Irondale

Irondale (incorporated in 1887) is a suburban city of 9,813 located on 9 square miles east of Birmingham in Jefferson County. The area was first settled sparsely by farmers. A community grew up around the McElwain Furnace, which was also called "Irondale Furnace", after it was built in 1863 to supply Confederate military needs. A post office was established for Irondale on June 3, 1872 but was discontinued after only three years because the furnace had shut down in the aftermath of the financial panic of 1873. By 1910, the population of the community was 572.

A new post office for Brevard was established on January 16, 1883, which was renamed Irondale just prior to the town's incorporation on October 19, 1887.

Irondale's first corporate limits described a circle, one-half mile in radius, from the center of three oaks which stood in front of the Hotel Resort between the Alabama Great Southern and Georgia Pacific Railroads. Shades Creek runs through the city.

Irondale is served by Jefferson County School system and is home to Shades Valley High School, which relocated from Birmingham in 1996, and now houses the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School.

The book (later a film) Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Irondale native Fannie Flagg, is loosely based around the town and the landmark Irondale Cafe. Irondale is also the location of Catholic radio/television broadcaster EWTN.

Government

Irondale is divided into seven city council districts. The council meets twice a month on Tuesday evenings at Irondale City Hall. The current representatives are:

• District 1: Simpson Berry, Jr
• District 2: Mark Peavy
• District 3: Bobby Joe Wilson
• District 4: Joan Ratchford
• District 5: Ronald Bagwell
• District 6: John Schoen
• District 7: Mike Coppage

The mayor is Tommy Joe Alexander.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,813 people, 4,019 households, and 2,736 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,094.0/mi². There were 4,212 housing units at an average density of 469.6/mi². The racial makeup of the city was 71.69% White, 25.28% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.97% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 2.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,019 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% 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 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,203, and the median income for a family was $55,365. Males had a median income of $38,138 versus $30,775 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,251. About 5.7% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

The Jefferson County Board of Equalization evaluated 3,598 homes in Irondale and determined that their average market value for 2007 was $135,587, a 3.5% increase since 2006.

References

• Irondale, Alabama. (2007, January 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:13, February 6, 2007 [1]

External links

• City of Irondale