Irondale

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City of Irondale
Seal of Irondale.png
Incorporated 1887
Population 13,366
Mayor Charles Moore
School district Jefferson County Schools
Government

Irondale City Council
Irondale Fire Department
Irondale Police Department

Web site cityofirondale.org
Irondale locator map.png
Locate with Google Maps

Irondale (incorporated in 1887) is a suburban city of 13,366 located on 17.5 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 five city council districts. The council meets twice a month on Tuesday evenings at Irondale City Hall. The current representatives are:

The mayor is Charles Moore, who was first elected in 2016. The chief of the Irondale Police Department is Ken Atkinson, who was hired from the Homewood Police Department in 2015.

Demographics

According to the 2020 U.S. Census Irondale had 13,497 residents in 5,161 households. Of those, 7183 (53.2%) were White and 4,032 (29.9%) were Black or African American. There were 211 Asian residents (1.6%) and 1,565 (11.6%) that were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census of 2010, there were 12,349 people residing in the city's 5,495 housing units. The population density was 706.8/mi² with housing units at an average density of 314.5/mi². The racial makeup of the city was 56.3% White and 35.4% African American. 7.8% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000, 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.

Historical population

year     pop.    %change

1900 |    525 |          |
1910 |    572 |   +9.0%  |
1920 |    809 |  +41.4%  |
1930 |  1,517 |  +87.5%  |
1940 |  1,486 |   -2.0%  | 
1950 |  1,876 |  +26.2%  | 
1960 |  3,501 |  +86.6%  |
1970 |  3,166 |   -9.6%  |
1980 |  6,510 | +105.6%  |
1990 |  9,454 |  +45.2%  |
2000 |  9,813 |   +3.8%  |
2010 | 12,349 |  +25.8%  |
2020 | 13,497 |   +9.3%  |
2021 | 13,496 |   -0.1%  |
2022 | 13,366 |   -1.0%  |

References

External links

Jefferson County Seal.png Jefferson County
Topics

Communities | County Commission | Courts | Schools | Sheriff

Cities

Adamsville | Bessemer (seat) | Birmingham (seat) | Brighton | Brookside | Cardiff | Center Point | Clay | Fairfield | Fultondale | Gardendale | Graysville | Homewood | Hoover | Hueytown | Irondale | Kimberly | Leeds | Lipscomb | Maytown | Midfield | Morris | Mountain Brook | Mulga | North Johns | Pinson | Pleasant Grove | Sylvan Springs | Tarrant | Trafford | Trussville | Vestavia Hills | Warrior | West Jefferson