Nelson, also known as Nelson Switch, or Cates Crossing, is an

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 ...

in Shelby County,

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. Nelson is located at the crossing of

Alabama State Route 25 State Route 25 (SR 25) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Alabama. From U.S. Route 78 (US 78) in Leeds northeast to its terminus at the Georgia state line, SR 25 is the unsigned partner route of US 411. The southweste ...

and the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

, between Columbiana and Wilsonville.

History

Nelson was the birthplace of Frank Nelson, Jr. Nelson grew up working in his father's store in Columbiana. After attending 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 ...

, he began manufacturing charcoal that was shipped to Brierfield Furnace and

Shelby Iron Company The Shelby Iron Company was an iron manufacturing company that operated an ironworks in Shelby, Alabama. The iron company produced iron for the Confederate States of America and was destroyed towards the end of the American Civil War. The company ...

. He then moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and founded the North Birmingham Land Company. Due to his efforts, over thirty manufacturing plants located to North Birmingham, including the

American Cast Iron Pipe Company American Cast Iron Pipe Company is a manufacturer of ductile iron pipe, spiral-welded steel pipe, fire hydrants, and valves for the waterworks industry, and electric-resistance-welded steel pipe for the oil and natural gas industry. Headquarter ...

and

American Radiator Company The American Radiator Company was established in 1892 by the merger of a number of North American radiator manufacturers. The company expanded in the early 20th century into Europe under the brand National Radiator Company. In 1929, it amalgama ...

. Nelson then became president of the Empire Coal Company located in

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

. The Frank Nelson Building, located at the corner of 20th Street North and 2nd Avenue North in Birmingham, is named in his honor. The Columbiana Ore Company operated iron ore mines at Nelson in 1918. A post office operated under the name Nelson from 1857 to 1904. On April 18, 1953, Nelson was damaged by an F3 tornado.

References

Unincorporated communities in Shelby County, Alabama Unincorporated communities in Alabama {{ShelbyCountyAL-geo-stub