Calcis is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Shelby County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States, located along

Alabama State Route 25 State Route 25 (SR 25) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Alabama. From U.S. Route 78 (US 78) in Leeds northeast to its terminus at the Georgia state line, SR 25 is the unsigned partner route of US 411. The southweste ...

, north-northwest of

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

History

The community's name is derived from the word ''calcium'', in reference to the limestone that was mined in the local quarries. Calcis is located on the former

Central of Georgia Railway The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constr ...

and was once home to a passenger depot. The community attempted to have a second courthouse and county jail for Shelby County placed in Calcis and went as far as presenting the argument to the

Supreme Court of Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the U.S. state, state of Alabama. The court consists of a Chief Justice, chief justice and eight Associate Justice, associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for stagge ...

. The

Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (1852–1952), also known as TCI and the Tennessee Company, was a major American steel manufacturer with interests in coal mining, coal and iron ore mining and railroad operations. Originally based en ...

operated a limestone quarry in Calcis. This limestone was shipped to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

to be used as

flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications in physics. For transport phe ...

in iron-making. The limestone mined in Calcis was a type known as Trenton limestone. The Calcis Lime Works manufactured

quicklime Calcium oxide (formula: Ca O), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term '' lime'' connotes calcium-containin ...

in Calcis.

Convict labor Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included invo ...

was used in the Calcis quarries. A post office was established in 1899, and was in operation until 1967.

References

Unincorporated communities in Shelby County, Alabama Unincorporated communities in Alabama {{ShelbyCountyAL-geo-stub