Woodstock in Bibb County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Town of Woodstock
Photographed by David J Gaines, March 7, 2013
1. Town of Woodstock Marker, side A
Inscription.
Woodstock was first settled in the 1820’s with a formal land grant to William Houston on Feb. 27, 1826. The settlement was established along the old Tuscaloosa to Huntsville Stage Coach Line. Woodstock got its name when Dr. J.U. Ray named it after the home of his ancestors, Woodstock, England. Dr. Ray’s American ancestors arrived in America from England at Jamestown, Virginia. In 1870, Dr. Ray built the first depot for the newly constructed Alabama-Chattanooga Railroad. After the Alabama Great Southern Railroad came the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Each operated a depot in the area. In 1872, a line was installed down to West Blocton to ship the large abundance of coal found in the area. Woodstock became a break and storage yard for coal, red and brown iron ore and cotton. After the Civil War, rich iron ore deposits were mined. In 1872, Mr. Giles Edwards moved to Woodstock from Tannehill and built a blast furnace to manufacture pig iron.
(Back): Mr. Edwards was later joined in the business by his son-in-law, James W. McQueen, who went on to become the president of Sloss-Sheffield Iron Company in Birmingham. In addition
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to the iron ore mining, coal mining, and farming, a jug factory was built to take advantage of the large deposits of fire clay that was in the area. The clay was used to make bricks, jugs, pots, and churns. As many as eight trains per day stopped in Woodstock, carrying away its riches, six of them carrying mail. Woodstock was also the roots of a newspaper business in the 1800s. This publication moved to Six Mile and then to Birmingham where it became the Birmingham News. The Town of Woodstock was formally incorporated in 1996 as North Bibb with Carl Jones as Mayor. Woodstock formally changed its name back to the Town of Woodstock by Ordinance 2008-08-03, effective October 1, 2000. S. B. Albert Hutchens, Mayor.
Erected 2010.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is October 1, 1979.
Location. 33° 12.64′ N, 87° 9.674′ W. Marker is in Woodstock, Alabama, in Bibb County. It is on Alabama Route 5, on the right. Located at the Woodstock Town Hall. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Woodstock AL 35188, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally,
Photographed by David J Gaines, March 7, 2013
2. Town of Woodstock Marker, side B
this marker is in the Birmingham Metropolitan Area. 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.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on March 9, 2013, by David J Gaines of Pinson, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,249 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on March 9, 2013, by David J Gaines of Pinson, Alabama. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
