Edgewater Community, Off New Mulga Loop Road (Junction 80), Birmingham

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER ALA,37-BIRM.V,7-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This report is based upon written documentation donated by the Birmingham Historical Society, reformatted to HABS/HAER guidelines.

Description

White and black churches and many houses built by TCI for blacks and whites in geographically-distinct sections remain in the isolated mining village today. The black camp is located along a ridge paralleling the former mine site on the west; the white camp is south of this site. Edgewater is the largest of remaining coal mining camps with clearly defined black and white sections. The Edgewater Mine site has been totally cleared in the by USX and utility connections installed. Remaining at the Edgewater Site are: Edaewater-TCI Coal Mining Camp. White Section (c. Mexico, Libya, Java, Iceland, Holland, Houston, Galveston, Falmouth and Elkhart Streets Edqewater-TCI Coal Mining Camp. Black Section fc.

England, Denmark, Canada, Belgium and Arabia Avenues and Kenosha and Jamaica Streets Edqewatef-TCI Coal Mine (Site of) Finland Avenue Operated from to the Edgewater Mine site has been totally cleared in the by U.S.X. Utility connections have been installed. Edgewater Methodist Church 725 Galveston Street at Holland Street A TCI company-built church. EDGEWATER COMMUNITY HAER No. AL-77 (Page 2)

Historical Overview

Work on the mine at Edgewater began in simultaneously with development of an industrial water supply for new TCI plant facilities under construction at Ensley and Corey (now Fairfield). By August TCI had completed a 407-foot-high masonry dam to hold back waters of Village and Camp Branch Creeks and formed a 530-acre reservoir, still known as Bayview Lake. Pumping stations were located at Edgewater. The Edgewater mine, which began operation in employed 443 persons and quickly became second largest in the district. Production during World War I approached tons annually. During the the Edgewater mine employed as many as persons, not including employees of the Central Water Works pumping station. At this time, production exceeded tons.

Edgewater remained a large producer through the when TCI opened a newer, more modern operation at Concord, near Hueytown. The Survey. a weekly professional journal for social workers, devoted two issues to conditions of worker housing in the Birmingham District in It noted "good modern facilities" at Edgewater. Residences for supervisory personnel were on the hillside overlooking the raining headquarters. Separate camps housed white and black employees. The earliest houses were the standard four-room square-tops, arranged in neat rows. Housing for blacks was along Finland Avenue and for whites along Houston and Galveston Streets. TCI expanded housing in and constructing bungalows and double three-rooms identical to those in Fairfield and Bayview.

In the TCI replaced the original frame churches with handsome brick sanctuaries. Lightning recently destroyed the black church which sat on a commanding site overlooking the mine in the late It was designed by land department architect James J. Baird to seat 250 persons, at a reported cost of The mine closed in Sources White, Marjorie, The Birmingham District, pp. Site Visit,