Alfred Leland Crabb

Alfred Leland Crabb: Pillar of Peabody

Teacher, mentor, essayist, historian, novelist, and poet, Alfred Leland Crabb (1884-1979) was a leading figure at Peabody College for more than half a century. In his later years he became an eminence of the college, greatly admired within its walls, and known beyond them for his novels, public talks, and works on local history.

Crabb was highly regarded as a teacher and mentor, and he published scholarly and practical works on education. But it was in the wide range of his other writings where he made his mark: a book and many articles on the history of Nashville; a book celebrating Peabody College’s sesquicentennial in 1935; frequent contributions to the Peabody Reflector and Peabody Journal of Education (where he was the longtime editor); and twelve historical novels, all of them set in Kentucky or Tennessee, all in the time of the Civil War or the early pioneer days. Crabb’s novels would become the main source of his reputation and made him a local celebrity in Nashville, in constant demand as a speaker.

Check out the exhibit at Peabody Library, 230 Appleton PI., Nashville, TN 37203 or online.