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Published by The University of Alabama,
The University of Alabama at Birmingham,
and the Alabama Department of Archives and History

The Cahaba Project of Trussville, Alabama

5/6/2022

 
Picture
Photo credit: cahabaheritage.org
Trussville, Alabama, located fourteen miles from downtown Birmingham, grew out of humble beginnings. Before officially becoming a town in 1947, the “Cahaba Project” attracted families to the area. This building development project began in the late 1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Resettlement Administration (RA.)  With the planned construction of 250 homes, this goal would be able to move low-income families from impoverished rural and urban areas into newer, modern facilities.  Initially, the homes were designed to be a part of a rural community of small farmsteads, but the prior use of the land prevented that from happening. A 750-acre blast furnace site, active during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, left slag heaps all around the proposed building sites. Because of the piles of stony waste, the subdivision born to the Cahaba Project, would come to be known as Slag Heap Village. Fortunately for the townspeople, this name would not last. It would be renamed Cahaba Village for the river with the same name running through the community.
Two men were largely responsible for the planning of the Project: W.H. Kessler and D.H. Greer. Kessler was the landscape artist who did most of the town planning while Greer was the architect. The most common house plans designed by Greer were two-story-single-family homes, two-story duplexes, and one-story-single-family homes. Not only did the Cahaba Project provide homes for families affected by the Great Depression, but it also provided much needed jobs. Resettlement Administration authorities called on skilled, semi-skilled, and even unskilled workers to be involved in the construction process. Pay ranged from 40 cents-per-hour for laborers and $2-per-hour tractor owner-operators. The budget for the entire project was $2.7 million. 

Before the actual construction could take place, demolition had to be carried out. The old blast furnace was cleared away to make way for a new high school and adjacent co-operative building. Located in the center of the Project, the high school would overlook a large, grassy mall area surrounded by two-story houses. Buildings and workers’ houses from the blast furnace were also torn down in order to make room for the new suburban community. Workers from cement finishers to road builders were brought in to complete the Cahaba Project, the last and largest of the Birmingham-area government housing projects. Surprisingly, the homes of the project were built with indoor plumbing, electricity, hot and cold running water, separate garages, and other amenities common today. Large lots for the homes were the norm. Owners would be provided with room for recreational space or even the opportunity to maintain their own home gardens. Parameters were placed on income for occupants by the government. Monthly rental rates ranged from $14 to $23. The precise price was based on family size. 

Before construction could be completed, applications to live in the new community poured in. The year 1938 saw the first families move into the project homes, and by early 1941, the population reached 1,000. The co-op building became the hub of the upcoming community featuring needed amenities such as a grocery, beauty shop, barbershop, filling station, and washing machines. Today, Trussville is home to almost 25,000 people. Since its beginning, the city has grown to five schools and over 100 neighborhoods, subdivisions, and developments. If only early Trussville residents could see their humble town now!

Additional Information:
  • https://trussville.org/about/history

Author

Picture
Madison Feild is a junior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is majoring in Anthropology and minoring in History. She is currently interning at the on-campus museum AEIVA and plans to become a collections and exhibitions manager upon graduating. She was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and enjoys reading and roller skating in her free time.

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