Solomon Daniel Bloch was prominent Wilcox County newspaperman and founder of The Progressive Era

Bloch Hall at the University of Montevallo in the 1920s.

Today – March 17 – marks 97 years since the death of one of the most prominent men in Wilcox County history, Solomon Daniel Bloch.

Bloch, a son of Jewish immigrants from Germany, was born in Camden in 1855, and he later went on to organize The Progressive Era newspaper in 1887 as The Wilcox Progress. At that time, there were a number of other newspapers in Wilcox County, including The Wilcox New Era, the Wilcox Banner and the Camden News. Eventually, all of those newspapers merged with The Wilcox Progress, which took the name it still bears today.

In addition to being a prominent newspaperman, Bloch was also widely known for a long list of other accomplishments. Solomon’s father was a highly successful businessman, and Solomon bought his father’s Camden mercantile business in 1882. Solomon went on to become a large landowner and farmer, and he also owned a cotton gin, gristmill, a tannery and the Wilcox Hotel.

He was also a big promoter of early railroads in Wilcox County and was eventually elected president of the Montgomery, Hayneville & Camden Railroad. He was also the builder of one of the first telephone lines in Wilcox County, which ran from Camden to Snow Hill.

Bloch was also widely known in political circles. A staunch Democrat, he was elected Camden’s mayor twice and also served for years on the county’s Central Democratic Executive Committee and on the Board of County Revenues, now called the county commission. He went on to serve on the State Democratic Executive Committee and as a state representative and state senator. In fact, it’s said that Bloch was the first Jewish member ever elected to Alabama’s state senate.

As a state senator, Bloch introduced and sponsored the legislative act to establish the Alabama Girls Industrial School, which is now called the University of Montevallo. In recognition of his efforts to establish the university, a building on its campus was named Bloch Hall in his honor. Located just off Bloch Street, Bloch Hall currently houses the university’s Family Consumer Science Department and Art Department.

Bloch was also a prominent Alabama Freemason. He joined Dale Lodge No. 25 in Camden in early manhood and also served as Grandmaster of the Royal & Select Masons of Alabama. He was also a Knight of Pythias, a member of the Camden Mounted Rifle Co. and a member of the Jewish service organization known as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith.

A few days before his death, the 69-year-old Bloch traveled to Mobile on a business trip and contracted pneumonia. He died on March 17, 1924 at his brother’s home in Mobile, and the funeral was held there the following day. Mayor P.E. Jones represented the Town of Camden at the funeral, and Dale Masonic Lodge was represented by H. Marcus. Sources say that Block was buried in the Springhill Avenue Temple Cemetery in Mobile.

In the end, there is little doubt that Solomon D. Bloch was one of the greatest men to ever call Camden home. His mark can still be clearly seen today with the long-lived Wilcox Progressive Era as well as with Bloch Hall at Montevallo University. With that said, let me hear from you if you have any additional information about Bloch and his contributions to Wilcox County history.