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    Gadsden
    Gadsden
    Gadsden
    Ebook180 pages1 hour

    Gadsden

    By Mike Goodson

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    About this ebook

    Gadsden began as a small stagecoach stop on the banks of the Coosa River, where weary travelers could rest while traveling between Jacksonville and Huntsville. Known as Double Springs, the small settlement consisted of several log dwellings, a store, a school, and a post office. In 1840, the coming of Gabriel Hughes and his wife, Asenath, followed by Gabriel’s brother Joseph Hughes, led to the founding of a new town that would eventually grow into Gadsden. In the days before and during World War II, new industry brought jobs to the Gadsden Ordnance Plant and civilian jobs to Camp Sibert. Following the end of the war, the area experienced a return to normalcy and a great time of growth when Gadsden’s fighting men returned home. Gadsden has also been blessed with exceptional leadership over the years, which has propelled it from a small village on the banks of the Coosa River to the “City of Champions” and an All-America City.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 18, 2014
    ISBN9781439646786
    Gadsden
    Author

    Mike Goodson

    Mike Goodson has been interested in local history for many years. He grew up in the Alabama City suburb of Gadsden in northeast Alabama and was educated in the public school system of Gadsden. He has been writing and researching local history now for many years. Goodson writes a history-based column for the Gadsden Times that began in 1999 with the �Looking Back� section. Since then, he has written more than six hundred columns relating to local history. Goodson has authored and coauthored several books on local history and has conducted several local walking tours in downtown Gadsden. He has also conducted a ghost walk and ghost watch downtown during Halloween each year. These have proven to be very popular! He is a lifelong resident of Gadsden and Etowah County. He is married to the former Ann Moore, also a lifelong Gadsden resident.

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      Book preview

      Gadsden - Mike Goodson

      author.

      INTRODUCTION

      The city of Gadsden had humble beginnings as a stop on the riverboat line from Rome, Georgia, to Greenport, Alabama. The town was a vision of Gabriel Hughes and his brother Joseph Hughes. Although the settlement began to grow slowly in 1845, by the turn of the 20th century, the village was beginning to show the signs of a much larger city. By the days of the Great Depression the city was a thriving metropolis with major industries, professional athletic teams, and modern theaters. Gadsden would slowly begin to struggle during the hardships of the Great Depression years. This struggle would continue through the early days of World War II.

      It was obvious the United States would not be able to remain neutral in the war in Europe. Frank Towers was a Gadsden police officer who walked a beat on Broad Street before reenlisting in the Navy just before the events that plunged the United States into World War II. On October 31, 1941, Towers was killed aboard the USS Reuben James when it was torpedoed off the coast of Iceland. The United States was closer to the latest war to end all wars. The inevitable came about on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked the US naval installation at Pearl Harbor. Gadsden would join the war effort and send its sons and daughters into harm’s way to do their part.

      In 1945, Pres. Harry Truman authorized the use of atomic weapons against Japan. The devastation was horrific, and Japan surrendered shortly after its second city was destroyed. Happy days were here again! The US troops slowly began to come home to their families and jobs. A time of prosperity followed as the country went from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy. Detroit was making cars once again, and families began to return to a normal life.

      One of the businesses that would see a boom following the war was the motion picture industry. A downtown Gadsden icon was the Princess Theatre. The Princess Theatre was originally known as the Imperial Theatre when it opened on November 24, 1920. The first movie shown was The Right to Love, which starred Mae Murray and David Powell. A capacity crowd filled the 730 seats on opening night. The Imperial was the first real challenge to the Gadsden Theatre for the entertainment dollar in Etowah County.

      In July 1926, the theater changed hands, and an extensive facelift took place, transforming the Imperial into the Princess Theatre. A balcony was added, as well as a vaudeville stage. The interior of the house was redecorated. The Princess opened on September 11, 1926, with the movie feature being The Phantom Bullet, starring Hoot Gibson. The Princess enjoyed a long and successful life until 1937, when plans were announced to remodel and enlarge the theater. The Princess reopened June 17, 1937, to a huge crowd in the totally rebuilt auditorium. The Princess Theatre, managed by D.B. Dixon, was the place to go in downtown Gadsden for many years.

      The Princess enjoyed a very successful life until it was destroyed in a fire on November 4, 1963. At 10:48 p.m. on the night of the fire, Gadsden police officer Bill O’Bryant was walking his beat when he noticed what appeared to be a garbage can burning next to the theater.

      O’Bryant turned in the alarm, and several fire engines answered the call. When the first trucks arrived, they found the theater engulfed in flames.

      On September 26, 1947, a new movie house opened in Gadsden, and things took a drastic turn for local moviegoers. Gadsden’s Pitman Theatre became the newest addition to downtown. This movie house was owned and operated by C.S. Pitman from Pine Mountain, Georgia.

      The 1,100-seat auditorium was packed on opening night for the movie feature Slave Girl, starring Yvonne DeCarlo and George Brent. A group of dignitaries and special guests were on hand for the opening. The Pitman Theatre was the place to go in downtown Gadsden for many years. The new theater was not only praised for its many safety features but also for its comfort. The sound system was the finest available from RCA. The Pitman Theatre also boasted the largest screen in Gadsden.

      With the opening of the Pitman Theatre, a friendly, but intense, rivalry would soon begin between the management of the Princess and the Pitman. At first, the Pitman had trouble getting first-run movies, while D.B. Dixon at the Princess would get his choice of films. The first really big movie the Pitman would land was The Babe Ruth Story on the theater’s first anniversary. With the Pitman beginning to get better movies, Dixon could be seen standing out front of the Princess with binoculars trying to see how long the line was at the Pitman Theatre.

      Another sign of the peacetime economy was the return of sporting events to the Gadsden area. A group of local investors had been negotiating with the Memphis Chicks of the Southern League to bring a Class B baseball team to Gadsden to compete in the Southeastern League. The Chicks were to provide some of the players for this team, but the nucleus of the team could be signed from local talent. Byron Todd was named president, and he set out to put together a competitive team.

      A contest was held to name the new team with the winner receiving a season’s pass to all home games. The name chosen for Gadsden’s entry into the Southeastern League for the 1946 season was the Pilots. This name was chosen because of Gadsden’s rich heritage associated with the riverboats and the Coosa River.

      Dave Coble was the Pilots’ first manager. The Pilots reported for spring drills in Henderson, Texas, on March 1, 1946. Many promotions were held to promote the franchise in the days leading up to the season opener.

      Gadsden would continue to grow throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, reaching a population of close to 60,000 people. Lean years were on the

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