Blocton Italian Catholic Cemetery
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Blocton Italian Catholic Cemetery | |
 Overview of the cemetery | |
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| Location | Primitive Ridge Rd., West Blocton, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°6′46″N 87°6′49″W / 33.11278°N 87.11361°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1896 |
| NRHP reference No. | 99000464[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 22, 1999 |
The Blocton Italian Catholic Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Primitive Ridge Road in West Blocton, Alabama, United States. It was established in 1896 by Italian Catholic immigrant workers employed in the coal mines of Bibb County. The cemetery occupies less than one acre in what was originally Blocton, a coal-mining company town built by the Cahaba Coal Mining Company in 1883 and acquired by the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company in 1892.[1] It was consecrated in 1901 by Edward Patrick Allen, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Mobile, and remained in use until the 1960s, with the greatest number of burials recorded during the 1910s and 1920s.[1] The cemetery contains approximately 86 funerary monuments.[1] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 22, 1999, for its significance in ethnic European heritage.[1]
The Cahaba Coal Mining Company, incorporated in 1883 by Truman H. Aldrich, established Blocton as a company town for its northern Bibb County coal operations.[2] Immigrant workers drawn from Italy, Belgium, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria staffed the mines.[3] The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company acquired the Cahaba operations in 1892.[2]
The Italian Catholic community at Blocton established the cemetery in 1896.[1] Bishop Edward Patrick Allen of Mobile consecrated it in 1901.[1] Burials continued until the 1960s; the greatest number of interments occurred during the 1910s and 1920s.[1]
