Calcis, Alabama
Unincorporated community
Former H. R. Justice store and post office in Calcis. Alabama State Route 25 and Norfolk Southern Railway to right of photo.
Former H. R. Justice store and post office in Calcis. Alabama State Route 25 and Norfolk Southern Railway to right of photo.
Calcis, Alabama is located in Alabama
Calcis, Alabama
Calcis, Alabama
Calcis, Alabama is located in the United States
Calcis, Alabama
Calcis, Alabama
Coordinates: 33°25′35″N 86°25′54″W / 33.42639°N 86.43167°W / 33.42639; -86.43167
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyShelby
Elevation
535 ft (163 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)205, 659
GNIS feature ID115387[1]

Calcis is an unincorporated community in Shelby County, Alabama, United States, located along Alabama State Route 25, 3 miles (4.8 km) north-northwest of Vincent.

History

The community's name is derived from the word calcium, in reference to the limestone that was mined in the local quarries.[2] Calcis is located on the former Central of Georgia Railway and was once home to a passenger depot.[3] The community attempted to have a second courthouse and county jail for Shelby County placed in Calcis and went as far as presenting the argument to the Supreme Court of Alabama.[4]

The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company operated a limestone quarry in Calcis. This limestone was shipped to Birmingham to be used as flux in iron-making.[5] The limestone mined in Calcis was a type known as Trenton limestone.[6] The Calcis Lime Works manufactured quicklime in Calcis.[7] Convict labor was used in the Calcis quarries.[8]

A post office was established in 1899, and was in operation until 1967.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Calcis". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ Foscue, Virginia (1989). Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. p. 27. ISBN 0-8173-0410-X.
  3. ^ Central of Georgia Railway Company (1900). Annual Report of the Central of Georgia Railway Company. p. 11.
  4. ^ Alabama. Supreme Court (1903). Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Alabama. Joel White. pp. 637–8.
  5. ^ Bulletin - Geological Survey of Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama. 1903. p. 66.
  6. ^ Geological Survey of Alabama (1924). Bulletin - Geological Survey of Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama. p. 66.
  7. ^ Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (1911). Bulletin ... Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn ... p. 307.
  8. ^ Douglas A. Blackmon (October 4, 2012). Slavery by Another Name: The re-enslavement of black americans from the civil war to World War Two. Icon Books Limited. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-84831-413-9.
  9. ^ "Shelby County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved May 28, 2020.


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