The publication is reproduced in full below:
IN RECOGNITION OF THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF ALEXANDER CITY
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HON. MIKE ROGERS
of alabama
in the house of representatives
Friday, February 4, 2022
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 150th Anniversary of Alexander City, Alabama.
A part of Alabama's Third Congressional District, Alexander City, is located in Tallapoosa County. In 1698, Captain Thomas Welch marked out the Okfuskee Trail through what became Tallapoosa County. Trading stations near Flint Hill, Young's Ferry, and Kowaliga were established by the English settlers.
Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend secured control of East Central Alabama. Resulting from the 1832 Treaty of Cusseta, on December 18, 1832, the Alabama Legislature created Tallapoosa County.
In 1837, James Young acquired 320 acres, a large portion of present-
day Alexander City. Griffin Young opened a post office in his store and eight men and women dubbed ``The Baptist brethren settlers of Youngsville'' organized Fellowship Primitive Baptist Church. For 35 years, Youngsville consisted of scattered farms, a store-post office and a church. One of Griffin Young's goals was to have a railroad constructed on his property, but the Civil War delayed that.
In anticipation of a railroad, Youngsville was incorporated in 1872. In 1873, the town was renamed Alexander City in honor of Edward Porter Alexander. Alexander, originally from Washington, Georgia, finished third in his class at West Point, served in the U.S. Army and later became an accomplished Confederate General. After the war, Alexander became President of the Savannah and Memphis Railroad. His support for locating the railroad in Alexander City literally transformed a small, scattered farm town into an area primed for future growth.
After the railroad was established, a school was built in 1879. Five years later, B.F.C. Russell moved to Alexander City. His youngest son was Ben Russell. In 1889, the Town Mayor B.L. Dean, led a movement to build a courthouse and the following year, J.C. Maxwell and Reuben Herzfeld persuaded ``builders of a cotton mill'' to locate in Alexander City. In 1902, Ben Russell began what became Russell Corporation as an underwear manufacturer. That year, a fire devastated the bulk of downtown Alexander City.
In 1919, the B.B. Comer family purchased Alexander City Cotton Mills. Known as the Avondale Bevelle Plant, the company employed thousands of local textile workers over several decades. In 1926, Lake Martin, the world's largest man-made lake, was completed. The lake has benefited the local area for years. Other area improvements include Benjamin Russell High School and Central Alabama Community College.
At Russell Corporation's peak, there were over 7,000 employees. NAFTA and other agreements contributed to the demise of textiles, including Russell, which was purchased by Fruit of the Loom. Although the community has struggled to recapture its footing, concerted efforts by the community to reinvent Alexander City have begun to pay dividends with more diverse employment opportunities, partnership with the lake, a bustling Highway 280, and the revitalization of downtown.
Madam Speaker, please join me in wishing Alexander City a happy 150th anniversary.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 23
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