Alexander City

Another place that I visited last weekend was Alexander City, Alabama.

This is a city that I have been in quite a few times. Both to work at my summer job and enjoy Lake Martin. Which surrounds most of the town. But I had not really known much about the town and its history.

When the city was first founded in 1872, it was given the name Youngsville. After the founder of the town James Young. The following year, the town of Youngsville had a boom when the Savannah-Memphis railroad was put right through the town. So, shortly following this, the town was renamed to its now Alexander City after the president of the railroad Edward Porter Alexander. Who was also a hero of the Battle of Gettysburg for the Confederate side.

In 1902, most of the town actually burned down. The fire started in the Alexander City Machine shop and the fire travelled from there. Some of the buildings that burned down included three banks, a telegraph office and a post office. The losses totaled a whopping $400,000. Which now would not be too bad to recover from, but back then, it probably took a good bit to build up the finances. They were, obviously, able to rebuild after.

In 1926, the Martin Dam was built in the area. This created the largest man-made lake at the time: Lake Martin. Lake Martin is probably the biggest attraction for Alexander City today. I have stayed on the lake too many times to count. I have boated, tubed, camped, swam, kayaked, worked and done many other things on that lake.

In 1965, Alexander City Community College was established in the city, This is actually the college my parents met at. In 1988, Alexander City Community College and another college called Nunnelley State Technical College combined to make the current Central Alabama Community College. Or as the locals call it: “Lake Martin College”. The town has three elementary schools called Jim Pearson, Stephens, and Radney; middle school called Alex City; a high school called Benjamin Russell.

If you go to the city, it is very common to see the name Russell. The Russell family have had business all throughout the town since 1902. And they are they family that most people who work in Alexander City work under. When I worked at WillowPoint Golf and Country Club, they were the main family that owned the club. But the Russell’s sold most of their business to Berkshire Hathaway and Fruit of the Loom in 2006 for $600 million.  

There is not much to the town but it is a nice place to visit!