| Though Birmingham stands in the heart of the Deep South, it is not an Old South city. Founded in 1871 at the crossing of two railroad lines, the city blossomed through the early 1900s as it rapidly became the South's foremost industrial center. Iron and steel production were a natural for Birmingham. Unlike many older cities, Birmingham, now in its 128th year, is still in the stages of becoming.From the 1830s to the late 1860s, was a time when the area we now know as Birmingham was called Elyton and was just a small pioneer farm settlement. Though local residents fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, little damage was done to the area because, as one Union general wrote in his diary, the area deserved no attack as it was just a "poor, insignificant Southern village."
From about 1870 to 1880, was a time when railroads and land barons built a town that was named Birmingham, after England's industrial giant. The new community sprang up, thrived and grew so quickly that many observers said it happened "just like magic." Soon the nickname "The Magic City" was applied to Birmingham. Birmingham is a Southern city that is---all at once---young, traditional, vibrant, friendly, complex and, some even say, exotic. Unlike some larger Southern cities that have chosen to trade soul for growth and development, Birmingham has retained its true Southern character; it has been said that Birmingham is the last major Southern city in America. That is because it is impossible for us to become like every place else.
Birmingham is a distinctive and comfortable place to visit and to live. While we continue to grow more sophisticated, we also treasure many of the ways of the small-town South. It is diversity that is our greatest strength and our strongest appeal. We talk about progress, but with a decidedly Southern accent. We are a spectrum of attitudes and cultures, all a part of the charm and exoticism that is the South.
|