January 24, 1877

In 1873, Bavarian native Johann Cullman purchased 350,000 acres along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad line in North Alabama. Unhappy with the succession of revolutions in central Europe, Cullman traveled through the United States during the 1860s and in 1870 met then-Alabama Gov. Robert Patton, who encouraged him to stay and purchase land. After he arrived, Cullman began a letter-writing campaign to recruit other Germans, offering parcels of land at a deep discount. He also promoted the area through a German-language newspaper he created, Der Nord Alabama Colonist. By the mid-1870s, the town of Cullman had 125 immigrant families. On Jan. 24, 1877 the county of Cullman was created by an act of the Legislature from portions of Blount, Walker, Morgan and Winston counties. Today, the county’s German heritage is celebrated with an annual Oktoberfest.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama or at Cullman Oktoberfest. 

John G. Cullman (1823-1895) was born Johann Gottfried Cullman in what was then the Kingdom of Prussia. Prior to emigrating to the United States in 1866, Cullman earned a degree in engineering and founded an export business. He originally settled in Ohio, but in 1871 he acquired a large parcel of land in what was then Blount County to establish a town. He convinced other families to settle there, and the town grew so rapidly that it sparked the creation of Cullman County, named for him, in 1877 to encompass the town, which was officially named Cullman as well. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, photo courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History)

The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, along with Our Lady of Angels Monastery, was built on 400 acres in Hanceville, near the eastern border of Cullman County. Construction of the shrine and monastery began in 1996, and the monastery was consecrated in December 1999. It was home to Mother Angelica, the founder of the Eternal World Television Network, who died in March 2017. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Tourism Department)

A newly renovated Cullman County courthouse on Second Avenue in downtown Cullman. The county seat was established in 1875 in the central portion of the county along the railway line from Nashville to Montgomery. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, photograph by James P. Kaetz)

The Ave Maria Grotto was created by monk Joseph Zoettel on the grounds of Saint Bernard Abbey in Cullman, the only Benedictine monastery in the state. He began building the miniatures around 1918 from leftover construction materials, and over 40 years created 125 pieces. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Southern Progress Inc.)

The railroad depot in Cullman, the Cullman County seat, was built by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company in 1913. Passenger service through the station ended in 1968, and the city of Cullman bought the structure in 1990. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Ginger Ann Brook)

Historic buildings in Cullman, 2010. (The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

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