Paul Anderson’s father came from Sweden in 1858 to first settle in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Then he moved to Kearney, Nebraska where he received a 160-acre homestead. His father built their house out of sod where Paul’s sister, brother, and himself were born. The family moved to Julesburg, Colorado to farm a section of land and then moved to Silverhill, Alabama in 1910 when Paul was 15 years old.
Silverhill was called in 1896. Fellow name of Ward that had a turpentine still on Oscar Johnson Park, that’s about a mile from here, about a mile and a quarter from here. It’s a park now.
(He had) a turpentine still there, and when he closed up, he paid colored people, all in silver dollars.
He used to have a commissary there, and they use to get their food. And that’s what they worked for. They’d give them all silver dollars. They’d give us all a hooray for Silverhill. And that’s where it got its name.
I got this (story) from the founder of the town, the one who started Silverhill, Oscar Johnson.
