Elyton

Elyton or Ely's Town, founded in 1821 in the area currently bordered by 7th Street Southwest and Cotton Avenue in West End, was the third seat of Jefferson County, serving from 1821 to 1871 when the courthouse was moved to Birmingham.

Elyton was created to be the county seat with a 160-acre grant, negotiated by Federal land agent William Ely of Connecticut. The new town was named in his honor. The site was previously known as Frog Level, known primarily as a sporting grounds for horse races.

In 1821 Elyton had 300 residents, growing to over 1,000 by 1873.

The community was incorporated as a municipality in 1907, but was annexed into Birmingham as part of the Greater Birmingham legislation which took effect on January 1, 1910. Frank W. Smith was the first and only mayor of Elyton. The Board of Aldermen was composed of Ollis Brown, Van Smith, C. M. Bitz, T. T. Alley]], and W. M. Marriner.

References

• Moss, Florence Hawkins Wood (1947) Building Birmingham and Jefferson County. Birmingham: Birmingham Printing Company.