Aldrich Coal Mine Museum


Useful Information

Location: Montevallo.
West of Montevallo, Alabama on County Road 10 towards Aldrich. Turn left after the railroad on County Road 203.
(33° 6'27.67"N, 86°53'33.16"W)
Open: All year Thu-Sat 10-16, Sun 13-16.
[2021]
Fee: Adults USD 5, Children USD 3.
[2021]
Classification: MineCoal Mine
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:  
Guided tours:  
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:  
Address: Aldrich Coal Mine Museum Inc, 137 County Road 203, Montevallo, AL 35115, Tel: +1-205-665-2886. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1830 first coal mined in Alabama near Tuscaloosa.
1870 start of coal mining at Montevallo.
1872 Truman Aldrich from New York acquired the Montevallo Mining Company and began mining at Aldrich.
1942 mine closed.
1950's all mines closed.
JAN-2008 Farrington Hall placed on the National and Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Geology

The Cahaba River Basin Field around Shelby County and parts of Bibb had a high grade coal which was used both for heating and steel production.

Description

The Aldrich Coal Mine Museum is housed in a building which once was the company store of the former Montevallo Coal Mining Company. This was a store where miners bought their goods, clothes, food, tools, anything they needed for daily life. Goods were bought on credit and paid off in labor, which resulted in a sort of slavery, an extreme dependency of the miner. There is a famous spiritual or blues song, which tells about this:


You load sixteen tons, and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

The museum displays coal mining memorabilia and an extensive collection of pictures of the town of Aldrich, Alabama during its peak coal mining days. There is mining equipment on display and a simulated 30 m long coal mine slope named Rajah Slope. Fossils which are frequently found in the biogene coal are shown too.

Montevallo Mining Company was acquired by Truman Aldrich from New York in 1872. He started mining at the place which is now named Aldrich after him. His brother William Farrington Aldrich and wife lived at Aldrich and managed the company. In 1905 William sold his part of the mine to Truman and left. The neighbouring building, Farrington Hall, built by Mr. and Mrs. William Farrington Aldrich, also belongs to the museum. It houses many personal items of the Aldrich family and an enormous number of photographs.