Benjamin Worthington

Benjamin Pinckney "Pink" Worthington (born November 19, 1814 in Kentucky; died November 19, 1884 in Birmingham) was a pioneer plantation owner in what is now Birmingham and an investor in the Elyton Land Company which developed the city.

Worthington, his wife Caroline and their 11 children lived on a an 800 or 1,000 acre farm in what are now the Lakeview and Avondale districts of Birmingham. He constructed a 2-story 8-room mansion with a broad six-column veranda on the front at the location which later became the intersection of 30th Street and 6th Avenue South. The house was furnished with spring water piped from what is now Rushton Park.

At the conclusion of the Civil War, Worthington made plans to move with his family to South America. His ship was wrecked off the coast of Cuba, however, and after two years in Florida he returned to his plantation in Jefferson County.

When approached by the organizers of the Elyton Land Company, Worthington agreed to sell a portion of his land, sometimes referred to as Pink Worthington's frog pond, and was granted 133 shares in the company for his investment. He was also a founding director of the National Bank of Birmingham, into which he invested $50,000.

Worthington died on his 70th birthday and is buried at Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery.