Local History

Harmon Mims-Funambulist, Musician, and Photographer Harmon Mims was born in 1905 and lived a life far from the “proverbial rut,” more like an adventure novel. He enthusiastically embraced learning and changed directions when opportunities presented themselves, and...

Harmon and Sallie Mims Harmon Mims, that name, is one that brings lots of pictures to my mind. Harmon Mims was the “picture man” when I was growing up in Sylacauga in the 40’s and 50’s. I also remember Harmon Mims as being a band person, a good friend of my band...

Mrs. Beth Yates Ninety-Seven minus sixty-seven equals thirty.  Even as I write this, I can hardly believe that this remarkable lady was thirty years older than I.She kept her age to herself, and even when she had a birthday, she evaded the revelation of how many...

Spinning Records and Hula Hoops Someone has said that good things often come in small packages, and the White Midget began as a small trailer unloaded from a flatbed truck on Fort Williams Street between what was Ham’s Service Station at the corner of Norton...

May is that month that changes everything for eighteen year olds and their families, the time when the days of high school are fading into a past that will never be forgotten along with the friends who made that past so special. The Dairy Queen, the Frosty, and the...

Coffee Clubs Then and NowThe oldest coffee house in Europe was reported in 1637, a day when coffee drinkers gathered in what we might call a mini-university because the men who gathered there to drink coffee were writers, artists, poets, lawyers, politicians and...

Jones Bakery and the Family That Invested in This CommunityUsually it is the patriarch of the family who starts a business, and quite often his sons and daughters join him when they become adults and the legacy of a family business is begun. Not so with Jones Bakery....

Sweet Memories It has become quite trendy these days to title books, The ———‘s Daughter. You may have read some of these with the Lightkeeper’s, the Preacher’s, and even the Duke’s daughter. This February writing is from the Breadman’s daughter. You may not have...

BIG BLUE SPRING Record regarding the West half of the Northeast quarter of Section 29, Township 21, Range 4 East within the city limits of Sylacauga, Alabama.   The location of what is known as the Big Blue Spring.  Tract Book Reference: Talladega...

Presented by Bettye LessleyEARLY DAYS OF SYLACAUGASome Historic Reminiscences of General Interest to the People of Talladega County. Away back in the early thirties, yes, in 1833, when my father came to TalladegaCounty and bought the old man Hayes place, at what was...

“Beautiful New Building Of The First National Bank Demonstrates Growth Of Sylacauga In Past 30 Years.” Structure Is One Of Finest In The South.” “Alabama Marble Is Used Throughout Building.” When the doors of Sylacauga’s first banking institution were thrown open to...

SOUTHERN COTTON OIL COMPANY One of Sylacauga’s Oldest Industries Concern is of Material Aid to Farmers, Operate Modern Gin, Purchase Cotton Seed and Distribute Scoco Fertilizers over Trade Area. One of the oldest industries in the city of Sylacauga is the Southern...

SYLACAUGA HISTORY AS PRINTED UNDER A COLUMN ENTITLED “HERE AND THERE” Sunday I drove over every side street in Sylacauga said Mr. F. W. Scott of the Sylacauga Dry Goods Company.  The first time I have visited many of them in years, and it was interesting to run...

The Wisconsin Alabama Lumber Company “Last summer our little city was electrified when the press dispatch came from Chicago announcing the location of a million dollar lumber company in our midst.  The news seemed too good to be true, but soon the telegrams began...

Presented by Bettye Lessley: BROADWAY By Mr. W. T. Coker I was the first man to move a stock of merchandise to the present business section of Sylacauga, said Mr. W. T. Coker. It was back in ’91 and it was the Smith Brothers stock which marked the opening of their new...

Presented by Bettye Lessley: Big Locomotive Goes Into a Ditch in SylacaugaFifteen Cars Wrecked, Traffic Delayed, No One Seriously Injured Friday afternoon a rear end collision occurred between two freight trains near the Sylacauga Brick Company yard, on the Central of...

Presented by Bettye Lessley: Five Herd brothers came to America from Scotland. Their names were: George, the oldest; David, Alexander, John and Thomas, who said that they were “Lowlanders.” All of the Herds had served their apprenticeships in the marble business in...

Presented by Bettye Lessley: On January 21, 1879, in consideration of $25.00, H. G. Darby sold to “the Rising Star Colored Baptist Church” three (3) acres of land, lying in the extreme north east corner of the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter, Section #32,...