Graysville

City of Graysville
Incorporated	1945
Population	2,344
Mayor	Doug Brewer
School district	Jefferson County Schools
Government	Graysville City Council Graysville Fire Department Graysville Police Department
Web site	graysvillecity.com (note: music plays)
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Graysville (incorporated in 1945) is a city of 2,344 on 6.3 square miles adjoining U.S. Highway 78 in northwest Jefferson County, east of Adamsville. The Mayor of Graysville is Doug Brewer and the Graysville City Hall is located at 246 South Main Street. The Graysville City Council has six elected members. In addition to the Graysville Fire Department, a park and recreation department, and a streets department, Graysville operates its own gas and water systems. The city dissolved its police department in 2007 and currently contracts with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement and prevention services.

The city, which calls itself "Alabama's Most Progressive Town", hosts an annual "Mayberry Comes to Graysville" festival to celebrate the legacy of television's "Andy Griffith Show".

History

The community was originally known as Gintown after a cotton gin that operated there. It was later renamed for a local family. The post office (35073) was established in 1942.

Until the 1960s, travelers headed northwest from Birmingham on Highway 78 experienced the "Graysville bottleneck" as the four-lane road narrowed to two lanes.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,344 people, 976 households, and 696 families residing in the city. The population density was 373.1/mi². There were 1,090 housing units at an average density of 173.5/mi². The racial makeup of the city was 75% White and 23% African American.

There were 976 households out of which 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,994, and the median income for a family was $35,938. Males had a median income of $30,692 versus $25,446 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,328. About 8.2% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

The Jefferson County Board of Equalization evaluated 906 homes in Graysville and determined that their average market value for 2007 was $69,651, a 3.9% increase since 2006.

References

• Graysville, Alabama. (April 29, 2007). [1] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed April 30, 2007.
• Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730410X

External links

• City of Graysville web site