Westfield, Alabama is a former coal mining camp for
Tennessee Coal & Iron Co. that was purchased by
U.S. Steel
United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...
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.
Early in businessman
A. G. Gaston
Arthur George Gaston (Demopolis, Alabama, July 4, 1892 – Birmingham, Alabama, January 19, 1996) was an American businessman who established a number of businesses in Birmingham, Alabama, and who played a significant role in the movement to ...
'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." Star professional baseball player
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...
was born in Westfield in 1931. Lawyer and former judge
U. W. Clemon
U.W. Clemon (born April 9, 1943) is an Alabama attorney in private practice and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He was among the first ten African-American lawyers ad ...
grew up in Westfield.
Rev. Clarence S. Reeves wrote a history of the high school. It closed with desegregation. Alumni remained active in subsequent years.
[https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/f220b92b-163d-4dc9-96b6-505ff48141b6/downloads/WHO%2520WILL%2520REMEMBER%2520WESTFIELD%2520WHEN%2520WE_RE%2520GONE.pdf%3Fver%3D1601166147323 ] In 2013 the film ''Westfield: Struggles to Success'' about Westfield High School debuted.
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Notable people
* U. W. Clemon
U.W. Clemon (born April 9, 1943) is an Alabama attorney in private practice and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He was among the first ten African-American lawyers ad ...
, (b 1943) is an Alabama attorney and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
* A. G. Gaston
Arthur George Gaston (Demopolis, Alabama, July 4, 1892 – Birmingham, Alabama, January 19, 1996) was an American businessman who established a number of businesses in Birmingham, Alabama, and who played a significant role in the movement to ...
, (1892–1996) was an American businessman who established a number of businesses in Birmingham, Alabama.
* Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...
, (b 1931), is a former Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player and member of the baseball Hall Of Fame for the New York / San Francisco Giants.
See also
*Fairfield, Alabama
Fairfield is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area and is located southeast of Pleasant Grove. The population was 11,117 at the 2010 census.
History
This city was founded i ...
, a nearby U.S. Steel company town
References
{{Reflist
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Former populated places in Alabama