Sylacauga, Alabama Sylacauga, Alabama Downtown Sylacauga by evening Location in Talladega County and the state of Alabama Location in Talladega County and the state of Alabama Sylacauga is a town/city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States.
Nicknames for Sylacauga include "The Marble City", "Buzzard's Roost", and "Alabama's Best-Kept Secret".
Sylacauga is known for its fine white marble bedrock.
The marble trade was the first recorded trade in the Sylacauga area.
Child workers at Central Mills in Sylacauga, 1910.
The first pioneer in the Coosa River Valley were the Creek Indians whose later encounters with the Spanish and French had a momentous influence on the history of Sylacauga.
The town/city was first incorporated in 1838 as Syllacoga and again in 1887 as Sylacauga.
In 1852, a plank road was assembled from Montgomery to Winterboro, Alabama, passing through Sylacauga.
In 1838, the first Sylacauga postal service was established, with George Washington Stone, later Chief Justice Stone of Alabama, as postmaster.
The first newspaper, the Sylacauga Argus, made its appearance in 1887.
Sylacauga, "The Marble City", is constructed on a solid deposit of what is claimed to be the finest marble in the world.
Some of the most beautiful buildings in the country, such as the United States Supreme Court, the Al Jolson Shrine in California, the Woolworth building in Houston, Texas, and many the rest have been constructed and ornamented with Sylacauga marble.
Sylacauga is positioned slightly to the east of the geographical center of the state of Alabama in Talladega County.
The town/city is roughly 51 miles (82 km) southeast of Birmingham, 63 miles (101 km) north of Montgomery, and 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Anniston, Alabama.
The deposit is part of the "Murphy Marble Belt" extending 32 by 1.5 miles (51.5 by 2.4 km) by 400 feet (120 m) deep and is the world's biggest commercial deposit of madre cream marble.
An elite town advanced in and around this property, later called the Alabama Marble Company.
By the start of the 20th century, Sylacauga quarries had an established reputation, and shipments were being made throughout the state.
Although structural marble was being produced to some extent, a very lucrative use of marble was found in the steel industry.
More and more of the Sylacauga deposits were being blasted and used for fluxing steel.
In spite of the approaching depression, the late 1920s and early 1930s were times of spectacular expansion for Sylacauga's marble industry.
One such momentous consolidation was in 1929 when the Madras Marble Company (formerly Sylacauga Marble Corporation) consolidated with Moretti-Harrah.
Mc - Gahey of Columbus, Mississippi; later in 1944 Coggins sold the Sylacauga operation and Columbia Marble Company of North Carolina to Mc - Gahey.
The Alabama Marble Company remained under the same management until 1963 when it consolidated with the Georgia Marble Company.
The reputation of Sylacauga marble producers began to be evidenced by various building projects throughout the nation.
Alabama Marble Company supplied marble for the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.
Marble supplied for the Washington monument was so like its Italian counterpart, Carrara marble, that it was placed aside until a confirmation of its origin could be made.
Moretti-Harrah, in a 3 year universal shared by Gray-Knox Marble Company of Knoxville, supplied much of the marble for the U.S.
Listing all the buildings which display this lustrous contemporary would be difficult; a several memorable projects are the Dime Savings Bank (New York), the Mercedes-Benz showroom (New York), the Chicago Post Office, the Alabama Archives Building, the Chrysler Mausoleum (New York), and the Al Jolson Shrine (California).
Beautiful cream marble from Sylacauga can be found in hotels, offices, mausoleums, memorials and homes athwart the country.
Noted sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, creator of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, sculpted a masterpiece from Alabama marble the bust of Lincoln which stands today in the rotunda of the nation's capitol.
Borglum commented that the fine texture of Alabama marble enabled him to portray the expression of kindness on Lincoln's face that he had never been able to do with any other stone.
Alabama Marble Company had already moved in this direction, having introduced its first Raymond Mill products for animal feed, insecticides, and joint cement materials in 1933.
By 1964, the business had instead of one of the biggest multi-product calcium carbonate plants in the United States, and in 1967 the structural marble plant was closed.
In 1956, Thompson-Weinman period its own crushing operation in Sylacauga, and Sylacauga Calcium Products was formed as a division of Moretti-Harrah.
In 1995, Imetal Group of Paris acquired the Georgia Marble Company, allowing this global business to strengthen its U.S.
According to the Koppen Climate Classification system, Sylacauga has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. Sylacauga supports jobs in the service industry, manufacturing, and retail.
Major employers include Blue Bell Creameries, IMERYS, Nemak Alabama, Omya Alabama Inc., Pursell Technologies, Wal-Mart, Home-Depot, and Farm Links.
More than 140 manufacturers draw employees from the Sylacauga area.
The Sylacauga Public Library, established in 1936, moved into a new Works Progress Administration (WPA) building in 1939 and was retitled with respect to small-town factory owner and former Alabama governor B.
Housed in the former town/city library, the exhibition contains an exhibit of the geological history of Sylacauga marble along with works by the Italian sculptor and quarry shareholder Giuseppe Moretti, his assistant Geneva Mercer, and intact artists Frank Fleming and Craigger Browne.
Crysel, whose 33-year military longterm position encompassed receiving the Distinguished Service Medal, and singer and actor Jim Nabors, a 1947 graduate of Sylacauga High School.
In 2009, Sylacauga held its first marble festival as part of a cultural exchange with Pietrasanta in Italy, in connection with the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
Sylacauga offers many other opportunities for outside activities, including Noble Park, with a playground and picnic and grill areas as well as a quarter-mile walking track; the Marble City BMX Track and skate park; a town/city pool that is converted to an indoor pool in the winter months; Lake Howard which has region for boating, fishing, and pavilions; a several neighborhood parks; the Sylaward Trail, a 15-mile (24 km) hiking and mountain-biking trail that runs through the Talladega National Forest; and two golf courses, Sylacauga Country Club and Farm Links.
Sylacauga is governed via the mayor-council system.
The school fitness is governed by a five-member board of education whose members are appointed by the City Council of Sylacauga for staggered five-year terms.
The school fitness also must comply with regulations of the State Board of Education, a body of eight propel officials, which oversees state educational policies.
Sylacauga City Schools has appreciateed a long history of excellence in education having been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) for many years.
Sylacauga City Schools presently employs 317 citizens and contracts with additional personnel as needed.
Today there are four schools that make up the City of Sylacauga school system.
Sylacauga High is a fully autonomous, state-of-the-art facility that educates 9-12.
Sylacauga lies on State Highway 21, which provides connections to U.S.
Sylacauga Municipal Airport (FAA LID: SCD), also known as Lee Merkel Field, is a city-owned public-use airport positioned west of the central company precinct of Sylacauga.
From there, the first known hangars were erected in an region off the Quarry Road, and the airport became known as the Hagan Gothard Airport.
During the early days, Sylacauga had an extremely active airport thanks mostly to individuals that devoted their work and accomplishments to maintain, advancement and add to the utility of the airport.
Later, in the very early 1960s, many of the town leaders were pilots, and they put plans together to take favor of the push to build every small town an airport that Asa Roundtree started in the early 1950s.
Kimberly Clark, Coosa Newsprint Division, moved some of their airplane to the Sylacauga Airport and occupied a large hangar the City assembled to accommodate their needs.
In 1981, the mayor of Sylacauga created the Sylacauga Airport Board and put the active pilots on as members to guide the evolution of and protection of the airport.
In 2010, the apron was enlarged to handle airplane with wingspans up to 125 feet (38 m), allowing Sylacauga to compete with other airports in the region for larger corporate activity.
"Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Sylacauga city, Alabama".
Climate Summary for Sylacauga, Alabam Sylacauga Early History Sylacauga Municipal Airport City of Sylacauga official website Sylacauga City Schools Municipalities and communities of Talladega County, Alabama, United States Childersburg Lincoln Oxford Sylacauga Talladega Cities in Alabama - Cities in Talladega County, Alabama
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