Irondale sits in a valley with Red Mountain to the north and Cahaba (or Shades) Mountain to its south and southeast.  Native Americans and early pioneers were present in the area long before the town was incorporated.  The red rock in the area was used as face paint by the Indians and to dye clothes by the pioneers.  The area includes large deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone and has an abundance of woodlands and clear streams.

The first post office was established in what is now Irondale in 1872, but was discontinued three years later.  The post office was re-established as Brevard in 1883 and renamed Irondale in 1887, just a few months before incorporation.

On October 5, 1887, 29 residents of the small mining and railroad community petitioned for incorporation as the Town of Irondale.  The corporate limits extended one-half mile in each direction from the town’s center, north of what is now the corner of 20th Street and 1st Avenue South.

The new four-block town boasted six stores; a meat market, three family stores, a general merchandise store, and a lumber company.

The town’s name came from an iron furnace located just west of the town.  The Irondale Furnace, originally known as Cahaba Iron Works, was used to make pig iron, which was hauled by ox cart to Montevallo and then delivered by railroad to the arsenal at Selma to be fashioned into munitions for the Confederate Army.  The ore used in the furnace came from Red Mountain in Birmingham.

The furnace was one of several in the area to be destroyed by Wilson’s Raiders during the latter part of the War Between the States.  In November, 1865, W.S. McElwain and H.D. Merrill secured capital from the North to reconstruct the iron works and produce agricultural implements and equipment for the railroads being constructed in the area.  However, the panic of 1873 and the resulting economic depression forced the furnace to shut down.

The coming of the railroads contributed to the growth of Irondale.  In 1883, the Georgia/Pacific Railway completed its tracks through Red Gap and, in 1905, the Seaboard Railroad began to run through Irondale into Birmingham.  The Norfolk Southern Railroad’s Norris Yard, one of the first automatic switching yards, was built in Irondale in 1951.

Other factors contributing to the town’s growth were the opening of Ruffner Mines in 1887, establishment of telephone service in the early 1900s, street car service in 1913, and the electrification of homes around 1919.

The new town grew steadily and by 1888 there were about 50 residents, some 12 businesses and a post office.  J.C. McCain, A.B. Moore, and J.C. Windham were operating general merchandise stores and, in the early 1900s, eight small family grocery stores, an additional general merchandise store, and the Hood Lumber Company opened for business.

Four Irondale churches were established in the 1800s; Cumberland Presbyterian in 1885-86, United Methodist in 1887, Mt. Hebron Baptist in 1891, and First Baptist in 1892.

Irondale achieved city status in 1955 when the population reached 2,800.  Irondale’s population is now 12,065 and the city has grown to 15.55 square miles.