Bradford, also known as Dixiana, is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States.

Bradford, Alabama
Bradford is located in Alabama
Bradford
Bradford
Bradford is located in the United States
Bradford
Bradford
Coordinates: 33°45′07″N 86°42′14″W / 33.75194°N 86.70389°W / 33.75194; -86.70389
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyJefferson
Elevation
551 ft (168 m)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code(s)205, 659
GNIS feature ID114804[1]

History

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Bradford was originally named in honor of the English city Bradford by Jim Justice, who was a foreman of the local mines.[2] The post office was then named Dixiana after it was found there was already a post office in Alabama operating under the name "Bradford."[3]

Multiple different companies mined coal at mines in Bradford, including The Alabama By-Products Corporation,[4] the Birmingham Furnace and Manufacturing Company,[5] and Imperial Coal and Coke Company.[6]

A post office operated under the name Dixiana from 1880 to 1984.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Bradford". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ Foscue, Virginia (1989). Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. p. 22. ISBN 0-8173-0410-X.
  3. ^ Foscue, Virginia (1989). Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. p. 47. ISBN 0-8173-0410-X.
  4. ^ Staci Simon Glover (May 23, 2011). Coal Mining in Jefferson County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-4396-2552-1.
  5. ^ Memorial Record of Alabama: A Concise Account of the State's Political, Military, Professional and Industrial Progress, Together with the Personal Memoirs of Many of Its People. Brant & Fuller. 1893. p. 267.
  6. ^ Coal Age. McGraw-Hill. 1923. p. 37.
  7. ^ "Jefferson County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved March 19, 2020.