Above is a rendering of the look of the future of Shelby Iron Works Park. Our development plan calls for the eventual reconstruction of the 1909 L&N depot, the 1868 machine shop, and construction of a two story multi use facility to include Historic Shelby office, meeting rooms, and theater near the site of the rolling mill. Possibly incorporating portions of the excavated foundation of Alabama’s first rolling mill. The mill that rolled armor plating for the CSS Tennessee.
We will kick off our fund raising drive for phase one of the development plan, which is the reconstruction of the depot, on May 16 during our festival at the park. Much more information, including renderings of the depot will be available at that time.
Reaching this point with our future plans for Shelby Iron Works Park would not have been possible without the help of the Shelby County Commission.
Below is a 1940 photo of the depot taken long after Shelby Iron’s bright days and eerie glow of night blasts had faded. The depot was constructed in 1909 and the line connecting Calera and Blue Mountain near Anniston became known as the Mineral Line. The depot was a busy site, handling shipments to the many local merchants conducting business in Shelby, in addition to mail and passenger service. And, of course, car loads of Shelby Iron headed far and wide to be molded into car wheels. Car wheels that one day may have rolled back to Shelby … along the rails of the mineral line.
