James Alexander Montgomery was an inventor and industrial engineer and a leader in the development of the coal and steel industry in Birmingham. He came to Jefferson County at the age of 20. In September 1888, he helped organize and became a major stockholder of the Mary Lee Coal And Railway Company. It mined and sold coal sand and iron ore and diversified into the sale of coke, iron, and steel. Montgomery was later associated with the Birmingham, Powderly, and Bessemer Railway Company; formed in August, 1896, to carry freight and passenger. In January, 1910, the Montgomery Coal Washing and Manufacturing Company were organized from the capital assets of the dissolved Bessemer Coal, Iron and Land Company. Montgomery was a longtime member of the First Presbyterian Church. The papers contain personal files from 1892 to 1944 and Business Files from 1865 to 1930.