Sylvan Springs

Town of Sylvan Springs
Incorporated	1957
Population	1,853
Mayor	Stevan Parsons
School district	Jefferson County Schools
Government	Sylvan Springs Town Council Sylvan Springs Fire Department Sylvan Springs Police Department
Web site	sylvanspringsal.org
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Sylvan Springs (incorporated May 22, 1957) is a town of 1,853 on 8.69 square miles in western Jefferson County, northwest of Pleasant Grove. The current mayor is Stevan Parsons, with Tammy Bousack, Dennis Brand, Rickey Jones, Larry Smith and Mike Thompson serving on the town council.

The area was first settled in the 1880s. Those families founded the Old Grove Methodist Church. Later the community was known as "Hoagtown" after William Hogan, a stepson of one of the first settlers, Dudley Goolsby.

Sylvan Springs' fire department was established in 1957. The city purchased the Sylvan Springs School from the Jefferson County Board of Education in 1975 and converted it into a community center.

Since the 1980s the Warrior coal basin around Sylvan Springs has been used extensively for drilling for coalbed methane.

Sylvan Springs annexed the West Grove community in 1986.

The former Town Hall was completed in 1962. In 2013 the town completed a $1.6 million "Municipal Complex" with a new Town Hall, Fire Station and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office substation at Alabama State Highway 269 and Rock Creek Road.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,542 people residing in the town's 650 housing units, for an average household of 2.37 persons. The population density was 177.5/mi², with housing units at an average density of 74.8/mi². The racial makeup of the town was 97% White and 1% African American.

In 2000, there were 589 households, of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.6% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the town the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,692, and the median income for a family was $49,853. Males had a median income of $37,500 versus $23,350 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,338. About 3.9% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

The Jefferson County Board of Equalization evaluated 586 homes in Sylvan Springs and determined that their average market value for 2007 was $117,997, a 0.9% decrease since 2006.

Sylvan Springs' Population, 1960-2010

year     pop.     %change

1960 |   245 |    --    |
1970 |   344 |  +40.4%  |
1980 |   450 |  +30.8%  |
1990 | 1,470 | +226.7%  |
2000 | 1,465 |   -0.3%  |
2010 | 1,533 |   +5.3%  |
2014 | 1,853 |  +20.8%  |

References

• "Sylvan Springs, Alabama" (April 29, 2007) Wikipedia - accessed April 30, 2007
• Chambers, Jesse (September 6, 2013) "Sylvan Springs municipal complex "nearing final stages" of construction, mayor says." The Birmingham News

External links

• Sylvan Springs website