View source for Birmingham District

{{About|the area in the United States|the metropolitan district in England|City of Birmingham}}
The '''Birmingham District''' is a [[Geology|geological]] area in the vicinity of [[Birmingham, Alabama]], where the raw materials for making [[steel]] - [[limestone]], [[iron ore]], and [[coal]] - are found together in abundance. The district includes [[Red Mountain (Alabama)|Red Mountain]], Jones Valley, and the Warrior and [[Cahaba Basin|Cahaba]] coal fields in [[Central Alabama]].

==Industrial development==
The industrial development of these resources began, in limited fashion, before the [[American Civil War]] (attracting the attention of [[Wilson's Raid|Wilson's Raiders]] in the course of that conflict).

Beginning in 1871 with the founding of the City of Birmingham and the construction of the first [[blast furnace]]s, the development of the district enjoyed explosive growth, slowed only by a deficit of skilled labor and investment capital. This boom earned for Birmingham the nicknames "The Magic City" and "Pittsburgh of the South", and also spurred the growth of several independent industrial cities and dozens of [[company town]]s.

By the end of the 19th century, Birmingham was the third-largest exporter of [[pig iron]] in the world, producing 3/4 of United States exports. The region was also a major exporter of coal, and, as technology advanced, became a major steel producing district. With a few notable exceptions such as cast iron pipes and fittings, most of the district's economic output was in basic materials rather than in finished consumer products.

==Documentation and preservation==
As the steel-making industry has diminished in its economic importance to the district, many of the sites have been abandoned or dismantled. [[Industrial archaeology|Preservationists]] are attempting to document and preserve the physical evidence of Birmingham's industrial history. In the spring of 1993 a large-scale survey was undertaken for the [[Birmingham Historical Society]] and the [[Historic American Buildings Survey]]/[[Historic American Engineering Record]]. The results of that survey were published in the book ''Birmingham Bound''.

==See also==
*[[Aldrich Coal Mine Museum]]
*[[American Cast Iron Pipe Company]]
*[[Automotive Historic District]]
*[[Birmingham Southern Railroad]]
*[[Boshell's Mill]]
*[[Brierfield Furnace]]
*[[Brookside, Alabama]]
*[[Dora, Alabama]]
*[[Drummond Company]]
*[[Finley Roundhouse]]
*[[Flintridge Building]]
*[[Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum]]
*[[Holt Lock and Dam]]
*[[Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama]]
*[[James H. Miller Jr. Electric Generating Plant]]
*[[McWane]]
*[[Norfolk and Western 611]]
*[[Norfolk and Western 1218]]
*[[O'Neal Steel]]
*[[Pyne Mine]]
*[[Red Mountain Expressway Cut]]
*[[Republic Steel]]
*[[Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve]]
*[[Shelby Iron Company]]
*[[Sloss Furnaces]]
*[[Sloss Mines]]
*[[Tannehill Furnace]]
*[[Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company]]
*[[Vulcan statue]]
*[[Wilson Dam]]
*[[Woodward Iron Company]]

==References==
*{{Cite book |last=Armes |first=Ethel |title=The Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |publisher=Birmingham Chamber of Commerce |date=1910 |isbn=0-912221-03-8}}
*{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=W. David |title=Sloss Furnaces and the Rise of the Birmingham District: An Industrial Epic |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |publisher=University of Alabama Press |date=1994 |isbn=0-8173-0708-7}}
*{{Cite book |last=Morris |first=Philip |last2=White |first2=Marjorie Longenecker |title=Birmingham Bound, An Atlas of the South's Premier Industrial Region |location=Birmingham, Alabama |publisher=Birmingham Historical Society |date=1997 |isbn=0-943994-22-5}}
*{{Cite book |last=White |first=Marjorie Longenecker |title=The Birmingham District: An Industrial History and Guide |location=Birmingham, Alabama |publisher=Birmingham Historical Society |date=1981 |isbn=0-943994-00-4}}

==External links==
*[[Historic American Engineering Record]] (HAER) documentation, filed under Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL:
**{{HAER |survey=AL-31 |id=al1006 |title=Pullman Standard Company Plant |photos=1 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-32 |id=al1007 |title=United States Pipe & Foundry Company Plant |photos=18 |color=2 |dwgs=16 |data=42 |cap=3 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-33-A |id=al1145 |title=F. S. Royster Guano Company, Plant |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-33-B |id=al1146 |title=F. S. Royster Guano Company, Shed |photos=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-50 |id=al1060 |title=Wenonah Headquarters Building |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-51 |id=al1061 |title=Concord Mine |photos=5 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-66 |id=al1084 |title=Gibson Sheet Metal Works & Western Rope & Fittings, Incorporated |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-90 |id=al1037 |title=Muscoda Red Ore Mining Community |photos=3 |data=6 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-93 |id=al1040 |title=Worker Houses |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-94 |id=al1042 |title=Black Worker Houses |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-95 |id=al1043 |title=Company School for Blacks |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-96 |id=al1044 |title=Company School for Whites |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-98 |id=al1134 |title=New Village Worker Houses |photos=1 |color=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-125 |id=al1178 |title=Southern Ductile Casting Company, Bessemer Foundry |photos=5 |dwgs=9 |data=49 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-125-A |id=al1179 |title=Southern Ductile Casting Company, Melting |photos=12 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-125 B |id=al1180 |title=Southern Ductile Casting Company, Mold Making |photos=4 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-125-C |id=al1181 |title=Southern Ductile Casting Company, Core Making |photos=10 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-125-D |id=al1182 |title=Southern Ductile Casting Company, Casting |photos=15 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-125-E |id=al1183 |title=Southern Ductile Casting Company, Shaking, Degating, and Sand Systems |photos=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-125-F |id=al1197 |title=Southern Ductile Casting Company, Grinding and Shipping |photos=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}

*HAER documentation, filed under Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL:
**{{HAER |survey=AL-11 |id=al0908 |title=Birmingham District Railroads |dwgs=2 |data=73 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-13 |id=al0910 |title=Hardie-Tynes Manufacturing Company |photos=19 |dwgs=5 |data=30 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-45 |id=al1050 |title=Valley View Red Ore Mine |photos=2 |data=13 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-49 |id=al1054 |title=Stockham Pipe & Fittings Company |photos=30 |dwgs=9 |data=37 |cap=5 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-55 |id=al1065 |title=Republic Steel, Spaulding Red Ore Mine (Ruins) |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-56 |id=al1066 |title=Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Company Coke Works-North Birmingham |photos=5 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-57 |id=al1067 |title=Railroad Reservation |photos=3 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-67 |id=al1085 |title=East Thomas-Frisco Railroad Yards |photos=4 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-68 |id=al1086 |title=Twentieth Street Underpass |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-69-A |id=al1092 |title=Lawler Machine & Foundry Company |photos=10 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-80-A |id=al1109 |title=Pratt Coal & Coke Company, Pratt Mines, Coke Ovens & Railroad |photos=2 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-80-B |id=al1110 |title=Pratt Coal & Coke Company, Pratt Mines, Tailings Pile |photos=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-80-C |id=al1048 |title=Pratt Coal & Coke Company, Pratt Mines, Convict Cemetery |photos=1 |data=4 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-86 |id=al1122 |title=High Line Railroad |photos=11 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-105 |id=al1159 |title=Birmingham Industrial District |dwgs=1 |data=90 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-109 |id=al0998 |title=Pratt Mines, Fraternal Cemetery |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-119 |id=al1003 |title=Ishkooda Community |photos=2 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-126 |id=al1185 |title=U.S. Pipe Plant |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-135 |id=al1222 |title=Birmingham (Commercial Streetscapes) |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}

*Other HAER documentation:
**{{HAER |survey=AL-12 |id=al0909 |title=Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad Bridge, Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County, AL |photos=18 |data=4 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-14 |id=al0911 |title=Thomas By-Product Coke Works, Thomas, Jefferson County, AL |photos=136 |dwgs=7 |data=41 |cap=7 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-16 |id=al0913 |title=Billy Gould Coal Mine and Coke Ovens, Helena, Shelby County, AL |photos=5 |dwgs=1 |data=12 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-21 |id=al0918 |title=Empire Coke Plant, Holt, Tuscaloosa County, AL |photos=10 |data=4 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-24 |id=al0921 |title=Frisco Tunnel, Dora, Walker County, AL |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-34 |id=al1008 |title=Wade Sand & Gravel Company, Thomas, Jefferson County, AL |photos=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-40 |id=al1015 |title=Norris Steam Restoration Shop, Irondale, Jefferson County, AL |photos=2 |data=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-43 |id=al1026 |title=Warrior River, Lock No. 3 Wall, Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County, AL |photos=2 |data=5 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-46 |id=al1051 |title=United States Nitrate Plant No. 2, Muscle Shoals, Colbert County, AL |photos=74 |dwgs=7 |data=66 |cap=6 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-62 |id=al1072 |title=Linn Crossing Trestle Bridge, Linn Crossing, Jefferson County, AL |photos=1 |data=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-63 |id=al1073 |title=Louisville & Nashville Railway, Cahaba River Bridge, Helena, Shelby County, AL |photos=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-65 |id=al1083 |title=Olon Belcher Lumber Mill, Brent, Bibb County, AL |photos=10 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-78 |id=al1105 |title=Vulcan Material Company, Calera Quarry, Calera, Shelby County, AL |photos=2 |color=1 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-79 |id=al1106 |title=Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated, Brookwood No. 5 Mine, Brookwood, Tuscaloosa County, AL |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-79-A |id=al1107 |title=Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated, Brookwood No. 5 Mine, Control Operations Room |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-81-A |id=al1111 |title=Louisville & Nashville Railway, Boyles Roundhouse, Tarrant City, Jefferson County, AL |photos=4 |data=2 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-82 |id=al1112 |title=Central Iron Foundry, Holt, Tuscaloosa County, AL |photos=8 |data=5 |cap=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-82-A |id=al1113 |title=Central Iron Foundry, Hot Strip Mill Building |photos=8 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-82-B |id=al1114 |title=Central Iron Foundry, Plate Mill Building |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-87|id=al1123 |title=Warrior Southern Railway Bridge |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-108 |id=al1029 |title=Alabama State Docks, Cordova, Walker County, AL |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-111 |id=al0939 |title=214 Second Street (House), Thomas, Jefferson County, AL |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-112 |id=al0941 |title=303 Third Street (House), Thomas, Jefferson County, AL |photos=6 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-113 |id=al0940 |title=355 Third Street (House), Thomas, Jefferson County, AL |photos=7 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-114 |id=al1058 |title=219 Second Street (House), Thomas, Jefferson County, AL |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-115 |id=al1059 |title=223 Second Street (House), Thomas, Jefferson County, AL |photos=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-127 |id=al0968 |title=Farrington Hall, Aldrich, Shelby County, AL |photos=1 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-128 |id=al1116 |title=Superintendent's House, Aldrich, Shelby County, AL |photos=1 |color=1 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=AL-130 |id=al1198 |title=Southern Ductile Casting Company, Centerville Foundry, Centreville, Bibb County, AL |photos=15 |cap=2 |link=no}}

{{Alabama}}
{{coord|33|31|N|86|48|W|display=title}}

[[Category:Geography of Birmingham, Alabama]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Alabama]]
[[Category:Industrial history of the United States]]
[[Category:Regions of Alabama]]