Pinson

City of Pinson
Incorporated	2004
Population	7,143
Mayor	Hoyt Sanders
School district	Jefferson County Schools
Government	Pinson City Council Pinson Fire Department Pinson Police Department
Web site	cityofpinson.com
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Pinson (incorporated in 2004) is a city of 7,143 located on 10.13 square miles in northeast Jefferson County north of Center Point. The community was originally known as Hagood's Crossroads for the early settler Zachariah Hagood and his family. It was later re-named Mount Pinson by members of the Cole family, after they settled in the area from Pinson, Tennessee. A post office (35126) was established in 1837, and renamed "Pinson" in 1895.

Pinson is one of Alabama's oldest communities. Around 1815, Andrew Jackson's soldiers became the area's first settlers after their victory at Horseshoe Bend. In 1861, residents from the community volunteered for the Jefferson Warriors during the Civil War.

In 2004, spurred on by the incorporation of neighboring communities Clay and Center Point, residents of the Pinson Valley and Palmerdale communities, led by Hoyt Sanders, formed a group called the Pinson Incorporating Neighbors (PIN) in a drive to become a city. The incorporation election occured on March 30, 2004. Interim elections for mayor and city council took place on May 4, with a runoff held on May 25. Because 2004 was a regularly scheduled year for municipal elections, the newly elected mayor and city council had to run for re-election in August. Sanders was elected as mayor and re-installed following the August elections. The city council has 5 places, and the current council president is Joe Cochran.

The city purchased the former Pinson Civitan Building on Dry Creek Lane for use as a city hall. In 2007 the City Council agreed to spend $550,000 from the city's share of the Alabama Trust Fund to purchase a 13,000 square foot medical office building owned by Physicians Medical Center Carraway and vacant since 2001. The new city hall, on the corner of Main Street and Center Point Road, underwent extensive work to create a new council chamber. A digital sign at the city hall was added along Center Point Road in 2009.

The Alabama Butterbean Festival is held annually in Pinson along Main Street and Triangle Park. The city also has an annual Christmas parade. Pinson is home to the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, home of the endangered Vermilion darter.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,163 people residing in the community's 2,948 housing units, for an average household of 2.43 persons. The population density was 707.29/mi², with housing units at an average density of 291.1/mi². The racial makeup of the community was 79.0% White, 17.1% African American. 3.73% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000, there were 1,853 households in the community, of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the community the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $39,583, and the median income for a family was $48,707. Males had a median income of $33,843 versus $25,112 for females. The per capita income for the community was $17,704. About 8.6% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

The Jefferson County Board of Equalization evaluated 1,894 homes in Pinson and determined that their average market value for 2007 was $130,278, a 4.0% increase since 2006.

Schools

Pinson is served by the Jefferson County Schools. Grades K-2 attend Pinson Elementary and grades 3 - 5 attend Kermit Johnson Elementary (in the Bradford community). These feed into Rudd Middle School and Pinson Valley High School.

External links

• City of Pinson Official Website
• Pinson News website

References

• "Pinson, Alabama" (February 26, 2007) Wikipedia - acessed February 26, 2007.
• 2004 Scheduled Elections, (n.d.), Office of Secretary of State, State of Alabama - accessed February 28, 2007
• Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730410X
• Martin, Wayne (September 11, 2007) "Pinson to buy old medical buildiing for City Hall". The Birmingham News