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KIMBERLY O'DELL
THE BOOKS
Arcadia Publishing's Images of America Series chronicles the history of towns and counties through pictures. Each title in the series uses some 200 vintage photos to capture the rich history of locations throughout America. Kimberly O'Dell has partnered with Arcardia Publishing since 1997 to produce pictorial histories of her hometown and surrounding areas. I'm a paragraph.
Anniston Revisited
ISBN-13-978-1467114752 (Also available in Kindle Edition)
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Nestled in the Piedmont region of the Appalachian Mountains, the small farming community of Pine Ankle was established in the 1830s on the former lands of the Creek Nation. In 1872, industrialists Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler purchased the land for their Woodstock Iron Company, and in 1883 the town was opened to the public as Annie's Town. It grew rapidly, and by the early 20th century Anniston was not only the seat of Calhoun County, but also home to numerous textile and iron industries as well as a thriving military complex.
The vintage photographs in Images of America: Anniston Revisited showcase the daily lives of Annistonians and Fort McClellan soldiers during a time when Noble Street was a bustling urban center. Annistons homes, schools, and community centers are featured, along with the expanded downtown area and Fort McClellan, to paint a vivid portrait of The Model City.
Anniston
ISBN-13-978-0738506012
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Once known as Pine Ankle and sparsely populated with farms, Anniston, Alabama, has seen a multitude of changes over the course of its history. Founded on land that was originally home to Native Americans, the town was created by Samuel Noble and General Daniel Tyler as a “model city” for their Woodstock Iron Company in 1872, and not opened to the public until 1883. Rapid growth in the late nineteenth century brought not only new industries to the area but also Anniston’s designation as seat of Calhoun County and an expansion of the entire downtown area.
The vintage photographs within these pages reveal what life was like in Anniston in days gone by, highlighting key figures in the town’s development as well as the everyday people who have lived and worked in the community for generations. Readers will discover the new industries that sprang up after the Oxford Iron Furnace was burned by Union forces in 1865, and the effects of the population boom of the late nineteenth century. Anniston’s homes, schools, and churches are featured in this pictorial retrospective, as well as the town’s role as an important military site, with Camp Shipp, Fort McClellan, Pelham Range, and the Anniston Ordinance Depot all located within the town’s vicinity over the past century.
Calhoun County
ISBN-13-978-0738589985
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Calhoun County has a diverse and unique history. Chief Ladiga and his Creek tribe first settled in the northeastern half of the county. By the early 1800s, settlers from Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina came to this scenic mountainous area to farm in the county's rich valleys. After the Treaty of Cusseta removed the Creeks west of the Mississippi in 1832, more settlers began arriving. In 1833, Benton County was incorporated into the state of Alabama and Jacksonville was made
the county seat. Oxford, or "Lick-Skillet," was a frontier town at the time, and Piedmont, or "Cross Plains," was an intersection for the two stagecoach routes. By the time of the Civil War, the county would change its name to Calhoun County in honor of South Carolina statesman John C. Calhoun. In 1872, two northern industrialists, Samuel Noble and Gen. Daniel Tyler, created their "model city" in Anniston, which began a period of great growth in the county.