The historic rail map display at the museum

Our town. Our history.

The Story of Piedmont

From a crossroads in the mountains to a community that built more than a century of progress — told through the Historical Society's photographs, maps, and markers.

One town, many names

A Line Through Time

Ladiga1830s
Hollow Stump1840s
Cross Plains1851
Patona1870
Piedmont1888
Mill Town Era1890s–1990s
Today

The men of Cross Plains posed on a downtown porch

Our Town

How Piedmont Got Its Name

Before December 12, 1888, this place answered to many names — each one a chapter in the town's story.

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Railroad workers lined up outside the wooden Piedmont depot

The Railroads

The Railroads That Built a Town

Two rail lines crossed here — and turned a quiet crossroads into a working Alabama town.

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The four-story Frances E. Willard School with students on its porches

Education

Education in the Piedmont Area, 1840s to Today

From a one-room school at a frontier crossroads to a nationally recognized city school system.

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The ornate two-story Bank of Piedmont building

Commerce

Banking in Piedmont

From the 1890 boom to today, the town's banks financed its dreams.

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The wooden Albert House hotel with double porches

Hospitality

Historic Piedmont Hotels

When stagecoaches and trains brought travelers to town, Piedmont's hotels made them welcome.

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A bird's-eye view of the Borden-Wheeler resort valley

Hospitality

Piedmont Area Resorts

Clean mountain air, healing springs, and three famous resorts that drew travelers from across the country.

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“Named ‘foot of the hills’ in 1888 — a town measured a half mile in every direction from the public well.”

The photo collection

From the Archive

Photographs, maps, and markers from the Piedmont Historical Society’s collection — the churches, streets, businesses, and people behind the stories above.

Churches & Congregations

Piedmont's congregations date to the Cross Plains years — several of these buildings served their communities for generations.

A drawing of the white frame Cross Plains Missionary Baptist Church — Cross Plains Missionary Baptist Church, 1870.

The brick Mt. Pleasant Christian Methodist Episcopal Church with its red roof and bell tower — Mt. Pleasant Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 1878.

A crowd in Sunday dress gathered outside the Cumberland Presbyterian Church — The congregation gathers outside the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1890.

The white frame First Methodist Church with its square bell tower — First Methodist Church.

A small board-and-batten Episcopal church with a cross above the entry — The Episcopal church, from the society's files.

Streets & Landmarks

Ladiga Street and Center Avenue — the same two roads that crossed at the hollow stump — in the horse-and-buggy years and the automobile age.

A dirt East Ladiga Street lined with oaks, picket fences, and utility poles — East Ladiga Street when it was still a dirt road.

West Ladiga Street in color with 1950s cars and the George Kass clothing store sign — West Ladiga Street at mid-century — George Kass, “Everything To Wear,” at right.

East Ladiga Street in color with the Elliott Motor Company Oldsmobile dealership — East Ladiga Street in the automobile age — Elliott Motor Company on the corner, with mileage signs to Jacksonville, Heflin, Centre, and Gadsden.

The two-story brick City Hall with a fire bay door and a Phillips 66 station beyond — City Hall at mid-century, fire bay on the corner and a Phillips 66 down the block.

A restored white Victorian cottage with ornate gingerbread porch brackets — Robert's Home — a Victorian cottage with the same gingerbread trim that gives the depot its character.

Commerce & Industry

Cotton built the town's economy — from the wagons at the gin to the spindles at the mill.

Mule-drawn wagons loaded with cotton bales crowded around the gin — Wagons of cotton crowd the gin on a fall morning.

A panoramic drawing of the Coosa Manufacturing Company cotton mill — The Coosa Manufacturing Company — the cotton mill whose water tower marked Piedmont's skyline.

Serving the Town

The institutions that kept Piedmont running — water, power, medicine, and rescue.

The low mid-century brick Piedmont Hospital building among pines — Piedmont Hospital.

Two bucket trucks parked in the Piedmont Electric Department garage — The Piedmont Electric Department garage, bucket trucks at the ready.

The O.L. Savage Service Center sign for the Piedmont Water Works, Gas and Sewer Board — The O.L. Savage Service Center — Piedmont Water Works, Gas & Sewer Board.

The Piedmont Rescue and EMS station on South Center Avenue — Piedmont Rescue & EMS, 122 South Center Avenue.

Faces of Piedmont

Portraits from the society's collection.

A seated portrait of Sarah and Martin Tyler Ledbetter — Sarah and Martin Tyler Ledbetter.

A smiling portrait of Joe Fagan in a suit and patterned tie — Joe Fagan, from the society's portrait collection.

A smiling snapshot of John Edwin Decker in a white shirt beside the depot siding — John Edwin Decker — the last Norfolk Southern depot agent at Piedmont.

A newspaper portrait of Joseph Nathaniel Hood with a mustache, suit, and vest — Joseph Nathaniel Hood — Piedmont's first mayor. He led Cross Plains through the 1888 name change and served the new town of Piedmont into 1890.

Help us complete the record — if you can identify a face, a date, or a place in these photographs, or have photos and documents of your own to share, the Historical Society wants to hear from you.