Mulga Mine, Alabama, founded in 1907, affectionately known as Big Mulga, was part of the Birmingham Coal and Iron (later the Woodward Iron) Company mining community of Mulga. It lies 8 miles west of the City of Mulga (Inc. 1947) and was once known as the black camp. It consisted of Azalea Road, Camellia and Rose Lanes, Oak, Pine, Hickory, Elm, and Short Streets. The main streets still exist. Oak Street is now Camille Street and Northside Drive has been added.
Mulga’s name may be derived from the Creek Indian word omalga, which means “all”. It may also be named for the nearby Mulga Creek.
MINE HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The Birmingham Coal and Iron Company, a locally owned mining and furnace company formed from the Tutwiler Coal, Coke and Iron Company by Morris Adler (1855-1922) and his brother Edgar Adler, opened the Mulga Mine about 1907. Louis Bryant, a Kentucky geologist with European training, conducted a study of area coal fields for the Adlers and determined that the thickest part of the Pratt seam was at Mulga. By 1910, Mulga Mine employed 230 persons and provided coal to area railroads and the company’s Vanderbilt furnaces at East Birmingham. In 1912, the Woodward Iron Company acquired the Mulga Mine through purchase of Birmingham Coal and Iron. During the 1910s and 1920s, the mine produced 200-300,000 tons, a sizeable tonnage for the period, and employed 300-400 persons. The mine remained a substantial and steady producer through the 1950s and was actively mined in the 1960s. Mulga Mine Company, a Mead Corporation subsidiary, employed 529 at its operation there in 1980. In 1990, this company no longer exists and Mulga Mine is not operating.
SOURCE: White, Marjorie, The Birmingham District, pp. 261-262 Site Visit, 3/1/92
- April 20, 1910 – Mulga Mine Explosion, Birmingham Iron & Coal Company
- 40 Killed – Read Article
- October 5, 1914 – Mulga Mine Explosion, Woodward Iron Company
- 17 Killed
- October 15, 1937 – Mulga Mine Explosion, Woodward Iron Company
- 33 Killed – Read Article, The Deseret News Article
- 2006 – Mulga Gob Fire – Learn more
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