Kathryn Tucker Windham has spent most of her career recording and preserving Alabama 's history and folklore. Now her hometown of Thomasville has dedicated a museum to preserve her legacy as a journalist, photographer and storyteller.

Alabama Southern Community College in Thomasville opened the Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum with a celebration of her 85th birthday on June 1, 2003. The museum, housed in the college's library building, takes visitors through Ms. Windham's early childhood in Thomasville, her career as a journalist and her rise to national attention as a storyteller. An exhibit covering her one-woman show on the life of Julia Tutwiler features the costume she wore in productions across the state. The Windham Room, a reading and archive room, includes photos and accompanying stories beginning with Ms. Windham's earliest photos taken with a Kodak Brownie camera she received at age 12. When completed, this room will include rocking chairs with audio hook-ups allowing visitors to sit and listen to recorded stories told by Ms. Windham.

The museum also includes a sculpture of Ms. Windham by Alabama folk artist Charlie Lucas.

The museum is located on the Alabama Southern campus on Highway 43 just south of Thomasville.

Hours are Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. (closes at 6:30 p.m. in the summer); Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.; and Sunday, 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.

For more information, call Alabama Southern Community College, (251) 637-3146.