HELENA’S HISTORY

Helena’s history is as rich and unique as the town’s residents. Here is a brief synopsis of how our town came to be.

The community that became Helena started in 1845 as the town of Lee’s Cove. In 1856, the name was changed to Hillsboro. The confederate government built a rolling mill that was used to build plate that was sent to the Naval Arsenal in Selma. This mill was destroyed by Union troops in April 1865.

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad sent a railroad engineer named Peter Boyle to survey a route that went from Montgomery northward to Elyton (present day Birmingham). In the 1880s, Peter Boyle fell in love with a local judge’s daughter named Helen Lee. The railroad station, then established near the town of Hillsboro, was named “Helena” by Boyle in honor of his sweetheart. The city’s first mayor was M.H. Williams, also a railroad agent.

The steel mill was subsequently re-opened, and the city flourished during the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. Numerous industrial facilities also opened, such as a cotton gin, a grist mill, coal mines, and a rail yard; along with resident homes, stores, and a hotel. Fire swept through the city in 1895 and destroyed many structures in the downtown area and along Buck Creek on what was then Railroad Avenue.

Around 1920, the boom ended with the closing of the coal mines and the relocation of the steel mill. The population declined as residents moved in search of jobs. The Great Depression dealt Helena another blow, as did the devastating 1933 tornado.

NOTABLE HELENA RESIDENTS

DOCTOR TUCKER

Dr. Tucker was Helena’s first physician and town pharmacist. His home resided on 1st Ave West (where Minuteman Press (7.) is located today.) Joe Tucker Park (located at 230 Tucker Rd, Helena, AL 35080) is named in honor of the doctor’s son. Today, the park contains a replica of a cabin that early Alabama settlers would have used as a home.

R. W. COBB

Lawyer and businessman R. W. Cobb moved to Helena in 1873 and built his home on Rolling Mill Street in 1884. In 1873, Cobb became the president of the Central Iron Works in Helena, AL. Later, Cobb served as Alabama’s governor from 1878-1882. Cobb later returned to Shelby County, where he continued to serve as president of the Central Iron Works in Helena, AL and was appointed the position of probate judge of Shelby County in 1888. Mr. Cobb’s Helena home was destroyed in the 1933 tornado.

C. T. DAVIDSON

C. T. Davidson built the dam over Buck Creek. He also ran the telephone system, electrical power plant, swimming resort, skating rink, theater, and a livery stable.