The Cahaba Coal Mining Company was founded by Truman H. Aldrich in 1883-1884.  The first coal was shipped from the Cahaba Coal Field in 1884.  Eventually ten mines were opened in the area.  Construction of first 140 bee-hive coke ovens started in 1887.  They supplied the Woodstock Iron Company in Anniston, AL.  Coke had become the preferred fuel for iron and steel furnaces.  It burned hotter, was lighter to transport, had fewer impurities than coal, and produced better steel.

The Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company (TCI) purchased the Cahaba Coal Company in 1892.  The number of ovens was expanded to the 467.  They also supplied furnaces in Oxmore, Bessemer, Birmingham, and Trussville.  By 1900, Blockton had become the largest company town in the Cahaba Coal Field with a population of around 3,600 people.  Six hundred tons of coke were being produced each day.  In 1907, TCI became a division of U. S. Steel (USS).  By 1927, USS had ceased production at Blockton.

In 1985, the end-wall stones at the north end of the abandoned coke ovens were used during the restoration of the Tannehill Ironworks State Historic Park. The town of West Blocton purchased the coke ovens site in 1972 and 1997.  It has been transformed into the Blocton Coke Ovens Park.