Map of Brilliant town, Alabama

Brilliant is a town in Marion County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 845.

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History

In the late part of the 19th century, the discovery of coal led to the development of the Aldridge Mining Company in 1897 (later, in 1906, named the Brilliant Coal Company), which was located adjacent to the town. The Brilliant Coal Company served as a catalyst for growth for the area and provided ample employment for more than 50 years.

The towns of Brilliant and Boston were so closely associated that no attempt was made to separate their history. Eventually, in 1957, with the passage of Act 284 by the Alabama Legislature, Boston was incorporated into the town of Brilliant, and the name “Boston” was dropped. Boston had originally taken its name in honor of Jimmy L. Bostick, one of the first settlers of the town. The name “Brilliant” is derived from the glossy sheen found on the type of high-grade coal that was mined near the town, before the demise of the Brilliant Coal Company in 1953. The coal was said to burn so brilliantly, due to its composition of only 2% ash, 1% sulfur and no clinker.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Brilliant and Boston area was the most densely populated part of Marion County.

By the end of the 1950s the Brilliant Coal Company had shuttered its mining operations; however, several smaller mining operations were in business around the area until the early 1990s.

From 1987 until 2000 the town was home to Brilliant Homes Ltd., a manufacturer of mobile homes. The company was acquired by American Homestar Corporation of League City, Texas, in 1997. The plant was closed on April 15, 2000, due to declining sales throughout the manufactured housing industry. American Homestar Corporation subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy later in 2001.

Employers in the town include a garment manufacturing plant, Tullahoma Industries, which produces garments for the U.S. Army, and Stone Canyon Cabins, which manufactures park model cabins at the site of the old Brilliant Homes plant.

The following is from a August 30, 1957, Winfield Journal article: Boston is Now Brilliant; Act Also Extends Corporate Limits

Brilliant Road Map

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Geography

Brilliant is located in southeastern Marion County at 34°1′22″N 87°46′3″W / 34.02278°N 87.76750°W / 34.02278; -87.76750 (34.022764, -87.767372). It is bordered to the south by the city of Winfield and to the west by Guin. Interstate 22 passes through the southern part of the town, with access from Exit 30 (State Route 129) and Exit 26 (State Route 44). Hamilton, the Marion county seat, is 18 miles (29 km) to the northwest.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Brilliant has a total area of 10.6 square miles (27 km), all of it recorded as land. The town is drained by Bostick Creek and Little Clifty Creek, southeast-flowing tributaries of the Little New River, one of the headwaters of the Sipsey River and part of the Tombigbee River watershed.

See also