Shelby Iron Works

Museum Day Set for Saturday, Nov. 1

Come see the newly renovated Museum!
The themed exhibits reflect various aspects of our past: Shelby Iron Works, Business, Farm Life, Home, Faith, School, the Train Depot, and more! If you missed the opening day on Oct. 11'th , you can now see it, too!
If you have items of local historical interest that you would be interested in donating to the Association, or you have old photos that we can scan and duplicate for our Museum, please bring them.
With the newly remodeled Museum, we now have an exciting venue for people of all ages to experience and learn about Shelby’s rich heritage.
Visitors will be able to see the Gristmill in operation, as well as purchase T-shirts, syrup, and other Park products.
Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the day in the park! Suggested donation for the Museum: $3 for adults, $1 for children. 9am - 5pm.
Hope to see you there!

Dan Valles, Assistant Museum Curator

Museum Opening Day

ceremony2, originally uploaded by JB @ Shelby Iron.

By Daniel Valles,
Assistant Museum Curator, Shelby Iron Works Park

On Saturday, 11th, October 2008, the Historic Shelby Association cut the ribbon and opened the newly renovated Museum. Our Association has completely renovated what had been a simple dark room with a handful of photos and signs into a breathtaking scene, featuring themed exhibits, professionally printed photos and informational signage, new track lighting, more than doubling the artifacts and contents, and working with interior design to make the room seem twice as large!

Shortly after the 2008 Spring Festival, I had the opportunity to present the Association with sketches and proposals for a complete Museum overhaul. Since then, I, along with others, have been working on building the exhibits, researching local history and ironworking, painting, developing signage, and bringing the Museum to a point where local school groups, organizations, and individuals could come and learn about what makes Shelby's history so important to our area and state.

I wanted to make the museum unlike other museums that young people are used to. Instead of seeing artifacts sitting in staid glass cases, I wanted the museum to be a time machine. When you step through the doors, you are walking through an entrance into the past. All of the exhibits are designed to take the viewer's mind into the past, where they feel as though they are stepping into the subject they are looking at. Whether you are transported to the living room of yesteryear, or visiting the Shelby Iron Works machine shop, the visitor leaves feeling like they have seen and experienced a piece of our history.

The opening day was busy! Countless visitors came through and expressed their surprise at the transformation. Most of them would be only a foot or two into the building, where they would just stop in amazement at the experience laid out before them. Entering through the barn-themed entryway, visitors chose to either start with the family and faith aspects of Shelby, or start learning from the industrial perspective of Shelby's history. Even with the large crowds, visitors still had ample room to move about, read signs, and move fluidly.

Many of the older visitors glowed about how they remembered certain aspects from their childhood, or excitedly pointed out people and places from their past to their grandchildren. Many of the younger people read with interest the science behind refining, seeing actual molds and tools laid out on the workman's bench before them. Civil War buffs read about Wilson's Raiders and the Shelby produced armor plating on the C.S.S. Tennessee. I thoroughly enjoyed conversing with some of the older folk from the area, as they shared with me many of their first-hand experiences from days gone by. It was encouraging to see their enthusiasm as I shared with them our plans for the future to bring in school groups and others to learn and experience local history.

The Museum is almost done; yet it will never be done. As additional funds come in, we wish to develop more informational signage and documentation, workshop curriculums, additional exhibit construction, as well as outdoor exhibits. Currently, we are now offering tours by appointment! A minimum donation of $3 per person will help defray our expenses. Contact us about special themes, presentations, or workshops that your group may be interested in. School groups, home school groups, scout groups, and others are encouraged to contact John Brasher at: 205-669-2465, or email us at shelbyironworks@bellsouth.net.

Annual Trade Day at Shelby

Trade day 08, originally uploaded by JB @ Shelby Iron.

Our Old Shelby Trade Day will be coming up Saturday, May 10. Come join us at Shelby Iron Works.

The Magnet

The Magnet, originally uploaded by JB @ Shelby Iron.

Above is the masthead and some content from the February 19, 1892 issue of "the Magnet". This was a newspaper devoted, in their words, to the "Magnetic City" of Shelby.
The paper's business office was located four miles north of Shelby in Columbiana, Alabama. Manager of the paper was C.C. Dubose, and it was edited by H. C. Hornady, Jr.
The Town and County News section included items such as a call for an amateur dramatic club to be organized. The article states, "Shelby has first-class material for an amateur dramatic club. Would it not be a good idea to organize one?"
Also from this section of the paper, " J.H. Johnson has placed a new counter in the rear of his store and added some more shelving. The improvement is great."
A meeting of the literary club is noted,
and then there is this:
     "The loafers' club met Saturday, having found somebody away from home, thereby affording them a place to hold their meeting. It was a decided success. Thorough questions propounded by the president to oathbound members failed to show that any member had been guilty of working. This was so encouraging that they decided to borrow a dollar for somebody and have something. A man was found who wanted to give away a dollar, so the meeting panned out a howling success, every member full of enthusiasm. The next meeting will be held when an opportunity offers itself."
     Among advertisers in this issue of "the Magnet" were C. P. McLane & Co. Grocers, and Ayeryt & Averyt, located on the corner of 4th St. and 6th Avenue who advertises "you can get anything you want from a paper of needles to a hogshead of meat, at the lowest prices."
In the late 1800's, Shelby Iron Works and the "company town" of Shelby were collectively a hub of activity fueled by charcoal, iron, and the anticipation of many bright days ahead.

Welsh Iron-Master Giles Edwards at Shelby Iron

Giles Edwards, originally uploaded by JB @ Shelby Iron.

In March of 1862, noted Welsh iron-master Giles Edwards came to Shelby Iron.
Born in Glamorganshire, South Wales, September 26, 1824, Edwards had, by about 1842, made his way to Carbondale, Pennsylvania, near the head of the Lackawanna River. There, he superintended pattern making at the first iron mill in that town.
Edwards later worked with mills at Scranton, and superintended the Thomas works at Tamaqua, Pa.
From Pennsylvania, Edwards moved south to Tennessee, where he supervised the rebuilding of the Bluff furnace at Chattanooga.
Following this reconstruction, Judge John Lapsley of Selma, a new shareholder at Shelby, requested Edwards to superintend the reconstruction and expansion of the Shelby works.

"Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground"

Confederate camp, originally uploaded by JB @ Shelby Iron.

Maunfacturing at Shelby Iron Works was instrumental to Confederate States efforts during the Civil War. The company may well have been the largest Alabama supplier of Confederate iron during the war. Although the vast majority of the company output went to the Naval Deartment, iron for sidearms and rifles was also supplied by Shelby. This photo, taken by Rev. Eric Brasher, at our festival in October, shows members of the 33rd Alabama Volunteer Infantry in camp. The 33rd is a re-enactment group who generously agreed to demonstrate Civil War living history during the two day event. The photo reminded me of the song "Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground" that was sung by both Union and Confederate forces.

Shelby's L&N Depot in 1946

Depot side shot 1946, originally uploaded by JB @ Shelby Iron.

Above is a shot from the tracks of the depot in Shelby as it appeared in 1946. Although Shelby Iron ceased manufacturing operations in 1923, the company remained in business well into the mid 20th century. The depot remained a thriving and important location for Shelby residents. In 1946, the post office  still occupied the original 1870 building located less than100 yards from the depot, Mail coming in on the train would be loaded onto carts and pulled to the nearby building. Shelby residents would gather daily to "meet the train" for mail, freight, and, of course, to see who was entering or departing town on one of the passenger trains.

Ridin' the Rails in Shelby

Motor Car at Shelby Iron, originally uploaded by JB @ Shelby Iron.

Gary Garner pilots the motor car over the rails during the Shelby Iron Works Festival. Once known as the "Alabama Mineral Line", a rail connection between Calera and Blue Mountain, then back west to Birmingham, was a busy freight and passenger corridor. The section of track shown here has been re-established by the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum (Calera & Shelby Rail Road), as a part of the eventual return of the trains to Shelby.

Music in the Park

Shelby Iron Music, originally uploaded by JB @ Shelby Iron.

Mike Nicholas & company once again came through for Shelby Iron by providing two days of great muaic during festival. Mike is shown here at the microphone on our bandstand, along with Cecilia Perkins at the keyboard.

Revolutionary Shelby Iron

Shelby Iron Revolutionary, originally uploaded by JB @ Shelby Iron.

Also participating in this year's festival were reenactors from the American Village near Montevello. We appreciate the Revolutionary War era representation in Shelby.