View source for Brown Springs neighborhood

:''This article is about the neighborhood. For other uses, see [[Brown Springs (disambiguation)]].''
{{Infobox Bham neighborhood
| name=Brown Springs
| district=[[Birmingham City Council District 2|2]], [[Birmingham City Council District 5|5]] 
| community=East Lake
| population=393
| location=St James Baptist Church
| map=({{Locate_address_inline | address = 7309+Oporto+Avenue | zoom=17 | type=h }})
| meetingtime=3rd Thursday
| president=John Howard
| website=
| nmap=[https://gisweb.birminghamal.gov/StandardMaps/Neighborhoods/11x17/BrownSprings.pdf Brown Springs]
}}

'''Brown Springs''' is a [[List of Birmingham neighborhoods|neighborhood]] in the [[East Lake community]] of [[Birmingham]]. It was historically an agricultural area with fields and orchards. The settlement was centered around a natural spring on the outskirts of the city. [[73rd Street]] provided an access point to the mining roads on [[Ruffner Mountain]], just south of the community.

The area around the spring formed a community center of sorts with a barbecue pit and picnic tables, and even a saloon with billiard tables which helped attract men from the mines. The presence of miners gave rise to lots of fighting and numerous killings in the rough days of Birmingham. The spring was enclosed by a circular wall which was scrubbed twice a year by neighbors.

In the 1950s the spring head, often contaminated by sewage from hogpens, was sealed and the neighborhood was connected to the [[Birmingham Water Works]].

A recently announced 500-acre expansion of the [[Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve]] holds the promise that a new entrance to the park may be sited in Brown Springs.

The '''Brown Springs Neighborhood Association''', which meets every 3rd Thursday at 7:00 PM at [[St James Baptist Church]] on [[Oporto Avenue]], is presided over by [[John Howard]]. [[Ossie Ware Mitchell]], one of the creators of the [[Birmingham Community Participation Program]], served as neighborhood president for 26 years. A new [[Mitchell Elementary School|elementary school]] on [[81st Street]] was dedicated in her name in 2005.

The [[Brown Springs Ecoscape]] was constructed around the site of the spring and dedicated in [[2006]]. That project was largely responsible for Brown Springs' second-place finish in the 2006 Neighborhoods USA "Neighborhood of the Year" national award.

==Demographics==
* 2010: 447 (95.1% Black)
* 2020: 393 (81.4% Black)

==Presidents==
* [[Ossie Ware Mitchell]]
* [[George Lee Jr]]
* [[Mary McCloud]], 2002-
* [[Clara Bates]], 2006-2016
* [[John Howard]], 2016-

==References==
* Abrams, Vivi (June 17, 2005) "Education panel gives OK to name school for Mitchell." {{BN}}
* Abrams, Vivi (July 27, 2005) "Brown Springs returns to past as it develops 'ecoscape' park." {{BN}}
* Singleton, William C. III (April 12, 2006) "Neighborhood association up for national recognition." {{BN}}
* City of Birmingham (July 24, 2001) "Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Birmingham" minutes. [http://ci.bham.al.us/councilminutes/2001/Mins0724.y01.PDF] - accessed April 24, 2006

[[Category:Brown Springs neighborhood]]