Gardendale

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Gardendale is a city of 12,830 located in northern Jefferson County. The city was incorporated in 1955, and the current mayor is Kenny Clemons.

History

The first homestead within the present limits was the farm of Otis Dyer, purchased from the United States for 12 1/2 cents per acre in 1825. William H. Parker opened a grist mill in 1873, followed soon by a canning cooperative founded by James Kimmons. Kimmons donated the land on which the first church, Chalybeate Baptist Church, was built in 1876.

The town's first school, called Milner School for John T. Milner who donated lumber for its construction, opened in 1892 on Mount Olive Road.

At the time the settlement was often referred to as Jugtown for a jug and churn pottery nearby. In 1906 schoolteacher Hettie Thomason Cargo succeeded in her campaign to rename the community.

In 1955 Gardendale was incorporated as a municipality with J.I. Pesnell as its first mayor.

Recent development of the city, especially along Fieldstown Road, has been spurred on by the completion of I-65 in 1985.

Geography

U. S. Highway 31 is the north-south artery that defines the center of Gardendale, with recent development occuring westward at interchanges with I-65. Exit 271, 10 miles north of the I-20/59 interchange in Birmingham gives access to Fieldstown Road; Exit 272 to Mount Olive Road.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.0 mi², all land. However, with recent annexations, the city now has an estimated total area of around 25 mi².

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,626 people, 4,733 households, and 3,474 families residing in the city. The population density was 647.9/mi². There were 4,959 housing units at an average density of 276.3/mi². The racial makeup of the city was 97.19% White, 1.48% Black, 0.17% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. 0.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,733 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,786, and the median income for a family was $56,929. Males had a median income of $36,714 versus $29,039 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,673. About 3.5% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Mayor Clemons is currently serving his third term in office. Administrative offices are located in the Gardendale City Hall at 970 Main Street. The city operates a fire department, police department, a park and recreation department, a public works department, an inspections department, and a public library.

Gardendale is divided into five wards, each of which elects one representative to the City Council. The current council (sworn in on October 4, 2004) are:

• Ward 1: Peggy Tumlin
• Ward 2: Gary Morris
• Ward 3: Oscar Mann
• Ward 4: William Flippo
• Ward 5: Wendell Phillips

The council meets twice a month, on the first and third Monday evenings at City Hall.

Gardendale's schools (Gardendale High School, Bragg Middle School, Snow Rogers Elementary School, Gardendale Elementary School and Mount Olive Elementary School) are in the Jefferson County School System.

The North Jefferson Satellite of the Jefferson County Courthouse is located at 651 Main Street in Gardendale.

See also

• Gardendale Arts Council
• Gardendale Historical Society
• Gardendale Chamber of Commerce
• Gardendale Civic Center
• G. William Noble Recreation Complex
• Caufield Square

References

• "Gardendale, Alabama." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 11 Feb 2007, 01:12 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 8 Mar 2007 [1].

External links

• City of Gardendale official website