In 1887, iron and steel magnate Henry Fairchild DeBardeleben founded Bessemer and named it for English inventor Sir Henry Bessemer.
DeBardeleben bought 4,040 acres of land and marked off blocks for the town along Alabama Great S.
Bessemer, like nearby Birmingham, is located within a few miles of all raw materials needed to make steel (coal, limestone, and iron ore).
DeBardeleben\'s dream was to make the city a steel center that would attract companies and people from all over the United States.
In 1887, iron and steel magnate Henry Fairchild DeBardeleben founded Bessemer and named it for English inventor Sir Henry Bessemer