Editing Helena, Alabama (section)

==History==
[[File:Helena Freight House & Depot interpretative sign; 29 Lake Davidson Lane, Helena, AL 35080 Front.jpg|thumb|Helena, AL town historical marker sign]]

===Early settlers===
The area was long the territory of the historic [[Muscogee people]], known by English colonists as the [[Creek Indians]]. While Scots-Irish and English traders had interaction with them, and there was some armed conflict in the early 19th century, most European-American settlers did not come to this area until 1849. This was after the United States had conducted [[Indian Removal]] of the Creek and other Southeastern tribes in the 1830s, to lands west of the [[Mississippi River]].

The first European-American settlers to Helena, which they initially named Cove, were veterans of the final campaigns of the [[War of 1812]]. Members of [[Andrew Jackson]]'s army were attracted to the quiet, peaceful valleys and streams after the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]]. By 1856, the Cove post office opened. Shortly thereafter, the settlers changed the name of the town to Hillsboro.

===Civil War===
The onset of the [[American Civil War]] brought the need for the South to increase its manufacturing production and develop new industries, in service of the [[Confederate States of America]]. Coal and iron ore mines were dug throughout this area and the construction of the [[Louisville & Nashville Railroad]] provided new transportation connections. Helena became an important industrial center for the wartime efforts. Around 1864 a [[rolling mill]] was built on Buck Creek, near the rail lines to process the iron from Selma.

Peter Boyle, an engineer for the railroad working on a new line, met and courted Helen Lee. He would name the rail station that supported the rolling mill after her. Eventually the town was named Helena after the train station.

====Wilson's Raid====
As the final battles of the Civil War were being fought, Union forces amassed a force for a cavalry raid to attack the South's war fighting capability, as [[Sherman's March to the Sea|Sherman's march]] had done the previous year. Led by [[James Harrison Wilson]], this force passed through the town of Helena on March 30, 1865, where they destroyed much of the newly developed industry and residential buildings.

===Reconstruction===
Within a few years of the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the [[reconstruction era]], industrialists were again developing the area coal and iron ore resources. The railroads were rebuilt and coke ovens were established by the Eureka Company in 1870. The rolling mill was rebuilt in 1873, with support spurred by [[Rufus Cobb]], later elected as a two-term governor.<ref>Robert David Ward, "Rufus W. Cobb, 1878-1882" in ''Alabama Governors,'' edited by Samuel L. Webb and Margaret E. Armbrester (The University of Alabama Press, 2001), pp. 106-109.</ref> Much of what was Hillsboro had been absorbed by the expanding Helena area. The town was surveyed by [[Joseph Squire]] in 1873 and incorporated in 1877.

By 1880, Helena contained
<blockquote>six mercantile stores, one drugstore, two hotels, and several boarding houses… The rolling mill had been expanded and modernized and the number of merchants had increased.<ref>Ken Penhale and Martin Everse, ''Images of America: Helena Alabama'' (Arcadia Publishing, 1998), 7-8.</ref></blockquote>A rail yard was added by the [[Louisville & Nashville Railroad]] Company.

===Depression era=== 
Helena was first incorporated in 1877 but had to reincorporated in 1917 after the initial incorporation paperwork was found to contain errors. Charles Hind was elected mayor the same year. Much of the industry began to decline as the economy contracted in the years after World War I. The rolling mill was closed in 1923 and many mine closures followed. As the [[Great Depression]] set in during the 1930s, the town fell on hard times. Many residents left to find work elsewhere.

==== 1933 Tornado ====
[[File:Alabama - Guntersville Dam through Helena - NARA - 23933401 (cropped).jpg|300px|thumb|right|Damage of the tornado]]
Around 3 AM on [[Tornado outbreak sequence of May 4–10, 1933|May 5, 1933]], residents were awoken to a massive tornado that ripped through the heart of Helena. A total of twelve persons were killed; 75 people were reported as injured. Many of the original houses were completely destroyed and railroad cars were overturned. The property damage was estimated to be in the range of $100,000 to $150,000 (not adjusted).<ref>''Shelby County Reporter'', "12 Dead, 75 Injured, Property Damage Heavy," May 11, 1933, Volume 90, Number 30</ref>

===Modern expansion===
Helena remained a small town in the largely rural county until suburban growth from Birmingham reached the city in the late 20th century. Numerous residential and commercial developments have taken place, spurring improvements to city facilities and services. By the early 21st century, Helena had large population gains, with related growing pains in trying to provide services, as a result of its convenient location and high quality of life.<ref>[http://www.cityofhelena.org/Default.asp?ID=5&pg=History History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208080503/http://www.cityofhelena.org/Default.asp?ID=5&pg=History |date=February 8, 2012 }}, City of Helena website</ref>

====2021 tornado====
Another tornado struck the town on [[Tornado outbreak sequence of March 24–28, 2021#West Blocton–Helena–Eagle Point–Vandiver, Alabama|March 25, 2021]], causing EF1&nbsp;damage to several homes and downing trees throughout several neighborhoods. The tornado eventually reached low-end EF3&nbsp;strength northeast of town.<ref name="DAT">{{cite web |title=ArcGIS Web Application |url=https://apps.dat.noaa.gov/StormDamage/DamageViewer/ |website=apps.dat.noaa.gov |access-date=March 26, 2021}}</ref>