James Withers Sloss

Born April 7, 1820, in Limestone County, Alabama

James Sloss was a planter, industrialist, the founder of the Sloss Furnaces, and a leading figure in the early development of Birmingham, Alabama.

Sloss was born in Limestone County in northern Alabama. His parents were Scotch-Irish. Though he had little formal education, he bought a store in Athens, Alabama. By successfully handling his store and his plantation, he quickly became one of the richest men in the state. After serving as a Colonel in the Civil War, he became president of the railroad line between Nashville, Tennessee, and Decatur, Alabama. He became a leading figure in encouraging Alabama's industrial development after the Civil War, and in 1871 he persuaded the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to finish a line of railroad track between Birmingham and Decatur.

Sloss knew that all of the ingredients needed to make iron were present in Birmingham. Along with Henry DeBardeleben and James Aldrich, Sloss formed the Pratt Coal and Coke Company. It later became the largest mining operation in the area. Through the work of the company, Sloss became the first person to show that iron could be made in Birmingham purely from Alabama's iron ore, coke and limestone. Again working in conjunction with DeBardeleben, Sloss founded a furnace company in 1880 and started construction in 1881. It opened in 1882 under the name of the "City Furnaces," though it is today known as Sloss Furnaces. Sloss retired in 1886.

He also served as the president of the Birmingham water works.