Backstory teams up with the Leeds Historical Society to create a city history museum

Jordan Hunter Jackson, Wikimedia Commons

Local and regional history have long been solidly in Backstory’s wheelhouse. Starting fall 2025, Backstory is bringing the story of an Alabama town to life.

That town is Leeds, Alabama, known to many for what’s on the town’s outskirts — Buc-ees and Bass Pro Shop, two retail powerhouses that even the most committed localvore has been known to visit. The town’s outlet mall, the quaintly named Shops of Grand River, also attracts customers from all over, both from Birmingham and its panoply of suburbs to the west and from Atlanta's western outskirts.

But, while big retail may be filling the city’s coffers, Leeds is also known for its homegrown charms. Leeds is home to a lovely downtown, a microbrewery, a booming retail district anchored by The Pants Store, events spaces, and cultural attractions like the Leeds Depot.

Local pride is woven into the city’s past. Leeds has been vital to the Birmingham region’s iron and steel economy. The Alabama town can claim not one but three Medal of Honor recipients, earning Leeds its nickname, the City of Valor.

The Leeds Historical Society is telling the city's story in a new museum. Located at the historical G.W. Bass House, the new museum begins its story before 1818, in the era of Native American presence. The Civil War, Reconstruction, the Depression, the New Deal, World War II, suburban growth -- all helped shape the city that Leeds has become.

Backstory's role is to help the Leeds Historical Society channel their knowledge and energy into good exhibit design. Expect updates on this new project as it progresses.