Anniston Hardware

Anniston Hardware, in Anniston, Alabama was bombed by the KKK in 1964 during the Civil Rights Movement. The company had been incorporated in 1887 when Anniston was opened to the public. James Creswell Sproull was the founder, and in 1905, he was mayor of Anniston. J.C. Sproull's grandson, H. Miller Sproull, was a City Commissioner in 1963, and was a leader in appointing a bi-racial Anniston "Human Relations Council" which assisted in desegregation. After a previous desegregation attempt was met with mob violence, on Monday September 16, 1963 Miller Sproull participated in escorting black ministers into the public library to integrate that facility. The bombing of the store took place in February, 1964, along with several other facilities associated with white community leaders involved in desegregation.