Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-16
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM
Story Of It's Origin and De-
velopment.
WEALTH OF THE HILLS
THOUSANDS OF SQUARE MILES oF
COAL FIELDS.
Remarkable Growth in the Past Th1rey-
Three Years-Promise Of a Sur
passingly Beautiful City.
WEALTH OF THE HILLS
BY VIM. E. CURTIS.

..,,,o,s stor,es that have been told
and printed about the origin anu
OF Birmingham are nearly all 'ioe' "a
broader foundations than Is usually 49,
underlying the claims OF other
towns or magic cities ana the oaAo.
tions that have been made concerning Tue
,,.,ue If the resources upon which us LIZ
tire growth and prosperity are odoeo
al, rational. Any one who cares 10 .aAo az
elevator to the roof Of one OF tne u's nv"
buildings may see for himself the NILS Ia
which the iron ore Is stored the '"
that are underlaid with coal ana the .e0e
that furnish the limestone Iequiieo
frr,aces Within sight of the top OF any
- +he tall buildings are deposits OF fuel
and metal that will last for ages. nv
yUorrior,, coal fields, as they are calieo,
coyar 900 square mics; the Coosa' i'o
sor.re miles. and the Cakaba, 400 SQUARE
miles. and each Of them Is WITHIN d S ~
ba tn days journey OF the court hou'G 20
state geological survey asse ai saams are
seventy-five feet thick, and that me ~
nosits about this city will supply an ' ns
furnaces that may be built LOT nono' GUS
years. ,d tho haauti-
fn1 residence district of Birmingham Is .ne
Red mountain containing VEN VI ~.
fossiliferous ore extending ten Hlles ~ ~
citv II averages twenty-four feet or NOR
in thickness, and in some of the pocke.s
drills have been driven down for thou
sand feet without reaching the me nmaiitv Of
the ore This of course. Is unique post
ton for a city and any kind of a story tnat
may be written about 1t Is hKely 10 ha'0
some truth. - hos 6o
An ingenious Birminghamster mas hs-
ured that the coal and iron deposits mere
will supply 100 furnaces, maklns Low '0fi'
of pig iron per day. for Low years. oa,+b
People do not realize the mineral "vai.h
IF Alabama which a comparison Will Illus
trate. She has $3.50 square miles or coat
fields. Ohio has 100 Indiana, 6,IOO GIeal
Britain, t. t95; Tennessee 3'oo' 1eAas' o'o0o'
The Beginning of Birmingham.
All this wealth lay idle until the. 7os al
Though the farmers Of Jones Valley' as ~
was called, as long as any one can reiheih-
her were in the habit Of digging out luihpS
of coal for fuel and hauling 1t nome "heh-
ever 1t was needed. A town was slai'eu
near Birmingham in 1871, where TWO rans
roads happened to cross. Inc reslusn t
soon discovered the coal and ore oeposlts
and marvellous tales were clrculaleo W
corning the mineral riches OF the helgllp,ol
hood. Investors and developers WEI S mos
in coming however. Abram s. He"itt Wds
one of the first. The boom hit the TOWN.
in the early sos. and 1T was one OF 'ns
widest ever known, as WHO as tnat " "
Kansas and Colorado. Jones valley pc
came a synonym for furious specuiatlon,
people bought and sold town lots as mn WIG
and stocks are sold on the exchanges W..
out ever having seen theH rear eo.
transfers were passed between buyers anu
sellers and the banks like warehouse Ger.
tifcates. A man who paid 5000 Ior d
piece of property one morn ana Wa naXt. for
sell it for s., 500 or for $lo,uoo lhe heA'' io-
tunes were made in that way.
A story Is told Of one of the early BOOM
ers from New England who MADE SO iiu uI,n
money suddenly that he got hutly. ms
friends shipped him back to his early nome
in Massachusetts, but he only got as Lar
as New York, where he was arresteu ",u
sent to a lunatic asylum, Deca atn ~ nc nao.
sisted upon offering S and $40 bills TO peo-
pie who passed in front OF the Fl1'h ave-
nue. Hotel. where he was stoppihs' .,,,a
The growth of birmingham for time
was remarkable. but, taking its history Oh
thirty-three years together, has NOT peen
so rapid as that of many other towns.
When the census of 1870 was taken the sue
of the city was a cornhela; IN u.s.. aoyo I'M IN
1870 they found 26 IFS; in 1900 there were
IS, 415: and. according TO the city alrec
tory there are now $1,000 people In the
city proper.
Greater Birmingham Proposed.
birmingham is surrounded by dozen or
more little manufacturing towns, each Oh
which has it's furnaces or Its mines ana lts
own municipal organization. Bessemer, for
example, has 10000 population: Ensley'
O. 600; Plat City, 5000, and dozen Others
more or less They are all connected by
165 miles of trolley lines, and 1t is proposed
to merge them into single MUNICIPALITY.
| Greater Birmingham will then include the
| larger part of Jefferson county Wnlch Is
| practically one city now, because IT'S soui
| and its heart, the source of its power and
| activity is here. That will bring within
| the city limits about 100000 people, accord
I'll ha mi "
| had 12342 people and by the census of 1900
! there were 140, 420. 1t is believed that the
| increase during the last four and one-half
years has been greater than curing the pre-
| vious ten years and that at least 10000 peo-
| ple have been added to the population since
| the latest census was taken.
Accurate testimony concerning the popu-
| lation is found in the statistics of the labor
| organizations. Birmingham is a union
! town 1t is a center of organized labor;
| almost every craft is represented here by
| a strong organization, with three central
councils. representing a total membership
| of about % 900. With this as a basis a fair
estimate Of the population may be formed.
| The famous boom town is rapidly disap-
| pearing Permanent and costly buildings
| are being erected on all the principal streets,
| including several skyscrapers, which seem
| unnecessary in a state where there Is so
| much unoccupied territory, although city
| lots are very valuable. The residence pr
| ton of the town is being rapidly filled 18th
! commodious and comfortable mansions,
| showing a higher degree or architectural
| taste and refinement than is often found In
| manufa curing cities. Most of them stand
| alone, with plenty of yard room around
| them and detached buildings In the rear for
| the colored servants, according to southern
| custom. The topography of the residence
section is broken and irregular, which the
| landscape engineers have taken advantage
| of in a skilful and tasteful manner in lay
| ing out the streets. At present everything
| is new and has unfinished appearance
| but twenty years from now, when the new
| ness is toned down. the architecture has
| ripened, the trees have grown and the gar
| dens matured Birmingham will be one
| of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Use Of "Spatter Gravel"
novel kind of building material Is used,
| which is economical and effective In lend
Ing itself to architectural display. The ex-
| terror of a house, built of ordinary lumber
, from the foundation to the caves, may at
| small expense. be transformed into a
| close imitation of rock-dressed stone by the
| use of what Is Familiarity called .'spatter
| graveI'-a composition of fine gravel and
| cement which is smeared upon the wooden
| walls to the thickness Of an inch or so, and
| sticks forever. No storm. no dampness
| fbu11 ka ahak tic