Alabaster took its name from the quality of its lime rock and the lime industry. In 1925, Joseph E. Walker opened the first retail business, and in 1929 George L. Scott Sr. established the Alabaster lime rock plant. The railroad shipping point became known as “Scott Rock,” and by 1933 the village had grown and was referred to as “Alabaster-on the-Highway.” The first post office in Alabaster opened in 1951, the first bank in 1952, and Alabaster was incorporated on February 23, 1953. Shelby Memorial Hospital was established there in 1959 as the first hospital in Shelby County. The first shopping center opened in 1964, and 2005 marked the beginning of the Colonial Promenade. Siluria incorporated in 1954 and voted to merge with Alabaster in 1971. The Siluria Cotton Mills, founded by T.C. Thompson, dates to 1896 and before closing in May 1979 was the county’s largest one-location employer. Siluria’s first post office was established in 1872, and Thompson High School, built in 1921, became the second consolidated school in Shelby County.