Phenix City

John Lyles

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781439641309
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

From settling the Southern Frontier to its reputation as "wickedest city in America, " the history of Phenix City is detailed through vintage images.

Phenix City, Alabama, on the western bank of the Chattahoochee River across from Columbus, Georgia, was officially incorporated as Brownville in 1883. However, its history can be traced through Girard, Knights Station, Summerville, Fort Mitchell, the Creek Indian town of Coweta, and several other communities within Russell County. Phenix City has provided a setting for many of the important events in Alabama's history from early Spanish explorers, to its rich Native American heritage, to its role in opening and settling the Southern frontier, to its adherence to King Cotton, to its rebirth after being regarded the "wickedest city in America. " Phenix City has undergone profound change and yet has retained its rural charm.

Five

THE NEW SOUTH 1920—1953

CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER, PHENIX CITY, ALABAMA. Phenix City entered the 1920s as a rural, agrarian suburb of Columbus, Georgia, but the next three decades brought change. Urbanization, the Depression, World War II, and organized crime changed Phenix City for both better and worse. (Courtesy Dennis Jones.)

BUTTS LUMBER MILL. The Butts Lumber Mill, founded in 1907, played a role in the construction boom of the 1920s. Pictured in this advertisement is a view of the main part of the plant, Girard Baptist Church, and recent residential constructions. (Courtesy Columbus Public Library.)

SNELLINGS LUMBER COMPANY. Like Butts Lumber Mill, Snellings was instrumental in Phenix City’s construction boom. In addition to providing building supplies, Snellings developed residential neighborhoods off Summerville Road. Pictured in the advertisement are views of the lumberyard and warehouse. (Courtesy Columbus Public Library.)

BICKERSTAFF BRICK COMPANY. The Bickerstaff Brick Company was founded in 1879 by August Howard Bickerstaff and William Jefferson Bickerstaff. The brothers rented the Abercrombie Brickyard just south of Girard. Pictured are the kilns and boxcars. Many of the company’s operatives lived in the communities of Bryke and Brickyard. Both were stations of the Central of Georgia Railroad and located just below Girard. (Courtesy Columbus Public Library.)

KAOLIN BRICK COMPANY. The Kaolin Brick Company was established in about 1900 in Kaolin, Alabama, 1 mile south of the Bickerstaff Brick Company. Kaolin’s population consisted of the families and employees of the brick company and was estimated at 40 in 1916. Pictured is the Royal Theatre in Columbus, built by Roy E. Martin. (Courtesy Columbus Public Library.)

SPLIT VIEW, FOURTEENTH STREET BRIDGE. The Fourteenth Street Bridge is one of the most iconic images of both Phenix City and Columbus. Presented in a split view, the 1858 Horace King construction is compared to the 1902 concrete bridge erected by the Hardaway Company. (Courtesy Columbus Public Library.)

GLIMPSE OF PHENIX CITY, AROUND 1915. Pictured is a bird’s-eye view from the Swift Kyle building of Phenix City. The Eagle and Phenix warehouses are in the foreground. At right is the original Muscogee Manufacturing Company. In the center is the Fourteenth Street Bridge. The steeples of Trinity United Methodist Church and First Baptist Church are in the distance to the right. (Courtesy Columbus Public Library.)

GLIMPSE OF PHENIX CITY, AROUND 1940. Pictured is another bird’s-eye view of Phenix City from the Swift Kyle building. At left in the distance is the Russell County Courthouse. In the center is the Fourteenth Street Bridge. Signs of vice have emerged. The Manhattan’s billboard can be seen at the foot of the bridge. The Manhattan was Phenix City’s largest lottery. (Courtesy Columbus Public Library.)

DIXIE OVERLAND HIGHWAY. Formed after a path-finding trip from Savannah to Columbus by the Automobile Club of Savannah, the Dixie Overland Highway Association ca...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• One - TERRITORIAL AND FORMATIVE YEARS 1680—1839
• Two - ANTEBELLUM DAYS 1840—1860
• Three - WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 1861–1877
• Four - EMERGENCE OF A NEW SOUTH 1878—1919
• Five - THE NEW SOUTH 1920—1953
• Six - SIN CITY 1954–1956