Photo courtesy of the Cahaba Homestead Heritage Foundation.
A historical marker at the entrance to “Slagheap Village,” part of the Cahaba Project under former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, details the history of the project that allowed for the construction of new homes in Trussville during the 1930s.
A new nonprofit organization formed earlier this year is aiming to promote the history of the Cahaba Project neighborhood in Trussville.
The mission of Cahaba Homestead Heritage Foundation Inc., is to support things that promote, perpetuate and enhance the value of the community as a historic district designated on the National Register of Historic Places through education, outreach and civic involvement.
The nonprofit organization is comprised of President Amy Peterson O’Brien, Vice President Kathy Prince, Secretary Cathy Freeman, Treasurer Meg Ward and Historian Gary Lloyd.
The Cahaba Project, a Resettlement Administration housing project consisting of 244 single-family homes and 43 duplexes, was constructed between 1936-38 at a cost of $2,661,981. The total cost included work on public utilities, streets, curbs, gutters and public buildings comprising the high school, community building and co-operative store. The acreage cost was not included.
Skirting the housing development was a green stretch of properties designated as park areas to protect the encroachment of any development that may detract from the beauty of the community. The properties took two years to construct and were opened in April 1938. A waterworks, sewage disposal plant, paved and lighted streets, and some sidewalks were provided.
The neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
The Cahaba Homestead Heritage Foundation held public meetings on The Mall in the Cahaba Project in May and June, discussing its mission and plans for the future with Trussville residents. In recent months, heritage tourists from Greendale, Wisconsin, a Resettlement Administration “sister city,” visited the Cahaba Project to tour Heritage Hall and an original home, meet the foundation’s officers and Mayor Buddy Choat, and discuss their visit in an interview. Dozens of Cahaba Project residents have been interviewed about the history and heritage of the historic neighborhood.
“This is a ‘Hey from the mailbox,’ ‘Hey from the front porch [neighborhood],’” Peterson O’Brien said in a recorded Cahaba Homestead Heritage Foundation video. “That changes everything. That changes everything about the way the neighborhood feels. That may be the thing I love most about it.”
Prince agreed, saying that the sense of pride in the community is important.
“Since we’ve come together as an organization, we have opportunities now to talk about the history,” Prince said. “We also have an opportunity to talk about how we carry that history and that appreciation of history into the future of the Cahaba Project. This awareness is going to really be helpful in getting people to slow down and think a little bit about what we have here. That’s what I think is great about it.”
For more information on the Cahaba Homestead Heritage Foundation, visit cahabaheritage.org.
