Patron Past Stories

PATRON – Cornerstone of Jefferson County Courthouse opened March 24, 1937

On March 24, 1937 the old Jefferson County Courthouse was being torn down. The original cornerstone was removed and a mechanic used an acetelyne torch to unfasten a copper box taken from the 2,000-pound stone placed there 49 years earlier.

Jefferson County Court House, Birmingham - Photo taken 1906 by Detroit Publishing Company
Jefferson County Court House, Birmingham – Photo taken 1906 by Detroit Publishing Company – torn down in 1937.

Some of the things found inside included”

  • Two Bibles
  • A copper plate with the names of all county officials on it
  • A copy of The Jones Valley Sun dated May 10, 1888
  • A 10-cent piece, with a card bearing the name George A. Hawley
  • A piece of pig iron
  • $167 in Confederate currency
  • A Spatula
  • A 25-cent piece,
  • A 10-cent piece
  • Three 5-cent pieces
  • One 3-cent piece
  • A medallion with the insignia of the Odd Fellows on it

A story was circulated that a quart of liquor had been sealed in the corner stone when it was closed May 17, 1888, but no liquor was found.

SOURCE

  • The Tuscaloosa News March 24, 1937

ALABAMA FOOTPRINTS: Settlement: Lost & Forgotten Stories is a collection of lost and forgotten stories of the first surveyors, traders, and early settlements of what would become the future state of Alabama.

Some stories include:

  • A Russian princess settling in early Alabama
  • How the early setters traveled to Alabama and the risks they took
  • A ruse that saved immigrants lives while traveling through Native American Territory
  • Alliances formed with the Native Americans
  • How an independent republic, separate from the United States was almost formed in Alabama
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5 comments

  1. I like the way the old courthouse looked.

  2. I wonder if the old courthouse on that same site earlier had a cornerstone.

  3. Always enjoy receiving the newsletter.

  4. Beautiful historic building demolished as was the old Depot. Pieces of history gone forever.

  5. Great Building no longer in Birmingham AL.

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