Founded by Captain James Madison Elliott, Jr. (1854-1914),[1] it was incorporated by a special act of the state legislature in 1891. William Gardner was appointed the first mayor and the city was divided into 4 wards, represented by aldermen C.A. Clayton, C.F. Norris, R.V. Wilson and Abihu Christopher. At the time, it consisted of about 3,000 acres (roughly 5 square miles) between Little Wills Creek and Black Creek. A post office was established as well, and it had about 50 residents.
Captain Elliott's ambitious vision for his new city was to see both neighboring Gadsden and Attalla merging into Alabama City, with intentions of becoming the major industrial hub of Northeast Alabama.
Inspired by Birmingham's 1910 merger that transformed it into a major city, in 1914, an effort to merge Alabama City into its smaller neighbor of Attalla failed. Its failure was due in part to the efforts of Gadsden leaders and also due to Captain Elliott's objections in that he did not want Attalla to "swallow" his city, but for it to "swallow" Attalla. Elliott died that year.
By 1915, a thriving commercial district had grown up around 7th Avenue, which became known as "Little Wall Street". A major fire in 1927 damaged or destroyed many structures along Wall Street and Meighan Avenue. The city hall and post office were among the casualties. Although the city was still growing and began to rebuild, it never would recover fully from the loss, especially as neighboring Gadsden flourished. The Depression would also compound the damage to the city, causing many businesses to close. Alabama City ultimately voted to merge into Gadsden on July 13, 1932.
Alabama City first appeared on the 1900 U.S. Census as an incorporated city.[3] It returned until 1930, before merging into neighboring Gadsden in 1932. It was the 15th largest city in Alabama in 1930.[4]
The 29th precinct of Etowah County (1900-1950) also bore the name of Alabama City. Note that both the city and precinct population in 1900 was identical, but the precinct also included areas not within the city limits and reported a larger population figure beginning in 1910. In 1960,[9] the precinct was merged, as part of a larger reorganization of counties, into the census division of Gadsden.
Photo Gallery
Hoyt Warsham Alabama City Branch Library, Oct 2014
Old Alabama City Fire Station, Oct 2014
Wall Street, Alabama City, Gadsden, Oct 2014
Ritz Theatre, 310 Wall Street, Alabama City, Gadsden, 2010
The Howard Gardner Nichols Memorial Library (Alabama City Library), 2014
References
Notes
^Note about colors: With the exception of Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Other, and 2 or More Races, the colors depicted refer to those historically ascribed to them (White (White/No background); Black (Brown); Native American (Red); Asian (Yellow)) and are there to be easily identified on said chart. No racism or malice of intent is meant to be implied by their usage.
