Early History of Mountain Brook

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The Birmingham Public Library has digitized much of Birmingham's early history which includes Mountain Brook's beginnings.  Below are categorized links to a collection of the most pertinent articles regarding the founders of Mountain Brook and its villages, its early architecture, and its schools.  Newspapers from Birmingham's early history, entitled The Weekly Iron Age, have been archived for online viewing beginning in 1875.  A recent comprehensive book entitled Mountain Brook, Then and Now published by  The Birmingham Historical Society, 2009, is available through the Mountain Brook Chamber as well as the Historical Society. For more information, please visit the Birmingham Public Library's Southern Archive Collection.

Did you know Mountain Brook was originally developed in 1929 by local developer Robert Jemison as an extensive residential subdivision, and was incorporated on May 24, 1942?  The plans, by Boston-based landscape architect Warren H. Manning, called for estate-sized lots along winding scenic roads and denser commercial development centering on three contiguous "villages" known as English Village, Mountain Brook Village and Crestline Village.  Mountain Brook's planner Warren Manning, along with his partner, world-famous landscape architect, Frederick Olmstead, also included in their portfolio such notable projects as Central Park in NY, Biltmore Castle in Asheville, and the Chicago Columbian Expo.  Mountain Brook has good roots!

 

Mountain Brook resident Clarence Helm, born in 1896 in a two room log home at 119 Dexter Avenue, shares his early recollections of Mountain Brook Village in this Birmingham News article from October 17th, 1976.

Pictures of  Early Founders:

              

 Joseph H. Woodward II              Robert Jemison Jr.                Warren Manning                    Henry Fairchild DeBardeleben

 

Early History & Founders of Birmingham

  1. A History of Birmingham and its Environs:  A narrative account of their historical progress, their people and their principal interests by George M. Cruikshank, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920
  2. Builders of Birmingham - Jemison & Company, September 1926
  3. Joseph H. Woodward II Funeral is Today
  4. History of the Elyton Land Company
  5. History of the Jews of Birmingham, November 4, 1911
  6. The Birmingham Magazine, published by the Chamber of Commerce, January 1916
  7. Woodward Will creating Educational Fund

Earliest Cemetery History

  1. Red Mountain Cemetery - Record of Internments, 1888-1906
  2. Burial Site for Pauper Dead of City, to be dedicated as Red Mountain Park

Articles about the Development of Crestline

  1. Crestline Heights Shopping Center Slated for Completion this week, Birmingham Post Herald, 8/29/1955
  2. Crestline - Other stores to be erected also  Shades Valley Sun, 8/31/1946
  3. Crestline Heights School Playground The Birmingham News 8/28/1951
  4. Crestline one of city's newest, best areas, The Birmingham News 6/13/1968

Articles about the Development of Jemison Park

  1. Tentative Plans made to preserve Jemison Park's Beauty The Birmingham News 3/28/1973
  2. Garden Club arranging for Jemison Park Dedication, The Birmingham News 1/16/1950

Early Businesses

  1. Liberty National Life Insurance, founded 1901

Historic Early Homes

  1. Home of Robert Jemison at 3830 Crescent Road, Mountain Terrace
  2. Big Asset Found in Pretty Homes, The Birmingham News, 10/26/1921
  3. Mountain Terrace, the Residence Park of Birmingham - Jemison Real Estate & Insurance Company
  4. Birmingham, Alabama Plain Statement for the Homeseeker, the Investor, the Manufacturer, September 1893

History of the Schools

  1. Mountain Brook School Class of 1957
  2. Birmingham's First Public School Founded in 1874