BRILLIANT

A short history of Brilliant

In the late part of the 19th century, the discovery of coal led to the development of the Aldridge Mining Company in 1897 (later, in 1906, named the Brilliant Coal Company), which was located adjacent to the town. The Brilliant Coal Company served as a catalyst for growth for the area and provided ample employment for more than 50 years.

The towns of Brilliant and Boston were so closely associated that no attempt was made to separate their history. Eventually, in 1957, with the passage of Act 284 by the Alabama Legislature, Boston was incorporated into the town of Brilliant, and the name "Boston" was dropped. Boston had originally taken its name in honor of Jimmy L. Bostick, one of the first settlers of the town. The name "Brilliant" is derived from the glossy sheen found on the type of high-grade coal that was mined near the town, before the demise of the Brilliant Coal Company in 1953. The coal was said to burn so brilliantly, due to its composition of only 2% ash, 1% sulfur and no clinker.

By the end of the 1950s the Brilliant Coal Company had shuttered its mining operations; however, several smaller mining operations were in business around the area until the early 1990s.

From 1987 until 2000 the town was home to Brilliant Homes Ltd., a manufacturer of mobile homes. The company was acquired by American Homestar Corporation of League City, Texas, in 1997. The plant was closed on April 15, 2000, due to declining sales throughout the manufactured housing industry. American Homestar Corporation subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy later in 2001.

Employers in the town include a garment manufacturing plant, Tullahoma Industries, which produces garments for the U.S. Army, and Stone Canyon Cabins, which manufactures park model cabins at the site of the old Brilliant Homes plant.

"It's official now. The municipality of Boston is no more. As of August 16, Governor James E. Folsom signed into law Act No. 284 which changed the name of the town from Boston to Brilliant and extended the boundary lines to take in approximately 40 more homes and bring the town's population to about 1,000 residents. Mayor Max A. Wood made the announcement earlier this week.

In a straw vote election held on last April 23, 1956 citizens voted 120 for to 37 against to change the name of the town and extend the city limits.

For many years only a part of the Boston-Brilliant community has been incorporated. Boston was incorporated while the area consisting of Brilliant was not.

The town of Boston had its origins sometime in the latter part of the 19th century. Alfred Wates opened the first store and later as the community grew, an early settler named Lee Beauchamp named it Boston for the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and also because the name tied in somewhat with the pioneer Bostick family who settled in the area about the time of the Civil War.

Both Boston and Brilliant owe most of their early development and progress to the mines of the Aldredge and Brilliant Coal Companies. Brilliant began with the opening of coal mines around 1897.

Mayor Wood said that the increase in population resulting from the extension of the corporate limits would mean more revenue from state sources as well as other advantages."

Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Brilliant, Alabama, revision 1378509847 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.