James Sloss

James Withers Sloss (born April 7, 1820 in Limestone County - died May 1890) was a planter, industrialist, and the founder of Sloss Furnaces, and a leading figure in the early development of Birmingham, Alabama.

Sloss was born to Scotch-Irish parents near Mooresville in Limestone County. Though he had little formal education, he apprenticed with a butcher and, in 1842 bought his own store in Athens and married Mary Bigger. He was successful and expanded his homestead into a successful plantation and soon became one of the richest men in the state. During the Civil War he served as a Colonel in the Confederate Army and was made president of the Tennessee & Alabama Central Railroad, part of the Nashville & Decatur Railroad.

After the war he became a leading figure in encouraging Alabama's industrial development. In 1871 he persuaded the Louisville & Nashville Railroad to extend its line to the newly-founded city of Birmingham. The railroad invested heavily in its Alabama operations and helped transform the infant city of Birmingham into what soon was labeled the Magic City for its miraculous growth.

Sloss, along with Henry DeBardeleben and James Aldrich, formed the Pratt Coal and Coke Company which later became the largest mining operation in the Birmingham District. Through the work of the company, Sloss became the first person to show that iron could be made in Birmingham purely from Alabama's iron ore, coke, and limestone. With capital from DeBardeleben, Sloss founded the Sloss Furnace Company in 1881 and began erecting the "City Furnace", now known as Sloss Furnaces. Sloss retired from his company just four years later, selling the company to an investment group who expanded and reorganized in 1899 as the Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Company. Sloss later served as president of the Birmingham Water Works.

Sloss died in 1890 and is buried in Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery.

External links

• Sloss Industries History Page
• James Withers Sloss at slossfurnaces.com