Since its conception in 1984, the Huntsville Pilgrimage Association has grown and evolved in its attempt to promote historic education and preservation work for our local community. Today, it is a non-profit organization. At first, in 1985, HPA did Spring home tours in the historic district for five years. In 1990, HPA sponsored the first full Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll. For over three decades, hundreds of dedicated workers have created this incredible HPA journey – this is their story.

Huntsville has over sixty-two centrally located Antebellum structures and the oldest and largest cemetery in the state. Many wanted to better promote Huntsville’s early history and promote tourism, since we already had the popular Space and Rocket Center. The chief inspiration for what became Huntsville Pilgrimage Association came from Jayne Lowry and Leslie Crowson, who were partners in the Huntsville Heritage Tours. They had studied famous pilgrimage cities, including Natchez, Charleston, and Savannah. They had a commercial guided tour business in our 19th century footprint to balance Huntsville’s emphasis on technology and the future.

in 1984, Lowry and Crowson helped organize the original board of what became the HPA. The inaugural board included both Jayne and Leslie, as well as Jack Burwell, Nell Bragg, Lynne Lowrey, Bill Rutledge, Judy Ryals, Nanette Yarn, Alice Thomas, Christine Richard, and Jean Walker, with Margaret Strickland serving as board secretary. Several Redstone Officer’s Wives Club members under President Pamela Ann Stieglitz soon also joined the HPA. Judy Ryals, as director of the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau, became a key liaison with the city of Huntsville. The objective of the organization was “to advance the appreciation and preservation of the historic heritage of Huntsville and Madison County.” Mrs. Crowson recalled, “while everyone liked the idea, nobody was ready to undertake the arduous task of setting up a major, first-class pilgrimage. So, we took the bull by the horns.” We have assiduously courted people who get things done, and we have a really capable committee of people.

The first pilgrimage – a historic home tour in Twickenham – was on Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14, 1985, which coincided with the blooming of the dogwoods. The very first house was the Rutledge House (c. 1855) at 111 Calhoun Street. It also featured the Moore-Rhett Home (c. 1826) at 603 Adams Street, the Fearm-Garth-King home (c. 1820) at 517 Franklin Street, as well as thirteen more antebellum homes. The next year, the April 1986 Pilgrimage featured a total of 15 homes and churches.

After ten years, the 1996 April Pilgrimage Home Tours had expanded to four churches, The Weeden House, The Huntsville Depot Museum, Constitution Hall Village, Harrison Brothers Hardware Store, and eight antebellum private residences. Dozens of gracious Twickenham homeowners opened their Antebellum homes to HPA tours for the general public’s appreciation of the significant architecture, period furnishings, and delightful gardens. The last HPA home tour was held in 2011. Over the 27 years, more than 120 historic homes and buildings were opened for tours in Huntsville and Madison County. By 2011, a number of difficulties with continuing an HPA Spring Home Tour and Fall Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll had arisen. HPA President Jan Williams and the Board concluded they could not continue to do both.

On October 21, 1990, HPA sponsored a “stroll” through the historic area of Maple Hill Cemetery. HPA did not have its own map of the key gravesites in the cemetery yet, so visitors used the old Twickenham Women’s Club Guide or a newer map prepared by John Rison Jones, with the help of Margaret Hutchens Henson and Dorothy Scott Johnson from the cemetery office. While there had been a few private, commercial tours earlier, HPA decided this was a great opportunity for the ultimate historic interpretation of Huntsville’s ancestry. Longtime HPA board member Perky Taylor reflected on the planning of the first true cemetery stroll, “There was some resistance to performances in the cemetery, with critics viewing it as irreverent for the solemn Maple Hill environment. HPA strived from the beginning to maintain well-researched, signified presentations by helping with scripts and costumes.” Spearheaded by George Mahoney’s prodigious organizational efforts in 1990, about 30 “spirit voices” performed, some in period costumes. That first year, Renee Pruitt, Phylles O’Connell, Elise Stephens, and Kay Cornelius dud brief historical overviews of their character. Local architect Harvey Jones portrayed George Gillam Steele (1795-1855) who had popularized the Greek Revival Style in Huntsville, building many public buildings and private homes. David Byers portrayed car manufacturer Russell Erskine at his crypt. The late Margaret Henson charmed the crowd of several hundred with her portrayal of Parmelia Thompson Bibb, wife of the second Governor, Thomas Bibb, wearing her ancestor’s actual early 19th century dress. Mrs. Taylor and HPA were delighted by the community’s overwhelming positive reaction, saying, “we had no idea how popular the stroll would become.”

Maple Hill Cemetery manager, the late Brenda Webb, supported the stroll in 1990 and helped it rapidly grow. Mayor Loretta Spencer’s husband, Guy, was an important supporter and helped get financial donations for HPA. Later, Maple Hill manager Joy McKee helped logistically direct the stroll’s huge growth. Transportation and crowd control was needed, as free admission often topped 10,000 attendees. By 1997, the stroll had evolved into a first-person presentation with all the characters in costume. The stroll became one of the largest live history performances in the country.

In the mid 1980s, HPA funded downtown tree plantings, but soon centered on financing much needed restoration work for the old section of Maple Hill Cemetery (1822). Ray MacDaniel and later Skip Stinson became experts in headstone restoration. New governor signs, replaced urns, wall restoration, and mausoleum work were all funded by HPA. The metal fence from the second courthouse was salvaged and put up on the backside of Maple Hill. To date, HPA has funded almost $400,000 in restoration efforts on more than 1,650 projects.

By 1999, the Cemetery Stroll had expanded to 47 costumed characters. Excellent performances by Mark Hallman as Senator Clement Clairborne Clay, David Millen as George Steele, and Jim Baird as Huntsville’s first sheriff Stephen Neal thrilled the large audience. Sue Hensley as the Gypsy Queen, Topper Birney as his ancestor Presidential Candidate James G. Birney, Virgil Pope as Leroy Pope Walker, Rankin Sneed as Leroy Pope, and Jackie Gray as Virginia Clay Clopton were also outstanding.

The May 2005 Cemetery Stroll featured 61 characters including Jan Williams as Governor Rueben Chapman, Phillip Willbanks as famous surveyor Thomas Freeman, Cindy Howard as Mollie Teal, Dorcas Harris as Tallulah Bankhead, and famous Huntsville lawyer Fred Simpson as Judge Paul Speake.

The stroll continued to grow in size and popularity by 2008 with 74 characters, including local historian Jacque Reeves  as famous madam and philanthropist Mollie Teal, Tim Howard as Leroy Pope, and Linda Coats as Civil War diary writer Mary Jane Chadick.

In Spring 2012, HPA began publishing “The Angel’s Voice”, an eight page newsletter, three times a year. The popular publication contains HPA news and insightful historical stories of our amazing local ancestors.

By 2015, the cast of performers had expanded to 72. In addition to the costumed historical interpreters, the stroll added Antique Automobile displays including Studebaker Autos at the Erskine Mausoleum. Traditional music groups have performed on the beautiful October afternoons including Old Towne Brass, Saint Bartley Singers, Maple Hill Celtic Band, and the Grissom Musical Anachronistic Society, which included horns and strings playing 18th and 19th century classics. Cast parties after the stroll found their home at the Weeden House.

Hundreds of memorable characters have performed at the stroll for many years such as: Robert Reeves as Dr. Thomas Fearn, Jan Dorning as the Black Widow, Elizabeth Kay Cornelius as Jane Brahan Patton, Leslie Gray as Sally Carter, Ron Cooper as Dr. Samuel Moore, Steve Johnson as David Todd (brother of Mary Todd Lincoln), Ken Carpenter as Revolutionary War soldier Albert Russell, Louis Reynolds as her ancestor suffragist Alberta Chapman Taylor, Jon Steiglitz as Sheriff Steven Neal, Dr. John Severn as prominent architect George Steele, Adam Williamson as early Scottish settler Neal Rose, J.W. Kennedy as Thomas Freeman, Henry Turner as Leroy Pope Walker, Guy Collins as John Hunt, Gay Money as Lady Grace Hines Curzon, Van Brown as Lily Flagg owner Samuel Moore, and Blake Dorning as Spanish-American War veteran Kibble Harrison. Several beautiful and talented women have appeared as crowd favorite Madam Mollie Teal, including Tish Stevens, Jacque Reeves, Christy Webb, Cindy Howard, and most recently Lou Sams.

Because of Covid-19 and city budget restrictions, HPA has not been able to perform the annual October Cemetery Stroll for the last two years. However, the 2019 Alabama Statehood Bicentennial stroll coordinated by Mary Pat Riley was one of the best ever, with 90 constumed characters. An estimated crowd of almost 13,000 people watched a grand entrance parade with introduction of the characters, including special guests George Boyd as General Joe Wheeler (1836-1906) and Hall Bryant as the fifth President of the United States, James Monroe (1758-1831).

For the past dozen years, Jan Dorning and Van Brown have been character coordinators for the stroll, helping performers with research, scripts, and costuming. It is up to each character to prepare for their performance. Brown explained, “Over the years, performers have defined and perfected their characters through their personal adaptations of research and folklore. The success is due to an undying love of history by all who embrace the presentation.” The stroll volunteers are the heartbeat that brings Huntsville’s history alive each year.

HPA volunteers and board members have worked tirelessly through the years to preserve and present Huntsville’s history to the community. In addition to home tours and the stroll, HPA spokesmen have also educated numerous schools and civic groups on Huntsville’s history. From the early days of open houses to one of the largest and most critically acclaimed live history presentations in the nation, HPA has and will continue to march on.