Nimrod Scott

Nimrod Whitfield "Rod" Scott (born August 11, 1858 in Floyd County, Georgia) was the first mayor of Ensley.

Scott was the son of Pillberry and Amanda (Anthony) Scott. His mother was the daughter of a prominent Methodist minister and his father was a casualty of the Civil War. Amanda died in 1870, leaving young Rod an orphan to be raised by his grandfather, Reverend Whitfield Anthony. He attended school at Wrightsville, Georgia from his own savings. He taught for three years at Partridge Crossroads and the Sellers School to fund his studies.

In the 1880s, Scott moved to Alabama and invested in a small dairy at Dolomite. He opened a store in Wylam in 1889 and subsequently moved to Averettstown before the city of Ensley was platted in the area. He became a prominent merchant in the up-and-coming industrial center, successfully competing with the company-run commissary. He sold and re-purchased his business more than once and had a loyal base of customers, whom he went to lengths to satisfy— sometimes sending a wagon team to Birmingham to procure some item that had been requested for sale.

Scott married the former Estelle Samples of Bayview in 1883 and had nine children. He invested in real estate and constructed several houses for sale and developing the Scott Addition to Ensley, with streets named for his children. His residence and brickmaking business were both located on the corner of Avenue F and 19th Street.

When the city voted to incorporate in the 1890s, he became its first Mayor. He pledged to abstain from liquor if elected and kept to his promise.

Scott, who also served as police court judge and on the Ensley Board of Education, was subsequently elected to the Alabama House of Representatives and served as a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and as a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men.

Scott opposed the renewal of a liquor license to J. M. Gillespie. His remarks to the Ensley Board of Aldermen at the time of his application provoked Gillespie to swear out a warrant for his arrest on the charge of libel. He chose not to run in the 1906 Ensley municipal election.

Preceded by: none

Mayor of Ensley 1901–1906

Succeeded by: D. F. Sugg

References

• Citizens League of Ensley, Ala (1906) "The Ensley Campaign Book"
• Cruikshank, George H. (1920) History of Birmingham and Its Environs: A Narrative Account of Their Historical Progress, Their People, and Their Principal Interests 2 volumes. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections