"The past is your lesson. The present is your gift. The future is your motivation.” - Anonymous
This is a follow-up, of sorts, to my earlier story, "Anniston Alabama: The "Model City" Has Been Broken". With only having limited digital access to the book "The Model City of the New South: Anniston, Alabama, 1872-1900" I wanted to share some more from it before we once again get too far involved in the future of Anniston.
In Chapter 3 "The Public Town" it starts off by reading "For almost a decade, Anniston existed as a private company town, closed to outsiders who had no link with the Woodstock Iron Company. For those who had joined the enterprise, the company became the fulcrum for both industrial expansion and the growth of a model community. During this chrysalis stage of development in Anniston, developments were under way in Atlanta that would have great impact on the future of the model town. Before long, the company policy of exclusiveness had to be reassessed in light of an exigent situation that arose in early 1883: the coming of the Georgia Pacific Railroad." The story continues telling of how the people of Atlanta had been anxious for rail connections to the west since long before the Civil War.
Anniston was around 100 miles from Atlanta and it was directly in the path of that westwardly expansion of the railroad. It is said that is when people in Atlanta became more interested in "The Wonderful Alabama Town", as named in an article by the Constitution in 1882. The coming of this railroad was something that Anniston's proprietors looked at with great anticipation, as it meant an additional link to serve the company's needs. There were plans made that called for the Georgia Pacific track to cross the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia track about two miles south of Anniston. In a town that was to be built which was said may rival Anniston. It was was originally going to be called "Central City" but was eventually named "Oxanna", a contraction of the names of neighboring towns of Oxford and Anniston.
Further in Chapter 3 it tells of several fiery newspaper editorials written about Oxanna and the new railroad crossing there. In part it reads, "Anniston's new newspaper, the Hot Blast, refused to take Oxanna's assault on the greatness of Anniston. The editor never called Oxanna by name, referring to the project instead as "the swamp angel," or more appropriately, "Allen's Pea Patch." The pea patch soon had a voice, too. The Oxanna Tribune began publication in September 1883 under the editorship of Colonel B. F. Sawyer, former editor of the Rome Courier. The Tribune referred to the town of Anniston as "our suburban contemporary." As to the "hot blast," it was a "bugbear blow." The Anniston newspaper printed a clip from the Gadsden Times questioning the name Oxanna. The editor asked why not Horseanna, or Sheepana, and remarked that Oxanna " would smell just as well if it bore the name Guano." The Oxford News editor magnanimously conceded that Oxford had nothing to fear from the embryo city but "everything to gain by her progress, development, and prosperity." In the future, Oxford and Oxanna could join, he wrote, and together "break down the walls" of Anniston despite the power and monopoly." Further in this Chapter it reads, "By 1886 Oxanna was incorporated with a mayor and council. The little suburb struggled on until 1901, when the area that was supposed to eclipse Anniston became a part of it instead."
On a side note, before I started learning more about the history of this area I had heard the name of Oxanna mentioned only a few times. Back when I was more active in the hobby of amateur radio and we would have our "weekly radio check ins", there was one person that always said they were checking in from Oxanna. I truly always thought he was just trying to be funny.
There is nothing however funny about what is happening in the city of Anniston these days. In an editorial in The Anniston Star dated November 23, 2018 it starts out with "One of Anniston City Councilman Ben Little’s most impressive traits is his consistency." It goes on to tell that for years how the city has tried to rehabilitate the former Kmart location north of downtown and when city planners had almost made a deal, Little along with others, "foolishly fought it through the courts." It list several other issues that seems to always meet resistance from Councilman Little. Further in the editorial it reads in part, "Well, consider that in those last 50 years, Anniston has (a.) lost Fort McClellan and much of its military-related businesses; (b.) lost several of its Noble Street anchors long ago to the Quintard Mall in Oxford; (c.) seen several of its longtime car dealers move to Oxford; (d.) suffered from a glut of vacant downtown office space; and (e.) watched its southern neighbor rake in obscene amounts of sales-tax revenue from hotels, restaurants and retail shops along Interstate 20." It concludes with, "Annistonians, especially those who subscribe to Little’s myopic, stunted views on city governance, should see the new federal courthouse as what it is -- a landmark decision that gives downtown Anniston and areas to the west an opportunity they wouldn’t have otherwise."
I'm not going to say that the city of Oxford is not with out it's own problems or issues, but there is a reason, or multiple ones, on why Anniston is not attracting the jobs and capital that will produce "obscene amounts of sales-tax revenue" which in turn will boost it's generations to come that are seeking to acquire the greatest amount of the necessities, comforts and luxuries of life. Somewhere along the way someone has broken "The Model City", but maybe one day someone somewhere will ensure that the city of Anniston will still have a viable future!
As we revisit the book "The Model City of the New South: Anniston, Alabama, 1872-1900". In Chapter 3 "The Public Town" it further reads, "After Henry Grady interviewed Noble in Anniston, he published his famous article, "A Man and a Town," on June 10, 1883. This constituted the first formal announcement to the public the the town's closed policy was ending. The Constitution carried a full-page story on July 1, 1883, advertising the fact that the model city was now "thrown open to the public." All the advantages of the city were outlined: its perfect location at an elevation of 1,000 feet in timbered mountains; the "pure air, good water, and salubrious climate"; the success of its manufacturers; and its splendid moral climate due to prohibition. The town was "complete in all its appointments" and free from all debt, due to the expenditures of the company."
Continuing on in that Chapter it reads, "People of all classes and from all lines of work came to make their homes in the burgeoning community. The feverish activity was compared to the California gold rush. Within a few months nearly every desirable lot had been sold, there were no store fronts for rent at any price, and not a vacant house could be found. Still people came, bringing their tents with them until better accommodations could be built. the company hotel was filled to overflowing every night. The planning mills ran night and day turning out lumber for new construction, and hammers were heard until in the late of the night."
Skipping to Chapter 5 "The Diversifying Economy" it starts off by reading, "The growth of a city depends on many factors but must include an increase in goods and services. A company town's disadvantage is the lack of competitive enterprise. Anniston as a company town deviated from this pattern in that the owners first began the process of diversification by adding a cotton mill and then a car wheel factory, By opening the town to the broader public, the proprietors provided the opportunity for a competitive climate in which the town's productive forces increased. though the Woodstock Company itself fell under the weight of overexapnsion, the town's other industries continued to grow."
Let us now revisit that editorial by The Anniston Star dated November 23, 2018. It mentions some of the current issues in Anniston. "Like most small cities with limited opportunities for new revenue, Anniston has budgetary issues that need attention, both in the short and long term." How many store fronts now lay empty in Anniston? How many vacant homes can be found in Anniston? And what sounds now permeates the air in the late of the night, as well as daytime hours too, in Anniston? Could that be gunshots and Police sirens? I mean after-all Anniston has been reported to have the highest homicide and violent crime rate per capita nationwide. What are the city leaders of today doing to ensure that there is an increase in goods and services of those industries now located in Anniston? What are the city leaders doing to ensure the city of Anniston will continue to grow? Somewhere along the way someone has broken "The Model City", but maybe one day someone somewhere will ensure that the city of Anniston will still have a viable future!
