A tale of two cities Settled in the 1830s, this small rural community is known by locals and smartphone maps as Gold Hill. This name was not chosen due to any of the shiny metal nearby, but rather it was named after an early settler of the area who went by Goldsmith. When the Savannah and Memphis Railroad Company began building westward from Opelika through this area and onward to Camp Hill in 1869, the name of Gold Hill lead to confusion for passengers and the postal service because of the similar station names of Gold Hill and Camp Hill. Therefore in 1870s, the railroad station sign and post office name were changed to "Gold Ridge" to help eliminate any future bewilderment to travelers. As you can see by the green railroad label to the left of the locomotive, this change is still in place for today's NS.
