Merkel

Merkle was the name of a community which grew around the construction of the Birmingham Water Works' Cahaba Pumping Station on the bank of the Cahaba River. It was named for engineer W. A. Merkle who was placed in charge of the construction in 1887 and remained in the community as superintendent of the station.

Because of the danger of flooding, the community soon moved about a half mile west and adopted the name "New Merkle", later renamed Cahaba Heights.