Cordova (Alabama)

Cordova is a city in Walker County, Alabama, U.S., formerly a textile mill town from Birmingham, AL. It was incorporated in 1897. At the 2010 census the population was 2,095, down from 2,423 in 2000.HistoryCordova was originally a settlement on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River called "Dent" or "Dent's Place." The city was dubbed "Cordova" by Captain Benjamin M. Long in 1859. He named the city after a city in Mexico where he was stationed during the Mexican-American War. Long himself opened a mercantile shop in the city and helped lure other industries into the city by providing the land necessary for their operations.The company that had the biggest impact on the city was Nashua Manufacturing Company out of Nashua, New Hampshire, who brought in the Indian Head Textile Mills. The mill brought with it many jobs, and as was customary of the day, its own village. The company built over 100 houses in the city, many of which are still standing, and occupied today. The company even built the Indian Head school on the site of present-day "Cordova Health and Rehabilitation Center." The mill helped to bring two major railways to the city, which at the time helped connect the city to much of the surrounding area. The mill eventually became its own "town" and even had its own separate police force.Indian Head Mills was one of the most highly awarded textile mills during World War II. Their products were found to be above all standards set forth by the government by the War Department. The Mill was referred to by the residents as the Cordova Spinners.The same way the mill shaped the city around the turn of the 20th century, it also shaped it upon its closing in the middle of the century, after 1962. Over 800 workers lost jobs, the population declined, and industry slowed, while neighboring Jasper took a strong hold on the county seat as the largest city in the county.