Diamonds in the Rough: A History of Alabama's Cahaba Coal Field

Title Page, Copyright, Frontispiece, Dedication

Diamonds in the Rough Frontispiece. Warrior, Cahaba, Coosa, and Plateau coal fields. (Courtesy of the Geological­ Survey of Alabama.) DIAMONDS in the ROUGH A History of Alabama’s Cahaba Coal Field James Sanders Day The University of Alabama press Tuscaloosa Copyright © 2013 The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-­ 0380 All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Typeface: Garamond Cover photograph: South & North Alabama Railroad Bridge No. 72 spanning Buck Creek. Mining engineer Joseph Squire’s house is in the right foreground; town of Helena lies in the distance. Cover design: Mary-­ Frances Burt ∞ The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of Ameri­ can National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-­ 1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Day, James Sanders, 1956Diamonds in the rough : a history of Alabama’s Cahaba coal field / James Sanders Day.   pages cm  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 978-0-8173-1794-2 (trade cloth : alkaline paper) — ISBN 978-0-8173-8674-0­ (ebook) (print) 1. Coal mines and mining—Alabama—Cahaba River Region—History—­ 19th century. 2. Coal mines and mining—Alabama—Cahaba River Region—History—­ 20th century. 3. Coalfields—Alabama—Cahaba River Region—History. 4. ­ Company towns—Alabama—Cahaba River Region—History. 5. Browne, William Phineas, 18041869 . 6. Businessmen—Alabama—Cahaba River Region—Biography. 7. Cahaba River­Region (Ala.)—History, Local. 8. Cahaba River Region (Ala.)—Social conditions. 9. ­ Cahaba River Region (Ala.)—Economic conditions. I. Title. TN805.A6D28 2013 333.8’220976178—dc23 2012044797 For René, Abby, and Mary Afton, with much love ...