John Henry, the "steel-drivin' man," will be celebrated during the festival in the play "Listen to that Cold Steel Ring" (c), written by Marie Cromer and directed by Nell Richardson. The play will be performed on the grounds at the Leeds Historic Depot, 8335 Thornton Avenue, Saturday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Enjoy this original play about a skillful and powerful African-American laborer who drove spikes into solid rock as his railroad company blasted through Oak Mountain tunnel near Leeds in September 1887 in a race to Birmingham. Challenged to a contest with a steam drill that could rob his fellow workers of their livelihoods, he vowed: "Before I let this steam drill beat me down, Lawd, I'll die with this hammer in my hand." This year, the John Henry Celebration will also include a student art exhibit at the Livery, which is across the street from the depot.

John Henry in Leeds

The legend of John Henry is the story of a skillful and powerful African-American laborer who drove spikes into rocks to make holes for the placement of dynamite as his railroad company blasted through mountains in its race westward.

Local oral history and documentation show that the contest between John Henry and a steam-powered drill, which was the inspiration of at least one song and many tales, took place in Shelby County near Leeds at Oak Mountain Tunnel on Sept. 20, 1887. On that day, Henry is said to have won the contest with a stream drill, but collapsed and died as a result of his physical exertion and the heat.

Alabama's claim to John Henry got a boost in 2002, when John Garst, professor of chemistry, emeritus, at the University of Georgia, researched the historical background of John Henry in his article, "Chasing John Henry through Alabama and Mississippi," which was published in the Alabama Folklife Association's journal, /Tributaries/. Garst found evidence that John Henry was born on a farm in Mississippi and worked in Alabama, south of Leeds, when railroad tunnels were bring built through Oak and Coosa mountains. Garst cites documentation that John Henry's contest against the steam drill occurred at the Coosa or Oak Mountain tunnel of the Columbus and Western Railway.

As the result of Garst's research that tied Henry's famed contest to Leeds, the Leeds City Council issued a proclamation in 2007 to call attention to John Henry and the contest, and to establish an annual John Henry event for the third weekend in September.

Garst will make a presentations about John Henry immediately before the play performances at 10 am and 3 pm on Saturday, Sept. 17, and at 3 pm on Sunday, Sept 18, on the grounds of Leeds Historic Depot during the Fourth Annual Leeds Downtown Festival and John Henry Celebration.

According to Leeds resident and script advisor Dr.Carl Marbury, "John Henry is a legendary story known and told worldwide without historical evidence. Leeds has some historical evidence of a John Henry event. People in the Leeds/Shelby County area around Oak and Coosa mountains still report and relate stories and tales about a railroad worker who worked the tunnels. We do not know who wrote and/or composed the literary piece [song}, 'Jawn Henry.' However, between Dr. Garst's historical evidence placing the battle with the steam machine at Oak tunnel and the oral histories about John Henry recorded by the people in Leeds, we are able to compose and re-compose our annual outdoor play at the Depot in Leeds. We hold that the Leeds legend is a primary example of the literary fusion of mythopoetica, legend, folktale, and oral tradition."