Birmingham Fire Station No. 16

Fire Station No. 16 and Ensley Jail

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Birmingham, Alabama, witnessed significant growth, resulting in the expansion of various city services, including the establishment of the fire department. The inaugural fire department was founded in 1885, comprising two stations and employing 21 firefighters and 15 horses by 1890.

Despite allocating lower per capita expenditure on services than similar Southern cities, Birmingham directed additional funds towards fire protection and education. This strategic decision was driven by the recognition of downtown business leaders regarding the pivotal role of high-quality fire protection in maintaining favorable insurance rates. The year 1910 marked a substantial population growth due to the annexing of several suburban towns, prompting the residents to advocate for enhanced fire protection. Consequently, there was a notable expansion in constructing new fire stations across the city.

During the 1920s, Birmingham underwent a significant overhaul of its firefighting infrastructure. The city invested in constructing 24 state-of-the-art, fully equipped fire stations, each meticulously tailored to cater to the unique characteristics of neighborhoods such as Avondale, East Lake, Ensley, Southside, West End, and Woodlawn. These new stations were thoughtfully designed to complement the architectural styles of their surroundings, drawing inspiration from popular residential themes such as Spanish Revival, Tudor Revival, and Beaux-Arts. This marked a departure from the utilitarian suburban stations near central business districts that were prevalent before 1920, as the new stations exuded a rich aesthetic appeal.

One example is Birmingham Fire Station No. 16 in Ensley, finished in 1926. It is one of ten fire stations listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Historic Fire Stations of Birmingham Multiple Property Submission. This station, constructed in the Spanish Revival style, was a great example of multi-use functionality. Besides functioning as a fire station, it also housed the community’s police station and jail.

Fire Station No. 16, representing a contemporary architectural approach, encompassed a rectangular main structure that housed the municipal police station and jail. Two single-story wings extended from the front facade of the main block, creating a central courtyard. One of these wings contained a garage with two bays for hose trucks and equipment, while the other wing served as the office and temporary housing for firefighters. Three arches above its entrance distinguished the office wing. The sides and rear of the building were adorned with six-over-six double-hung sash windows.

The facility was segregated into four distinct areas: one for Black men, one for Black women, one for white men, and one for white women. Each section comprised individual cells organized on two levels. The cells, painted in white, were maintained to hospital room standards of cleanliness and ventilation. The section designated for white women garnered particular attention for its high standards. The Birmingham News characterized it as “as nice a boudoir as anyone would want,” featuring spacious bunks, partitioned shower facilities, and an absence of individual cells.

The facility was completed in January 1926 but was disapproved by Dr. Glenn Andrews, the state prison inspector, who proposed changes to the original design. The city tasked architect David O. Whilldin with remodeling the facility to include public restrooms and a comfort station for women on the ground floor.

Whilldin worked on many public buildings in Birmingham, including schools such as Ensley High School and the old Elyton School, and the rebuilding of the old city hall after it was damaged by a fire in 1925, which destroyed the library and caused irreparable damage to the central tower. He was also responsible for designing the Thomas Jefferson Hotel downtown.

The Ensley police department moved into the building in April 1926, while the fire department had relocated a few weeks earlier. Upon the transfer of approximately 25 young African American inmates from the previous facilities, the visible satisfaction was notable, as they eagerly selected their respective cells and bunks. It was stipulated that long-term inmates would be situated on the upper levels. Subsequently, the prisoners hosted a modest gathering, which included harmonica music and a dance performance by a young man known as “Rabbit” Johnson in the central cell area.

Ensley Jail Incidents

Attack on Sergeant Henry O. Hardin

In December 1926, Sergeant Henry O. Hardin was assaulted in his office at the Ensley jail by Frank Montgomery, a local resident. Hardin was seated at his desk when Montgomery forcibly entered the office, brandishing a pistol and making multiple attempts to shoot the officer. Hardin successfully disarmed Montgomery, who then produced a knife and advanced toward him. In self-defense, Hardin discharged a single shot at close range, resulting in a mortal injury to Montgomery. Subsequently, Montgomery was transported to Hillman Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Mrs. T. A. Watson, who had entered the office to use the telephone, witnessed the incident. Sergeant Hardin declared that he had no prior acquaintance with Montgomery and was uninformed regarding any provocation for the assault. Coroner J. D. Russum came back with a verdict of justifiable homicide, clearing Hardin of any wrongdoing.

“Small Pox” Discovery

In January 1928, there were reports of a smallpox outbreak at Ensley Jail. Dr. R. H. Drake, the assistant director of the division of infectious diseases, quickly went to the jail to investigate the suspected cases. However, upon examination, he found that it was actually a simple nettle rash, which is a skin allergy similar to hives.

Prisoners Set Fire in Their Cells

On August 31, 1934, three inmates at Ensley Jail ignited several mattresses and cots and vandalized the plumbing fixtures in their cells. Marcus McGlothen and Henry Taylor had been incarcerated for drunkenness, while the third inmate, J. E. Livingston, was facing charges of violating the prohibition laws and drunkenness. Livingston was identified as the main instigator of the disturbance. All three individuals had been brought to the jail just two hours prior to the incident.

Notable Inmates

R. A. Lines and Mrs. Earl Holbrooks, Abetting Escape

In January 1927, R. A. Lines, an electrician at Banner Convict Mines, and Mrs. Earl Holbrooks were detained at Ensley Jail and charged with aiding and abetting the escape of two inmates. One of the escaped inmates was Mrs. Holbrooks’s husband, who was serving a 10 to 15-year sentence for burglary. Earl Holbrooks had been arrested a year earlier for robbing a safe at the Buffalo Rock Bottling Company and had pleaded guilty. The other inmate was Walter Lambert, serving 80 years for murder.

Assistant Solicitor Oscar Metz disclosed evidence from his office showing that Lines accepted a sum of $350 from Mrs. Holbrooks in exchange for facilitating an escape. Lines reportedly directed the escapees to the car that would take them through the prison gates. Following the escape, Mr. Lines admitted to providing the men with clothes, picking them up a mile from the prison, and driving them to Tuscaloosa, with Mrs. Holbrooks accompanying them. Additionally, authorities discovered a letter from Mrs. Holbrooks’ husband instructing her to pay Lines the $350. At the time of Lines’s and Mrs. Holbrooks’s arrest, the two escapees were still at large.

J. F. Delap and D. Willingham, Bootleggers

In March 1928, law enforcement officers in Ensley conducted raids on two locations where illegal stills were operating. One of these stills was situated just two blocks from the local jail, while the other was discovered in a residential area that experienced high foot traffic. Detectives Appling and Martin apprehended an individual named J. F. Delap after discovering a non-operational, small-scale still at the rear of a house located at 17th Street and Avenue H. Concurrently, Detectives Gallup and McFarland located a second still at the intersection of 26th Street and Avenue F. The owner of this still, D. Willingham, was arrested and charged with possessing the illicit apparatus.

C. J. Foster, Hammer Slaying

On July 17, 1928, C. J. Foster was arrested by officers stationed at Fire Station No. 16 and Ensley Jail and was charged with the slaying of W. J. Miller, a contractor. The only witness to the incident was a carpenter, L. J. Rouse, who stated that Foster had been hired as a bricklayer three days prior to build a new porch at a new house. Miller came to the site and called his attention to a porch column that was out of line. Miller told Foster to tear out the porch column and have it redone. He flatly refused to tear it out, with Miller responding, “Take your damned tools and leave the job.”

Foster grew angry for being cussed at and swung at Miller with a hammer, but missed. Rouse and another carpenter ran to Miller’s aid, but before they could reach the two men, Foster struck Miller in the head, killing him instantly.

Hinton A. LeCroy, Murderer

19-year-old Hinton A. LeCroy was arrested on March 3, 1930, and brought to the Ensley Jail. He was held without bond on a murder charge. Hinton shot his father, E. H. LeCroy, with what Deputy Coroner William Burge described as a load of buckshot from a 12-gauge shotgun fired into his brain. Following the shooting, Hinton reported the shooting to E. H. Metz, the owner of a local filling station, and surrendered. E. H. LeCroy was an employee at the Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company’s by-products plant. His wife, Annie Bell LeCroy, and her adopted 15-year-old daughter, Sue Belle LeCroy, were both present at the shooting.

Hubert Jenkins, Attempted Escape

After two attempted escapes from Ensley and Southside jails in December 1937, the facilities underwent reinforcements with steel bars and new locks. Hubert Jenkins, who was serving a lengthy city jail sentence, attempted to escape from the Southside jail before being transferred to Ensley on December 7th alongside several other long-term prisoners.

An investigation revealed that Jenkins had paid $25 to a trustee to open the women’s cell block, which was temporarily repurposed for storage during the jail’s repair work. Jenkins managed to saw through one of the cell bars before being apprehended by G. T. Wilson, the desk sergeant, who promptly notified city jail superintendent Earl Wilson. After a thorough investigation into the attempted jailbreak, a hacksaw was discovered hidden in the primary cell block. As a consequence, Jenkins and the trustee were placed in solitary confinement.

Nelson Kopp, Robber

Upon his apprehension in Guntersville in January 1938, 24-year-old Nelson Kopp, known as “the man with the gun,” was detained at Ensley Jail by sheriff’s deputies. J. M. Crumley, the paymaster-timekeeper, identified Kopp as one of the three individuals responsible for the $8,000 payroll heist at Little Gem Coal Company in Dogwood, which occurred at gunpoint two weeks earlier. As efforts to locate the remaining suspects were underway, Kopp remained confined at Ensley Jail. Subsequently, Shelby County deputies planned to transfer him to Columbiana to await trial for the robbery.

After a chase with Shelby County deputies, the robbers had abandoned a black Chevrolet coach near Saginaw. They had initially used a Chevrolet with license plate C-9625, which had been reported stolen from Dogwood’s mine commissary on the day of the robbery.

Kopp had faced grand larceny charges for running an auto theft ring earlier. Birmingham police had arrested him for stealing a $750 car from A. Shugerman. Although his trial was set for December 6, 1937, Kopp and five others were not tried then.

Additionally, deputies found 60 cases of unstamped whisky, worth about $1,500, in Kopp’s room in Southland, near Guntersville. Kopp claimed the whisky, which he said was purchased in Kentucky, was legally acquired. State alcohol agents confiscated the whisky after it was turned over to Guntersville officers. The stolen payroll money was never recovered.

“Little Alcatraz”

At the height of the Great Depression, the Ensley Jail had been abandoned, but Fire Station No. 16 remained in operation. In December 1937, the jail was reopened to relieve the overcrowding at the Southside jail. This would also allow police protection for this area of the city. Still, due to budget constraints, Commissioner Eugene Connor stated that he could not station as many officers as he would have liked at the Ensley Jail.

This changed when several thousand dollars were allocated to reinforce the jail after Hubert Jenkins’s escape attempt. The jail earned the nickname “Little Alcatraz” because it was nearly impregnable. The police force at the station included a police captain, four sergeants, a warden, four detectives, and 31 patrolmen.

Closure of the Ensley Jail

Surprisingly, just six months later, in June 1939, it was announced that the jail would be closing permanently as part of cost-saving measures. Its closure was also a result of two floors being completed at the Southside jail, which reduced its overcrowding issues. It was also stated that Ensley Jail was rundown and in need of significant repairs. The 65 prisoners at the Ensley Jail were transferred to Southside. Personnel at the Ensley Jail were also transferred to Southside due to the increased number of prisoners incarcerated there.

Closure of Fire Station No. 16

Fire Station No. 16 served the communities of Ensley, Ensley Highlands, Tuxedo, and Sherman Heights for several decades. In 1942, local residents raised $1,300 through a community dance and contributed to equip the station with first aid and lifesaving equipment, including respirators, stretchers, and kits. In 1960, the station was upgraded with a 750-gallon pumper/75-foot ladder truck and a car for the West District chief, with an additional 500-gallon pumper truck kept in reserve. The station closed in 1975 when a new fire station was built in Ensley, replacing Birmingham Fire Station No. 16.

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