Movie on the Mall to coincide with 75th anniversary
The Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce has planned a Movie on the Mall event June 10 in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of Trussville becoming a town.
The free event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 10 on The Mall in Trussville. Those planning to attend are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
The 1947 movie, “The Egg and I,” will begin around 7:45 p.m. Cartoons of the era will also be shown to commemorate the town’s incorporation. There will also be old-fashioned games for kids, food trucks and vendor booths.
The Trussville Historical Committee has partnered with the Chamber of Commerce for the event and will have a historical display at the event.
June 10 marks the 75th anniversary of Trussville incorporating as a town. It officially became a city on May 31, 1957. At the Aug. 22, 1946 Cahaba Community Association meeting, pros and cons of incorporation of Cahaba alone — the Cahaba Project, a government housing development — and also of including Trussville, was discussed. It was suggested that the people of Trussville advise the government that they desired to be included in the corporate limits. A motion was passed unanimously to form a plan of incorporation and operation of a city government to serve both Cahaba and Trussville.
It was unanimously agreed on Sept. 24, 1946, that the incorporated municipality should include both Cahaba and Trussville. A March 11, 1947, letter from the Federal Public Housing Authority briefly outlined the proposed incorporation of the town of Trussville. The letter stated that the Cahaba Project was a fine example of planning for semi-subsistence homes that would be protected from the uncontrolled growth of its neighbor, Trussville. All minor streets had been planned that their connections with Trussville were made by way of Chalkville Road or Parkway Drive.
Movie on the Mall
WHERE: The Mall, 225 Parkway Drive
WHEN: Friday, June 10; event begins at 6 p.m., movie begins at 7:45 p.m.
COST: Free
DETAILS: Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets
“The time has come now to join these separate communities as an Incorporated Town,” the letter stated. “In order to do so there must be more direct connections between the two communities and a pooling of their interests so that a well organized community will be attained.”
The letter recommended that both sides of the Cahaba River be dedicated as park lands, as well as The Mall and triangular area near present-day Brentwood Avenue. The grassy area between Magnolia Court and Hewitt Street was also recommended to be kept as park land.
On June 2, 1947, an election was held to determine whether to incorporate the town of Trussville into a city form of government. The election carried and all property owned by the Federal Public Housing Authority with four legal voters per 40 acres of land was included in the area to be incorporated. The Cahaba Project was absorbed into the town of Trussville when it was incorporated on June 10, 1947.
On July 21, 1947, an election of a mayor and five aldermen was held. Horace Norell was elected mayor, and elected as aldermen were Mary Lou Farley, George A. Glenn, Alton Williams, John Yarbrough and Richard Beard. The homes and duplexes in the Cahaba Project were sold to individuals in 1947, at prices ranging from $4,400 to $9,000 each.