Digital Collections
Before their stunning quilts became a national treasure, the people of Gee's Bend shared a unique history and culture that was cultivated in isolation over time. From the early 1800s until WWII, the remote community was secluded in a deep bend of the Alabama River in rural Wilcox County. Gradual changes after the war accelerated in the 1960s, and in 1980-81, the Birmingham Public Library undertook a project to preserve the record of Gee's Bend in photographs, recordings, and oral histories. This digital collection includes some of the 450 images that photographer John Reese captured for the exhibit Looking Back at Gee's Bend.
Video/Media
Photographs
Flickr
Podcasts
PodBean
Social Media and Networking
Maps
Public libraries and schools in Birmingham
Public libraries in Jefferson County