Bartholomew Boyle

Bartholomew "Bartley" Boyle (born September 11, 1826 in County Kilkenny, Ireland; died June 25, 1875 at Boyle's Gap) was a railroad construction engineer and coal mine operator.

Boyle assisted John T. Milner in the surveying and construction of the South & North Railroad, which began before the Civil War and ultimately established the site for the new city of Birmingham. He was one of the founders of Helena in Shelby County, which was named for his wife, Helen Lee. When his property there was destroyed, he purchased a 2,000 acre farmstead north of Birmingham near what was already known as Boyle's Gap for a farmstead.

Boyle developed coal mines on that property and founded the town of Lewisburg, which was served by the Mary Lee Railroad, named for Boyle's daughter.

Boyle died in a railroad accident at the gap that bears his name in 1875 and is buried in Montgomery. His widow later married Doctor Henry Winn.

References

• "Barred by the Statute" (July 12, 1888) The New York Times