From the late 1800′s well into the 20th century, Shelby was a bustling hub of business and commerce. Shelby’s wide streets were lined with store fronts of every description. Above is a 1950′s photo of Pate Brothers Mercantile, which was founded by G. W. Pate. The store was still in operaton at this time, though Shelby’s golden era had long passed. This photo shows one of three different businesses that occupied this large building.
Early photo of two Shelby belles at the front fence of Shelby’s New Dannemora Hotel. Behind them in the distance are the Shelby Iron Works furnaces.
Above is the masthead and some content from the February 19, 1892 issue of “the Magnet”. This was a newspaper devoted, in their words, to the “Magnetic City” of Shelby.
The paper’s business office was located four miles north of Shelby in Columbiana, Alabama. Manager of the paper was C.C. Dubose, and it was edited by H. C. Hornady, Jr.
The Town and County News section included items such as a call for an amateur dramatic club to be organized. The article states, “Shelby has first-class material for an amateur dramatic club. Would it not be a good idea to organize one?”
Also from this section of the paper, ” J.H. Johnson has placed a new counter in the rear of his store and added some more shelving. The improvement is great.”
A meeting of the literary club is noted,
and then there is this:
“The loafers’ club met Saturday, having found somebody away from home, thereby affording them a place to hold their meeting. It was a decided success. Thorough questions propounded by the president to oathbound members failed to show that any member had been guilty of working. This was so encouraging that they decided to borrow a dollar for somebody and have something. A man was found who wanted to give away a dollar, so the meeting panned out a howling success, every member full of enthusiasm. The next meeting will be held when an opportunity offers itself.”
Among advertisers in this issue of “the Magnet” were C. P. McLane & Co. Grocers, and Ayeryt & Averyt, located on the corner of 4th St. and 6th Avenue who advertises “you can get anything you want from a paper of needles to a hogshead of meat, at the lowest prices.”
In the late 1800′s, Shelby Iron Works and the “company town” of Shelby were collectively a hub of activity fueled by charcoal, iron, and the anticipation of many bright days ahead.
Ladies of the community gather for a quilting party in long ago Shelby. The house in the background of this photo is the Shelby Iron Company Superintendent’s house. It was constructed by slave labor in 1854. Unfortunately, the house burned in the early 1990′s.
Though the slavery period at Shelby is not a proud part our history, it is, nonetheless, an important aspect of that history.
The iron company owned no slaves. However, the company did obtain their service from plantation owners in Alabama and surrounding states. At the height of Civil War production, hundreds of slaves worked at Shelby Iron.
Following the war, a large number of the now former slaves and their families chose to remain at Shelby Iron Works, as newly freedmen. Decendents of those families today still call Shelby, Alabama home and are active members and directors of the Historic Shelby Association.
Ore fields at Shelby were in close proximity to the furnaces. The brown hematite iron ore lay close to the surface. It was not mined in the sense of mine shafts and carbide lanterns, but rather was taken by stripping the ground away. The resulting “strip pits” dotted the area north of Shelby’s iron making facilities.
After production at the works came to an end in 1923, the strip pits still performed service to the people of Shelby for many years to come.
Each pit even had its own name and character to local folks (of which I was one). Among others, there was the Wash Hole and the Blue Hole.
People would travel across the rutted dirt road to the Wash Hole to fetch water for use back home on laundry day…better known as wash day.
The pit with easiest access to the community was the Blue Hole. Its gently slopping sides seemed to form the perfect, peaceful setting for baptism. Shelby residents would watch from across the way.
The photo above shows one such baptism from a long ago Sunday afternoon.
Photo credit to Hylott Armstrong, Jr., formerly of Shelby.
As part of the rebuilding of Shelby Iron Works which began in 1868, a new commissary soon took its place among the other substantial and impressive brick buildings. Upon its completion, the “company store” was opened not only to iron company employees and their families, but also to the entire community. This was done by the company to help relieve the destitute condition following the Civil War.
The commissary had a basement and adjacent warehouse. A portion of the warehouse can be seen on far right of the photo.
Standing in front are Shelby Iron employees who staffed the commissary.
Constructed during the rebuilding of 1868-1870, the large three story brick building, situated across from the New Dannemora Hotel, soon became the commissary to the community of Shelby.
The well stocked store offered everything from clothing, to hardware, to coffins.
This building contained, in addition to the store, iron company offices and a basement laboratory. A large warehouse was located behind the commissary building.
During the late 1800′s and early 1900′s Shelby was a booming town and saw the addition of a number of other stores offering a wide variety of goods and services.
