Beginning in 1913, the Aluminum Company of America began building a reduction plant for aluminum production and constructing a townsite, including the Bassel community, for company workers and their families. In 1914, the company built a barn to house teams of mules used in excavation for construction of the first plat. In 1916, 106 homes for workers were built along Sanderson, Lindsay, and Glascock Streets, and on July 1, 1919, the townsite was incorporated as the City of Alcoa. In 1918, the mule barn was converted into a school for children of the Bassel community, and from 1923 until 1961 it served as the City of Alcoa municipal building.