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ANNISTON, 
 
 ij'h 
 
 THE MODEL CITY OF THE SOUTH." 
 
 A DESCKIPTION OF 
 
 ANNISTON AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 
 
 TOGETHER WITH A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF ITS 
 
 IRON INTERESTS, MJlNUFflCTORIES AND OTHER INDUSTRIES. 
 
 COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY THE 
 GOVEENING COMMITTEE OF THE BUEEAU OF INFOEMATION 
 
 OF THE CITY OF ANNISTON, ALA. 
 OCTOBEE 1, 1887. 
 
FROM ANNISTON AS A CENTER POINT, SHOWING RELATIVE GEOGRAPHICAL PO- 
 SITIONS, AND ACTUAL RAILROAD DISTANCES TO PLACES INDICATED. 
 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The object in the publication of this pamphlet is to represent to the 
 public, in as few words as possible, the advantages of the city of Anniston 
 both as a manufacturing and a commercial point ; and in presenting the facts 
 contained in the following pages, we do so feeling confident that they will 
 bear us out in the assertion that no city or town in North Alabama can excel 
 it as a manufacturing center, or equal it in healthfulness, equability of tem- 
 perature, cleanliness, beauty of location, school facilities, enterprise of its 
 citizens, and in such other advantages as have by common consent given it 
 the name of 
 
 "THE MODEL CITY OF THE SOUTH." 
 
 To those who are seeking a new location for manufacturing, we can say 
 that our supply of iron, coal and timber is unlimited ; that beautiful and con- 
 venient building sites are reserved for manufactories, and that our railway fa- 
 cilities are so complete as to bring all parts of the country within reach, at a 
 minimum rate. To merchants and professional men, that the rapid increase 
 of our population and manufacturing industries within the last six moaths, 
 and the projects now being perfected, promise us such a further increase in 
 population as to make success in your callings a certainty. To the mechanic 
 and skilled artisan, that up to the present time our manufacturers have been 
 obliged to seek their employees in all parts of this country and Europe, and 
 have never yet been able to engage a sufficient number to supply the require- 
 ments of their business, and that hundreds can now find permanent employ- 
 ment at remunerative compensation. To the laborer, that thousands are 
 wanted at once to complete the railroads, buildings and street improvements 
 now under way. To those with moderate means as well as to the capitalist 
 with his millions, that the field for enterprise is unlimited, offering to skill 
 and perseverance as well as to capital their proportionate reward ; and to all 
 others, that no one need be idle here, our Furnaces, Car Works, Rolling Mills, 
 Pipe Works, Machine Shops, and other works of all kinds, pushed to their ut- 
 
most capacity, offer employment to thousands. Many of our citizens who 
 have acquired great wealth in making and manufacturing iron, and who are 
 large owners of real estate in and adjacent to the city, have been most liberal 
 toward all parties who have come here to start new enterprises, and they are 
 still ready to do ail in their power to advance the interests of the place. 
 
 Our population is made up of people from all parts of the country, the 
 Eastern and Western States being represented as well as the Southern, and 
 no matter from what section of the country he comes, the stranger will find a 
 welcome. 
 
 There has been and still is speculation in Keal Estate, the result of our 
 rapid increase in population and manufactories, but there is no effort made to 
 excite a "boom," as our belief is that it is best for the interests of all con- 
 cerned that values should be controlled by what is, rather than by what is to 
 be. The safety of investments, however, with every prospect of increase in 
 values, is beyond question, and it is only necessary for one to look at us with 
 unprejudiced eyes, investigate the solidity of our foundation, and to make a 
 mild estimate of what we are to be in the near future, to become convinced 
 that we are not extravagant in predicting that the growth in population and 
 wealth will be equal to that of any city in the South. 
 
 We invite a careful perusal of the following pages, and should any addi- 
 tional or more detailed information be desired, a letter addressed to us will 
 receive a prompt reply. GOVEENING COMMITTEE, 
 
 BuBEAU OF Information. 
 
NORTH ALABAMA. 
 
 North Alabama to-day presents a scene of unusual activity, the result of 
 years of struggle to bring her great mineral wealth into use. The lands 
 heretofore looked upon as of little value are now producing iron ore and coal 
 with which to feed her furnaces ; new furnaces are being erected in many 
 parts of the iron district contiguous to the ore beds and railroads; manufac- 
 tories are being erected everywhere, and altogether a spirit of enterprise and 
 progress is shown very much to the credit of people whose attention hereto- 
 fore had been directed almost exclusively to agriculture. They have grasped 
 the situation, and are displaying great skill and energy in developing the won- 
 derful mineral riches with which they are blessed, and are urged on by the 
 ambition of making this the great iron producing State of the country. It 
 now ranks as fourth, and if the increase continues as heretofore, it will with- 
 in a short time rank second only to Pennsylvania. We have demonstrated in 
 the principal metal market of that great State that we can ship pig iron to 
 that point, and, notwithstanding the freight charges, compete with her pro- 
 ducts both in price and quality. This fact has encouraged the building of 
 great manufactories, foundries and forges, by our own people, and as capital 
 always seeks the locality where the principal commercial commodities can be 
 produced with the greatest profit, it is reasonable to suppose that our indus- 
 trial development within the next few years will be unprecedented. We have 
 demonstrated beyond question that our iron is made at a lower cost than in 
 any other part of the country ; it is beyond question that our mineral resour- 
 ces are equal to the greatest demands which can be made upon them for cen- 
 turies to. come. With these facts before us, proven, it is not unreasonable to 
 predict that North Alabama will not only manufacture iron for all the South- 
 ern markets, but become a dangerous competitor of the Northern manufac- 
 turers, not only in their own markets, but in course of time, in those of Mex- 
 ico and South America. 
 
 Mines of iron and coal have been and still are being opened all through 
 this region, many furnaces are now in blast and have been for some years, 
 and a great many more are in process of construction, sufficient to more than 
 double the present product. These rich developments and the shipment of 
 iron to Northern markets to be sold in competition with metal made there, 
 have attracted the attention of shrewd iron masters, and their recognition of 
 the advantages of this State for the production of iron, has encouraged in- 
 
 5 
 
vestiaents iu mineral lands, furnaces and manufactories of all kinds, and has 
 induced many others to consider the advantages of moving their plants to the 
 locality where they can get the raw material at jfirst cost. It has also at- 
 tracted the attention of capitalists, mechanics and laborers, and many have 
 already found new homes and occupations in the different towns which have 
 become know^n by reason of these recent developments, and many more will 
 follow. 
 
 To those who contemplate seeking new fields for their enterprise and cap- 
 ital, where the opportunities for investment and employment are unequaled, 
 we desire to present the favorable advantages of Anniston, a city which com- 
 bines all the elements of a business center, together with the refining in- 
 fluences of beauty of location, healthfulness, and educational and church 
 facilities of the very first order. 
 
 ^' S\>n,^yl^\J^%§'^^/ir 
 G 
 
ANNISTON 
 
 .^NISTON is located in the Northeastern part of the 
 State, sixty miles from Birmingham, one 
 hundred miles from Atlanta, and is within 
 ea<^y reach of all the coast and Northern cities. 
 It is situated on the main line of the East 
 Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Kailroad, at 
 the crossing of the Georgia Pacific Railroad. 
 The location is beautiful and picturesque, be- 
 ing in a valley at the foot of Blue mountain, 
 a chain of the Blue Ridge. It is one of the 
 highest points accessible to railroads in the 
 State, commanding a view of unexcelled 
 grandeur. The property, prior to 1883, be- 
 longed exclusively to the Woodstock Iron 
 Company, a corporation organized by Messrs. 
 Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler, and was by 
 them held from the outside world, not through 
 any feeling of exclusiveness nor any desire on their part to control the trade of 
 the city and the surrounding country, but simply to lay the basis of a city in 
 the proper way ; to so arrange its drainage that when it became a great city 
 there would be no trouble in keeping it clean and healthy ; to lay off its 
 streets in a manner systematic and properly proportioned, and to so macada- 
 mize them that they would afford safe and pleasant drives. Not only was all 
 this done but a great deal more, which could not have been accomplished in 
 any other way. In 1883 the city was thrown open to the public, with better 
 streets, sidewalks, parks, shade trees, water works, schools, churches, hotels, 
 etc., than any city in the State of ten times its size. These were built by the 
 company and did not entail one dollar of debt to the city. All the local im- 
 provements and the three railroads brought to the city, were accomplished 
 without any expense to the present population. At that time a number of 
 business and residence lots were sold to parties attracted here by the beauty 
 of the place and its promises of future greatness ; by them many improve- 
 ments were made, and many business enterprises organized. But the busi- 
 ness stagnation which was felt all over the country at that time was felt here 
 also, and for several years the growth of the place was very slow. But as 
 soon as trade revived and the attention of the outside world was drawn to the 
 richness of this country, Anniston suddenlj^ sprang into prominence, and in 
 the race for prosperity, has left all her competitois far in the rear. 
 
 By acts of the State legislature, Anniston is an incorporated city and a 
 
 7 
 
>^ 
 
separate school district. The schools are controlled by the Mayor and Com- 
 mon Council, and for the population are the larj^jest and most flourishing pub- 
 lic schools in the State. In addition there are two pay schools for boys and 
 eirls. 
 
 THE CLIMATE 
 
 is well balanced, and has no equfil in the South for moderate temperature 
 both in summer and winter. The highest degree of heat registered at the 
 Inn during this last summer — the hottest known for years — was ninety-two 
 degrees, which was ten degrees lower than that reported by any town in the 
 State. The nights are always cool and refreshing, even during the warmest 
 season of the year. 
 
 AS A PLACE OF KESIDENCE 
 
 Anniston combines with the unexampled advantages as a manufacturing and 
 business center, all that can be desired to make up the attractions of a de- 
 lightful and healthy home. The site of the town possesses every feature that 
 an experienced engineer would desire in selecting a perfect location. The 
 beautiful valley in which it is situated lies 800 feet above tide water, slopes 
 from the east and west to the center, with a gentle fall toward the south, afford- 
 ing the most perfect natural drainage, and the Blue mountain range towering 
 1,000 feet above the valley, with its picturesque slopes presents the most at- 
 tractive building sites, from which the eye is delighted by long stretches of 
 beautiful scenery and extended views of the country beyond, to a distance of 
 thirty miles or more. The great essentials of a good home are pure air, good 
 water and a salubrious climate; all of these are to be found here. The air from 
 the pine-clad mountains, sweeping over upland valleys and table lands, is 
 ' pure and invigorating ; pure and sparkling water from the mountain ranges is 
 obtained, while the climate is delicious the whole year. These advantages, 
 with freedom from malarial influences and from mosquitoes, its equable cli- 
 mate, free from the rigorous winters of the North, and from the oppressive 
 heat of less elevated localities of the South, make it in point of health and 
 comfort, equal to any locality on the continent. In addition to the natural 
 charms, everything that could contribute to the attractiveness of the city has 
 been done. It was completel}^ surveyed and laid out before a house was built, 
 and the streets, broad and Jevel, were planted with shade trees, and macada- 
 mized with crushed slag from the furnaces, rolled down to a perfection of 
 hardness, splendid for riding and driving. 
 
 The city is lighted by electricity, the streets, hotels, opera house, churches, 
 furnaces, etc., being illuminated by the Brush system. There is a fine sys- 
 tem of public schools. There are churches of all denominations, besides 
 those for colored persons. The stores are fine, solid, commodious brick 
 structures, some with handsome iron fronts and large plate glass show win- 
 dows. One is struck with the neat, clean, well-to-do appearance of the busi- 
 ness houses, and the entire absence of the small wooden shed and shanty 
 style of building so often seen in towns the size of Anniston. The merchants 
 are brisk, live and vigorous, and are busy and prosperous. There is an air of 
 thrift pervading everything. The residents from one end of town to the 
 
 9 
 
other seem imbued with a sense of cleanliness, neatness and order. Every- 
 body seems proud of the town and anxious to do his part toward keeping up 
 its reputation. In and around the city are many beautiful residences, having 
 extensive ornamented grounds, and provided with all the conveniences and 
 luxurious appointments which wealth can command. There are suburban 
 locations for the families of the men employed in the shops and factories, 
 and another where the homes of the colored people are gathered — all laid out 
 regularly and made attractive by the neat style of cottages, surrounded by 
 grass plats and flower beds. The extremely comfortable style in which these 
 cottages are finished, demonstrates the fact that the manufacturers are solici- 
 tous of the welfare of their employees. 
 
 One of the most attractive features of the city, to the traveler and visi- 
 tor is 
 
 THE FAMOUS ANNISTON INN. 
 
 This is a building deserving special mention. It was commenced in the 
 fall of 1884, and finished and opened to the public in April, 1885. It has been 
 pronounced the completest hotel in the South, and no man who has not seen 
 it has a right to dispute that claim. It is a graceful specimen of Queen 
 Anne architecture. Its very appearance is an invitation to rest and ease. The 
 wide verandas extending entirely around the first three floors indicate easy 
 chairs and delicious breezes as far as they can be seen. The approach to the 
 inn is past a twenty-acre lawn, and up the graveled walks which wind their 
 way through luxuriant blue-grass, to the broad stone stairway at the main 
 entrance. The interior of the Inn more than fulfllls the expectation awak- 
 ened by its external attractions. It is simply perfect in all its appointments. 
 The interior finish is of solid wood polished like satin, and relieved by unique 
 tiles and rich tapestry. The square windows with their stained glass and ar- 
 tistic draperies soften the scene with a peculiarly fine effect. The parlors are 
 magnificently furnished, and offer many tempting devices for the ease of the 
 occupants. The bed rooms are large and perfectly ventilated, and from the 
 second to the fifth floor are furnished in equal style and taste. But the most 
 beautiful apartraent in this elegant establishment is the dining room. Its 
 walls are of oak, with exquisitely carved ornaments and the finest attainable 
 polish. The glowing arches which span it in three places and the exquisite 
 inlaid work which shines about the windows in various designs are among the 
 many things to admire in this royal room. Its tables are furnished with the 
 clearest crystal, the brightest silver and the most beautiful china. The menu 
 is in keeping with the elegance of the table settings. The entire house is 
 lighted both with incandescent electric lights and with gas. It is kept in 
 every respect up to the metropolitan standard, and is under the superintend- 
 ence of Mr. Harry Hardell, a well-known Philadelphia hotel man. From the 
 verandas of the hotel a superb view is had. The breezes sweeping constant- 
 ly through the wide arches and the fluttering curtains make the Inn a most 
 tempting summer resort, and it is arranged to be kept warm and cozy in win- 
 ter, so that whenever the traveler finds shelter beneath its roof he can be 
 comfortable and happy. 
 
 12 
 

•g^xi 
 
 t^A 
 
The two pay schools already 
 mentioned are worthy of special 
 notice, not only as being models 
 of architectural beauty, but as 
 the munificent gifts of Samuel 
 Noble, Esq., the founder of An- 
 niston — a man of indomitable 
 energy, extraordinary sagacity 
 and ability — and to whose fore- 
 sight so much of the prosperity 
 of its people is due. 
 
 Noble Institute for Girls has been completed within the last year. It is 
 a structure of rare beauty, built of stone and brick, and is spacious and well 
 lighted. Nothing has been omitted to make this school all that it should be. 
 The rooms are large, well lighted, ventilated, and heated by steam. The 
 grounds are beautifully laid out with special regard to the health and exercise 
 of the pupils. The faculty consists of five teachers. The English branches, 
 mathematics, Latin, French, music, both vocal and instrumental, painting, 
 drawing and chemistry are taught by competent teachers. 
 
 Noble Institute for Boys is about being completed. The building, of 
 stone and brick, is situated on a commanding eminence from which a most 
 perfect view of the city, and the mountains and val- 
 leys in the distance, can be obtained. It is a notice- 
 able feature of the city, as it can be seen from every 
 point. The plans of the building were made by Mr. 
 Willard P. Little, of New York, and are as complete ' 
 in every detail as the requirements demand. The In- 
 stitute will be opened in a few months with a most 
 competent corps of teachers and professors, the 
 schedule of studies covering the classics, engineer- 
 ing, chemistry full course, and mechanical and archi- 
 tectural drawing. 
 
 As regards a water supply, perhap|S no city in this 
 part of the country can boast of as pure water, sup- 
 plied by a subterranean stream fed by the innumer- 
 able springs pouring from the Blue Eidge range. The 
 inexhaustible supply has been obtained by sinking a 
 well ten feet in diameter and 'eighty feet deep, which 
 is lined with a heavy cast iron curbing put in in seg- 
 ments, all bolted securely together. The water is 
 forced by a splendid 150- 
 horse power beam engine to 
 a reservoir situated on one 
 of the hills in the eastern 
 part of the city, at an eleva- «r ^ 
 
 16 
 

Fire 
 
 tion of 236,feet, and 
 one mile distant 
 from the water 
 works. Heavy iron 
 pipes are laid 
 through many of 
 the streets, and the 
 company are now 
 extending the ser- 
 vice as rapidly as 
 hydrants are accessible in all 
 
 the increasing population demand it 
 
 parts of the city, and the pressure of 100 pounds to the inch is sufficient 
 
 to throw water over the highest buildings without the assistance of a fire 
 
 engine. 
 
 ADVANTAGES FOR MANUFACTURES AND TRADE. 
 
 Anniston possesses natural advantages as a manufacturing and business 
 point surpassing that of any other place in the South. The neighboring 
 mountains possess exhaustless supplies of coal easily and cheaply mined. 
 Iron can be made at a lower cost than at any other point in the South, mak- 
 ing no exception. For miles around there is a magnificent sweep of heavily 
 timbered lands. From the surrounding forests the finest Georgia pine and 
 hard-wood lumber are furnished. Anniston is a competitive railroad point, 
 and commands favorable freight rates to all markets. Thus, for manufactur- 
 ing, the raw material is cheap, easily accessible and of the best kind, and 
 there is every facility for cheaply transporting the product to market. The 
 remarkable and unvarying success of such manufacturing enterprises as have 
 been established in Anniston is convincing evidence of its superior advan- 
 tages. 
 
 For any kind of general business, Anniston is an inviting field. Tribu- 
 tary to the city, north and south on the East Tennessee, Virginia and Geor- 
 gia Railroad, east and west on 
 the Georgia Pacific Eailroad, 
 for fifty miles south on the An- 
 niston and Atlantic Eailroad, 
 and for the same distance north 
 on the Anniston and Cincinnati 
 Eailroad, is the richest and most 
 populous agricultural country in 
 the South, which, with the com- 
 petitive freight rates that are, 
 by location, the right of the city, 
 gives to Anniston as a distribut- 
 ing point for wholesale and job- 
 bing houses a most favorable 
 location. Several wholesale gro- 
 cery and commission houses are 
 
 
 18 
 
doing a large and profitable business, and daily increasing the volume of 
 trade and extending their territory. A most flattering opening is here pre- 
 sented for wholesale dry goods, notion, boot and shoe, hardware and agri- 
 cultural implement houses. The trade is ready at hand and needs only to 
 be sought to repay the merchant in handsome returns for his venture. 
 There are three banks in the city, the First National Bank of Anniston, 
 capital $100,000, surplus $200,000, and deposits over $1,000,000 ; Duncan T. 
 Parker, president; Saml. Noble, vice-president, and 0. E. Smith, cashier. 
 The Bank of Anniston, recently incorporated under the laws of the State, 
 with a paid up capital of $100,000; J. E. Draper, president; W. G. Ledbetter, 
 vice-president, and C. D. Woodruff, cashier, and the Anniston Savings Bank 
 and Safety Deposit Company, with a capital of $50,000; John B. Keese, pres- 
 ident; W. S. Larned, vice-president, and T. C. Stephens, cashier; all doing 
 a very satisfactory business, and liberal, public-spirited institutions, always 
 ready to exert themselves in furthering any enterprise for the development 
 of the grand resources of this section. 
 
 To give some idea of the present extent of Anniston's commercial and 
 manufacturing interests, the following description of the leading establish- 
 ments now in existence there is presented : 
 
 ^ WOODSTOCK FURNACES. 
 
 Furnace No. 1 was started in 1873, size forty-three feet high, twelve feet 
 bosh. It was planned and built by the Woodstock Iron Company, Messrs. 
 Noble Bros, building the engines and iron work. It was not 
 expected that the furnace would produce over 5,000 tons of 
 car wheel iron a year, but by 1879, the production, by im- 
 provements and alterations was run to 7,500 tons. The 
 
 quality of the iron meeting a de- 
 mand for more than 
 could be produced, 
 
 the building of Fur- 
 nace No. 2 was com- ^C" 
 menced, and it was 
 completed and put in 
 
 blast by August, 1879. This furnace was built lar- 
 ger, and seven feet higher than the first furnace, 
 
 and the results obtained were so satisfactory that Furnace No. ^^(>v^ "en 
 1, was in 1880, raised to the same height, fifty feet ; since that J '' 
 time the boiler power has been increased and other improvements made un- 
 til the capacity of the furnaces has been raised to 25,000 tons per annum, over 
 600 tons being produced in a single week. The construction of Furnaces 
 Nos. 3 and 4 was begun early in 1887, and they are now being pushed to comple- 
 tion as rapidly as men and material can be used. These furnaces will be 
 built throughout by Anniston workmen, Messrs. Noble Bros, having the 
 contract for the five large engines of forty-five inches.diameter and sixty inches 
 
 20 
 
stroke, steam cylinder, and ninety inches diameter and sixty inches stroke, 
 blowing cylinders, each having a capacity of 950 horse power, and also for the 
 heavy castings and general iron work. "Woodstock iron will be used to insure 
 solidity and strength of the castings and machinery, an experience of fifteen 
 years having shown but slight repairs and no breakage of the engines and 
 castings of Furnaces Nos. 1 and 2. The boilers of these new furnaces, thirty- 
 six in number, are each seventy feet long, and are made of homogeneous soft 
 steel ; the iron furnace stacks are seventy-five feet high and twenty feet in 
 diameter, with six Whitwell hot blast ovens, eighteen feet in diameter and 
 sixty feet high, and the draft stack is eight feet in diameter and 160 feet high. 
 These are all being constructed by J. & D. Noble ; the balance of the con- 
 struction will be done by the company. These furnaces are the largest in 
 the South and are supplied with every modern improvement and the most 
 powerful machinery, and will be capable of producing 100,000 tons per an- 
 num. The Brown Hematite Woodstock ores will be used, producing the very 
 best, softest and strongest iron for all purposes, made in the South. The 
 coke will be drawn from the Cahaba mines, and limestone from the line of 
 the Anniston and Cincinnati Bailroad. The control of large bodies of the 
 very best ores, limestone and coke in the State, assures Anniston being the 
 seat of the great and profitable iron industry in the South. 
 
 It will yet be found that the main and great dependence for the best and 
 cheapest iron and its profitable manufacture will rest on the brown ores trib- 
 utary to Anniston. The great deposits of brown ores along the line of the 
 Anniston and Cincinnati Eailroad, have been made tributary to Anniston, the 
 road being built for that purpose. The two Clifton Furnaces, located on the 
 Anniston and Atlantic Eailroad, produce over 20,000 tons of car wheel and 
 malleable iron per annum, Clifton Furnace No. 2, built in 1885, alone pro- 
 ducing 13,000 tons. These furnaces use the brown hematite ores, and are 
 operated from, and are in the Anniston district. It is the iron produced from 
 the ores in the Anniston district that must be relied upon for the production 
 of chains and bolts, wire and screw rods, boilerplates and girders for bridge 
 work and buildings, thin, tough iron for stamped ware and sheet iron work, 
 machinery requiring great strength and solidity, gas and water pipes, stove 
 and malleable iron work and special castings of all kinds. Every practical 
 consumer of iron or manufacturer of iron will at once recognize from the 
 analysis given below, the excellence of the ores and material used and extra- 
 ordinary quality of the iron produced, and its adaptability for the highest 
 grades of all manufactures of iron and steel. 
 
 Woodstock Iron Ore. Sample No. 1. Woodstock Pig Iron. 
 
 Analysis made by Cleveland, Ohio, Rolling Mill Co. 
 
 Peroxide Iron 82.86 
 
 Sesqui protoxide manganese 6.50 
 
 Phosphorus 09 
 
 Metallic ji-on 57.50 
 
 Metallic manganese 4.85 
 
 Carbonate lime 99.24 
 
 Carbonate magnesia 23 
 
 Water and organic matter 53 
 
 Iron 93.50 
 
 Carbon 4.75 
 
 Silicium 1.30 
 
 Sulphur 021 
 
 Phosphorus 017 
 
 Manganese 47 
 
 Woodstock Limestone. Cahaba Coke. 
 
 Volatile hydro carbon 4.508 
 
 Fixed carbon 87.607 
 
 Sulphur 745 
 
 Ash 7.140 
 
 22 
 
THE COTTON MILIi 
 
 is owned by the Anniston Manufacturing Company, a corporation with a cap- 
 ital of $250,000, of which A. L. Tyler is president, J. B. Goodwin, secretary 
 and treasurer. The mill is a handsome three-story building and contains 
 12,000 spindles and 320 looms. There are employed 320 operatives, to whom 
 are paid as wages, $6,000 per month. The annual product is 5,500,000 
 yards, 30 per cent, of which is shipped to China, 30 per cent, to Eastern and 
 Western markets, and 40 per cent, to the local trade. Adjoining the mill are 
 four iron fire-proof warehouses which have a capacity for storing 6,000 bales 
 of cotton. There are also machine, carpenter and blacksmith shops in which 
 
 
 
 all the repairs of the mill are done. The picking room, card room, spinning 
 room, slasher room, weave shop and cloth room are all fitted up with the 
 most approved machinery, making this the largest and best equipped mill in 
 the State. The motive power is a Buckeye engine of 300 horse power, sup- 
 plied by five boilers manufactured by the Anniston Boiler Works. The build- 
 ing is supplied throughout with automatic sprinklers, fire plugs with hose at- 
 tached on each floor, and hydrants surrounding the mill. Water is supplied 
 by the Anniston water works, and by two fine springs which feed a large 
 reservoir in the yard. In the rear is a village of seventy-five well-built and 
 substantial houses, owned bj^ the company, in which the factory operatives 
 reside. 
 
 ANNISTON CAE WHEEL WOEKS. 
 
 These works are owned and managed by Noble Bros. & Co., who have in- 
 vested in the business over $200,000. The works comprise a two-story brick 
 machine shop 50x150 feet, a foundry 84x335 feet, and the forge and rolling 
 mill 80x215 feet, all built with every modern improvement. The car wheel 
 foundry has ten cranes and two cupolas, with a melting capa<ily of 40,000 
 pounds per hour, and capable ot turning out 300 car wheels per day. The 
 machine shops are provided with improved machinery and tools for boring 
 
 24 
 
wheels, turning axles and constructing other heavy machinery, the whole 
 operated by a 120-horse power Corliss beam engine. The rolling mill and 
 steam forge for making car and locomotive axles, contains three steam ham- 
 mers, together with a 200-horse power engine for driving the rolls for work- 
 ing up scrap iron into muck bar ready for the steam hammer. The puddling 
 furnaces have been provided for working up charcoal pig with the wrought 
 iron scraps, into axles. The entire plant is one of the largest and most com- 
 plete of its kind in the Southern States. The wheels and axles are made of 
 the Woodstock iron, and have as good if not better reputation than those 
 made by any other firm. The value of the car wheels and axles manufac- 
 tured by this firm, per year, is $500,000. They employ constantly 125 skilled 
 workmen, and pay out in wages and salaries over $5,000 per month. 
 
 THE AliABAMA CAR "WOEKS. 
 
 This company was organized in November, 1886, with a capital of $50,000, 
 and John W. Noble, president, and E. E. G. Eoberts, secretary and treasurer. 
 In March, 1887, Henry Horn, of Chicago, was engaged as superintendent. 
 They give constant employment to 250 men, nearly all of whom are skilled 
 mechanics, and pay out in wages and salaries over $3,000 per week. The ca- 
 pacity of the works is ten cars per day, and since the business has been in 
 fair operation, the company has never been able to keep up with the orders. 
 They are now completing an order of 350 cars for the East Tennessee, Vir- 
 ginia and Georgia Kailroad, and commencing one of 400 ears for the Texas 
 and Pacific Bailroad. Besides contract work for the different railroads in all 
 parts of the country, they do all the repairs on the Mann boudoir cars, mak- 
 ing them entirely new throughout. Their cars are built of heart yellow pine, 
 with wheels and axles of Woodstock charcoal iron, the very best of material, 
 and are considered fully equal if not better than any made in the country. 
 Their output now amounts to over $75,000 per month, and will be veiy large- 
 ly increased, as the improved machinery being introduced into their works 
 will give them a much greater capacity, and make their shops the largest and 
 most complete of any south of the Ohio river. 
 
 THE ANNISTON PIPE WORKS. 
 
 This company was organized in February, 1887, with D. T. Parker, pres- 
 ident ; S. H. Smith, secretary and treasurer, and Kobert F. Carter, superin- 
 tendent. It has a cash capital of $300,000 and 120 acres of valuable land im- 
 mediately adjoining the city limits. The plans, specifications and estimates 
 of these great works were made by Col. Latham Anderson, of Cincinnati, 
 whose high attainments and reputation as a scientific and mechanical engi- 
 neer are well known. It is believed that these pipe works will be the largest 
 in existence, having a daily capacity of 200 tons of finished pipe, the sizes 
 ranging from three inches to four feet. The works, including the yards, 
 cover an area of twenty acres. The main building is 504x130 feet, with two 
 wings 275x36 feet, covering an area of over one and three quarter acres. The 
 labor of about 325 men will be required to run this immense establishment, 
 with a monthly pay roll of over $15,000. The main building will contain thir- 
 ty cranes, varying in capacity from three to twenty tons, having forty steam 
 
 26 
 
engines with an aggregate capacity of 400 horse power. When running at 
 full capacity, over 300 tons of crude material will be consumed daily. The 
 works are immediately adjoining the two new furnaces of the Woodstock Iron 
 Company, having a capacity of 120 tons each per day, and it is expected that 
 the Pipe Works will consume almost the entire output of these furnaces. 
 The facilities for receiving crude material and shipping the finished product 
 cannot be surpassed by any manufacturing establishment in the country. 
 The yards and works are traversed by numerous tracks connecting directly 
 with the furnaces ; with the deposits of clay, loam, sand and limestone ; with 
 the coal mines and coke ovens owned by the Woodstock Iron Company, and 
 with all the railroads centering in Anniston. The remarkable mildness of 
 both the summer and winter climate constitutes one of the most important 
 of the many advantages possessed by these works, enabling them to operate 
 the entire year without any stoppage from the weather. The openness of the 
 winters gives this further advantage, in that it enables pipe laying to be con- 
 tinued throughout the winter, in this region. This is a most important item, 
 as it insures a steady demand at a season when works further North have 
 either to accumulate enormous stocks on their cramped yards or to discharge 
 most of their hands and thus disorganize their forces. The situation of these 
 works in the center of the cheapest iron producing region in America, and 
 in close contact with the furnaces especially designed for their accommoda- 
 tion, assures them a constancy and cheapness of metal supply unequaled in 
 any pipe works on this continent. In addition to this, the ores used will give 
 the Anniston Pipe Works a higher quality of metal than has ever heretofore 
 been employed in the manufacture of cast iron pipe. 
 
 Finally, no means will be spared to secure the health, comfort, content- 
 ment and well being of the operatives. To describe the means to be em- 
 ployed to attain this end, it is only necessary to say that the village which is 
 destined to accommodate the workmen, will be built after the model of the 
 charming suburb, Glen Addie, the most healthy and picturesque part of the 
 city. 
 
 MUKEAY & STEVENSON'S FOTJNDKY. 
 
 These works were moved from Cartersville, Ga., to Anniston in 1883, 
 and since that time their business has increased steadily. The recent growth 
 of this place, and the large orders received make it necessary for the firm to 
 double their capacity, which they propose doing at once. They are now 
 woiking up ten tons of iron daily, using principally the celebrated Woodstock 
 brands. Their capacity is pushed to its utmost limit with large orders from 
 the South and from this place, consisting of castings, etc., for 1,000 freight 
 cars, and furnaces, heaters, etc., for iron furnaces. They make castings for 
 cars, engines, furnaces and general machinery, also grates, sash weights and 
 architectural iron work. Capital invested, $30,000 ; annual business, $75,000 ; 
 number of hands employed, fifty; monthly pay roll, $3,000. 
 
 PINDER & go's machine SHOPS, 
 
 situated near Murray & Stevenson's Foundry, are fully equipped with modern 
 tools for doing all kinds of machine work to order, and for the manufacture 
 
 28 
 
of automatic steam engines from 10 to 100 horse power. Special attention is 
 given to repair work, which, on account of the new enterprises starting up, 
 is giving them more work than they can well attend to. A 50 horse power 
 Dugan automatic engine has just been completed to run the city electric 
 lights. The firm employ ten skilled machinists, paying them over $600 
 monthly. Capital invested, $10,000. 
 
 THE ANNISTON BOILER AND SHEET lEON WORKS. 
 
 These works are run entirely by steam, the outfit comprising power 
 punching machines, shears, bending machines, over head drill presses, fan 
 blast, and everything necessary to make it the best boiler plant south of the 
 Ohio river. They have had constant employment since commencing business 
 two years ago, in making boilers and other work for a number of furnaces, 
 steam boats and water works, and are now making for the Woodstock Iron Com- 
 pany's new furnaces, thirty-six boilers ranging from fifty to seventy feet long, 
 thirtj'^-two to forty-two inches in diameter ; also two furnace stacks, six hot- 
 blast stoves nineteen feet in diameter and seventy -five feet high, besides hun- 
 dreds of feet of hot and cold blast pipes, bustle pipes, etc. They are now 
 employing thirty-four skilled mechanics, and will employ fifty more as soon 
 as they can increase the capacity of their works. Their pay roll amounts to 
 $2,300 per month. 
 
 THE ANNISTON BLOOMAKY. 
 
 This company was incorporated in March, 1887, with a cash capital of $50,- 
 000, and with C. C. McCartey, president ; L. M. Morrison, vice-president, and 
 J. L. Morrison, Jr., secretary and treasurer. They are manufacturers of 
 charcoal blooms, a product especially adapted for boiler plate, horse shoes, 
 chains, cables, car axles, car links and all uses requiring a high grade of ten- 
 sile strength and durability. They employ seventy-five men, mostly skilled 
 mechanics, and their pay roll amounts to over $6,000 per month. The out- 
 put at present is twenty tons per day, amounting in value to about $400,000 
 per annum. But the great demand for their product will compel them to 
 greatly enlarge their capacity, which they propose doing before the end of the 
 year. Their present market is in the East, at very remunerative prices, but 
 for parties who will locate here for the purpose of utilizing their product, they 
 will make liberal concessions. 
 
 RAILROADS. 
 
 Viewing Anniston from a railroad point of view, her very many desirable 
 and fortunate general surroundings become still more strongly impressed 
 upon the minds of observant and appreciative practical business men, who 
 may have the patience to carefully investigate what Nature has done to make 
 any locality a good, sound business point, previous to man's aggressive efforts 
 in the same direction. When Nature selects a point as the location to which 
 a large population will sooner or later aggregate, and the observant business 
 man appreciates Nature's efforts and seconds her by joining hands with her, 
 in the investment of his capital" and energy, the advantages are soon made ap- 
 parent, and others flock to that point, seeking a portion of the benefits. There 
 is no more unremunerative or hopeless struggle than that of capital placed 
 
 30 
 
^ 
 
 r 
 
ill-ad visedly in large or small business centers, in localities or amidst gen- 
 eral surroundings unfavorable to the prosecution and extension of manufac- 
 turing operations. It is very easy to secure grounds, money aids, etc., to in- 
 duce capital and experience to move to new fields, but very many *' locations," 
 "encouragements," "gifts of manufacturing sites," etc., are only the wreck- 
 ers' false signal lights hung out on treacherous reef points to lure capital to 
 make its venture where Nature never designed that such ventures should be 
 made. Such ventures invariably result in the total overthrow of capital, as 
 the struggle is simply one against Nature, to force from her what she did not 
 offer and did not have to give. The life and success of all manufacturing 
 points in this day of close competition depends not only upon what rates can 
 be obtained from railroads for the shipment of the products of the factories, 
 but upon the status which the mechanic and working man can obtain and 
 hold for himself and his family ; not the status obtained by the struggle to 
 do the least amount of work for the largest amount of pay, but that obtained 
 by doing the largest amount of work that lies in his power, and doing that 
 work amidst such personal surroundings as permit to him and his family the 
 greatest amount of home comfort for the least amount deducted from his 
 earnings, and leave to his bank account the largest sum of savings. The 
 possibilities of home comforts, of savings against the non-productive years 
 of old age, are the sure bonds by which the successful manufacturer holds 
 his labor, and to arrive at this correct balance of life for the workman, the 
 railroads of a country are the factors that solve the problem of probable suc- 
 cess or possible failure. Food, clothing and fuel are the necessities of life, 
 and they must come to the workman with the least possible cost of transpor- 
 tation. 
 
 When Nature prepared Anniston to be a manufacturing point and the 
 home of 100,000 workmen, she did not do her work by halves. She placed 
 Anniston in a geographical center and surrounded her by such supply points 
 as Cincinnati and New Orleans, Augusta and Memphis, Louisville and Mont- 
 gomery. Prints, white goods, shoes, clothing, etc., are laid down in Annis- 
 ton as cheaply as they are in the Eastern cities ; corn, bacon, cotton, molas- 
 ses, rice and sugar are our own productions. "We raise them all, and our 
 railroads bring them to our doors at figures so low that a workman who ob- 
 tains $1.25 per day in Anniston, is a better paid man than a $1.50 man in 
 Chicago, Milwaukee or Cleveland. And as for fuel, wood of the best quality 
 is delivered by the railroads at $2 per cord, and coal at $3 per ton. Surely 
 here is the spot where capitalist and manufacturer, mechanic and laborer 
 may meet on that long sought, seldom found spot — common and mutual in- 
 terest—and our railroads are ready to bring them here and then " fetch and 
 carry" for them at fair rates for all. The progress of railroad building in and 
 around Anniston during the past and present year has been beyond all pre- 
 cedent, and yet so rapid has been our growth and such is our prosperity that 
 with an increase of 300 per cent, in our railroad facilities we have not met 
 our wants, and are to-day spending $750,000 in building a purely local line to 
 fetch and carry Anniston business. Some faint conception of the railroad 
 
 32 
 
I ; 
 
 fl|,f^ . 
 
 >te> 
 
 
 
trafBc of Anniston may be found by noting that the tonnage of the three rail- 
 roads now operating into it, footed up as a total at the three stations a yearly 
 tonnage of 118,765 gross tons of general merchandise, all Anniston business. 
 The lines of railroads giving an outlet to all parts of the country are as fol- 
 lows : East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia system, a direct line from New 
 York to New Orleans ; the Georgia Pacific Railroad, running from New York 
 to the Mississippi river and connecting to points further west; the Anniston 
 and Atlantic Eailroad, connecting at Sylacauga with the Georgia Central sys- 
 tem, and the Anniston and Cincinnati Railroad, connecting with the Cincin- 
 nati Great Southern system at Atalla, giving advantages to Anniston over all 
 the great Southern systems of railways, and enabling its merchants and man- 
 ufacturers to ship and receive freight to and from any point in the United 
 States at competitive rates. 
 
 ANNISTON COMPEESS AND WAREHOUSE COMPANY. 
 
 This company has just been organized with a cash capital of $100,000, and 
 are erecting a building 100x137 feet, with fire-proof walls and roof, in which 
 will be placed a 90-inch cylinder Morse press, having a capacity of 1,000 bales 
 per day. The company will be ready for work by October 1st, and anticipate 
 business from this crop of over 40,000 bales. In the country tributary to An- 
 niston the cotton crop amounts to over 50,000 bales, and as there are no com- 
 presses in operation nearer than Selma in the west and Rome and Atlanta in 
 the east, this company will be able to make this a very important cotton 
 market. 
 
 ANNISTON CORPORATIONS AND INDUSTRIES, SHOWING NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, 
 AND AMOUNT OF WAGES PAID, IN CASH. 
 
 
 Capital. 
 
 Value Product 
 Per Annum. 
 
 Employees. 
 
 tidy 
 Wages. 
 
 Woodstock Iron Co 
 
 Anniston City Land Co 
 
 $3,000,000 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 300,000 
 
 250.000 
 
 50,000 
 
 200,000 
 50,000 
 30,000 
 10.000 
 10,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 200.000 
 
 25,000 
 
 500.000 
 
 1,400,000 
 
 300.000 
 
 100,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 750.000 
 
 1,000,00 
 
 $2,000,000 
 
 2,000.000 
 
 300,000 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 400,000 
 
 75,000 
 
 450.000 
 750,001) 
 
 3,500 
 100 
 325 
 320 
 250 
 
 125 
 75 
 50 
 34 
 10 
 25 
 
 500 
 50 
 
 $85,000 
 5,250 
 
 15,000 
 6,000 
 
 14,000 
 
 5,000 
 6,000 
 3,000 
 2,300 
 600 
 1,200 
 
 20,000 
 2,000 
 
 Anniston Pipe Works 
 
 Anniston Mauufacturing Co 
 
 Anniston Car Works 
 
 Anniston Car Wheel Works and 
 Rolling Mill 
 
 Anniston Bloomary 
 
 Murray & Stevenson's Foundry 
 
 Anniston Boiler & Sheet Iron Works 
 
 Pinder & Co's Machine Shops 
 
 Anniston C< impress & Warehouse Co. 
 
 Brick Yards, Planing Mills and 
 other Industries 
 
 Taylor & Son's Fire Brick Works 
 
 Clifton Iron Co 
 
 Cahaba Coal Co 
 
 First National Bank 
 
 
 Bank of Anniston 
 
 
 Anniston Savings Bank 
 
 Anniston and A^tlantic Railroad 
 
 Anniston and Cincinnati Railroad. 
 
 
 Total 
 
 $11,325.0 
 
 5,364 
 
 $165,350 
 
 34 
 
THE CAHABA COAL MINING COMPANY. 
 
 The property of the Cahaba Coal Mining Company consists of about 30,- 
 
 000 acres of land, lying in Bibb, Shelby and Jefferson counties, Alabama, in 
 
 the Southern part of the Cahaba Coal Field, and between the Alabama Great 
 
 Southern, the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia, and the Louisville and 
 
 Nashville Bail roads. These lands are underlaid with nine workable coal 
 
 seams, two of which are being operated. No 1, or the Woodstock seam, is 
 
 from three and one half to four feet thick. It is a fine steam and coking 
 
 coal. The analysis is as follows: 
 
 Fixed carbon 55.76 
 
 Volatile hydrocarbon 41.04 
 
 Ash 3.20 
 
 lOU.OO 
 
 Sulphur 1-01 
 
 One slope has been opened on this seam. Another slope and a shaft in 
 
 the middle of the basin, are now being opened and are near completion. 
 
 No 2, or Underwood seam, is six feet thick. The coal is in one solid bench 
 
 without partings and it is clear of all dirt or slate. The analysis is as 
 
 follows : 
 
 Moistu e 2.24 
 
 Volatile hydrocarbon 34.12 
 
 Fixed carbon 60.75 
 
 Ash 2.41 
 
 Sulphur 48 
 
 100.00 
 This is a fine steam, domestic and coking coal. An analysis of the coke 
 from this seam is as follows : 
 
 Volatile hydrocarbon 4.508 
 
 Fixed carbon 87.607 
 
 Sulphur 745 
 
 Ash. '^■1^0 
 
 100.000 
 
 The following roads use this coal exclusively : The Southern Pacific Co. , 
 from New Orleans to Houston. The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pa- 
 cidc, from Woodstock to New Orleans, and from Meridian to Shreveport. 
 The Louisville, New Orleans and Texas, from Vicksburg to New Orleans, and 
 several other smaller lines. It is largely used in the Southwest for steam 
 and gas and for domestic purposes. The Meridian Gas Co. get 4.9 to five 
 feet of gas from this coal. The company owns several thousand acres of 
 this seam. There is one slope in operation on this seam, the average output 
 of which is 600 tons per day. Another slope is being opened and will soon 
 be in active operation. The Company is erecting three hundred coke 
 ovens which will be in operation by February 1st. The Company has built 
 for the use of its employees about two hundred and fifty houses and is now 
 building one hundred and fifty more. The name of its town is Blocton. It 
 has a large store for the supply of the town. The mines are connected 
 with the Alabama Great Southern Railway at Woodstock by a standard 
 gauge railroad ten miles long, built and operated by this company. It is 
 
 37 
 
now building five miles of track to connect its new worlis. The new slopes 
 and shafts will all be completed by March 1st, givinc? the Company four 
 slopes and one 10x18 shaft, the whole capable of an output of from 2,500 to 
 3,000 tons per day. The capacity of the mines can be increased indefinitely 
 by opening additional slopes and shafts. The mines now employ six hundred 
 men, and when slopes and shafts are completed will employ twelve hundred. 
 The Birmingham Mineral Railroad Co. is now building to connect with 
 this Company's road at Woodstock. This connection will be completed by 
 January 1st next, and will give access to all points on the Louisville and Nash- 
 ville Eailroad. The East Tennessee, Virguiia and Georgia Railroad is sur- 
 veying a line from near Briarfield on its roau to Blocton. The property may 
 be divided into three tracts. One on the west side of the Cahaba river ; on 
 this tract is the town and active works of the Company. One on the east side 
 of the Cahaba river; this tract contains five workable seams and is crossed 
 by the pioposed line of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, 
 now being located. The coal on this tract is equal in quality to that now 
 being mined on the western side of the river, and if the East Tennessee build 
 the proposed road, mines will be opened on this tract. The seams are from 
 three and a half to five feet thick. The other tract lies on the Louisville and 
 Nashville Railroad and has several seams of coal, among them the celebrated 
 " Gould " seam, noted for its coking and smithing qualities. This property 
 has recently been acquired by Messrs. Noble and Tyler, of Anniston, and 
 their friends, and will be an important factor in the future prosperity of An- 
 niston. The coke for the large furnaces now being erected, and the coal for 
 the other important enterprises will be supplied from Blocton. The oflBcers 
 of the Company are : T. H. Aldrich, president and treasurer; C. Cadle, Jr., 
 vice-president and manager, and the directors are Messrs. Noble, Tyler, 
 Aldrich, Cadle, and W. S. Gurnee, of New York City. 
 
 AP PKND IX. 
 
 STORY OF A NNISTON. 
 
 SPEECH OF SAMUEL NOBLE, ESQ., AT THE KELLEY BANQUET. 
 
 A KOMANTIC PAST TO BE FOLLOWED BY A GLOKIOUS FUTURE — THE SOLID 
 FACTS THAT MAKE PREDICTION CERTAINTY. 
 
 I presume my friend and associate (Mr. Tyler) has called on me to say a 
 few words about our beautiful city because he thinks I know, or ought to 
 know, more about her past and her future than any one else ; and not because 
 I could say it as well as many who hear me, and are more gifted with the 
 power of language to portray the marvelous beauty and wondrous resources 
 which nature has lavished upon us. 
 
 As to Anniston's past, it is familiar to all of you, and I shall not dwell 
 upon it. Our present is before you ; it can be studied each for himself ; it is 
 of our future and its security I would speak, and what I know has been done 
 
 38 
 
up to this time by those who in some measure control and shape her destiny ; 
 that I am sure will interest you most. 
 
 So far as my observation and practical experience tend— and T have trav- 
 eled some, and without being egotistical I can say I have been a close ob- 
 server, and during my life have obtained some knowledge of the resources of 
 my country-— I can truly say that I know of no section from Canada to the 
 Gulf, or from Maine to California, where nature has done so much, has been 
 so lavish of her gifts, and placed her resources where thev can be so easily 
 commanded and made available to man. We have an invigorating climate, 
 that for health is unequaled in the world. Water, crystal and cool, that re- 
 stores the invalid and sustains the vigor and energy of the strong. We have 
 resources in minerals the most useful of all in promoting man's civilization 
 and comfort. Iron and coal are at our very doors, in quantity and excellence 
 that render Anniston, in commanding these resources, peerless even in the 
 great State of Alabama; while to support a manufacturing and business 
 population we have tributary to our city the richest and best agricultural 
 lands in the State. All these are foundations of Anniston's future, her great- 
 ness and her prosperity. It has been to utilize and secure these, not for a 
 year, decade or generation, but for generations and centuries to come, that for 
 years a work has been quietly going on, step by step, and has now placed An- 
 niston in a position for all time to come to command the situation and become 
 what nature intended, and her people intend her to be, the great manufac- 
 turing, commercial, educational and social city of Alabama. There has been 
 secured to her and placed at her command within a stretch of sixty miles 
 nearly 50,000 acres containing the very best deposits of hematite iron ores in 
 our section, that produce an iron, the excellence of whose quality is known 
 in almost every State in the Union and in the Province of Canada. There has 
 bpen secured in addition over thirty miles in length of the best fossiliferous 
 iron ore in our State, while tens of thousands of acres of virgin forests are 
 controlled for the benefit of our great car industries, and construction of bus- 
 iness places, public buildings, and comfortable and civilized homes for our 
 people. To crown all, one of the largest and best coal properties that are now 
 or have ever been operated in our State, has passed into Anniston's control, 
 securing for her present and future industries an immediate supply of the 
 purest and best steam and coking coal that has yet been opened in the South. 
 To make available all these vast resources, we have the grand trunk lines 
 of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia and Georgia Paciiic railroads that 
 open up a portion of our territory. The Anniston and Atlantic Enilroad, built 
 by Anniston capital in the interest of her business and manufactures, controls 
 even a still greater proportion, while the Anniston and Cincinnati Kailioad, 
 which Anniston is now building and will own, gives her a grand trunk line con- 
 nection to Cincinnati and Chicago and the great Northwest on the one hand, 
 and with New Orleans, Shreveport and the great Southwest and Pacific coast on 
 the other, and brings to our doors the vast acquisitions of coal and ore that 
 have been acquired along the line of the Alabama and Great Southern Eail- 
 road. 
 
 39 
 
All that has been done has been carefully considered, and for a purpose, 
 not to make a speculative town ; not to boom real estate, for that will take 
 care of itself ; not to unload on the ignorant and unsuspecting, and pocket 
 other people's money, leaving them with exhausted resources to create an in- 
 dustrial community as best they can. With us it means the creation of new 
 industries and the sustaining of the old, and making all prosperous and pro- 
 fitable alike. It means for all time to come, an unlimited supply of fuels and 
 ores for four large iron furnaces in and tributary to Anniston. It means 
 placing in the most favored position the large coke furnaces that are now 
 building. It means cheap iron and fuel for the largest and most complete 
 pipe foundry in America, now in course of construction. It means the com- 
 mand of the finest timber in the world for car works, and cheap iron, cheap 
 coal for our foundries, our rolling mills, our forges, our wheel foundry, 
 steel works, and cotton factory. It means cheap transportation and easy ac- 
 cess to all parts of our common country, for the products of our industry, 
 and the return of commodities in exchange. It means a careful and prudent 
 investment of capital that will yield a profitable return, and build and sustain 
 every mercantile and business interest, add to the wealth of our State and 
 community, and open up new markets to our merchants. It means the addi- 
 tion of 4,000 working men to our population within the next fifteen months, 
 and an addition of 20,000 more to our population. It means the creation of a 
 home market for our agriculturists, and with our diversified manufactures 
 rendering diversified farming not only possible but profitable. It means the 
 increase of wealth and purchasing power of all our people — farmers and ar- 
 tisans alike- and their ability to command what every man from youth up 
 dreams and struggles to acquire, the greatest amount of the necessities, the 
 comforts and the luxuries of life. Thus, as far as possible, has the future of 
 Anni?ton been secured, and it seems that nothing has been unthought of or 
 left undone. Its great industries located ; its means of transportation pro- 
 vided ; no niggard hand has cramped its new entet prise for space, but every 
 acre that will be needed for generations to come, even under the greatest fa- 
 vorable development, has been given them. All this has been done, not by 
 the expenditure of hundreds of thousands, but by many millions of dollars. 
 It has been done without the issue of a bond or mortgage, a note or a single 
 evidence of debt, relieving all our enterprise of all fixed chnrges either in 
 times of prosperity or depression. It has been done judiciously and to make 
 profitable the use of nature's capital in the great mineral resources with 
 which she has surrounded us. 
 
''■iiiji