Source Collection

University of North Alabama Archives and Special Collections, William Lindsey McDonald Collection, Box 6: Speeches, Writings, Sermons, Folder 10.22: Articles-ST-SW, Collier Library. 

Description

Research article that depicts the story of various portions of East Florence, Alabama industrial district, resulting from the resource of the "sweet water" spring. The subheadings that McDonald uses are as follows:

  • Sweetwater Plantation, pg. 1
  • A Second Plantation Called "Sweetwater", pg. 1
  • Early Water Powered Mills on Sweetwater Creek, pg. 3
  • The Industrial Section of Florence Called Sweetwater, pg. 3
  • Early Iron Furnaces at East Florence, pg. 4
  • The Florence Wagon Works, pg. 6
  • The East Florence Cotton Industry, pg. 7
  • Cherry Cotton Mill, pg. 7
  • Ashcraft Cotton Mill, pg. 9
  • The Broadus Mill, pg. 10
  • Gardiner Warring Knitting Company, pg. 10
  • Wood Product Industries, pg. 11
  • The Tennessee Valley Fertilizer Company, pg.11
  • Other Important East Florence Industries, pg. 12
  • The Trolley, pg. 13
  • Downtown Sweetwater, pg. 13
  • The Railroads, pg. 14
  • Drug Stores, pg. 14
  • The Groceries and Meat Markets, pg. 14
  • Cafes and Restaurants, pg. 17
  • The Kiddy House, pg. 17
  • Saloons and Houses of Prostitution, pg. 18
  • Theatre, pg. 18
  • Gas Stations and Auto Repairs, pg. 18
  • The Pool Hall and a Barber and Shoe Shop, pg. 18
  • The Radio Shop, pg. 19
  • The East Florence Bank, pg. 19
  • The East Florence Beat, pg. 19
  • The Circus Grounds, pg. 19
  • Religion, pg. 20
  • A Silent Reminder of What Once Was, pg. 21

Many of the named sites have digitized photographs accessible in the William Lindsey McDonald Image Collection. To access the images, simply search the gallery via the search bar located on the left side.

Date Created

9-4-2026

Document Type

Article

Rights

These materials are provided for educational and scholarly purposes, and reproduction of items beyond that allowed for fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. The nature of historical archival collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Whenever possible, information is provided about copyright owners and restrictions on materials; however, the responsibility for determining the appropriate use of an item ultimately resides with the patron. The staff is unaware of any copyrights in the digital collections; however, there is a possibility that items may have copyrights associated with them that we were unable to identify. If you are aware of such copyrights, please inform the staff.

Publication Title

"Sweetwater: The Story of East Florence"

First Page

1

Last Page

22

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