Piper
Piper was a mining community of as many as 3,000 residents located near the present Bibb County Road 24 between West Blocton and Brierfield, south of the Cahaba River. It was constructed and operated by the Little Cahaba Coal Company, founded in 1901. The community was named after the company's founder, Oliver Piper.
At one time the community had as many as 500 wood-frame houses as well as a company store, coal company offices, and at least a few churches. The community shared the Piper-Coleanor High School with neighboring Coleanor. Like most mining towns, black and white residents were segregated and used separate wash-houses, schools and cemeteries. Birmingham Black Barons player and manager Lorenzo "Piper" Davis grew up in Piper, which became his nickname.
Seven people were killed in a mine explosion at Piper on May 31, 1925. In February 1934, members of the United Mine Workers called a strike at the Piper mines. Governor Benjamin Miller called in the Alabama National Guard to maintain order.
After the mine closed in the 1950s, the land was sold to the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. It is currently owned by Forest Investments Associates of Atlanta, Georgia.
Of the town buildings, only a stone structure, called "the vault" which was the company's payroll office remains. Former West Blocton Fire Chief Jerry Fondren and his cousin Paula Fancher have located about 125 grave sites in the former black cemetery, most of them unmarked.
References
- Plott, Bill (April 11, 2008) "Remnants of Bibb County mining towns uncovered in the woods." The Birmingham News