Village Number 1, also known as The Village and Nitrate Plant Number 1 Reservation Subdivision, 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 ...

Colbert County, Alabama Colbert County () is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the county's population was 57,227. The county seat is Tuscumbia. The largest city is Muscle Shoals. The county is named ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

In 1916, President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

signed the

National Defense Act The National Defense Act of 1916, , was a United States federal law that updated the Militia Act of 1903, which related to the organization of the military, particularly the National Guard. The principal change of the act was to supersede provis ...

, which authorized the construction of two nitrate-manufacturing plants and a dam to provide them hydropower. President Wilson chose

Muscle Shoals, Alabama Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

as the site of the dam, which when completed in 1924, was named

Wilson Dam Wilson Dam is a dam on the Tennessee River in Lauderdale and Colbert counties of Alabama, United States. Completed in 1924 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, it impounds Wilson Lake, and is one of nine Tennessee Valley Authority (T ...

. The new plant would produce

ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...

using the

Haber process The Haber process, also called the Haber–Bosch process, is the main industrial procedure for the ammonia production, production of ammonia. It converts atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3) by a reaction with hydrogen (H2) using finely di ...

. It was soon discovered the Haber process would not produce the amount of nitrate needed, so another plant was built that employed the cyanamide process. The

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

architect, Harold Caparn, who helped expand the

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The botanical garden occupies in central Brooklyn, close to Mount Prospect Park, Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park, ...

, was chosen as chief architect of an industrial village that would house supervisors and workers for the Nitrate Plant No. 1. Construction of the village began in the latter half of 1918. The village was designed in the pattern of a

handbell A handbell is a bell designed to be rung by hand. To ring a handbell, a ringer grasps the bell by its slightly flexible handle – traditionally made of leather, but often now made of plastic – and moves the arm to make the hinged cla ...

, with houses surrounding the handle, body, and clapper, and a school at the base.Village No. 1 , The Cultural Landscape Foundation
/ref> At its completion, the village contained 112 residential structures, 2 school buildings, and one large apartment building that housed unmarried officers. Maud Lindsay, a nationally known writer of children's books, was chosen as the first kindergarten teacher at the school.

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

ended on November 11, 1918, and with it, the production of ammonium nitrate was no longer needed. The plant was closed, and the newly built houses stood unoccupied. In 1921,

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...

offered to buy the plants and village with plans to develop it into an industrial complex. Until 1933, only a small number of the houses were occupied, all by

Alabama Power Company Alabama Power Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a company in the southern United States that provides electricity service to 1.4 million customers in the southern two-thirds of Alabama. It also operates appliance stores. It is one ...

workers. Senator

George W. Norris George William Norris (July 11, 1861September 2, 1944) was an American politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. He served five terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, from 1903 until 191 ...

thought the site should be utilized for public use, and in May 1933, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

formed the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

. The industrial complex would be used for fertilizer production and as a development center. In 1949, the streets, playgrounds, and school were deeded to the city of Sheffield by the TVA and the houses were auctioned to the public.

External links

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References

{{authority control National Register of Historic Places in Colbert County, Alabama National Historic Landmarks in Alabama Historic districts in Colbert County, Alabama Unincorporated communities in Colbert County, Alabama Historic American Engineering Record in Alabama Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Company towns in Alabama Unincorporated communities in Alabama Explosives manufacture

History

See also

External links

References