Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Industrialization ⎯⎯⎯ Iron Boom
Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
1. Industrialization Marker
Inscription.
Industrialization, also, Iron Boom. .
Industrialization. In the 1870s, Alabama began a lengthy period of industrial development led by railroad expansion, lumber production, textile manufacturing, coal mining, and ironmaking. The growth made Alabama the most industrialized state in the South. Investment came from northern capitalists and some Alabama planters who advocated a diversified economy., New jobs attracted rural residents to quickly expanding cities and company towns. In 1900, more than 33,000 Alabamians found steady work in 5,500 factories, producing a wide array of goods including cloth, fertilizer, furniture, pottery, and food. Town life brought new opportunities for education and recreation., Many workers joined national labor unions, which clashed with management over pay and working conditions. In some industries, young children joined their parents on the payroll., Until 1928, industry also made use of low-cost labor available through the convict-lease system. The convicted, mostly black men and often arrested for misdemeanors, generated revenue for state and county governments by working in bondage as miners and in other dangerous jobs.,
Iron Boom. In 1871, a railroad junction in central Alabama's Jones Valley saw the rise of a new industrial center named Birmingham. The town grew so quickly that it became known as the Magic City. The proximity of coal, iron ore, and limestone, the essential ingredients for iron production, spurred a boom in the output of pig iron statewide from eleven thousand tons in 1872 to more than one million tons in 1900. , Other industrial boomtowns included Gadsden, Anniston, and Sheffield. Cast iron pipe became a leading product, but Alabamians also made stoves, lamp posts, skillets, and other items shipped all over the country., The abundance of jobs drew immigrants from Europe and blacks and poor whites from Alabama farms. Birmingham became home to an array of ethnicities and cultures., On April 12, 1882, workers at Sloss Furnace Company in Birmingham tapped the furnace for the first time and channeled molten iron across a massive sand floor, where it hardened into ingots called "pigs."
Industrialization
In the 1870s, Alabama began a lengthy period of industrial
development led by railroad expansion, lumber production,
textile manufacturing, coal mining, and ironmaking. The
growth made Alabama the most industrialized state in the
South. Investment came from northern capitalists and some
Alabama planters who advocated a diversified economy.
New jobs attracted rural residents to quickly expanding cities
and company towns. In 1900, more than 33,000 Alabamians
found steady work in 5,500 factories, producing a wide array
of goods including cloth, fertilizer, furniture, pottery, and
food. Town life brought new opportunities for education
and recreation.
Many workers joined national labor unions, which clashed
with management over pay and working conditions. In some
industries, young children joined their parents on the payroll.
Until 1928, industry also made use of low-cost labor available
through the convict-lease system. The convicted, mostly black
men and often arrested for misdemeanors, generated revenue
for state and county governments by working in bondage as
miners and in other
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dangerous jobs.
Iron Boom
In 1871, a railroad junction in central Alabama's Jones Valley
saw the rise of a new industrial center named Birmingham.
The town grew so quickly that it became known as the Magic
City. The proximity of coal, iron ore, and limestonethe
essential ingredients for iron productionspurred a boom in
the output of pig iron statewide from eleven thousand tons
in 1872 to more than one million tons in 1900.
Other industrial boomtowns included Gadsden, Anniston,
and Sheffield. Cast iron pipe became a leading product, but
Alabamians also made stoves, lamp posts, skillets, and other
items shipped all over the country.
The abundance of jobs drew immigrants from Europe and
blacks and poor whites from Alabama farms. Birmingham
became home to an array of ethnicities and cultures.
On April 12, 1882, workers at Sloss Furnace Company in
Birmingham tapped the furnace for the first time and channeled
molten iron across a massive sand floor, where it hardened into
ingots called "pigs."
Erected 2019 by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this
Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
2. Iron Boom Marker
topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical date for this entry is April 12, 1882.
Location. 32° 22.669′ N, 86° 18.118′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It is on Dexter Avenue west of North Bainbridge Street, on the left when traveling east. Located in Alabama Bicentennial Park in front of the Lurleen B. Wallace Office Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 Dexter Ave, Montgomery AL 36130, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
5. Markers are located in the Alabama Bicentennial Park.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 26, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 26, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 742 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 26, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
