Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in Thorsby, AL

Thorsby is a town in Chilton County in central Alabama, located almost exactly between Birmingham and Montgomery, about 45 miles from each.

Thorsby was first settled in 1895 by Scandinavian immigrants, mostly Swedes, who had originally settled in the midwestern United States but sought a milder climate and fertile soil in the South.

The town is named for early settler Theodore T. Thorson, with the suffix "by" meaning "settlement" in Scandinavian languages, and it is nicknamed the "Little Swede Town" and "The Peach Basket."

The founders formed the Concordia Land and Improvement Association and advertised their settlement in northern newspapers; within the first couple of years Thorsby had two hotels, a sawmill and lumber company, and two wineries.

The town incorporated in 1901, only six years after it was first settled.

Settlers grew grapes in large numbers, along with strawberries and the peaches for which Chilton County is famous.

Much of Thorsby was damaged by a fire in 1914, but the citizens quickly rebuilt the town.

Thorsby Institute, built in 1906, was the first high school in Chilton County; it later became a public school, and today the Chilton County School System operates the K-12 Thorsby School, whose teams are known as the Rebels.

Each autumn Thorsby celebrates its heritage with the Annual Swedish Festival, which includes an arts and crafts fair, a pageant, music, and car and motorcycle shows.

The town maintains the old Norwegian Lutheran Church, now called Helen Jenkins Chapel, as a public venue, and its Scandinavian Cemetery is open to visitors at any time.