The coronavirus pandemic provided an opportunity for many local organizations and businesses to expand their online offerings to continue connecting with the public even when face-to-face wasn’t an option.

At the Limestone County Archives, this included highlighting their already vast array of local historical documents and photos. It also meant reorganizing their files for better access and providing new content through the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

County Archivist Rebekah Davis said before the pandemic, she would travel around the state as a Road Scholar, giving a presentation and answering questions about the Scottsboro Boys, nine black boys who were accused of raping two white women on a train in 1931.

Limestone Judge James E. Horton Jr. famously set aside the guilty verdict of one of the boys. Now, during the pandemic, Davis’ presentation has been opened to people around the country, and she can present the story from the late Horton’s bench in the courtroom where he made his decision instead of from a stage.

“Pen Strokes of Justice: Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys” is available on the AHF YouTube channel and features Peggy Allen Towns, author of “Scottsboro Unmasked: Decatur’s Story,” alongside Davis.

Not only is Davis among the first to try their hand at being a Virtual Road Scholar, she’s also getting a chance to cover more topics. Last week, Davis presented “Sisters in Suffrage: The First Female Voters of Limestone County,” a look at the history of women’s voting rights in Limestone County — including some of the women who may have helped influence the way local news media covered the topic.

Davis said she found a lot of information from the Limestone Democrat and Athens Courier, the newspapers that covered Limestone County at the time and would go on to merge into The News Courier. She said it was interesting to see how Robert Henry Walker, then-editor of the Limestone Democrat, shifted from being against the idea to saying every woman should make sure she registered to vote and voted.

“One of the first women to vote (in Limestone County) was his wife,” Davis said. “… You can’t help but wonder if she might have influenced him a little bit.”

Next week, Davis will get to share history from Belle Mina and Mooresville through a presentation on “Cotton Country Cooking.” The cookbook was printed by the Junior League of Morgan County and has remained a go-to in homes across the South for decades.

At 11 a.m. Monday, viewers can watch on Zoom or Facebook Live as Davis makes Eggs Creole, a dish that was popular at brunches in Belle Mina and Mooresville. She’ll also be sharing historical photos from the Archives, discussing other recipes in the book and answering viewer questions.

AHF is offering a free copy of “Cotton Country Cooking” to the first 15 people who register and stay for the whole show. Visit alabamahumanities.org/programs/road/ for more information.

The future of local history

Davis hopes the Virtual Road Scholar presentations will be useful to teachers and researchers for years to come. The Archives, like all county buildings, had to close during the start of the pandemic, but Davis said it gave them a chance to make themselves even more accessible online.

“Being closed has offered us an opportunity to do a lot of what we didn’t have time to do,” she said.

Researchers and educators can visit limestonearchives.com to access many of the Archives’ records, including government records and obituaries.

“They can go to our Master Index,” she said. “Many of our government records are digitized and people can save, view and print for free.”

There’s also a link to a virtual map of monuments, memorials and markers in Limestone County for those who want to take a tour of the county’s history and visit landmarks in person. The Archives office at 102 W. Washington St., Athens, is also open to in-person visits, but Davis said they are strongly encouraging visitors call 256-233-6404 and set an appointment first.

“We’re not going to turn you away if you don’t, but it’s a lot easier for us to maintain social distancing and not having too many people in here at once if we have appointments,” Davis said.