This image is the cover for the book Homewood, Images of America

Homewood, Images of America

Shades Valley was primarily used as a hunting ground by Native Americans until the arrival of the first white settlers in the 1830s. During Birmingham's industrial boom in the 1870s, "Out of the Smoke Zone, Into the Ozone" became the promoters' cry to move "Over the Mountain" into what was then called Clifton. By 1926, Rosedale, Edgewood, and Grove Park were established neighborhoods, and under the leadership of Charles Rice they incorporated to form the city of Homewood. The new community had luxurious amenities like the Hillcrest Country Club and the Birmingham Motor and Country Club at Edgewood Lake, which was accessible via the Edgewood Electric Railway. Nearly 100 years later, through much growth and change, Homewood has maintained its small-town feel while adapting to the ever-changing culture of today.

Martha Wurtele, Jake Collins

Martha Wurtele, a lifelong Homewood resident, began collecting photographs and conducting interviews in 1983 while serving as president of the Friends of the Homewood Library. In 2012, Jake Collins, a graduate of Homewood City Schools and former teacher at Homewood Middle School, began a social-media project that incorporated the history of Homewood into his curriculum through the use of Wurtele's photographs.

Arcadia Publishing