Kimberly

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Kimberly (incorporated in 1951) is a town of 1,801 located on 4 square miles along U.S. Highway 31 in northern Jefferson County between Warrior and Morris, 17 miles north of Birmingham.

The community was originally called Jefferson after the Jefferson coal seam which was mined from there in the 1890s. When the Post Office was established in 1901 the name Jefferson was already in use in Marengo County. "Kimberly" was chosen for the Kimberly diamond mines of South Africa.

Interstate 65 runs west of Kimberly and while there is no direct access to it within the city, exits 280 to the north and 275 to the south both list it. Before this final segment of I-65 was completed in 1985, travelers heading south were forced to exit the interstate at exit 280 and travel on Highway 31 through Kimberly on their way to Birmingham.

The town is currently home to four churches: Mount Zion Baptist Church, Kimberly Church of God, Kimberly United Methodist Church, and North Creek Community Church.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,801 people, 652 households, and 528 families residing in the town. The population density was 447.8/mi². There were 699 housing units at an average density of 173.8/mi². The racial makeup of the town was 95.78% White, 1.61% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.44% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. 1.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 652 households, of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.3% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $46,343, and the median income for a family was $52,109. Males had a median income of $36,977 versus $29,150 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,055. About 6.7% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

The Jefferson County Board of Equalization evaluated 783 homes in Kimberly and determined that their average market value for 2007 was $143,637, a 6.9% increase since 2006.

Government and city services

The interim Mayor of Kimberly is Brad Stark, who assumed office after Ralph Lindsey retired in April 2009. The town council meets at Kimberly Town Hall on Stouts Road. The city of Kimberly has only seven full-time employees, including four police officers. The chief of police, hired in February 2007, is Michael Melvin, who replaced Kim Emerson after interim chief Bill Isbell declined the job.

The city has 16 other part-time employees. [1]

Education

Kimberly students attend Jefferson County Schools: John E. Bryan Elementary School, North Jefferson County Middle School, which is in Kimberly, and Mortimer Jordan High School.

Designations

Kimberly's ZIP code is 35091.

The primary telephone exchanges in Kimberly, which is in the 205 area code, are 590 and 647.

References

• Kimberly, Alabama. (January 16, 2007). [2] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 22:19, January 16, 2007.
• Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730410X
• Kimberly, Alabama. (n.d.) [3] City-data.com. Accessed January 16, 2007.