1884 Alabama State Exposition

The Mineral Exposition Building seen in John Witherspoon DuBose's 1886 The Mineral Wealth of Alabama and Birmingham Illustrated.

The 1884 Alabama State Exposition was an exhibition of Alabama's resources, farm products, manufacturing, and military capabilities which was held in the newly-expanded Alabama Mineral Exposition Building in Birmingham's Capitol Park during the summer of 1884. It was managed jointly by the Birmingham Board of Trade and the City of Birmingham.

The exhibition opened on April 22, 1884. Governor Edward O'Neal, Mayor A. O. Lane, and other dignitaries were escorted to the site by the newly-uniformed Birmingham Police Department, three fire companies, and several companies of the Alabama State Militia. The train carrying the Warrior Guards was delayed for nearly two hours.

After a prayer led by Reverend L. S. Handley, the first address was given by Board of Trade president James Van Hoose, followed by Mayor Lane. The speakers acknowledged that the exhibit, at the time of opening, was somewhat modest, but expected it to be expanded and enhanced over time. Lane used his speech to praise the efforts of Southerners to build up the state's industries, and to correct the "prevalent error" that Northern capital and expertise predominated in developing the district. Governor O'Neal mentioned that the Birmingham exhibition would set a precedent for, "a system of expositions for the whole state." After the dedicatory speeches, the doors of the exposition building were opened to the crowd. Grambs' Orchestra performed during the event. The fire companies put on a demonstration at the corner of 20th Street and 2nd Avenue North, spraying water above the roof of the nearby National Bank building.

The evening of the exposition's opening was marked by a military ball at Esmeralda Hall.

Exhibits

Cretaceous and Tertiary fossils collected by the Geological Survey of Alabama glass jars of various Alabama soils fired and unfired ores various minerals limestone samples copper and manganese coal samples from the Cahaba and Warrior fields a large lump of Black Cree coal mineral paints manufactured by the Birmingham Paint Company specimens of red clay and yellow ochre samples of various grades of iron, brown and red ore, and limestone from the Mary Pratt Furnace, displayed under a portrait of Thomas Peters red ores and coke from Sloss Furnace sheet iron and rails from the Birmingham Rolling Mill marble monuments from the Ingleton Quarries samples of Talladega marble and crystalline limestone a 196-foot steel shaving from the L & N Railroad shop a massive block of Alabama building stone native plant, tree and gress specimens collected by Charles Mohr of Mobile a 55-inch plank and 60-inch crosscut of a 400-year-old cypress turpentine, rosin and oils manufactured by Chess, Carley & Co. of Mobile cottonseed oil, meal and cakes from the Montgomery Oil Mills a case made of locally-felled wood containing samples of all Alabama-grown grains grades of cotton displayed at different stages of growth from Allen, Bush & Co. of Mobile wood products constructed by Richard Von May of Cullman a stand of flowers from the Iron Mountain Nursery plumbing articles from R. Knauf & Co. gentlemen's furnishings from Pelle & Smith

photographs made by Shepherd & Sweeney hand-painted china by Miss N. D. Davis silverware and jewelry by William Rosenstihl Jr tobacco, cigars and pipes from Wallis & Bro. domestic sewing machines with examples of work products from J. W. Hughes & Co. druggists china and glassware from Ware & Mudd millinery goods from A. Hirsch & Co. stoves, sheet iron and other goods manufactured of Alabama iron by Alonzo Elliott stationer's articles from John B. Roden a suite of bedroom furniture from A. C. Edwards & Co. hardware and farm implements from George W. Kelley guano, "done up in beautiful satin bags of different colors", from Slaton, McGlathery & Burwell patent chime whistles from G. W. C. Lomb bottled beers from Hochstadter & Wise leather samples from C. Lazarus Wheeler & Wilson sewing machines patent fluids and window curtains from H. Scholze a suite of parlor furniture from H. Herzfeld stationer's goods and fancy articles from Sorsby & Smith photographs and crayon portraits by A. C. Oxford ladies' fancy articles from Madame Perlie drugs, medicines & fancy articles from J. E. Ellis & Co. dry goods and notions from Moor Bros. dry goods and notions from Enslen & Son artificial flowers of linen, wax & rubber made by A. R. Laganot of Paris and Henry Mosses of Montgomery hundreds of "pictures of every kind" from professional and amateur artists of Alabama outside the building were displayed fossil logs from the Alabama River donated by F. S. Stone of Mobile and fossil stumps collected by the geological survey from the state's coal fields

References

• "Exposition Opened" (April 24, 1884) The Iron Age, p. 3