Alden

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Alden is an unincorporated community in a coal-mining region of northwestern Jefferson County. The community lies just north of Graysville, to the east of U. S. Highway 78 near the present route of I-22.

The community was built as a mining camp in 1928 by the Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Company for workers in their Flat Top Mine operations. The company built 160 homes, connecting to a monumental 981-foot long concrete man way to the mine entrance. The name was chosen during a conversation between superintendent Howard Thomas and chairman Hugh Morrow. Morrow, offered $50 for a suitable name for the town, suggested naming it for Thomas' daughter, Ruth Alden. Ruth, then 10-years-old, was a guest of honor at the opening gala.

References

• "Alden" in The Heritage of Jefferson County, Alabama. Clanton: Heritage Publishing Consultants. ISBN 1891647547, p. 23