Cover: In 1956 Rosa Parks and more than ninety others were indicted for illegal boycotting. (Courtesy Montgomery County Archives.)


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Summer 2007, Issue 85

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Brookside: A Wild West Town in Alabama
By Pam Jones

A decade after Sloss-Sheffield closed its local mines, depression-era Brookside struggled to regain its economic footing. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Company. Birmingham, Alabama, June, 1936. Sloss purchased the Brookside mines a year after they opened, in 1887. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) The majority of Brookside’s miners were Slovak immigrants. Instead of returning to the surface for lunch, they would often carry their meals in metal buckets and eat on the job. This left little time for rest during twelve-hour work days. (Courtesy the Birmingham Public Library.) Brookside’s Eastern European heritage is apparent in many of its historic buildings. The onion-shaped dome and orthodox cross are the defining features of the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, built in 1916. (Courtesy the Birmingham Public Library.)
Despite its storied history, Brookside’s future lies in its rich waterways and greenspaces. (Courtesy the Town of Brookside.) Many of the plots in St. Michael's Cemetery reflect the town’s immigrant heritage. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) The state militia arrived in Brookside after the 1908 Battle of Jefferson. Instead of secluding themselves, townspeople surrounded the militia, even infiltrating its photo in front of several Main Street saloons. (Courtesy the Town of Brookside.) A typical miner’s home in Depression-era Brookside. (Courtesy the Alabama Department of Archives and History.)
Brookside’s St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, founded in 1894, was the first Russian Orthodox parish in the Deep South. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) Brookside’s St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, founded in 1894, was the first Russian Orthodox parish in the Deep South. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) Brookside’s St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, founded in 1894, was the first Russian Orthodox parish in the Deep South. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) The Slovak calendar revolved around religious ceremonies, and christenings were significant family events. (Courtesy Birmingham Public Library.)
Brookside’s Eastern European heritage is apparent in many of its historic buildings. The onion-shaped dome and orthodox cross are the defining features of the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, built in 1916. (Courtesy the Library of Congress/HABS.) Decades after Brookside’s mining company closed, its beehive coke ovens remain scattered throughout the town’s landscape. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) Brookside Coal Mine’s tipples, where coal was cleaned and transferred to vehicles for delivery (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) Prior to the official funeral rites, Slovak families would pose for a photo with the deceased, then begin the arduous journey up Tiger Hill. (Courtesy the Birmingham Public Library.)
This bridge spanned Five Mile Creek east of Main Street a decade before the flood that devastated Brookside. ((Courtesy the Library of Congress.) Decades after Brookside’s mining company closed, its beehive coke ovens remain scattered throughout the town’s landscape. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) Brookside Coal Mine’s tipples, where coal was cleaned and transferred to vehicles for delivery (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) Turn-of-the-century families would picnic in the cool recesses of Jefferson Tunnel on sultry summer days. (Courtesy the Town of Brookside.)
Brookside’s Eastern European heritage is apparent in many of its historic buildings. The onion-shaped dome and orthodox cross are the defining features of the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, built in 1916. (Courtesy the Birmingham Public Library.) Mines depended on the railroads to transport their products to diverse regions throughout the country. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.) Brookside children often had happy, albeit brief, childhoods. Many youths began working in the mines at extremely young ages. (Courtesy the Library of Congress.)  

 









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