Westfield, Alabama

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Coordinates: 33°29′05″N 86°56′26″W / 33.4846°N 86.9405°W / 33.4846; -86.9405 Westfield, Alabama is a former 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.[1]

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."[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 Success about Westfield High School debuted.[4]

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References[]

  1. ^ Bond, Horace Mann (June 30, 1969). "Negro Education in Alabama: A Study in Cotton and Steel". Octagon Books – via Google Books.
  2. ^ The Weekly Gleaner, February 6-12, 2003
  3. ^ Brown, Dottie (January 10, 2001). Alabama. Lerner Publications. ISBN 9780822540670 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b Chambers, Jesse (August 2, 2013). "New film remembers long-gone West Jefferson community of Westfield, home of Mays, Clemon". al.
  5. ^ https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/f220b92b-163d-4dc9-96b6-505ff48141b6/downloads/WHO%2520WILL%2520REMEMBER%2520WESTFIELD%2520WHEN%2520WE_RE%2520GONE.pdf%3Fver%3D1601166147323
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