Editing Cullman, Alabama (section)

==History==
Before the arrival of American settlers, the area that today includes Cullman was originally in the territory of the [[Cherokee Nation]]. The region was traversed by a trail known as the Black Warrior's Path, which led from the [[Tennessee River]] near the present location of [[Florence, Alabama]], to a point on the [[Black Warrior River]] south of Cullman. This trail figured significantly in Cherokee history, and it featured prominently in the [[American Indian Wars]] prior to the establishment of the state of Alabama and the relocation of several American Indian tribes, including the [[Muscogee|Creek people]] westward along the [[Trail of Tears]]. During the [[Creek War]] in 1813, General [[Andrew Jackson]] of the U.S. Army dispatched a contingent of troops down the trail, one of which included the frontiersman [[Davy Crockett]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fulenwider |first=Dan |title=Cullman County, Alabama History: The Black Warrior's Path |url=http://www.co.cullman.al.us/history3.htm#blackwarrior |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927024240/http://www.co.cullman.al.us/history3.htm#blackwarrior |archive-date=September 27, 2009 |access-date=January 28, 2010 |website=Cullman County, Alabama |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In the 1820s and the 1830s, two toll roads were built linking the Tennessee Valley to present-day [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]]. In 1822, Abraham Stout was given a charter by the [[Alabama Legislature]] to open and turnpike a road beginning from Gandy's Cove in [[Morgan County, Alabama|Morgan County]] to the ghost town of Baltimore on the [[Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River|Mulberry Fork]] near [[Colony, Alabama|Colony]]. The road passed near present-day [[Vinemont, Alabama|Vinemont]] through Cullman, [[Good Hope, Alabama|Good Hope]], and down the current [[Interstate 65]] corridor to the Mulberry Fork. The road was later extended to [[Elyton, Alabama|Elyton]] (Birmingham) in 1827. It then became known as Stout's Road. Mace Thomas Payne Brindley was given a charter in 1833 to turnpike two roads, one running between [[Blount Springs, Alabama|Blount Springs]] to [[Somerville, Alabama|Somerville]] by way of his homestead in present-day [[Simcoe, Alabama|Simcoe]], and the second road passing west of [[Hanceville, Alabama|Hanceville]] and east of Downtown Cullman to join Stout's Road north of the city. What later became the Brindley Turnpike became an extension of Stout's Road to [[Decatur, Alabama|Decatur]]. Cullman later became located between the juncture of the two roads, and they predated the corridor of [[U.S. Route 31]].

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the future location of Cullman was the site of the minor [[Battle of Day's Gap]]. On April 30, 1863, [[Union Army|Union]] forces under the command of Colonel [[Abel Streight]] won a victory over forces under [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] General [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]]. This battle was part of a campaign and chase known collectively as Streight's Raid. Although Streight got the upper hand in this battle, Forrest would have the last laugh. In one of the more humorous moments of the war, Streight sought a truce and negotiations with Forrest in present-day [[Cherokee County, Alabama|Cherokee County]] near present-day [[Gaylesville, Alabama|Gaylesville]]. Although Streight's force was larger than Forrest's, while the two were negotiating, Forrest had his troops march repeatedly in a circuitous route past the site of the talks. Thinking himself to be badly outnumbered, Streight surrendered to Forrest.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Partain |first=Rich |title=Streight's Raid |url=http://www.co.cullman.al.us/history2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927022749/http://www.co.cullman.al.us/history2.htm |archive-date=September 27, 2009 |access-date=January 28, 2010 |website=co.cullman.al.us |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

[[File:Col. John Cullmann.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Colonel John G. Cullmann, founder of Cullman (1823–1895)]]
Cullman itself was founded in 1873 by Colonel [[John G. Cullmann]], a German immigrant.<ref>Although some sources state that Cullmann had earlier Americanized his name from "Kullmann," Stanley Johnson, his only surviving American descendant, told ''[[The Cullman Times]]'' in 1998 that there are no German records indicating the name "Kullmann", and that "Cullmann" had always been the correct spelling. {{Cite news |year=1998 |title=Cullman: Moving Forward while Treasuring the Past |newspaper=[[The Cullman Times]]}}</ref> Cullmann had been an advocate of democratic reforms in his native [[Bavaria]], having fought and acquired his honorific title "Colonel" during the [[German revolutions of 1848–49|Revolutions of 1848–49]]. After the failure of the revolution, Cullmann found himself in financial ruin. In the years to follow, he would try to re-establish himself in business, but after several setbacks, including a great financial loss in the [[First Schleswig War]], he would remain unsuccessful. As time went on and [[Prussia]], under [[William I, German Emperor|King Wilhelm I]] and his Minister President [[Otto von Bismarck]], began to exert more influence in the German region (eventually [[Unification of Germany|unifying Germany under Prussian rule]] in 1871), Cullmann began to believe that his political ideals were fundamentally incompatible with those of the German Government. As a result, he decided to emigrate from his homeland. Settling first in London due to fears that he would be forced to join in the ongoing [[American Civil War]], Cullmann eventually came to America in 1865. He moved to Alabama in 1871 and, in 1873, negotiated an agreement to act as agent for a tract of land {{convert|349000|acre|km2}} in size, owned by the [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad]] Company, on which he established a colony for German immigrants.<ref name="founding">{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Stanley |title=Founding of Cullman |url=http://www.co.cullman.al.us/history1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428001839/http://www.co.cullman.al.us/history1.htm |archive-date=April 28, 2009 |access-date=January 28, 2010 |website=co.cullman.al.us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/northernalabamah00birm |title=Northern Alabama: Historical and Biographical |publisher=Smith & Deland |year=1888 |location=Birmingham}}</ref>

Five German families moved to the area in March 1873; in 1874, the town was incorporated and named after Colonel Cullmann (with the town name being Americanized to 'Cullman' with one 'n'). Over the next 20 years, Cullmann encouraged around 100,000 Germans to immigrate to the United States, with many settling in the Cullman area. Cullmann drew on his military engineering training in laying out and planning the town. During this period, Cullman underwent considerable growth. [[German language|German]] continued to be widely spoken, and Cullmann himself was the publisher of a German-language newspaper. When Cullmann died in 1895, at the age of 72, his funeral was marked by the attendance of Governor [[William C. Oates]].<ref name="founding" /> The site Cullmann selected for his headquarters is now his gravesite.

German immigrants also founded St. Bernard's Monastery, on the grounds of which is the [[Ave Maria Grotto]], containing 125 miniature reproductions of some of the most famous religious structures of the world. It is Cullman's principal tourist attraction.<ref name="Ave Maria Grotto">{{Cite web |title=The Ave Maria Grotto |url=http://www.minorsights.com/2015/01/usa-ave-maria-grotto.html |access-date=March 22, 2015 |website=MinorSights.com |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131554/http://www.minorsights.com/2015/01/usa-ave-maria-grotto.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

From the 1890s until the 1950s, Cullman was a [[sundown town]], where African Americans were not allowed to live.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 8, 1898 |title=The Race Problem |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29070171/ |work=The Free Press |location=Ozark, Alabama |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com |quote=It is our recollection that it was once 'against the law' for a negro to live in Cullman in this state. |access-date=March 3, 2019 |archive-date=August 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240831073623/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-free-press/29070171/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Z. B. |title=No title |work=Scottsboro Progressive Age |location=Scottsboro, Alabama}} Reprinted in {{cite news |title=A Bit of Gossip About Things Away from Home |work=The Tribune-Gazette |location=Cullman, Alabama |date=March 2, 1899 |page=7 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29070198/ |via=Newspapers.com |quote=In Cullman there are many handsome homes kept up in the best city style, and the people are so hospitable and social that visitors cannot help but fall in love with the place. Many of the older people speak no English at all, and will not allow it spoken in their families, and negroes are not allowed to live there at all. It seems very strange to find such a town in Alabama. |access-date=March 3, 2019 |archive-date=August 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240831073624/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tribune-gazette/29070198/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rawls |first=Phillip |date=February 9, 2011 |title=Senator Defends Call to 'Empty the Clip' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29386059/ |work=[[Montgomery Advertiser]] |location=Montgomery, Alabama |page=4C |via=Newspapers.com |quote=She said the remarks were especially troubling because [[Scott Beason|[Scott] Beason]] chose to make them in Cullman, an overwhelmingly white city that once was known as a 'sundown town' because blacks feared being there after sunset. |agency=Associated Press |access-date=March 11, 2019 |archive-date=August 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240831073624/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montgomery-advertiser/29386059/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Tom Drake (wrestler)|Tom Drake]], a former Alabama state legislator and [[Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives]], stated that "there used to be signs on the railroad track, at the county line and all that. 'Nigger, don't let the sun set on your head in Cullman County.'"<ref name="Windham">{{Cite news |last=Windham |first=Ben |date=March 5, 2006 |title=Cullman's 'Sundown Town' Image Worthy of Study |url=https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/DA/20060305/News/606110354/TL/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102014713/https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/DA/20060305/News/606110354/TL/ |archive-date=2019-11-02 |access-date=2024-08-31 |agency=Tuscaloosa News}}</ref> The need for Black day laborers in Cullman subsequently led to a rise in population of [[Colony, Alabama]], a safe haven for the discriminated.<ref name="Windham" />

For many years Cullman was a college town, with [[Saint Bernard College]] serving as the home of several hundred students. In the mid-1970s, St. Bernard briefly merged with Sacred Heart College (a two-year Benedictine women's college), to become Southern Benedictine College. That college closed in 1979, and it now operates as [[St. Bernard Preparatory School]], serving grades 9–12. The former site of Sacred Heart College is now the Sacred Heart Monastery, which serves as a retreat center operated by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of St Bernard Prep |url=http://www.stbernardprep.com/node/65 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716133752/http://www.stbernardprep.com/node/65 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |access-date=January 28, 2010 |website=stbernardprep.com}}</ref>

During the 20th century, Cullman developed a more diverse economy, including several manufacturing and distribution facilities. The City of Cullman regularly ranks as a top 'micropolitan' city in the nation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bullard |first=Benjamin |date=March 1, 2022 |title=Cullman Makes Best Micropolitan Rankings List |url=https://www.cullmantimes.com/news/cullman-makes-best-micropolitan-rankings-list/article_f474e732-999a-11ec-8220-9bb7b5696023.html |work=[[The Cullman Times]] |access-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327231618/https://www.cullmantimes.com/news/cullman-makes-best-micropolitan-rankings-list/article_f474e732-999a-11ec-8220-9bb7b5696023.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cullman gained national attention in early 2008, when a special election was held to fill a vacancy in the [[Alabama House of Representatives]]. The district that included Cullman elected [[James C. Fields]], an African American, in that special election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nossiter |first=Adam |date=February 21, 2008 |title=Race Matters Less in Politics of South |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/us/politics/21race.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Cullman%20election&st=cse&oref=slogin |access-date=January 28, 2010 |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=A1 |archive-date=August 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829205229/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/us/politics/21race.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Cullman%20election&st=cse&oref=slogin |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cullman's German heritage was repressed during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]], while the United States was fighting Germany. This was reversed in the 1970s, with renewed interest in the city's history and heritage. Today, Cullman holds an annual [[Oktoberfest]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oktoberfest History Oktoberfest |url=http://www.cullmanoktoberfest.com/history.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212904/http://www.cullmanoktoberfest.com/history.cfm |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |access-date=November 29, 2010 |website=Cullman, Alabama Oktoberfest |df=mdy-all}}</ref> An honorary "[[Bürgermeister]]" is elected for each Oktoberfest. For many years the Oktoberfest did not include alcohol because Cullman was [[dry county|dry]], but starting in 2011 the Oktoberfest was able to offer beer.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 2010 |title=Cheers: Home of Dry Oktoberfest Goes Wet |url=http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20101104/NEWS02/11040314/1009/rss04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717190536/http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20101104/NEWS02/11040314/1009/rss04 |archive-date=July 17, 2014 |access-date=November 29, 2010 |work=[[Montgomery Advertiser]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref>