Avondale

Avondale, Alabama (Incorporated in 1887) was once an independent suburb east of Birmingham. The city was annexed into Birmingham in 1907, and is now divided into three separate neighborhoods; North Avondale, East Avondale and South Avondale.

History

A natural spring, called Icing Spring in what is now Avondale Park was already known to travelers and trekkers in the mid 19th century. Alongside it was built the residence of Peyton King.

Avondale was founded in 1887, and laid out along the Alabama Great Southern Railway by the Avondale Land Company, which was owned by Benjamin F. Roden, William Morris and --- Sumner. They purchased the land from King and financed a mule-drawn streetcar line to the proposed business district on 41st Street. The first primary industry in Avondale was the railyards. Avondale's first mayor was Thomas Hearn Steele.

The new town was named after the Cincinnati suburb of Avondale, which impressed the members of the company that travelled there to seek backing for their development. Cincinnati's Avondale, in turn, was named for "Avondale Parish" in Scotland, the site of the Battle of Drumclog between Covenant and Claverhouse in 1679. The name was used in Sir Walter Scott's "Old Mortality". The name is of Celtic origin, meaning "river", and thus several small rivers in Britain are so named, including the one in Warwickshire which flows past Shakespeare's Stratford.

As Avondale's commercial district grew, the Spring Branch which was the spring's outlet, flowing north, adopted two open channels on either side of the street. Movements to improve the street by paving over the stream were frequently disussed, but it was not until Labor Day of 1925 that the street was finally paved and the stream conducted through a storm sewer in the center of the right-of-way.

Avondale Mills stood just outside the limits of the town. Important manufacturer's in Avondale included the Continental Gin Company, and the Avondale Stove and Foundry Company.

Avondale Park, on the slopes of Red Mountain, enshrined the natural spring. The Park was the largest in Birmingham until Ruffner Mountain was dedicated. It was known for the spring-fed grotto pool, an extensive rose garden, athletic fields, a secluded pavilion called "[{Avondale Villa|The Villa]]", and a large amphitheater that hosted a spectacular pageant in celebration of Birmingham's 50th Anniversery in 1931.

The park was also one-time home of the Birmingham Zoo, which at the time consisted mainly of non-exotic species with the exception of "Miss Fancy", an erstwhile circus elephant purchased by the Birmingham Advertising Club as a promotional novelty and then donated to the city.

References

• Barnett, Frank Willis. (September 16, 1925) "Spring Street Paving... Community's pride in progress shown." Birmingham News.

External links

• Avondale documents at Birmingham Public Library online archives.