West Blocton – Dago Hollow

At the turn of the 20th century hundreds of Italians immigrated to the area known as Blocton, Alabama for work in the coal mines. The residents of the enclave founded St. Francis of Assisi Church, the center of the community’s religious life, which has since been demolished. 

To the east of West Blocton is the Blocton Italian Catholic Cemetery which is part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery, which was created after an Italian child was refused burial in the town’s cemetery, features small portraits of the deceased on the grave markers that commonly have Italian inscriptions. The discrimination against Italians was so great that it earned the enclave the derogatory nickname of “Dago Hollow” by the non-Italian residents of the area. At one time there were numerous stores within the community and it was a vibrant place, though it no longer exists as it has nearly completely disappeared. The town of West Blocton still has many residents of Italian descent.