Bluffton, Alabama

Unincorporated community in Alabama, United States

34°00′25″N 85°26′24″W / 34.00694°N 85.44000°W / 34.00694; -85.44000CountryUnited StatesStateAlabamaCountyCherokeeElevation

850 ft (260 m)Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)Area codes256 & 938GNIS feature ID156087^[1]

Bluffton is an unincorporated community in Cherokee County, Alabama, United States.

History

Bluffton was founded as a mining community in 1888.^[2] In 1890, Bluffton was home to approximately 8,000 residents. The Bluffton Land, Ore and Furnace Company operated an iron mine in the area, and was also responsible for building the Signal Hotel, which at one point hosted Rudyard Kipling. The Signal Hotel was the first structure in Cherokee County with electric lights.^[3] Bluffton had one newspaper, the Bluffton Mascot, and was home to a Methodist Episcopal church and Salem Baptist Church, which is still in use today. Bluffton was also the planned site of a college, The University of the Southland. A groundbreaking took place on April 24, 1889, but the college was never built.^[4] Besides the iron mines, Bluffton was home to a water works system, school, post office, and Cherokee County's first electrical generating plant. Even so, Bluffton's ore fields did not meet the expectations of their investors and higher grade iron was available closer to Birmingham. Commercial businesses began to fail, and Bluffton soon came to be considered a ghost town.^[5]

A post office was operated in Bluffton from 1888 to 1934.^[6]

References

^ "Bluffton". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ "Cherokee County, Ala". Calhoun Times. September 1, 2004. p. 42. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
^ Clayton, Amanda (March 28, 2001). "Cherokee Communities". Cherokee County Herald. Centre: Terry Dean. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
^ McElwee, Bobby G. (2000). Cherokee County - Bobby G. McElwee - Google Books. ISBN 9780738505879. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
^ McElwee, Bobby (March 19, 2000). "'Belltree' Smith: Finding the man in the legend". Rome News-Tribune. Rome: Mike Colombo. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
^ "Cherokee County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved November 20, 2014.