May 4, 1890

James Sloss played a pivotal role in the growth of Reconstruction-era Birmingham. He founded the furnaces that still carry his name, but also was key in bringing the railroad to Birmingham in 1871. It was this immediate shot of growth that earned the nickname “Magic City.”

After selling the furnaces, Sloss presided over the Birmingham Water Works Board. He died at the age of 70 on May 4, 1890. He had nine children with his first wife, Mary, and later fathered three children with his second wide, Mattie.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Limestone County native James Withers Sloss (1820-1890) was an industrialist who led the early development of Birmingham, founding Sloss Furnaces in 1881. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Birmingham Public Library Archives)

Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, c. 1906. (Detroit Publishing Co., Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

A night image of Sloss Blast Furnace in operation in the 1920s. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Birmingham Public Library Archives)

Molten iron flows from a furnace at the Sloss Furnaces complex in Birmingham. During the smelting process, iron ore, limestone and coke (processed coal) are blasted with superheated air, causing a series of chemical reactions to form molten slag (waste) and molten iron, which separates as it sinks to the bottom of the furnace. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Birmingham Public Library Archives)

Casting pig iron, Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, c. 1906. (Detroit Publishing Co., Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

Slag run and filling slag pots, Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, c. 1906. (Detroit Publishing Co., Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.