There is an article about Brookside in the current issue of the Alabama Heritage magazine (Summer 2007, Issue 85). Pam Jones, the article author, says (from excerpt on webpage),
“A quiet farming village until the opening of its mines in 1886, Brookside emerged as a key player in the Sloss Company’s mining empire in the late nineteenth century. The mines attracted new settlers, some more desirable than others, and by 1900 Brookside had earned a well-deserved reputation as a lawless town. But the real spirit of Brookside was defined by its miners—hard-working Slovak immigrants whose influence on the small Alabama town can be seen to this day.”
For additional information on Brookside see:
