Birmingham was founded on June 1, 1871, by the Elyton Land Company whose investors included cotton planters, bankers and railroad entrepreneurs. It sold lots ... Birmingham (disambiguation) · Timeline of Birmingham · Shelby County, Alabama

The youngest of the state's major cities, Birmingham was founded in 1871 at the crossing of two rail lines near one of the world's richest deposits of minerals.

In 1870 the east-west and north-south railroads met at this point; the city was founded there the following year by a land company backed by railroad officials.

Anglo-Saxon and Norman Birmingham, c. 600–1166 · Foundation · Anglo-Saxon settlement · The Domesday manor.