Morris

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Morris (incorporated in 1885) is a town of 1,827 located on 3 square miles along U.S. Highway 31 in northern Jefferson County adjacent to Kimberly to its north. The town lies approximately six miles from Gardendale to the south, and 15 miles north of Birmingham. Highway 31 is the primary road through the town, although a network of back roads also connect the town to Pinson. Interstate 65 runs west of Morris and while there is no direct access to it within the city, exit 275 to the south services 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 Morris on their way to Birmingham.

Mineral Branch and Cunningham Creek are the two streams which run through the city limits. It shares the 647 telephone exchange with Kimberly.

History

The Morris Post Office (35116) was first established in 1872. The town of Morris was first incorporated in 1885. Different accounts have it that the town was named for an engineer on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad or for George Lafayette Morris, owner of the Morris Mining Company.

In 1915, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was extended through the town, connecting it by rail to Birmingham.

Morris was reincorporated as a city in the early 1950s.

The town is currently home to two churches: Enon Baptist Church and Morris United Methodist Church. The Jefferson County Cemetery, primarily used as a potter's field, is just outside the Morris city limits on Ball Park Road.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,827 people, 662 households, and 548 families residing in the town. The population density was 600.2/mi². There were 687 housing units at an average density of 225.7/mi². The racial makeup of the town was 98.47% White.

There were 662 households out of which 43.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.0% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.1% were non-families. 15.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% 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 3.07.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $46,296, and the median income for a family was $51,314. Males had a median income of $38,500 versus $31,224 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,924. About 0.3% of families and 0.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.

The Jefferson County Board of Equalization evaluated 564 homes in Morris and determined that their average market value for 2007 was $178,223, a 2.7% increase since 2006.

Government and city services

As of 2002, the city of Morris had only six full-time employees, which included five police officers. It had an additional 20 part-time employees. [1]

Education

Morris students attend Jefferson County Schools: John E. Bryan Elementary School, North Jefferson County Middle School, and Mortimer Jordan High School. Both the elementary and high schools are in Morris.

References

• Mortimer Jordan High School History. Accessed January 17, 2007.
• Morris, Alabama. (January 17, 2007). [2] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed January 17, 2007.
• Morris, Alabama. (n.d.) [3] City-data.com. Accessed January 17, 2007.
• Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press., p. 96