UAH Archives and Special Collections

10/30/2026

In the spirit of Halloween…

These pages from Harvie P. Jones’s architecture notebooks (No. 65, 62, and 19) document the Erskine Tomb and Mary Bibb Mausoleum at Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama. Harvie Paul Jones, a Huntsville native and architect, used field notebooks to document his preservation work over the course of his career. They contain handwritten notes, drawings, photographs, and reference materials on historic structures across the Southeast.

The Erskine tomb was built in the 1820s with bronze doors and granite stone. The Mary Bibb mausoleum was constructed by the architect George Steele in the Greek Revival style around 1835.

Wander through the oldest and largest cemetery in the city for a closer look and explore more of the Harvie P. Jones collection on JSTOR.

10/26/2026

The Madison County Record recently highlighted our efforts to preserve local history and make archival materials accessible through digitization. Explore how we’re safeguarding the past and connecting our community to its history.

Read both articles and learn more about our collections and services below!

https://www.themadisonrecord.com/2026/10/14/behind-scenes-preserving-history-digitizing-process/

https://www.themadisonrecord.com/2026/10/07/local-history-resource-spotlight-uah-archives/

MADISON – Last week’s column explored UAH’s archives as a community resource for preserving and researching local history. A big part of UAH’s archives being a community resource is the digitized artifacts they have made available online.

10/23/2026

It’s SciFi Friday once again! 👽
The next item we’d like to highlight from our science fiction collection is a 1948 first edition of Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr., the novella that inspired “The Thing” films.

This signed copy was donated to the Archives by W***y Ley, a German-American rocket scientist and science writer who helped popularize rocketry and space travel. After fleeing N**i Germany in 1936, Ley settled in the United States, where he wrote influential science fiction and nonfiction works promoting the future of space exploration. He died less than a month before Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.

Campbell signed the book to Ley writing, “As a sort of down payment on several books I owe you. But at our relative rates of production I’ll never catch up!”

10/20/2026

Our own James Williamson presented at the Society of Alabama Archivists Conference on October 9 at the University of Montevallo, sharing UAH Archives’ ongoing efforts to improve access to the German Rocketry Archive collection.

Accessioned in 2021, the collection contains final research reports by German scientists who developed ballistic missiles for N**i Germany from 1937-1945.

James’s discussed the collection’s complex provenance and unique characteristics, and his work developing a cross-reference tool to help researchers navigate its many indexing systems.

10/16/2026

SciFi Friday at the Archives! 🛸
We’re diving into our science fiction works and highlighting a 1932 edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein containing illustrations by the artist Nino Carbe. The novel was a donation from former Library director, Jean Perreault, in 2000.

10/14/2026

Today, we received a major donation to the Archives from George S. James, whose rocketry career began in 1943 with the founding of the Reaction Research Institute (RRI), a nonprofit dedicated to amateur rocketry safety education. He captained RRI for more than 80 years while pursuing a diverse career that included service at Redstone Arsenal on Wernher von Braun’s engineering liaison staff, work with Frank Lloyd Wright, and positions at Aerojet-General Corporation, the Smithsonian’s National Museum, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Energy. After 35 years of federal service, James retired in 2011 and passed away in 2024.

We’re honored to preserve George S. James’s legacy and his unique contributions to the history of rocketry and public service.

10/09/2026

The University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives mourns the passing of our former colleague, David Hanning.

Dave began his time with the Archives as a volunteer before joining our team as a part-time staff member. Among his many contributions was processing the Aircraft Engine Historical Society Collection, helping preserve an important part of aviation history for future researchers.

You can learn more about Dave’s career and his work with the collection in this oral history interview recorded in 2006 (link in comments).

We are grateful for Dave’s contributions to the Archives and the collections he helped preserve. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.

Read Dave’s obituary (link in comments).

10/07/2026

Big changes are happening behind the scenes at the Archives! We’re in the process of installing new shelving in our storage area to give our collections more room to grow.

10/01/2026

October is American Archives Month, a time to highlight the work of archives and archivists who steward historical records and safeguard our cultural heritage for generations to come.

To celebrate, we’ll be showcasing collections and projects from the Archives throughout October!


Images (page 1):
- Missile Strategy Computer at the Alabama Space and Rocket Center (Southpaw Postcard Collection).
- Students socialize at the UAH sign (UAH Photographs Collection).
- Harrison Brother Hardware Interior (Southpaw Postcard Collection).
- UAH library student assistant (UAH Photographs Collection).

Image (page 2): Members of the Society for Creative Anachronism demonstrating a medieval duel in full armor (UAH Photographs Collection).

Explore more of our digital collections on JSTOR (link in bio).

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!