Youngsville’s transformation from a country hamlet to a market town followed the arrival of the railroad. The Savannah and Memphis Railroad was completed from Opelika to the east side of the Tallapoosa River at Sturdivant in 1872. Anticipating the railroad’s extension to Youngsville, the citizens in 1873 renamed the village Alexander City in honor of Edward Porter Alexander, president of the S & M. On June 24, 1874, an excursion train pulled by an engine christened Simon Suggs steamed into Alexander City with dignitaries and visitors, joining thousands of residents for the inauguration of rail service. A passenger-freight depot erected in 1874 and rebuilt after the 1902 fire stood on the opposite side of the railroad from this site until it was relocated to Court Square in 1955.