a group of Christians living in Amsterdam, led by John Smyth, began to practice believer's baptism rather than infant baptism which was the accepted practice.

Johannes Gutenberg (1398 - 1468) a German goldsmith and printer is credited with being the first European to use movable type c. 1439 and the creator of the printing press c. 1450s.

In June, 1888, the first Commencement of Howard College in its new location in Birmingham was held at the pavilion on the border of East Lake.

Nina Miglionico graduated from Howard Collage as the class valedictorian in 1933 with a degree in history and economics.

Mrs. Hester Wulffaert, a music teacher at Phillips High School, published "We Love America" in 1939.

In March of 1907, Booker T. Washington was invited to speak to the Theological Department at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1942 Howard College celebrated its centennial year of classes.

The library collection of Howard College, now Samford University, began as a gift in 1842 to the year-old college from the Alabama Baptist State Convention.

The Papers of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Hearn contain information from the years 1907 - 1948.

Foot binding is a custom that began over a thousand years ago among the court dancers of China.

They may not have lasted long, but they were fun while they lasted

The 1912 Entre Nous, states the "Baptist Tigers" were able to hold the "Thin Red Line" to one touchdown in the first three quarters of the season's opening game against The University of Alabama.

Football from the Howard vs. Stetson game.

Soon after the founding of Howard College two literary societies were formed, the Adelphi and the Franklin.

Maud McLure Kelly was a pioneer among Southern women.

A fore-edge painting is a watercolor design painted on the edge of a book.

When enrollment increased, Major Harwell G. Davis had a vision for a new and more accommodating campus.

An early photograph of Five Points on the southside of Birmingham.

In 1909 when Howard College was located in East Lake, the college formed a rowing club.

June brought a new beginning to Samford University.

“This is a wonderful occasion and I am deeply indebted to all of you who have chosen to share it with us.”

This kit was bought and given to the Special Collection department by William H. Brantley.

On June 30, 1966 a telecommunications milestone was reached in the state of Alabama.

A selection of Christmas cards found in the archive of the Samford University Library.

This photograph was taken during President James Thomas Murfee's administration.

The Rushton Memorial Carillon was first installed on campus in Reid Chapel in 1968.

Ruhama Baptist Church was organized in March of 1819 and is the first known Baptist church in the Birmingham area.

The images are from the original pages of the speech Governor Wallace gave on June 11, 1963 during his "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

The mite, also known as a lepton, was a Jewish coin and the smallest used in New Testament time.

Although football had been played at Howard College prior to 1902, the first official football team was not formed until that year.

Birmingham was founded in Jones Valley in 1871, fifty-two years after Alabama became a state.

Samuel Sterling Sherman was born on November 24, 1815 and grew up on his family's farm in Bennington Co. VT.