A hand tinted German postcard showing St. James Episcopal Church at the SE corner of Maple and Chester circa 1910.
The Hill School was situated on the west side of Chester, a block south of Maple. "Baldwin House", a Senior apartment complex, is now located on the site. This particular German postcard was published by Backenstose Bookstore, Pontiac, Mich. It goes back to the 1910 era when such cards were popular. The camera looks north toward Martin St. from the Merrill St. corner. Note how many lush trees surrounded the old school building. If you look carefully in the lower left corner, you can see the Confederate Cannon from Fort Morgan which fired on Union Naval Vessels during the Battle of Mobile Bay. The next photo provides an enlarged view of the cannon.
Captain J. Allen Bigelow, a Civil War veteran and grandfather of the late TV personality Mort Neff, was instrumental in obtaining the Confederate cannon which was supported on a custom made cement base. The cannon was melted down during World War II, but the cement base can still be seen on the BIRMINGHAM HISTORICAL MUSEUM's lawn at the corner of Southfield and Maple. It is very obvious since it still bears a "FORT MORGAN" inscription.
You can see more postcards on the FOLLOWING PAGE.