AS Williams III Alabama Coal and Iron records
Collection
Identifier: W-0062
Scope and Contents
This collection includes correspondence, annual reports, and other materials related to coal and iron production in Alabama. Materials are dated from 1874-1943 and address business at nine coal and iron companies: the Eureka Company, the Empire Coal Company, the Pratt Consolidated Coal Company, the Corona Coal Company, the DeBardeleben Coal Corporation, the Cahaba Coal and Coke Company, Black Creek Coal and Coke, the American Fuel Company, and the Cullman Coal and Coke Company. In addition, the collection also includes records related to individuals, Thomas Greene Bush, John T. Milner and T.J. Scott.
Dates
- 1874 - 1943
Creator
- Williams, A. S., III (Collector, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Due to the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.
Biographical / Historical
A brief historical note is provided for five of the companies featured in this collection: the Eureka Company, the Empire Coal Company, the Pratt Consolidated Coal Company, the DeBardeleben Coal Corporation, and the Cullman Coal and Coke Company, all in Birmingham, Bessemer, Cullman County, Jefferson County, or Walker County, Alabama.
Industrialists Daniel Pratt and Henry Fairchild DeBardeleben acquired control of the Red Mountain Iron and Coal Company in 1872 and renamed it the Eureka Mining Company. Henry D. Clayton became president of the reorganized company, and DeBardeleben was named general manager. In 1873, the company's two Oxmoor furnaces were fired. However, unable to make the new company profitable, the inexperienced DeBardeleben resigned his post in 1873. In fall 1873, the company was reorganized as the Eureka Mining and Transportation Company of Alabama, managed by Levin S. Goodrich, who successfully increased iron production although the company remained unprofitable. The Oxmoor furnaces were converted from coal to coke furnaces and began producing coke pig iron in 1876. The company changed hands again in 1876, as investors from Louisville and Cincinnati purchased the Oxmoor furnaces and created the Eureka Company.
In 1904, Frank Nelson Jr. founded the Empire Coal Company to mine 14,000 acres of land in Walker County. Nelson purchased land formerly managed by Henry W. Milner as the Empire Coal and Coke Company. At the height of production, the company produced 200,000 tons of coal a year.
The Pratt Consolidated Coal Company was created in 1904 by combining the Pratt Coal Company, Nunley Ridge Coal Company, Ivy Coal and Iron Company, Gamble Mines Company, Townley Mining Company, and Tracy City mines. The company's holdings consisted of fifty-four mines and 85,000 acres of land in Alabama and Tennessee. T.T. Hillman served as the company's first president, and Erskine Ramsay served as the company's first vice president.
Henry F. DeBardeleben founded DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company in 1886. The company merged with Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company in March 1892. DeBardeleben remained on the company's board of directors until he resigned in October 1894.
The Cullman Coal and Coke Company was founded in May 1909. The company owned 12,600 acres of land in Cullman County, Alabama. As of 1915, the company was owned by Parker Bank and Trust Company.
Sources: Poor's Manual of Industrialists: Volume 7. New York: Poor's Manual Company, 1916. Armes, Ethel. The Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama. Birmingham: Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, 1910
Industrialists Daniel Pratt and Henry Fairchild DeBardeleben acquired control of the Red Mountain Iron and Coal Company in 1872 and renamed it the Eureka Mining Company. Henry D. Clayton became president of the reorganized company, and DeBardeleben was named general manager. In 1873, the company's two Oxmoor furnaces were fired. However, unable to make the new company profitable, the inexperienced DeBardeleben resigned his post in 1873. In fall 1873, the company was reorganized as the Eureka Mining and Transportation Company of Alabama, managed by Levin S. Goodrich, who successfully increased iron production although the company remained unprofitable. The Oxmoor furnaces were converted from coal to coke furnaces and began producing coke pig iron in 1876. The company changed hands again in 1876, as investors from Louisville and Cincinnati purchased the Oxmoor furnaces and created the Eureka Company.
In 1904, Frank Nelson Jr. founded the Empire Coal Company to mine 14,000 acres of land in Walker County. Nelson purchased land formerly managed by Henry W. Milner as the Empire Coal and Coke Company. At the height of production, the company produced 200,000 tons of coal a year.
The Pratt Consolidated Coal Company was created in 1904 by combining the Pratt Coal Company, Nunley Ridge Coal Company, Ivy Coal and Iron Company, Gamble Mines Company, Townley Mining Company, and Tracy City mines. The company's holdings consisted of fifty-four mines and 85,000 acres of land in Alabama and Tennessee. T.T. Hillman served as the company's first president, and Erskine Ramsay served as the company's first vice president.
Henry F. DeBardeleben founded DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company in 1886. The company merged with Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company in March 1892. DeBardeleben remained on the company's board of directors until he resigned in October 1894.
The Cullman Coal and Coke Company was founded in May 1909. The company owned 12,600 acres of land in Cullman County, Alabama. As of 1915, the company was owned by Parker Bank and Trust Company.
Sources: Poor's Manual of Industrialists: Volume 7. New York: Poor's Manual Company, 1916. Armes, Ethel. The Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama. Birmingham: Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, 1910
Extent
0.3 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Overview
Correspondence, annual reports and audits, maps, and other material related to coal and iron production in Alabama.
Physical Location
The A. S. Williams III Americana Collection, Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, The University of Alabama
Provenance
Gift of A. S. Williams III, 2010
General
Title on phase box spine: Annals of Alabama Coal & Iron
Processed by
Haley Aaron and Martha Bace, 2013
- American Fuel Company
- Bibb County (Ala.)
- Black Creek Coal and Coke
- Bush, Thomas Greene
- Cahaba Coal and Coke Company
- Calhoun County (Ala.)
- Coal mines and mining
- Corona Coal Company
- Cullman Coal and Coke Company
- Cullman County (Ala.)
- DeBardeleben Coal Corporation
- Empire Coal Company
- Eureka Coal Company
- Globe Coal Company
- Iron industry and trade
- Iron industry and trade
- Jefferson County (Ala.)
- Milner, John T.
- Pratt Consolidated Coal Company
- Pratt Fuel Corporation
- Scott, T. J.
- Walker County (Ala.)
- Title
- Guide to Alabama Coal and Iron records
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- November 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository