Julia Tutwiler

Julia Tutwiler

Julia Strudwick Tutwiler (August 15, 1841–March 24, 1916) was an advocate for education and prison reform in Alabama. Graduating in the first class of Vassar College, she served as co-principal of the Livingston Female Academy, and then the first (and only) woman president of Livingston Normal College (now the University of West Alabama). She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1971.

Early life and education

Tutwiler was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Henry and Julia Ashe Tutwiler. She was educated at Vassar College, New York, starting in 1861, the year that it opened. She furthered her education in Germany, France and at Washington and Lee University.

Career

Tutwiler served with her uncle as co-president of Livingston State Normal School. She was the first (and only) president of the college. After decades of expansion, it became the University of West Alabama. With her support, in 1892 ten Livingston-educated students became the first women admitted to the University of Alabama. She was called the "mother of co-education in Alabama".^{[citation needed]}

She was a key figure in the creation of the Alabama Girls' Industrial School, in October 1896. This institution eventually evolved into the University of Montevallo.

Prison reform

Known as the "angel of the prisons," Tutwiler pushed for many reforms of the Alabama penal system. Most significantly, she fought to separate female prisoners from male ones and to separate juveniles from hardened adult criminals—resulting in the first Boys' Industrial School. In addition, she demanded better prison sanitation and helped institute educational and religious opportunities for prisoners.^{[citation needed]} As a consequence of her advocacy, the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama was named in her honor. For a period the Wetumpka State Penitentiary had been renamed after Tutwiler, prior to the opening of the current Tutwiler prison.

Alabama state song

Tutwiler was known as a poet and wrote the lyrics for "Alabama", the state song, which was officially adopted in 1931. According to the Alabama Department of Archives and History, "The inspiration for writing the poem 'Alabama' came to Julia Tutwiler after she returned to her native state from Germany where she had been studying new educational methods for girls and women".

The song begins:

Alabama, Alabama,
We will aye be true to thee,
From thy Southern shore where groweth,
By the sea thine orange tree.
To thy Northern vale where floweth
Deep and blue thy Tennessee.
Alabama, Alabama
We will aye be true to thee!

Honors

The Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama is named after her. In addition a large women's dormitory at the University of Alabama and a library at University of West Alabama bear her name.^{[citation needed]}

When Judson College in Marion, Alabama, established the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1970, Tutwiler was among the first group of inductees.
Tutwiler Hall on the University of Alabama's campus is named in Julia Tutwiler's honor. It is one of the most recognizable buildings on campus and was the first tower style dorm built on campus. It is an all-female dorm and it is located at the corner of Paul W. Bryant Drive and 10th Ave., across from Bryant-Denny Stadium

External links

• Julia Strudwick Tutwiler (1841-1916) - Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.
• Julia Strudwick Tutwiler - Alabama Department of Archives and History.
• State Song: Alabama - Alabama Department of Archives and History
• , Julia Tutwiler article, Encyclopedia of Alabama
• Martha Young Papers, W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, University of Alabama.