Sherman Heights
| Sherman Heights | |
 |
Birmingham neighborhoods |
| District(s) | 9 |
|---|---|
| Community | Ensley community |
| Population | 458 |
| Area | N/A |
| President | Olivia Johnson |
| Meeting site | Morning Star Christian Church, (map) |
| Meeting day | 1st Monday |
| Website | |
| Neighborhood map | Sherman Heights |
Sherman Heights is a neighborhood in Birmingham's Ensley community. It was settled initially by Italian immigrants working at the nearby Ensley Works and gradually became primarily African-American.
In December 1904 the Birmingham Railway, Light & Power Company was granted a license by the City of Ensley to connect Sherman Heights to its existing streetcar service to Tuxedo Junction.
U.S. Steel closed the plant in 1976, leaving the isolated community to dwindle.
By 1982 the neighborhood still had a rural feel, with chickens running around between the 350 houses, four churches, and Gadson's Grocery as the only business. Sherman Heights Elementary School, originally built by U.S. Steel, was operated by Birmingham City Schools until closing in the early 1980s. It was afterward converted into a Head Start Center by the JCCEO.
The Sherman Heights Neighborhood Association meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at Morning Star Christian Church on Slayden Avenue.
In August 1980 the neighborhood association used its funds to purchase pipes for expansion and repair of sanitary sewer service in the area, with an agreement for the City of Birmingham to furnish the labor, which amounted to about $600,000.
Neighborhood presidents
- Preston Gadson, 1982
- Olivia Johnson, 2002–
Demographics
- 2010: 488 (78.1% Black)
- 2020: 458 (87.1% Black)
References
- Crenshaw, Solomon Jr (November 4, 1980) "Project backlog means wait in Ensley areas." The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- Frieden, Kitty (March 14, 1982) "Sherman Heights activists ask for city aid to lift its despair." The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections