List of Birmingham firsts

This list is incomplete and may never satisfy any subjective standard for completeness. You can help Bhamwiki by expanding it.

This list of Birmingham firsts is drawn from Bertha Bendall Norton's 1970 book Birmingham's First Magic Century: Were You There?:

People

• First boy born in city: Richard Powell McAnally (November 11, 1871)
• First girl born in city: Mamie Morrow (fall 1871)
• First Birmingham Fire Department firefighters to die in the line of duty: Gip Spruiell and E. B. Huffman (July 3, 1905)

Government

• First voting place: 21st Street North and 2nd Alley North
• First Jefferson County Courthouse: 21st Street and 3rd Avenue North
• First Birmingham City Hall: 20th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenue North
• First post office: 19th Street and 3rd Avenue North
• First public school: Powell School, 24th Street and 6th Avenue North

Retailers

• First "house": William Nabers shop, built in 1869 on what became 1st Avenue North
• First grocery store: Allen's Grocery (present site of Empire Building)
• First dry goods store: F. E. Taylor's Dry Goods (20th Street and 3rd Avenue North)
• First hardware store: R. H. Roberts' (2nd Avenue North)
• First drug store: 20th Street and 3rd Avenue North
• First furniture store: 21st Street and 3rd Avenue North

Services

• First hotel: Relay House (1871, present site of Two North Twentieth)
• First school: Bryant's School, 21st Street and 1st Avenue North
• First hospital: Hillman Hospital

Media

• First newspaper: Birmingham Sun (weekly in 1871, daily for a brief time in 1872)
• First surviving daily newspaper: Birmingham Iron Age (1874)

References

• Norton, Bertha Bendall (1970) Birmingham's First Magic Century: Were You There?. Birmingham: self-published/Lakeshore Press