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1895 Map of Birmingham

Name: 1895 Topographic Map of Birmingham
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1895
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1895

About this map

Birmingham stands as the industrial core of north-central Alabama in this 1887 survey, capturing the city during its rapid late-century expansion into a regional steel and iron powerhouse. The landscape is defined by the heavy infrastructure of the iron industry, featuring the Old Irondale Furnace and Sloss Quarry, alongside numerous extraction sites such as the Pratt Mines and Sloss Mine. The rail network, including the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Kansas City Memphis and Birmingham Railroad, radiates from the city center to serve outlying industrial satellites like Ensley and Thomas.

Away from the industrial corridors, the terrain transitions into the rugged ridges of Sand Mountain and Red Mountain. Rural life is marked by numerous river crossings and small family enterprises, such as Doss Ferry on the Locust Fork Black Warrior River and the Hanby Mill. These features, alongside early community centers like Little Vine Church, reveal the transition from an agrarian frontier to a structured industrial economy.