Many of Alabama’s cities have fascinating histories, and I would count Anniston, the Model City, among them. Anniston had its beginnings as a planned community during the Reconstruction Era. It started with a business deal between Samuel Noble, whose family owned a large iron company in Georgia, and Daniel Tyler, a railroad manager and former iron manufacturer and Union general. The Noble family had purchased a large plot of iron- and timber-rich land in east Alabama, but needed investors to develop it. Together, Noble and Tyler formed the Woodstock Iron Company in 1872. A year later, its first furnace began churning out more than 100 tons of pig iron a week, using charcoal (made from the surrounding timber) as fuel.
The duo meticulously developed plans for a village around the new furnace, down to the minute details. (I have always heard that it was largely the work of Noble, but I couldn’t find for certain the extent of Tyler’s involvement.) They planned every street, every house, every store, every church, every school, every park, every tree. It was a company town designed to be the ideal community for Woodstock workers. No outsiders were allowed.
The town itself was also intended to be called Woodstock, but when the time came to file for incorporation, that name had already been taken. Instead, the founders settled on the name “Annie’s Town,” or Anniston, after Tyler’s daughter-in-law, Annie.
The second furnace was opened in 1879, and by the next year Anniston had 942 residents. In 1881, a cotton mill, the Anniston Manufacturing Company, was built, where women and children produced textiles. The Nobles and Tylers were not afraid to be on the forefront of technology, and in 1882 Anniston became the first city in Alabama to be lit by electricity. It was also later among the first to have telephones.
In 1883, the town was finally opened to the public. Lots were sold in June, and an official opening ceremony was held on July 3. Called the “Model City of the New South” by Atlanta Constitution editor Henry Grady, the industrial town grew rapidly once outsiders could move in. More than 9,000 people lived in Anniston by 1890, among them future Alabama governor Thomas Kilby. The city rose to such prominence that it became the seat of Calhoun County in 1900, controversially replacing Jacksonville.
It is interesting to see how Anniston has changed and how it has stayed the same over the past nearly 150 years. Quintard Avenue, once only running between 7th and 23rd Streets, has now been merged into Highway 21, but it still has the tree-lined, divided stretch from 7th to 18th Streets. Noble Street is not the bustling main thoroughfare it once was, but it still home to some great locally owned shops and restaurants, including the renowned Classic On Noble. It’s also home to King’s Palace, the barbershop I go to. (There aren’t many places you can get a good haircut for $12 anymore.)
A well-known newspaper, the Anniston Star, has been published in Anniston since 1912. From 1917 to 1999, a large Army base, Fort McClellan, sat there. The Anniston Army Depot has been there since 1941. An important hospital for the region, Regional Medical Center Anniston, is also located in the city. It opened in 1944 as Anniston Memorial Hospital.
Although no longer quite the booming industrial town of 1890, the Model City remains a significant part of east Alabama.
The town itself was also intended to be called Woodstock, but when the time came to file for incorporation, that name had already been taken. Instead, the founders settled on the name “Annie’s Town,” or Anniston, after Tyler’s daughter-in-law, Annie.
The second furnace was opened in 1879, and by the next year Anniston had 942 residents. In 1881, a cotton mill, the Anniston Manufacturing Company, was built, where women and children produced textiles. The Nobles and Tylers were not afraid to be on the forefront of technology, and in 1882 Anniston became the first city in Alabama to be lit by electricity. It was also later among the first to have telephones.
In 1883, the town was finally opened to the public. Lots were sold in June, and an official opening ceremony was held on July 3. Called the “Model City of the New South” by Atlanta Constitution editor Henry Grady, the industrial town grew rapidly once outsiders could move in. More than 9,000 people lived in Anniston by 1890, among them future Alabama governor Thomas Kilby. The city rose to such prominence that it became the seat of Calhoun County in 1900, controversially replacing Jacksonville.
It is interesting to see how Anniston has changed and how it has stayed the same over the past nearly 150 years. Quintard Avenue, once only running between 7th and 23rd Streets, has now been merged into Highway 21, but it still has the tree-lined, divided stretch from 7th to 18th Streets. Noble Street is not the bustling main thoroughfare it once was, but it still home to some great locally owned shops and restaurants, including the renowned Classic On Noble. It’s also home to King’s Palace, the barbershop I go to. (There aren’t many places you can get a good haircut for $12 anymore.)
A well-known newspaper, the Anniston Star, has been published in Anniston since 1912. From 1917 to 1999, a large Army base, Fort McClellan, sat there. The Anniston Army Depot has been there since 1941. An important hospital for the region, Regional Medical Center Anniston, is also located in the city. It opened in 1944 as Anniston Memorial Hospital.
Although no longer quite the booming industrial town of 1890, the Model City remains a significant part of east Alabama.
Author
Calvin Cockrell is a senior at the University of Alabama majoring in journalism and economics. After graduating, he hopes to stay in the South and work in magazine design or editing.
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