The Sand Town community is the oldest African American neighborhood in Mobile and one of the oldest African American communities developed in the United States. Established in 1845 by former enslaved persons and free people of color, the community was built on land deemed inhabitable by the city. Located west of I-65, the community currently occupies roughly forty acres, a small portion of its original size.
0 Comments
The city of Bessemer was founded in 1887 as a manufacturing center that rivaled neighboring Birmingham as the top steel producer in the state. As a result, Bessemer grew rapidly as people moved for job opportunities in coal mining and manufacturing. Due to bustling growth, schools were established shortly after the city was founded. A church served as the earliest school for African Americans in the city in 1889. By 1891, the Bessemer Board of Education was established. Like those in other southern states, Alabama’s African American schools struggled with lack of funding and systemic racism, and the state ignored federal mandates requiring “separate but equal” schools for both Black and white populations.
Atop a hill in Phenix City stands a neoclassical two-story residence constructed by Dr. David Elias Morgan in 1904. Hailing from Monmouthshire, Wales, Morgan arrived in America as a young man. At a train stop in Columbus, Georgia, on the way to what he thought was his destination of New York City, he met Minnie Alice McGehee, whom he wed in 1890. Morgan abandoned his plans to move to New York; instead, he and his bride settled in Girard (now Phenix City), Alabama, where he served as a practicing physician.
Settled in 1886, the town of Carbon Hill incorporated in 1891. Reflective of the town’s reliance on the railway, Main Street abuts a neighboring railroad line, which was instrumental in the coal mining industry’s growth in the area. Col. Robert Galloway made possible the early development of Carbon Hill. Galloway purchased mines and properties in Carbon Hill from the Kansas City Coal and Coke Company in 1890. Shortly thereafter, a post office and Methodist church were established, and the town continued to grow. The name of the town alludes to the dark coal found in the neighboring hills.
William Farrington Aldrich, owner of the Montevallo Coal Mining Company, established Epsibeth Missionary Baptist Church for the African American community in 1873. Th e church also served as an early school for African American children. Despite the Montevallo Coal Mine Company closing in 1942, the congregation of Epsibeth stayed and continued to worship in the building. Located near Montevallo close to the entrance to the mines, the Aldrich Company Store, and Farrington Hall, this church site served as the center of Aldrich’s African American community. With its use as a church, school, and community gathering place, the preservation of this building is key to understanding the African American experience in Aldrich.
|
Alabama's Endangered Historic LandmarksEach year since 1994, Alabama Heritage has highlighted threatened historic sites throughout Alabama. The “Places in Peril” list has identified more than 215 imperiled historic resources throughout the state, and is compiled by the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation. The locations highlight the results of deferred maintenance, perceived obsolescence, development pressures, and lack of funding—forces that now more than ever threaten our cultural legacy. But awareness is a powerful force, too, and can cultivate a renewed determination to be responsible stewards of our heritage. For more information, visit the AHC or the ATHP websites. Alabama Heritage is proud to bring to you a selection of the places designated as perilous. Please keep your comments to information relevant to the featured place in peril. Alabama Heritage reserves the right to delete any comment that we deem inappropriate. Archives
May 2024
|
|