Bankhead Coal Mine
As discussed elsewhere in this material, there were enormous coalfields west of Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL. By 1900, there was significant development of coal resources in Walker County. There were two major railroads in Walker County by 1900, the forerunners of the Southern and the Frisco.
This 1893 USGS map shows the area south of Jasper, but there seems to be little mining development. The line serving the future location of Bankhead is the Birmingham, Sheffield, and Tennessee RR -- a branch line of the Georgia Pacific developed to serve industrial development in the northwest corner of Alabama.
The Georgia Pacific became the Southern RR and the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham became the Frisco.