Westfield, Alabama
Unincorporated community
Westfield is located in Alabama
Westfield
Westfield
Westfield is located in the United States
Westfield
Westfield
Coordinates: 33°29′04″N 86°56′25″W / 33.48444°N 86.94028°W / 33.48444; -86.94028
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyJefferson
Elevation
564 ft (172 m)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code(s)205, 659
GNIS feature ID128808[1]

Westfield is an unincorporated community and former coal mining town in Jefferson County, Alabama.[1] It was a coal mining camp for Tennessee Coal & Iron Co. that was purchased by U.S. Steel and developed as a planned steel worker community that was predominantly African American. It was home to Westfield High School. In 1969 it was described as a model of company owned community with various amenities noted.[2]

Star professional baseball player Willie Mays was born in Westfield in 1931.[3] Lawyer and former judge U. W. Clemon grew up in Westfield.[4]

Rev. Clarence S. Reeves wrote a history of the high school. It closed with desegregation. Alumni remained active in subsequent years.[5] In 2013 the film Westfield: Struggles to Successabout Westfield High School debuted.[4]

Early in businessman A. G. Gaston's career he worked in the mines around Westfield. After his return from military service in Europe during World War I, he "was as a labourer with the Tennessee Coal & Iron Co. in Westfield, Alabama where his interest in entrepreneurship began to surface."[6]

History

Built for the Tennessee Coal & Iron Co. (TCI), Westfield was subsequently purchased by U.S. Steel. The community was planned to be developed as a predominantly African-American steel worker community. It was home to Westfield High School. In 1969, it was described as a model of company-owned community with various amenities noted.[7]

In 2013 the film Westfield: Struggles to Success about Westfield High School debuted.[8]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Westfield". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ Bond, Horace Mann (January 22, 1969). Negro Education in Alabama: A Study in Cotton and Steel.
  3. ^ Brown, Dottie (January 10, 2001). Alabama. Lerner Publications. ISBN 978-0-8225-4067-0.
  4. ^ a b "New film remembers long-gone West Jefferson community of Westfield, home of Mays, Clemon". al.com. August 2, 2013.
  5. ^ https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/f220b92b-163d-4dc9-96b6-505ff48141b6/downloads/WHO%2520WILL%2520REMEMBER%2520WESTFIELD%2520WHEN%2520WE_RE%2520GONE.pdf%3Fver%3D1601166147323
  6. ^ The Weekly Gleaner, February 6-12, 2003
  7. ^ Bond, Horace Mann (June 30, 1969). "Negro Education in Alabama: A Study in Cotton and Steel". Octagon Books – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Chambers, Jesse (September 30, 2014). "Docu-film about old West Jefferson community of Westfield to be shown at Buffalo, N.Y., film fest". al.com. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Chambers, Jesse (August 2, 2013). "New film remembers long-gone West Jefferson community of Westfield, home of Mays, Clemon". al.com. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  10. ^ Jenkins, Carol (February 2004). "Remembering Arthur G. Gaston: A Titan's First Step". blackenterprise.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
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