Hollins is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

and

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States. Its population was 517 as of the 2020 census.

History

Hollins is named after an official who worked for the Kaul Lumber Company. Hollins began when the

Columbus and Western Railway The Columbus and Western Railway (C&W) is a historic railroad that operated in Georgia, United States. Organized in 1880, the C&W was founded to connect Columbus, Georgia, to Birmingham, Alabama. The same year, the C&W started by purchasing the ...

reached the area in the late 1800s. In 1888,

John Kaul John Lanzel Kaul (1866–1931) was an American businessman. He was involved in the timber industry and was a prominent figure in Birmingham, Alabama. Kaul was born in St. Marys, Pennsylvania on October 9, 1866 to Andrew Kaul and Walburga (L ...

bought out the Sample Lumber Company in Hollins and founded the Kaul Lumber Company. The large demand for lumber led to an increase in lumber jobs in Hollins. In addition to the Kaul Lumber headquarters and mill, Hollins was home to a hotel, several general stores, three churches, a school, and a cotton gin. Hollins was incorporated on February 21, 1893. In 1908, the Kaul Lumber mill burned and was rebuilt. In 1911, the mill was closed and was moved to Kaulton. The population began to decline, and Hollins' town charter was dissolved on September 25, 1919. A post office began operation under the name Hollins in 1887. In 1890 and 1900, Hollins was the second largest community in Clay County after Ashland, the county seat. It reached its zenith of 688 persons in 1910 before its dissolution in 1919, but had fallen behind Lineville in importance to third place. With its recognition as a

in 2010, it has resumed its third-place position.

Demographics

References

External links

Pictures of sawmill and Kaul Lumber Company operations at Hollins
Census-designated places in Clay County, Alabama Census-designated places in Alabama {{ClayCountyAL-geo-stub