Miners featured in above photo courtesy of Red Mountain Park

Birmingham residents know that Red Mountain is home to the city’s most important natural resource: iron ore. The non-profit Red Mountain Park (RMP) is mining that resource once again — only this time, it’s for history.

Located along the ridge of Red Mountain, RMP sits on 1,500 acres, stretching four-and-a-half miles between Homewood and Bessemer. The park is home to hiking and biking trails, scenic overlooks, rope courses and a dog park, but it’s also home to Birmingham’s story.

Shaft Mine

It’s a familiar story for Birmingham natives: In the 1860s, it was discovered that Red Mountain was home to vast amounts of iron ore. Birmingham became a mining boomtown, its population jumping from 11,000 in 1860 to more than 140,000 by 1900.

The Magic City appeared.

The going was good until 1929 when the Great Depression hit, leading the Roosevelt administration to call Birmingham “the worst-hit town in the country.”

The United States’ thrust into the World Wars gave the city new life, and yet another nickname: the Arsenal of the South. With the nation stabilizing, with the ore running low, and with foreign competition, the last active mine on RMP’s property was closed in 1962. Then, in 2007, U.S. Steel donated over 1,200 acres of former mining land to the RMP and Recreational Area Commission.

Today, RMP is dedicated to carrying that history into the future.

Sloss Mine No. 2, Red Mountain Park

“Red Mountain has unique historic industrial stories to be told, stories that make Birmingham a desirable place to visit and live,” said Katie Bradford, the parks director of marketing and public relations. This is true for both native and transplant Birminghamians.

“They can come to the park and see the history of a city come to life in a way that helps them really put roots down here,” Bradford said.

The park’s Oral History project began in 2009 as an ongoing effort “to preserve, enrich and perpetuate the historical record of Birmingham and Red Mountain.” Collaborating with Rosie O’Beirne, filmmaker and instructor in Digital Community Studies at the University of Alabama (UAB), UAB history instructor Pamela Sterne King, and RMP Ranger Eric McFerrin, the project focuses on some of the most important people to Birmingham’s story: miners.

As Bradford explains, “We honor folks like Ike Maston, who worked most of his life on Red Mountain and dedicated so much attention and time to his community and family.  Ike was so excited about the park’s development, and now the Ike Maston trail is one of the most popular trails in the park partly because of his story.”

It’s easy to find stories of the movers and shakers — the businessmen and mine owners — but RMP does things differently, says Bradford. “Expect to meet the everyday heroes alongside the historical figureheads.”

Walk along any trail, look around any corner, flip over any rock, and you’re bound to find history, as Bradford explains. “The park’s way-finding system, which helps you navigate your path, includes the significance of many of the trails you embark upon. Look around and you will see remnants of the incredible work that took place on Red Mountain and the incredible people who made it all happen.”

When you experience history up-close and personal, it starts to become your own.

Learn more about the Red Mountain Park Oral History Project or if you have a story to tell about Red Mountain—or know someone who does—please contact us (205.202.6043) or email.