Pelham

Pelham, incorporated on July 10, 1964, is a city of about 17,400 in northern Shelby County. Like Pelham, Georgia It was named for Calhoun County native and Confederate Cavalry officer John Pelham, who was killed at the Battle of Kelly's Ford.

Pelham operates its own police department and fire department. Pelham's schools are part of the Shelby County Schools system. Within Pelham are Valley Elementary School, Valley Intermediate School, Riverchase Middle School, and Pelham High School.

The city operates the Pelham Public Library, Pelham Civic Complex and the Pelham Racquet Club. Pelham's park system includes Pelham City Park, Fun-Go-Holler Park, and four neighborhood parks. The city also maintains the historic Pelham City Cemetery on Shelby County Highway 105.

The current mayor is Bobby Hayes, first elected in 1984. The city council is composed of Mike Dickens, Karyl Rice, Willard Payne, Rosemary Metcalf, and Bob Sullivan.

History

The community had already taken Pelham's name for decades before an annexation attempt by neighboring Alabaster prompted Pelham's 654 residents to seek incorporation. At its founding, the Mayor of Pelham was Paul Yeager, Sr and the city council consisted of Joe Hodges, A. M. Hinds, J. T. Shelton, Burk Dunaway, and Allen Wilson. The present City Hall was built in 1975 on the site of the WPA-built Pelham School, which had served as the first city hall.

Geography

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Pelham is located in northern Shelby County just south of Hoover and adjacent to Oak Mountain State Park.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.3 mi² of which 0.3 mi² (0.89%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,369 people, 5,637 households, and 4,002 families residing in the city. The population density was 378.2/mi². There were 5,894 housing units at an average density of 155.1/mi². The racial makeup of the city was 90.02% White, 3.97% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.68% Asian, 2.82% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. 6.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,637 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 35.7% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $54,808, and the median income for a family was $63,994. Males had a median income of $42,659 versus $32,382 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,611. About 3.4% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

The Census' July 2003 estimate showed 17,396 residents, ranking Pelham as Alabama's fastest-growing city with over 10,000 population since the 2000 census.

References

• "Pelham, Alabama." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 1 Nov 2006, 10:10 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 21 Nov 2006 [1].

External links

• Pelham, Alabama official website