Bemiston, Alabama

Bemiston, Alabama
Unincorporated community
Bemiston, Alabama
Coordinates: 33°24′36″N 86°07′15″W / 33.41000°N 86.12083°WCoordinates: 33°24′36″N 86°07′15″W / 33.41000°N 86.12083°W
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Talladega
Elevation	561 ft (171 m)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	256 & 938
GNIS feature ID	159147[1]

Bemiston Mill Village
Location	Talladega, Alabama
Founded	1927
Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
Official name: Bemiston Mill Village
Designated	December 1, 2008

Bemiston is an unincorporated community and former company town in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. Bemiston now lies within the city limits of Talladega.

History

Bemiston was founded in 1927, as a mill town built around the Bemis Brothers Bag Company cotton mill. The mill was built between Alabama State Route 21 and the Eastern Alabama Railway. The 700,000-square-foot mill produced handbags during the Great Depression and sandbags during World War II. The community was home to a school, general store, automobile repair shop, nurses' office, and gymnasium. The company built a power plant and sewer and water treatment plant to serve the community. A recreational director was hired to develop a community baseball and basketball team. The workers' houses were made of California Redwood, with two-car garages and running hot and cold water.^[2] A community dairy farm was started by the company with 68 Holstein cattle to provide milk to the residents.^[3] Bemis closed the mill in 1979, but the factory was acquired by Master Brand Industries, a cabinet maker. The community has since been listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1950	1,007		—
U.S. Decennial Census[5]

Bemiston appeared on the 1950 U.S. Census as an unincorporated community prior to its annexation into Talladega in 1955.

Notable person

• Grady W. White, mayor of Melbourne, Florida from 1962 to 1965

References

1. "Bemiston". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
2. Bemiston - Bobbye Baker Trammell - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
3. The Louisville and Nashville Employees' Magazine, Vol. 27 - Louisville and Nashville Railroad - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
4. "Bemiston Mill Village listed to the Alabama Register" (PDF). Alabama Historical Commission. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
5. "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2013.