HISTORY  

LANDMARK AND HERITAGE ABOUT

The Titusville Landmarks and Heritage Project aspires to preserve the rich history of the Titusville community by collecting stories and marking historic sites. This project brings together the Titusville community as active participants in preserving the neighborhood’s rich story.

TITUSVILLE HISTORY

Titusville is a historic neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, southeast of Ensley. It is located on 6th Avenue South, between downtown Birmingham and Elmwood Cemetery. The neighborhood includes North Titusville, South Titusville, and Woodland Park.

According to the Titusville Community Master Plan, Titusville was originally settled by freed slaves shortly after the Civil War. Until the 1970s, it was called South Elyton. Historically, Titusville was a close-knit community made up of prominent middle-class African American families during the early and mid-20th century, including architect Wallace Rayfield and Rev. John Wesley Rice Jr., father of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

During the Jim Crow era, neighborhood leaders formed the South Elyton Civic League to campaign for neighborhood improvements and to support the political empowerment of the city's African American voters. The group raised funds and helped secure public investment in Memorial Park and the Memorial Park Community Center, which became the heart of the community. The Titusville Branch Library was incorporated into the Southside Branch Library in 1957.

In June 1993, Titusville residents sued the City of Birmingham to prevent Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) from completing a garbage transfer station in their community. This action was successful and widely recognized as a grassroots victory for environmental justice.

In 2005, the city and county governments agreed to jointly purchase Trinity Steel Industries' former property in Titusville for redevelopment. Between 2000 and 2010, Titusville experienced a population decline of almost 30% due to an increase in vacant and abandoned homes. The Greater Birmingham Regional Planning Commission worked with the city to develop the Titusville Community Master Plan, which was adopted in February 2015.

Interesting Facts:

The Alice Furnace was one of the first blast furnaces in the Birmingham area. Birmingham's first airport was in what is now Loveman Village.

This project is sponsored by Titusville Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC) and the Titusville Marker Committee and is supported by the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance or the National Endowment for the Humanities.