istory has long been a focus for the Red Bay, Alabama Civitan Club when it comes to community projects. In the early 1980's, the club was made aware that there was no written history of their town and surrounding area. The club then commissioned, former Alabama Congressman and Vina, Alabama native, Carl Elliott to be the author of a Red Bay history book, later named One Hundred Years of Memories, An Oral History of Red Bay, Alabama (1888-1988). 

fter 10 years of interviewing local citizens, collecting old photographs, making new photographs, and selling sponsorships to help finance the book, if became a reality in the early 1990s. Twelve hundred copies of the book were printed and to date almost 1000 have been sold all over the United States, with many going to libraries and individuals seeking genealogy information. Over forty people were interviewed, sharing their memories and thoughts on Red Bay and hundreds of old photographs depicting scenes of early Red Bay were used.

hile doing research on the book, it was discovered that many items related to Red Bay’s past were still located in the area. The idea to one day house these items in some way was born then, and through the years other items were located and a search for a place to display these items began. In 2004 a building was secured to finally display these treasures from the area, and work began on constructing displays that would showcase these to their best advantage. The facade of the early 1900's building, which had been drastically changed through the years, was rebuilt to reflect how it may have looked when originally constructed.

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