A recent social media post asked the question, “How did Altoona get its name?”[1] This is, in fact, a simple question with a simple answer: Altoona was named for Altoona, Pennsylvania. However, over 120 years after the founding of Altoona, this simple answer requires some explanation. Is the name of Native American origin? Did the name come from miners who originated in Altoona, Pennsylvania? Why was Altoona chosen? Who chose the name? These questions make a simple answer more complex, as it’s necessary to expand on it by confirming or dispelling 120 years of legends.
Full disclosure: I’m complicit in some of these legends. When I wrote 100 Years of Altoona I included a section under the heading, “The Name.”[2] I wrote about Altoona, Pennsylvania, being better known as a railroad center than as an industrial-based community. I also presented the theory that it may have been based on the German word Altona, meaning “all too near,” before adding that the Cherokee also had the word Allatoona, meaning “high lands of great worth.” I ended the section by abruptly concluding that it’s unknown how the town received the name Altoona.
ALTOONA PENNSYLVANIA
Since Altoona was named after Altoona, Pennsylvania, it’s worth taking a brief dive into its history to explore its background and name origin. Altoona, Pennsylvania, is of relatively recent origin (1849), especially when the state itself was founded in 1681. Prior to the creation of Altoona, the area was wilderness, with small cleared patches of farms.[3] This wilderness was transformed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, which came through the area during the construction of the Allegheny Portage Railroad in 1849.[4] The Pennsylvania Railroad was looking for a site for their shops and decided that the area was the ideal location. On April 24, 1849, Archibald Wright, acting on behalf of the railroad purchased the Robison farm for $11,000.[5] It was on the site of this farm that the original tract of Altoona was laid out, with the railroad shops constructed soon after.
Without the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, there would be no Altoona, Pennsylvania, at least in the form that it exists today. Altoona originated as a railroad town, but it would soon become an industrial powerhouse. By 1870, Altoona boasted three newspapers, two banks, thirteen hotels, numerous stores, large machine and car shops, streetcars, and its own municipal water supply which fed a population of 10,610.[6] These accommodations and businesses were supported by three mills, the New American Sewing Machine Company, Terra Cotta Works, the Altoona Car Works, and the Altoona Iron Company, which manufactured 10,000 tons of iron annually.[7]
ORIGIN OF THE NAME ALTOONA FOR ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA
Since Altoona, Alabama, was named for Altoona, Pennsylvania, where did Altoona, Pennsylvania, get its name? Like Altoona, Alabama, the origin of the name Altoona, Pennsylvania, is blurred by numerous disagreements. A history of Altoona published in 1880 stated that Altoona derived its name from the Latin “Altus” or the French “Alto,” both meaning “high”.[8] The author expanded on this definition by referencing Altoona’s location at the base of the Allegheny mountains, yet still 1,168 feet above sea level.
Unfortunately, the idea of the name originating from Latin or French is disputed by the Pennsylvania Place Names,[9] which instead cite Colonel Beverly Mayer, an engineer with the Pennsylvania Central Railway, as the source of the name Altoona. It’s said Mayer named the new community after Altona, a borough in Hamburg, Germany, which is also an important railway and manufacturing center.
Like all great disputes, there is also a third theory regarding the choice of the name Altoona. After Wright purchased the Robinson Farm, he transferred the property to his son, John A. Wright, who, in turn, laid out the first streets and subdivided the plots. It’s thought that the younger Wright, in developing the community, chose the name Altoona, having previously lived in Cherokee County, Georgia, he became fond of the name Allatoona, in which he believed meant, “the highlands of great worth.”[10] Of course, Allatoona Is of Cherokee origin, not Latin, French, or German.
From all accounts, it appears Wright’s origin has gained the most acceptance. However, all three versions can be found in print in various publications on the history of Altoona, Pennsylvania.
THE QUESTION OF COAL IN ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA
By the time Altoona, Alabama, was founded in October 1900, Altoona, Pennsylvania, had a population of 38,973. However, despite its rapid growth and industrialization, there is one thing that Altoona, Pennsylvania did not have…coal. In the newer (1949) Altoona, Pennsylvania, history book used for research the world coal appears exactly zero times.[11] Likewise, the world coal is not found in the Wikipedia article on Altoona, Pennsylvania.[12]
While Altoona was a railroad and industrial powerhouse, it was not a coal mining city. There appears to have been a small mine in the 1920s and 1930s around the Horseshoe Curve, but there are very few references to coal mining in Altoona, Pennsylvania, outside of that.[13] Despite the lack of coal mines, the Altoona area did boast numerous ore and iron mines.[14]
DID MINERS FROM ALTOONA PENNSYLVANIA COME TO ALTOONA, ALABAMA AND BRING THE NAME WITH THEM?
With the lack of coal mines in the vicinity of Altoona, Pennsylvania, this question already seems in doubt. However, it is worth investigating to see if there is any truth to put the question to rest once and for all.
Altoona was founded at an unfortunate time. Its creation, just months after the 1900 census, meant a decade would pass before it appeared on a census. When Altoona was enumerated in 1910, it boasted a population of 1,071. Of that number, only five record Pennsylvania as their place of birth. Clara Lubesky, wife of German-born Davis Lubesky, was born in Pennsylvania. Eva Donner, the wife of miner Farris Donner (who was born in Alabama), was born in Pennsylvania. Richard Dobbins was a miner born in England; however, he had two sons aged 22 and 25 who show a birthplace of Pennsylvania, indicating a connection to that state prior to arriving in Alabama. Finally, Mike Fox, a 45-year-old miner, hailed from Pennsylvania. The 1910 census reveals that if there was a strong contingent of miners from Pennsylvania during Altoona’s founding, they didn’t remain for very long.
It’s also important to remember that during the time of Altoona’s founding, Alabama was amid an industrial revolution of its own. Birmingham was the state’s center for iron and steel. The coal fields of the Cahaba and Warrior regions were in full swing, and railroads were crisscrossing the state. Neighboring Oneonta boasted the Champion Mines, which began operation in the 1880s. By 1900, there was a large and likely experienced workforce in Alabama ready to exploit the mineral wealth around Altoona.
Altoona’s founder, William Thompson Underwood, was a native Kentuckian. By the time he came to Altoona and broke ground in the Underwood mines, he was already in Alabama for many years, previously partnering with Henry T. DeBardeleben in other Birmingham business ventures. Underwood’s first mine superintendent, Frank Culverhouse, was hired after resigning his position of Alabama State Mine Inspector.[15] Culverhouse was well-experienced with mines and miners from around the state; no one in upper management of the Underwood Coal Company was outside of the sphere of Alabama.
Furthermore, no local newspaper makes any mention of a northern workforce suddenly appearing in the area. Surely, the Southern Democrat or Gadsden Times would run an article decrying the “the Yankees” coming to take southern jobs. This is even more significant when considering that Underwood’s own brother, Oscar Underwood, was a U.S. senator from Alabama. There is nothing to indicate a large contingent of Pennsylvania miners coming to northeastern Alabama and bringing the name with them. Were there miners from Pennsylvania in Altoona? Certainly, but there were also miners from West Virginia, Ohio, Scotland, Germany and elsewhere.
HOW ALTOONA GOT ITS NAME
So, Altoona got its name from Altoona, Pennsylvania, but it didn’t come from miners who brought it with them. How did it get its name? In the fall of 1922, Frank Willis Barnett visited Altoona. He later wrote of his experience in an article for the Birmingham News.[16] One of the individuals interviewed by Barnett was none other than Jasper Newton Rickles. If Underwood is considered the father of Altoona, then Rickles would be its grandfather. It was Rickles who bought up much of the land encompassed by Altoona today. He saw how the coal in the mountains would drastically transform the area. More importantly, it was Rickles who sought out the industrialist and who housed W.T. Underwood and his crew when they came to prospect Rickles’ property. Underwood liked what he saw, purchased an initial parcel from Rickles, and the rest is history.
Rickles provided Barnett with the origin of Altoona’s name: “…and Altoona was born, though it came near being christened Mattewan. It was evidently named by Mr. Underwood in the hope that one day it would rival Altoona, Pa.” Underwood’s hope wasn’t that Altoona would be “just a mining town;” instead his hope was that it would become an industrial powerhouse. Thus, Altoona became a namesake of Altoona, Pennsylvania, in the form of flattery.
AN INTERESTING ALTOONA, ALABAMA, TO ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA CONNECTION
In researching this, I stumbled upon an interesting article connecting the two Altoonas. It is retyped in full below:
Altoona Mayor Finds Sister City Friend
The Gadsden Times, July 4, 1971, P.23
By: Reuben Killenbrew (Times Staff Writer)
Somebody in New York City made a mistake and Altoona, Ala., made a friend of its sister city in Pennsylvania.
This is kind of a Rube Goldberg deal involving Millard (Rube) Thomas, mayor of Etowah’s own Altoona. Hizzoner, Mayor Thomas, renewed his subscription to the Wall Street Journal recently.
The circulation department of the Journal addressed his paper correctly – to Altoona, Ala. But someone in the New York post office put his paper in Altoona, Pa., mailbag, and that’s where it landed.
An alert postal worker, Gene W. D’Ella, looked in the Postal Guide to verify that there is an Altoona, Ala. He found it and several others scattered around the country.
D’Ella, who happens to be something of an Alabamian himself, redirected Rube’s paper and sent along a copy of the Altoona (Pa.) newspaper, the mirror.
Mayor Thomas, who never misses a bet, saw an opportunity to put his Altoona on the map. So, he sent a picture of his brand new City Hall to the Altoona Mirror, along with information about it.
In the meantime, he wrote D’Ella a letter of thanks for rescuing his Wall Street Journal.
Later he received from D’Ella a June 8 edition of the Mirror with the picture of the Altoona City Hall in it, with the caption, “Another Altoona Heard from.”
Then he got a letter from D’Ella, night-time dispatcher at Altoona’s post office. And D’Ella has some nice things to say about Alabama.
“”I am night-time dispatcher-expediter here at the Altoona, Pa., post office and hope that the mis-routing of the Wall Street Journal has been corrected by now.
Having served in the Air Force at Maxwell Field in Montgomery, I am a great admirer of your beautiful state, its beautiful women and wonderful climate- Bear Bryant and all the other many great things of which it can boast.
Best wishes to your sir, and Altoona, Ala.
Sincerely yours,
Gene W. D’Ella
P.S. Pennsylvanians did help you out a little. We lent you Joe Namath for four years.””
[1] Facebook Group, “Welcome to Altoona.” Question was originally posted by Susan Conyers on October 7, 2024.
[2] Cole, Ryan M., 100 Years of Altoona: From Coal to Cotton, P.60
[3] Beeler, Richard E., “Keystone City of the Keystone State”, Altoona’s Centennial Booklet, P.7.
[4] Ewing, Jas. H., Slep, History of the City of Altoona and Blair County Including Sketches of the Shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., P.6-7.
[5] Ibid. #3, P.9
[6] Ibid. #3, P.13
[7] Ibid. #4, P. 253-255.
[8] Ibid. #4, P.59
[9] Espenshade, A. Howry: Pennsylvania Place Names, pp. 175–176. Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1970
[10] Africa, J. Simpson: History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties, Pennsylvania, page 135. J. B. Lippincott & Co. Philadelphia, 1883.
[11] Ibid. #3
[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altoona,_Pennsylvania
[13] https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,1583176
[14] https://thediggings.com/places/pa0131214939/map
[15] “Frank Culverhouse Resigns,” 1900 June 7, Blount County News-Dispatch.
[16] “Altoona, Ala., Is something more than a mining town, being rich in many things,” 5 October 1922, Birmingham News, P.4.
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