Kaulton is a
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
formerly located in
Tuscaloosa County
Tuscaloosa County is a county in the northwest-central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama and is the center of commerce, education, industry, health care, and entertainment for the region.
As of the 2020 census, its population was 227,036, ...
,
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.
History
Kaulton was founded in 1912 to serve as the location for Kaul Lumber Company's new mill after the mill in
Hollins closed.
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 ...
hired
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
architect George Miller, who laid out plans for the city of
Corey
Corey is a masculine given name and a surname. It is a masculine version of name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in a caul ...
, to design Kaulton using
Beaux-Arts principles.
Kaulton had houses for workers, a hotel, churches, a school, parks, and offices. The entire complex covered over eighty acres.
The houses were designed with four rooms, two chimneys, and water, sewage, and electrical access. Though planned with good intentions, the houses constructed were poorly designed and cheaply made.
Even so, Kaulton was described as "a model industrial town, with homes, not cabins, for the housing of the workmen and their families, and with every community service emphasized and encouraged."
The company awarded prizes for the best vegetable garden, and there were ball fields, playgrounds, and a company physician provided. John Kaul died in 1931, and the Kaul Lumber mill closed later that year. With that, Kaulton began to fall into decline. The Kaul Lumber Company ceased timber sales, but continued to derive income from renting houses and other buildings at Kaulton.
The area occupied by the former town now lies within the city limits of
Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...
, but the name Kaulton is still used in Kaulton Field and Old Kaulton Road. Most of the records relating to the town were destroyed by Kaul Lumber Company, but some records of the town and the company are kept at the
Birmingham Public Library
The Birmingham Public Library is one of the largest library systems in the southeastern United States. It consists of 19 branches, with a main or central library located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. The main library is composed of two buil ...
.
Kaulton had its own baseball team, which played the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
Summer School Team, among other opponents.
References
External links
Panorama of Kaulton and the Kaul Lumber Company mill
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Ghost towns in Alabama
Company towns in Alabama
Ghost towns in North America