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MILL POND changed a few times during its years of operation, but was always owned by out-of-state companies. A reunion of some of the last mill leaders was held in the 1940s. Clapp said he has seen some of the letters that were sent in response to the invitation. The mill burned down in 1918. By then, the trees that the company could access had depleted, so the mill was not rebuilt. According to Lawson, “Twin Tree
from page 11
Lumber Company moved its operations to Hopkins, Georgia, where it operated during most of the 1920’s.” Clapp said some of the buildings that had not been destroyed in the fire were dissembled and transported to the Georgia site, where they were reassembled. He said this included the employee houses and some of the track that had been used. Once in Georgia, the company continued until the 1930s.
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Generations
Chilton County people, places and events
RIGHT: Logs are transported to the pond for storage. ABOVE: A view of the mill pond today.
SERVING CHILTON COUNTY FOR OVER TWO DECADES
A Special Publication of
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Smith building has history of housing influence By JOYANNA LOVE Managing Editor
N
ext to Corner Park on Sixth Street N. in downtown Clanton stands a building that has a history of housing influential institutions. Today, it is the home of the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve always loved this location, this spot, this building, and after we had moved above the bank, Billy (Singleton) just made mention that we would love to have this because it’s right by Corner Park, it would be a perfect location for us,” Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rachel Martin
said in a previous interview. “The next day, Todd Bowen, the owner called and said ‘Hey, it’s available. Would y’all like to rent it?’ And we jumped on it. It was like it was meant to be.” Local historian Derric Scott has compiled a brief history of the building and its former occupants, and Chamber personnel use this to answer questions about it. When it was built in 1902, the two-story building was the law office of Allison Constantine Smith, who had previously served as the county solicitor and county clerk. This building was one of the first brick buildings to be built on the street after the original wood frame buildings were destroyed by a fire
in 1901. The original inset shelving and cabinets can still be seen in the downstairs rooms. Some of the flooring is also thought to be original. Ornate molding lends to the building’s exterior charm. According to a Union-Banner article, the creative work was completed by Elias Hopkins. Exterior bricks also make up the interior border walls. According to Scott’s research, Smith moved to a new building in 1911. Dr. V. J. Gragg set up his office in the lower floor. In 1915, the
CHILTON CHAMBER |CONTRIBUTED
See Smith, Page 4
“A.C. Smith” can still be seen it the top molding of the building.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021 PAGE 11
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MILL POND 1993. Clapp said the family had a barn near the mill pond at the time, which became a popular photo opportunity. With the help of Lidar detection, Glenn Littleton of Thorsby has located 11 miles of where the track had been. Clapp has also enjoyed exploring the area looking for remnants left from the mill’s operations. While doing a project on his land, Clapp found what he believes
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was part of the old track bed lined with numerous nails and railroad spikes. He also founds chunks of steel near where a maintenance shed for the trains would have been located. He and his grandson enjoy going over the land with a metal detector to see what they can find. “I actually found a whole section of rail two years ago,” Clapp said. “It’s 15 to 18 feet long.” Ownership of the mill See MILL POND, Page 12
Twin Tree Lumber Company was established in 1901.
LEFT: These twin trees were a popular spot in Maplesville at the time and became the logo for the company. RIGHT: This bottle was found near the former mill site. Clem Clapp thinks it is from when the mill was in operation based on the distinct ring toward the neck of the bottle. He said the “ring neck” was used from 1906-1920, based on his research.
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MILL POND from my understanding, it was the biggest mill in the county.” Cables and chains were used to move the logs in the pond. When a log was close enough to shore, workers could maneuver them the rest of the way and remove them using poles. The company mostly dealt in long-leaf yellow pine. Clapp said train and tram tracks came down what is now Highway 82 and Crumpton Avenue to bring logs to the sawmill. According to Thomas Lawson Jr. in “Logging Railroads of Alabama,” the mill bought some
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021 PAGE 3
Swedish Festival celebrates community heritage from page 9
existing railroad track that had been constructed by E.E. Jackson Lumber Company in addition to laying some of its own. This gave the company about 26 miles of track. The tracks were also used to transport the lumber once it was cut to the Southern and the M&O railroads. Lawson came to talk to Clapp’s father when he was writing the book. “He was trying to incorporate this particular mill into his book,” Clapp said. “He was a real neat guy to talk to.” A photo on the book’s back cover features what the pond looked like in See MILL POND, Page 11
Workers use poles to move logs closer to the edge to remove them.
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By JOYANNA LOVE
‘I enjoy the vendors and meeting them and seeing all of their art and crafts’
Managing Editor
T
he Thorsby Swedish Festival recently marked its 33rd anniversary. This annual festival started in 1988 as a fundraiser for the Thorsby High School band. Current Festival chairperson Laura Liveoak said Brenda Price and Rita Price were the founders of the event as a way to raise money for new band uniforms. “Her brother, I think it was, got killed, and they did it sort of as an ‘in memory’ of him,” Liveoak said. The festival title recognizes the Scandinavian heritage of many of Thorsby’s early settlers. “It was just around the school, and it had maybe 10 little vendors and that was it,” Liveoak said. Later, the event grew into a larger festival with more activities at Richard Wood Park. This expansion added a parade and a pageant. Today, the festival also includes a Viking 5K run and a car show. Liveoak has a committee that helps her coordinate the event. This year, the 5K was hosted by the Thorsby Fire Department and coordinated by Josh
— Festival chairperson Live entertainment is always a part of the festival.
CONTRIBUTED
Laura Liveoak
Parker. Greg Marcus and Terry Jackson have taken on coordinating the car show. “We greatly appreciate them stepping up,” Liveoak said. Liveoak has been a part of coordinating the festival for 26 years. “I enjoy the vendors and meeting them and seeing all of their art and crafts,” Liveoak said of the event. True to its roots, the festival is still See FESTIVAL, Page 8
Trains were used to transport wood to and from the mill. See THORSBY, Page 10
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021 PAGE 9
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JOYANNA LOVE |ADVERTISER
RIGHT: These inset shelves and seating are thought to be original to the building. BOTTOM LEFT: Built-in shelving means plenty of storage space for the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce in the A.C. Smith building. BELOW: Crown molding throughout the building is thought to be original to the structure.
SMITH
CHILTON CHAMBER |CONTRIBUTED
Exposed brick adds to the interior charm of the A.C. Smith building.
Union-Banner newspaper moved its offices to the second floor. Another law office, Reynolds and Reynolds, moved into the building after the newspaper office moved out. According to Scott, Smith would later return to the building to open a law office with his son Cecil, after the younger Smith completed his law degree at the University of Alabama. Other partners in the firm in later years included T. Calvin Stephens and Raymond C. Smith. As one looks at the built-in shelving and seating in what is now one of the Chamber offices, one can almost imagine the rows of law books and
from page 2
case files on the shelf. Other businesses have called the building home over the years including the Clanton Mattress Factory, the Helene Curtis Beauty Shoppe and most recently Sadie’s Loft. Just as the A.C. Smith building has had several occupants, the Chamber of Commerce has had a few other homes. The first location was a red caboose behind Peach Park. The Chamber then moved closer to downtown into a house near City Park. Most recently, it had been located on the second floor of the River Bank & Trust building in downtown
By JOYANNA LOVE Managing Editor
T
he importance of the lumber industry to the formation of Maplesville is well-known, but perhaps less well-known is that the manmade mill pond for the historic Twin Tree Lumber Company still exists. Maplesville resident Clem Clapp now owns the property that was once this industrial hub. “My grandfather moved here in the early 1900s, and he wanted to be a gentleman cattle farmer
on the side, so he wound up buying this land, several parcels, and it just so happened, that’s where this mill had been 10 years before,” Clapp said. The mill was incorporated in 1901, and a pond was constructed to keep the logs in to prevent them from drying out before they could be cut. The property was purchased from A.P. Howison by the company owners in New York. “For its time, it was huge,” Clapp said of the mill. “I think it had like 300 employees … See MILL POND, Page 10
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CLEM CLAPP
Tracks are seen at the end of the pond with the mill to the far left.
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FESTIVAL a fundraiser, bringing in an average of $5,000 to $7,000 each year. “We bought the welcome to Thorsby signs,” Liveoak said. “We bought the electronic sign for the Town of Thorsby (town hall). We do up keep on Helen Jenkins (Chapel), bought playground equipment, paved the walkway at the park. We put electricity out there, paid for bathrooms to be put out there.”
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021 PAGE 5
HISTORIC HOME HOLDS FAMILY STORY
from page 3
Funds have also been used to purchase a speed detection device for the police department and curtains and an electronic sign for Thorsby High School. Liveoak said funds raised through the festival can be used for anything that the town needs. The Swedish Festival committee decides how the funds are used each year.
By JOYANNA LOVE Managing Editor
R GLENN LITTLETON | CONTRIBUTED
ABOVE: A car show was added in the early years of the festival. Attendees enjoyed this show in 2008. BELOW: The local fire department gave a demonstration at the 2008 festival. FAR LEFT: The Helen Jenkins Chapel was open for tours during the 2008 festival.
esidents driving on Collum Street will pass a raised-cottage home built in 1895. Many may have no idea that the home holds significance to Jemison history and to the street itself. Burton E. Collum had the house built in 1895 and lived there until his death in 1921 at
the age of 53. Today, Elisabeth AltamiranoSmith, husband Domingo Altamirano and baby son Solomon are the fifth and sixth generations of the family to live in her great-great grandfather’s house. “He was born in 1867, and he was really … really successful for his time,” Altamirano-Smith said. See HOME, Page 6
PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED
This Collum family photo from 1940 shows Collum children, from back left, Zella, great-grandma Hazel, Lila, Ida, Ruby with, from and sitting, their mother Catherine Thames Collum and son George.
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HOME Collum and his wife Catherine were from the Rocky Mount community, which was a smaller community near Jemison at the time. Today, a church and a cemetery is all that remains of it. Collum opened a dry goods store on the main street at the time, in what is today referred to as Old Town Jemison. “He was a justice of the peace, and he was also postmaster, which was in the train station at that time,” Altamirano-Smith said. “He was a Free Mason and there was an organization called the Order of the Odd-Fellows … he was a member of that.” Many aspects of the home are still original to when it was built. Altamirano-Smith said the windows “are unique because they are poured glass.” This technique puts a slight wavy pattern in the glass. Many of the original porcelain doorknobs, fireplaces and hardwood floors have also been preserved. One of the defining features of the house would have been the hallway from the front door to the back door. “You could just open the doors and let that be like your cross breeze,” Altamirano-Smith said. A portion of the hallway was closed off in the 1920s when a bathroom was added. The way the windows are placed in the house still allows for good air circulation. The interior of the house was con-
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HOME
from page 5
structed using tongue and groove. “The pieces of wood are fit together like a puzzle,” Altamirano-Smith said. “The whole house is like that.” This eliminated the need to use nails. An old smokehouse still stands on the property. “To keep their meat, make it last a longer time, they would smoke it, like a jerky,” Altamirano-Smith said. While the house has stayed in the family, there have been times when it was rented out. “Papa Collum, after he died, Catherine, his wife, … she was really a savvy business woman, she put in outside doors leading into some of the bedrooms here … and she rented those out to renters during the Depression,” Altamirano-Smith said. She moved in with her daughter Ruby during that time. “After my (great-great) Grandma Collum died in the '50s, they rented this house out again for a few years,” Altamirano-Smith said. Her great-grandmother later purchased it from the other members of the family. She then did some renovations. “The house … it is almost like a family member,” Altamirano-Smith said. “There have been people in our family that have been born here, that have died here. We have had funerals here. Our annual Thanksgiving that See HOME, Page 7
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Burton E. Collum lived in the house from 1895 until his death in 1921.
Catherine Thames Collum was Burton E. Collum’s wife and rented out the house to have income during The Great Depression.
used to host 20 people was here, and it is just such a big part of our family for so long.” As a child, she would come visit her grandmother during the summers. After her grandmother died in 1998, the house was rented out again and was vacant for a while. “I saw the house slowly depreciate,” Altamirano-Smith said. “I guess in 2015, I started wanting to fix it up, so I started coming here to kind of clean it up.” Utilities were not working and the house had become unlivable. Altamirano-Smith acquired the house and made it her mission to fix it to the point she could live there.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021 PAGE 7
from page 6
She tried fixing what she could and hired people with expertise. “It is such a big project … I wrote it all down in phases,” AltamiranoSmith said. Phase 1 was what was essential to complete before she could move in, including having the water and power work. Phase 1 was complete in 2017. Through these projects, she met her future husband. She moved into the house a month before her wedding. There are still projects to complete, but the once empty house continues to be a home for the descendants of those who first lived there.
LEFT: Originally, a dogtrot hallway allowed a crossvent breeze in the house through a door at each end of the hall. TOP RIGHT: The home features a large dining room with a fireplace. The room was originally a bedroom in the 1800s and was where Burton and Catherine Cullom slept. BOTTOM RIGHT: Portraits of the family line of Collums hang in the hall. From left are great grandmother Hazel Collum (19061998), Hazel’s father, Burton Elmore Collum (1867-1921), and Burton’s father George Washington Collum (1842-1902).
Elisabeth Altamirano-Smith, husband Domingo Altamirano and baby son Solomon are the fifth and sixth generations of the family to live in her great-great grandfather’s house.