The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-24
HISTORY OF HIGHLAND AVENUE
Pioneer Citizen Who Took Conspcious Part During Early
 Days, Writes of Famous Thoroughfare
Fly ". J. WILNER

The beauty and attractIveneas which years prompts me to believe that many
 of those whose handsome homes adorn its frontage will be interested in its early history.
 At the beginning Of the year 1884 Birmingham had emerged from the long period of depression and struggle fol-
 lowing the panic of 1873, and was vel
 on it's start toward it's later period o1 growth and prosperity. The Elytor
 Land company, the founders of the city of which Dr. Henry M. Caldwell was president, and the writer was general
 manager, had just passed through 8 l very successful year. The company had also short while before made a joyous bonfire of It's first issue of bonds. whicf l had been redeemed before maturity. Ii
 may be interesting to note here, paren- l thetically, that these bonds had beer l issued chiefly to meet obligations in cured during the hard times in the construction of system of waterworlSs at cost of nearly $75,000, and that these works, few years before this came near being acquired by the late William H. Woodward in satisfaction
 of note of $15o0o given for borrowed l money and secured by a mortgage or
 the waterworks. This disaster was
 averted by three of the stockholders
 Josiah Norris James W. Sloss and H
 M Caldwell, paying the note and talk. l ing bonds of the company in payment l therefor.
 l Up to this time, January 1884, only Ia small proportion of the company's large holdings of real estate had beer sold, and thes sales had been confined l that is, the area bounded between Thir-
 .eenth and Twenty seventh. streets ant l Ninth avenue and Avenue I. The large 1 tract now known as the South High l lands, lying southward and eastward
 of the limits named, was an almost un.
 broken primeval forest. concerning
 which the endeavors of the agents oi
 the company had been for many years
 directed toward preventing the depreda' tions by wood choppers.
 1 To Develop Tract
 1 The president of the company decided 1 that the time had now come when thii tract. should be developed. I was ac
 oordingly instructed by him to pre-
 pare a plan to make this delelopmen
 to the best advantage. and to inoluds I in the plan a street care line from th' city to and through the property to bs developed, and q park somewhere or
 the line. The entire project was placed | in my hands to be worked out as m,
 judgment dictated.
 1 Almost the only power for stree
 cars then in use was animal power
 known. The only semblance of a stree
 car line in the county at that tim,
 was one extending from about Thir
 teenth street along First avenue rt
 Nineteenth street, thence on Nineteenth
 street to Second avenue, and thnce oi Second avenue to about Twenty-sixtf street built by the late J. c. Kyle with the assistance of MT. Roden, MT Pearson and a few other enterpris ing citizens. This line was afterwar'
 extended to Avondale and later be l Gdl1lt lAo neucleuS oI ilAG PftSShL
 tenn of rapid transit.
 l The plan which I finally evolved fol carrying out the object of the presi l dent mentioned above, comprised
 street car line extending along Flrs
 avenue from Nineteenth street to Twen 1 ty-second street, thence along Twenty second street to Avenue E, passing th'
 railroads by bridge on Twenty
 ond street. Along Avenue E. which hat
 been selected because of its eas, grades, a line was to extend west tt
 Fifteenth street. and another east tS
 Twenty seventh street; the former lin.
 was to be extended along Fifteentt
 street, Tenth avenue south, Cotton ave nue and Eleventh avenue south tt Twentieth street near Five Points 1 These streets, with the exception O. | Cotton avenue, having already beer dedicated, were adopted without
 change. The other line mentioned. fol similar reasons, was extended along 1 Twenty street to Avenue G ant along Avenue G to Twenty ninth street 1 from which point the old system oi projected streets was abandoned. These
 two points. that is, Twenty-ninth stree
 and Avenue G and Twentieth stree and Twelfth avenue, south. were lef l to be connected by a. thoroughfare tc be located entirely anew. to which al other streets were to be made tribu tary.
 Typographical Map
 I previously had prepared an accur. ate topograhical map of the entire property, drawn to large scale, or which l projected this thoroughfare which Dr. Caldwell christened High land avenue" It was then located or