Historic Photographs of Birmingham Gallery

Birmingham is the most populous city in Alabama and is the seat of Jefferson County. Founded in 1871 in the mineral-rich Jones Valley, it quickly grew to become one of the nation's leaders in metal and iron production. Its nicknames include "Magic City" and the "Pittsburgh of the South." Birmingham was the site of pivotal events in the civil rights movement, including the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and the 1963 arrest of Martin Luther King Jr., during which he wrote his "Letter from Birmingham Jail."