“Anniston—a remarkable iron-producing, textile-manufacturing, industrial town born in the difficult Reconstruction days and which came to be known far and wide as the ‘Model City’”
“It was a paradigm, the best . . .”
“Anniston still bears the stamp of the careful planning of its founders.”
— Preface to The Model City of the New South, Anniston, Alabama, 1872–1900, by Grace Hooten Gates
Roots of the Model City
Founded in 1872 as a private company town, funded by northern investors and fueled by the dreams and ambitions of Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler, Anniston soon earned its nickname as the “Model City.” From the beginning, the city was designed for industry and the work force that accompanied it. The abundant iron ore in the region drove industry. Much thought and planning was given to community design. Social, religious, and educational institutions thrived, and the town flourished. See The Model City of the New South, Anniston, Alabama, 1872–1900, by Grace Hooten Gates, 1978.