Sloss Furnace: The Mining History of Birmingham

Library: Southside Branch Library
Location: Southside Branch Library
Event Kind: One-time
Contact Name: Pamela Jessie
Contact Phone Number: 205-933-7776
Contact Email: pamela.jessie@cobpl.org
Category: Summer Reading
Audience: Teens,Adults
Registration Required: No
Description: This presentation will discuss the history of mining in Birmingham and Jefferson County, particularly about the ingredients needed to make iron: iron ore, limestone, and coal. Mining was the backbone of the industrial history of Birmingham, as places like Sloss Furnaces would not be able to operate without the raw materials mined out of the ground. Sloss Furnaces, like other industrial companies of this time, owned their own mines and built housing communities nearby to house the miners and their families. This presentation will go over this history as well as the dangers of working in mines in the early part of Birmingham's history.