text:
Woodland, Alabama

Woodland is a town in Randolph County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 184, down from 192 in 2000. It incorporated in 1967.

Geography
Woodland is located at 33.37361°N, -85.39583°W (33.373655, -85.395700).

The town is located along Alabama State Route 48 northeast of the Randolph County seat of Wedowee. AL-48 leads northeast 10 mi (16 km) to its end at the Alabama-Georgia state line, and southwest 9 mi (14 km) to Wedowee.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 192 people, 82 households, and 56 families residing in the town. The population density was 170.6 PD/sqmi. There were 90 housing units at an average density of 80.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 88.54% White and 11.46% Black or African American.

There were 82 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.89.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,500, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $43,750 versus $24,375 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,106. About 15.2% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.4% of those 65 or over.

Climate
Month       Avg. High 	Avg. Low 	Avg. Precip. Rec. High 	Rec. Low

January 	55 °F  	         30 °F  	5.91 in  	 83°     	 61 °F

February 	59 °F  	         32 °F  	5.11 in  	 82°    	 72 °F

March   	68 °F  	         39 °F  	6.05 in  	 87°     	86 °F

April 	        77 °F      	 45 °F  	4.42 in  	 92°     	96 °F

May 	        83 °F  	         54 °F  	3.65 in  	 98°     	100 °F

June 	        90 °F  	         62 °F  	4.21 in  	103°    	107 °F

July 	        92 °F  	         67 °F  	4.64 in  	107°     	112 °F

August 	91 °F  	         65 °F  	3.63 in  	104°     	115 °F

September 	86 °F  	         59 °F  	3.69 in  	100°     	102 °F

October 	77 °F  	         46 °F  	2.69 in  	 99°     	93 °F

November 	67 °F  	         38 °F  	4.60 in  	 86°     	 87 °F

December 	58 °F  	         32 °F  	4.68 in  	 80°     	80 °F

Notable persons

 * Vern Gosdin - country and gospel singer
 * Wes Bayliss - lead singer for The Steel Woods
 * Danny Mote - Rockabilly Hall of Fame, Vee Jay Records Singer/Songwriter

title: Woodland, Alabama


text:
Hurtsboro, Alabama

Hurtsboro is a town in Russell County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 553, down from 592 in 2000. It was founded in 1857 as Hurtsville and named for Joel Hurt, Sr. (whose son, Joel Hurt, was an important developer of Atlanta, Georgia). A railroad spur from Columbus, Georgia was completed the next year. It was incorporated in 1872 and in 1883 the town name was changed to Hurtsboro.

The town is part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
In 1920 there was a standoff and siege at a house in Hurtsboro, Alabama, called the Hurtsboro race riot. The newspaper The Topeka State Journal called the incident a "New Race War."

Geography
Hurtsboro is located at 32.24°N, -85.41528°W (32.240102, −85.415377).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.0 sqmi, all land.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 349 people, 221 households, and 151 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 592 people, 283 households, and 161 families residing in the town. The population density was 573.7 PD/sqmi. There were 342 housing units at an average density of 331.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 70.27% Black or African American, 29.39% White, and 0.34% from two or more races. 0.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 283 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% were married couples living together, 23.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 41.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $16,691, and the median income for a family was $25,000. Males had a median income of $26,979 versus $19,821 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,908. About 28.4% of families and 32.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.3% of those under age 18 and 28.5% of those age 65 or over.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Hurtsboro, Alabama


text:
Ladonia, Alabama

Ladonia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Russell County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 3,074. It is part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
Ladonia is located at 32.46556°N, -85.08917°W (32.465666, -85.089046).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 3.1 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,229 people, 1,258 households, and 904 families living in the community. The population density was 1,008.6 PD/sqmi. There were 1,407 housing units at an average density of 439.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the community was 91.82% White, 5.23% Black or African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,258 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the community, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.9 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $34,214, and the median income for a family was $37,035. Males had a median income of $30,694 versus $20,227 for females. The per capita income for the community was $16,671. About 15.6% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 3,142 people, 1,262 households, and 877 families living in the community. The population density was 1,000 PD/sqmi. There were 1,392 housing units at an average density of 449.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the community was 86.5% White, 9.8% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 2.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,262 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% 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 2.91.

In the community, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $36,333, and the median income for a family was $34,889. Males had a median income of $42,667 versus $27,075 for females. The per capita income for the community was $15,479. About 19.2% of families and 23.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.2% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.

title: Ladonia, Alabama


text:
Alabaster, Alabama

Alabaster is a city and southern suburb of Birmingham in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 33,284. Alabaster is the 16th largest city in Alabama by number of residents.

History
George L. Scott Sr., an Alabaster pioneer, owned and operated Alabaster Lime Co., which mined this mineral. His shipping point was known as “Scott Rock.” Later, worker housing was built to accommodate some of the mine employees. The community was named Alabaster after the "white calcium carbonate mineral."

The First Bank of Alabaster opened in 1952, and its president was George L. Scott Jr., who later was elected as the first mayor of Alabaster. The first attempt in 1952 to incorporate Alabaster failed. In January 1953, the petition was again filed, and on February 23, 1953, Alabaster was officially incorporated, with a favorable vote of 79 to 23, and 427 residing inhabitants. In 1955, the Alabaster Water and Gas Board was formed.

In 2015, the city announced that it was considering options to expand the area commonly known as the "Main Street Medical Mile" along Highway 31. The plans include not just expansion of medical facilities, but a civic center and different retail locations.

Additionally, it was announced in 2017 that a 350,000 square feet retail complex would be built at the corner of Highway 31 and Interstate 65. The new complex, currently named District 31, was slated to open in 2019, however as of 2020, the complex remained under construction.

Geography
Alabaster is located at 33.23111°N, -86.82389°W (33.231162, −86.823829).

Alabaster mostly occupies the Cahaba and Opossum valleys, which are divided by the Pine Ridge that runs north to south. To the east and west, both valleys are flanked by parallel mountain ridges that locally run north to south, but are a part of a larger system of ridges that generally runs north-east to south-west (the tailing ends of the Appalachian foothills). The valleys are drained by small creeks (Buck Creek, Beaverdam Creek) that flow into the Cahaba River.

Access to the city from major highways is found from U.S. Route 31, which runs through the city, and via I-65 exit 238. Downtown Birmingham is 23 mi (37 km) north, and Montgomery is 69 mi (111 km) south, both via US-31 or I-65.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.6 sqmi, of which 25.3 sqmi is land and 0.3 sqmi (1.2%) is water.

Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Alabaster has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

City of Alabaster (1960-)
Alabaster first appeared on the 1960 U.S. Census as an incorporated city.

2010 Census data
As of the census of 2010, there were 30,352 people, 11,016 households, and 6,482 families residing in the city [9]. The population density was 1,104.8 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 81.2% White, 15.0% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.2% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 4.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,016 households, out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $64,411, and the median income for a family was $78,940. The per capita income for the city was $22,466. About 4.3% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census data
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 33,284 people, 11,568 households, and 8,667 families residing in the city.

Alabaster-Helena Census Division (1980-)
The Alabaster-Helena Census Division was created in 1980 through the merger of the former Helena Division and Siluria Divisions. It includes portions of Alabaster, Birmingham (Shelby County portion), Brantleyville, Calera, Chelsea, Helena, Hoover, Indian Springs Village, Meadowbrook, Montevallo, Pelham and Vestavia Hills.

Government
The government consists of a mayor, who is elected at-large, and a seven-member city council. Each member is elected from a single-member district, called a ward, of roughly equal population.

The Mayor and City Council are elected every four years. The most recent election was held in 2020.

The current City Council Members are: Sophie Martin, Rick Ellis, Stacy Rakestraw, Greg Farrell, Jamie Cole, Zach Zahariadis, and Kerri Pate.

Alabaster Fire Department ISO Class 2 rated. Consisting of 3 Firehouses with 61 Full Time Firefighters.

Alabaster Firehouse #1 Located at 890 1st Avenue West.

Alabaster Firehouse #2 Located at 950 Butler Road. Alabaster Firehouse #3 Located at 910 1st Street South (US 31 South)

Schools
On July 1, 2013, the Alabaster City Schools System officially separated from the Shelby County Schools system, and now operates the public schools in the city. Private school K-12 education is also available.

 * Creek View Elementary School
 * Meadow View Elementary School
 * Thompson Intermediate School
 * Thompson Middle School
 * Thompson High School

Private:
 * Evangel Christian School
 * Kingwood Christian School (closed)

title: Alabaster, Alabama


text:
Chelsea, Alabama

Chelsea is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area. Chelsea was incorporated on March 1, 1996, with a population of 906. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,982. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2010 population for Chelsea was 10,183 and 14,126 in 2019.

Geography
Chelsea is located near the central part of Shelby County at 33° 20' 24" N, -86° 37' 49" W (33.3401108 N, -86.6302625 W). The city is traversed by multiple county highways, as well as U.S. Route 280, which runs through the northern part of the city, leading northwest 19 mi (31 km) to downtown Birmingham, and east 12 mi (19 km) to Harpersville. Double Oak Mountain, a southern extension of the Appalachian Mountains, runs northwest of the city. Part of the city limits extend along US 280 on top of the ridge.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,982 people, 4,508 households, and 3,650 families residing in the city.

2010 census
In 2010, Chelsea had a population of 10,183. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 90.5% white or Caucasian, 4.7% black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.1% from some other race, 1.3% from two or more races and 3.2% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census
At the 2000 census, there were 2,949 people, 1,022 households and 849 families residing in the city. The population density was 293.6 PD/sqmi. There were 1,091 housing units at an average density of 108.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 96.78% White, 0.78% Black or African American, 0.88% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.58% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 0.81% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,022 households, of which 44.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.2% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.9% were non-families. 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.17.

29.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $67,083, and the median income for a family was $72,206. Males had a median income of $46,071 versus $28,403 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,717. About 5.5% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

The population of Chelsea is rapidly increasing due to new home construction in the area.

Schools
Chelsea has four schools in the Shelby County School system: As of the 2022 school year Mt. Laurel Elementary was moved into the Oak Mountain School District due to pressure from the City of Chelsea to reduce 'overcrowding' at the middle and high school levels of the Chelsea School District, however Mt. Laurel Elementary still remains a part of the Shelby County School system.
 * Chelsea Park Elementary (K-5)
 * Forest Oaks Elementary (K-5)
 * Chelsea Middle (6-8)
 * Chelsea High School (9-12)

Local government
The City of Chelsea was incorporated March 1, 1996. As of 2022, Its municipal government is headed by the mayor, Tony Picklesimer, and city council members Scott Weygand, Chris Grace, Cody Sumners, Tiffany Bittner, and Casey Morris.

In 2019, the citizens of Chelsea voted in favor of an increased sales tax to be used for funding schools residing in the Chelsea School District. In the summer of 2021 the mayor of Chelsea, Tony Picklesimer led a local effort to break away from the Shelby County School system and form a city school system. The feasibility study was presented to the public on November 18, 2021. At one time it could be viewed on the City of Chelsea website.

On July 12, 2022, the special election to increase property tax was held. A record turn-out resulted in a resounding no to the increase in property taxes and the formation of a city school system. 32% of registered voters turned out (highest turnout in a Chelsea City election). "According to City Clerk Crystal Etheredge, the vote was 3,218 against vs. 467 for. A total of 3,685 people turned out to vote with the opposing side having 87.3% majority vote." The percentages for and against the tax increase seemed to coincide closely with the statistical survey the City of Chelsea conducted.

Notable people

 * Gary Bradberry, Charlie Bradberry, and Stanley Smith - NASCAR
 * Fabian Sanchez - Dancing With The Stars member and "Mambo King"
 * Paul Janeway - St. Paul and The Broken Bones lead singer

title: Chelsea, Alabama


text:
Childersburg, Alabama

Childersburg is a city in Talladega County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It was incorporated in 1889. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,754. It has a history dating back before 1540, when it was noted as a village of the Coosa Nation visited by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. It is said a member of De Soto’s crew fell ill and was left to settle in the area of present day Childersburg where the Coosa people cared for the ill explorer. The Alabama Army Ammunition Plant, important during World War II, was located 4 mi north of Childersburg.

Geography
Childersburg is located at 33.27528°N, -86.35306°W (33.275187, −86.353166).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.6 km2, of which 32.0 km2 is land and 0.7 km2, or 2.00%, is water.

The city is located along the Coosa River in western Talladega County along US Routes 280 and 231. US 280 and 231 run northwest to southeast through the city, leading northwest 7 mi (11 km) to Harpersville, where they split, and US 280 continues 37 mi (60 km) to Birmingham. US 231/280 also run southeast 11 mi (18 km) to Sylacauga. Alabama Route 76 also runs through the city, leading east 10 mi (16 km) to Winterboro and southwest 7 mi (11 km) to Alabama Route 25 near Wilsonville.

History
Successive indigenous peoples had lived in the area for thousands of years. In the 16th century, people identified as part of the Kymulga-phase culture (of the larger Mississippian culture) lived at Talisi, the former site of Childersburg. In the fall of 1540, the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto's expedition rested here for about one month during its exploration of the Southeast. Childersburg is the "oldest occupied settlement in America” The Abihka people (part of those who became known as the Muskogee or Creek) dominated the area by the 18th century.

The Alabama Army Ammunition Plant, a munitions plant, was established in Childersburg in 1941 and operated throughout World War II until August 1945. Operated by DuPont, the plant produced explosives, such as nitrocellulose, trinitrotoluene (TNT), and dinitrotoluene (DNT). The plant also secretly produced heavy water to support the Manhattan Project. In 1940 the town had about five hundred people. Over fourteen thousand workers came to build and later operate the new facility.

2000 census
At the 2000 census, there were 4,927 people living in the city, an increase over the 1990 population of 4,600. In 2000, there were 1,999 households and 1,419 families in the city. The population density was 637.2 PD/sqmi. There were 2,149 housing units at an average density of 277.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 68.87% White, 29.73% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 1,999 households 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 27.4% of households were one person and 13.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.

The age distribution was 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males.

The median household income was $23,932 and the median family income was $30,524. Males had a median income of $31,892 versus $20,569 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,412. About 20.7% of families and 23.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
At the 2010 census, there were 5,175 people, 2,090 households and 1,422 families in the city. The population density was 417.3 PD/sqmi. There were 2,356 housing units at an average density of 190 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 60.1% White, 36.9% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,090 households 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 22.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 28.8% of households were one person and 11.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.04

The age distribution was 26.4% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% 65 or older. The median age was 36.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.8 males.

The median household income was $38,310 and the median family income was $41,646. Males had a median income of $43,333 versus $25,450 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,221. About 14.8% of families and 14.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 24.8% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,754 people, 2,175 households, and 1,284 families residing in the city.

Recreation
There are ten golf courses in Childersburg and its immediate vicinity.

Childersburg is home to the Childersburg Tigers. 1967, 1977, 2002, and 2007 Alabama Baseball State Champions. Childersburg has won numerous youth baseball state championships including Cal Ripken, Babe Ruth and most recently (2013) American Legion.

DeSoto Caverns is also located in Childersburg.

Notable people

 * L. Zenobia Coleman (1898–1999) - librarian
 * Walton Cruise, professional baseball player
 * Joshua B. Lee, represented Oklahoma as a United States representative from 1935 to 1937 and United States senator from 1937 to 1943
 * Robert Lee Rowe, mayor of Melbourne, Florida from 1927 to 1932
 * A. J. Smitherman (1885–1961), lawyer, businessman and editor of the black-owned newspaper, Tulsa Star, which documented the Tulsa race massacre.
 * Gerald Wallace, professional basketball player
 * Zelous Wheeler, professional baseball player

Transportation
Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines.

title: Childersburg, Alabama


text:
Columbiana, Alabama

Columbiana is a city and the county seat of Shelby County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,462.

History
Columbiana, originally called Columbia, was selected as the county seat of Shelby County in 1826 over rivals Calera and Montevallo. After the selection as the county seat, Columbiana celebrated by drilling holes in a large pine tree and packing it with gunpowder. The tree was blown up and the sound could be heard for miles. Later in 1826, the courthouse was moved to an old school building in Columbiana.

An act of the Alabama Legislature officially changed the name of Shelby County's county seat to Columbiana on January 13, 1832. Columbiana was incorporated on December 5, 1837, with corporate limits one-quarter of a mile in each direction from the public square.

In 1854, the decision was made to build a larger courthouse at the south end of “Silk Stocking Road”, now Main Street. From 1854 to 1908 several additions and changes were made to the courthouse. During the American Civil War, Columbiana was connected to the nearby town of Shelby by the Shelby Iron Company Railroad, which connected the Shelby Iron Works to the Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad. The Iron Works supplied iron to the C.B. Churchill and Company foundry, which moved to Columbiana in 1862 after the fall of Corinth, Mississippi. The Churchill foundry made eight and ten pound shot, eight and ten pound shells, and shells for Blakely rifles. The C.B. Churchill and Company foundry, Shelby Iron Works and the railroad were destroyed by Union forces on March 31, 1865, as part of Wilson's Raid.

Moving the courthouse to Columbiana was not necessarily popular in 1826 and there have been numerous attempts to relocate the county seat over the years. In 1901, the Alabama Constitutional Convention addressed the issue by including Section 41 in the new state constitution. Section 41 prohibited a move of the Shelby County seat from Columbiana unless a vote of the people was held, the only county in Alabama with such a designation.

To further solidify Columbiana's claim to the county seat, in 1905 construction began  two blocks north of the existing courthouse on a new marble courthouse at a cost of $300,000. The new courthouse was completed in 1908 and has been renovated and enlarged on a number of occasions. The new courthouse has served Shelby County for over 100 years.

The “Old Courthouse” is now home to the Shelby County Museum and Archives.

Today, Columbiana is home to the Shelby County Board of Education, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, the Shelby County Jail, and Harrison Regional Library, which is the main office for the Shelby County Library System. Columbiana holds the annual Liberty Day celebration on the last weekend in June, which was first held in 1986 to honor the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. The current mayor is David Mitchell.

The population of Columbiana was 4,546 as of 2021.

Geography
The city is located in the southeastern part of the county along Alabama State Route 25, which runs northeast to southwest to the west of the downtown area, leading northeast 9 mi to Wilsonville and southwest 11 mi to Calera.

City government
Columbiana is a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of Alabama. The city is 25 mi southeast of Birmingham. According to the 2010 census conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the population of Columbiana was 4,197. There are 16.86 sqmi within the corporate limits of Columbiana.

Columbiana is governed under the mayor-council form of government. The mayor is elected on an at-large basis for a four-year term and the five council members are elected from single member districts, each for a four-year term. The mayor and council serve on a part-time basis. The mayor serves as chief executive officer of the city and is responsible for the daily operations of all departments of the city. The council acts as the legislative branch of the city.

Municipal operations are financed largely by sales tax, utility revenues, privilege licenses, and property taxes.

Elected officials

 * Mayor David Mitchell
 * District 1 Councilmember: Karen Lilly
 * District 2 Councilmember: Vicki Mizzell
 * District 3 Councilmember: Ricky Ruston
 * District 4 Councilmember: Kim King
 * District 5 Councilmember: Ashley Phillips

2000 census
At the 2000 census there were 3,316 people in 1,260 households, including 868 families, in the city. The population density was 218.5 PD/sqmi. There were 1,372 housing units at an average density of 90.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 78.59% White, 19.60% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. 1.99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,260 households 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 29.2% of households were one person and 12.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.10.

The age distribution was 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males.

The median household income was $34,034 and the median family income was $44,798. Males had a median income of $34,350 versus $21,193 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,086. About 8.2% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
At the 2010 census there were 4,197 people in 1,303 households, including 874 families, in the city. The population density was 218.2 PD/sqmi. There were 1,445 housing units at an average density of 95.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 71.3% White, 25.1% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. 3.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,303 households 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 29.7% of households were one person and 15.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.12.

The age distribution was 19.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% 65 or older. The median age was 37.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 121.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 148.9 males.

The median household income was $31,108 and the median family income was $56,411. Males had a median income of $43,304 versus $34,583 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,003. About 11.0% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.1% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,462 people, 1,641 households, and 851 families residing in the city.

Education
Shelby County Schools operates public schools.
 * Elvin Hill Elementary School – kindergarten through fifth grade
 * Columbiana Middle School – sixth grade through eighth grade
 * Shelby County High School – ninth grade through twelfth grade. The Shelby County Wildcats school colors are maroon and white. The colors were changed from its original school colors of red and white, which were also used by rival Thompson High. Its sports teams are part of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 5A.
 * Shelby County School of Technology – career technical center
 * Cornerstone Christian School – private school serving Pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade

Notable people

 * Robert J. Bentley (born February 3, 1943), Governor of Alabama (2011–2017).
 * Leven H. Ellis (April 6, 1881 – January 4, 1968), Lt. Governor of Alabama 1943 to 1947.
 * J. Frank Norris (1877–1952), Leader of Baptist Fundamentalism, lived in Columbiana during his youth
 * E. B. Teague (1820–1902), prominent Baptist preacher
 * Mary Ware, poet and prose writer

title: Columbiana, Alabama


text:
Harpersville, Alabama

Harpersville is a town in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. According to the 1950 U.S. Census, it formally incorporated in 1943. At the 2020 census the population was 1,614, compared to 1,637 in 2010 and 1,620 in 2000. It is located southeast of the Birmingham metro area.

History
Harpersville was settled just after the War of 1812 ended. It was originally called Big Springs.

Harpersville Municipal Court has been effectively taken over by Circuit Court Judge Hub Harrington as of July 13, 2012, in a case regarding Private probation. His order characterizes the municipal court as a debtors' prison and extortion racket condoned by the elected officials of Harpersville and Judicial Correction Services.

Harpersville has two structures which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Chancellor House and the Old Rock House.

William Joseph Simmons is listed as notable person from Harpersville, Alabama. He re-formed the KuKluxKlan in 1915.

Datcher Family Farm Museum
The history of the Datcher's Harpersville farm dates back to before the end of slavery. It tells the story of family and Black ownership throughout American history. The trees on the farm have been around for three centuries. A small, white farmhouse serves as the Datcher family farm museum; the walls are replete with images of family photos paying homage to the Datcher legacy.

Old Baker Farm
The Old Baker Farm is not in the jurisdictional boundaries of Harpersville. Established in 1899, Old Baker Farm is one of the oldest working family farms in the south. The farm has been owned and worked by the Baker family for over 100 years.

In 2000, it was one of only 12 farms featured in a USDA calendar titled "Millennium Celebration of Century Farms."

Since its founding the farm has been worked by six generations of the Baker family and is currently managed by a fourth generation family member, Jerry Baker.

The farm produces various crops including corn, cotton, and pumpkins.

Geography
Harpersville is located in the eastern part of Shelby County at 33.32583°N, -86.42611°W (33.325848, -86.426121). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.9 sqmi, of which 15.9 sqmi is land and 0.06% is water. The town is located at the intersection of US Routes 280 and 231. US 280 runs east to west through the town, leading west 12 mi (19 km) to Chelsea and 30 mi (48 km) to downtown Birmingham. US 280 and 231 run southeast together 7 mi (11 km) to Childersburg. US 231 runs northeast 21 mi (34 km) to Pell City.

2000 Census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,620 people, 610 households, and 458 families residing in the town. The population density was 102.0 PD/sqmi. There were 685 housing units at an average density of 43.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 69.57% White, 28.70% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.31% from two or more races. 0.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 610 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,655, and the median income for a family was $34,632. Males had a median income of $28,839 versus $22,069 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,783. About 17.4% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 24.1% of those age 65 or over.

2010 Census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,637 people, 620 households, and 456 families residing in the town. The population density was 103.0 PD/sqmi. There were 708 housing units at an average density of 44.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 73.1% White, 23.5% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. 2.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 620 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 30.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $37,768, and the median income for a family was $42,065. Males had a median income of $43,301 versus $32,434 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,170. About 23.9% of families and 28.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 55.3% of those under age 18 and 23.4% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,614 people, 562 households, and 433 families residing in the town. Harpersville is growing due to the suburban spread along Highway 280; however, the most recent Census in 2020 indicates a slight decrease in population below that of the Census of 2000.

Government
The mayor is Theoangelo Perkins. The previous mayor was Don Greene, and the two have traded this position back and forth for many election cycles.

Mayor Theoangelo Perkins was the mayor in 2012. Also in 2012, the international scandal of the traffic court investigation into the high fines, prison sentences for traffic violations, and large fees to a non- public third-party probation company was widely reported from local news agencies to the United Kingdom in the Guardian.

Shelby County judge called the Harpersville Traffic Court “judicially sanctioned extortion racket.” (https://eji.org/files/mi-mgm-alabama-city-running-exortion-racket-07-16-12.pdf;

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/us/judge-in-alabama-halts-private-probation.html?smid=pl-share)

Mayor Theoangelo Perkins was also the mayor of Harpersville when Shelby County Sheriff’s Department acted on an order to seize the town’s records before the documents could be removed or destroyed. The Mayor was not available for comment according to the Shelby County Reporter; “Harpersville Mayor Theoangelo Perkins did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.” (https://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/2012/08/10/sheriffs-deputies-seizing-records-in-harpersville-city-court-case/)

The Harpersville Clerk of the Court in a recorded deposition which was reported in an article in The Nation said, “In testimony offered at a deposition, Hall, the court clerk, acknowledged that the sentences Harpersville debtors served at the Shelby County Work Release Center were indefinite. Ford’s sentence, Hall explained, was “up to her”; she could leave as soon as she paid off her fines. The sole function of work release was to collect outstanding debt, forgoing the rehabilitative underpinning of most work-release programs.” https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/town-turned-poverty-prison-sentence/)

The article also listed that two people died while in custody waiting to pay off their debt to the Harpersville Traffic Court.

School
The town of Harpersville does not have schools within town limits. All public matriculated students attend schools in the adjacent town of Vincent.

Coosa Valley Academy, part of the Alabama Independent School Association, serves as one of the private schools in the town of Harpersville. The doors of the school first opened in 1970 where it has served the community for 50 years. The School's mission statement says, "The vision of Coosa Valley Academy is to provide a college preparatory education in a safe and orderly Christian environment that will instill in each student the desire to fulfill his or her greatest academic potential while encouraging mutual respect among students and staff in order to prepare well-rounded individuals for success in life". Education is available for students in grades from Pre-Kindergarten through Twelfth grade. Dual enrollment programs are available for students in grades 10-12 allowing them the opportunity to take online classes at Troy University to earn college credits. A variety of clubs are available for student participation consisting of Athletics, Beta Club, Cheerleading Squad, Dance Team, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, History Club, Spanish Club, Student Government Association, and Ignite Club. Athletics available are baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, and volleyball. The current enrollment at Coosa Valley Academy stands at 250 students under supervision of 22 teachers. The student teacher ratio stands at 11:1 which grants educators the ability to work closely with the students.

Notable people

 * Warren Kidd, NBA Player
 * George McGinnis, NBA Player
 * William Joseph Simmons, founder of the second Ku Klux Klan
 * Henry B. Walthall, Actor - Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Landmarks

 * Klein-Wallace Home

title: Harpersville, Alabama


text:
Indian Springs Village, Alabama

Indian Springs Village (often simply called Indian Springs) is a rural town in Shelby County, Alabama, United States, in the Birmingham metropolitan area. It incorporated effective November 14, 1990. At the 2010 census the population was 2,363, up from 2,225 in 2000.

An F2 tornado on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1994, damaged business buildings of Indian Springs, in addition to structures in Pelham, Helena, and Inverness. Another tornado struck the town on March 25, 2021, causing EF2 damage to several homes and downing trees throughout several neighborhoods. The tornado eventually reached low-end EF3 strength northeast of town.

Geography
Indian Springs Village is located at 33.36806°N, -86.74111°W (33.368021, -86.741176).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.6 sqmi, all land.

The private Indian Springs School, for day and boarding students in grades 8-12, is located within the town.

Demographics
At the 2000 census there were 2,225 people, 789 households, and 685 families in the town. The population density was 610.5 PD/sqmi. There were 809 housing units at an average density of 222.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 98.11% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 789 households 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 80.4% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.1% were non-families. 11.9% of households were one person and 4.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.05.

The age distribution was 25.7% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 34.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

The median household income was $92,229 and the median family income was $96,760. Males had a median income of $66,648 versus $42,222 for females. The per capita income for the town was $37,904. About 0.1% of families and 0.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 0.4% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
At the 2010 census there were 2,363 people, 835 households, and 710 families in the town. The population density was 656.4 PD/sqmi. There were 867 housing units at an average density of 240.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 95.7% White, 1.5% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, and 0.6% from two or more races. 0.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 835 households 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.1% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.0% were non-families. 13.3% of households were one person and 7.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.05.

The age distribution was 24.8% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 14.6% from 25 to 44, 37.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% 65 or older. The median age was 47.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.

The median household income was $95,921 and the median family income was $100,600. Males had a median income of $71,917 versus $47,454 for females. The per capita income for the town was $58,467. About 3.1% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person
Michael McCullers, writer and director of 2008’s hit movie, Baby Mama, former writer with Saturday Night Live and co-writer with Mike Myers of Austin Powers in Goldmember, is an Indian Springs native.

title: Indian Springs Village, Alabama


text:
Brook Highland, Alabama

Brook Highland (formerly known as Lake Purdy) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,406.

Geography
Brook Highland is located at 33.42861°N, -86.69306°W (33.428571, -86.693028).

The community is located southeast of Birmingham along U.S. Route 280. Many shopping centers, restaurants, and neighborhoods are located in the community adjacent to U.S. 280. Downtown Birmingham is 13 mi (21 km) to the northwest, and Chelsea is 8 mi (13 km) southeast, both via U.S. 280.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 2.9 sqmi, of which 2.8 sqmi is land and 0.05 sqmi (1.87%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,799 people, 2,789 households, and 1,327 families living in the community. The population density was 1,936.7 PD/sqmi. There were 3,044 housing units at an average density of 1,016.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the community was 86.62% White, 7.78% Black or African American, 0.38% Native American, 4.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 3.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,789 households, out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.4% were non-families. 42.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the community, the population was spread out, with 21.3% under the age of 18, 14.4% from 18 to 24, 43.8% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 3.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.6 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $54,349, and the median income for a family was $91,989. Males had a median income of $49,792 versus $32,188 for females. The per capita income for the community was $39,019. About 0.2% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 6,746 people, 3,242 households, and 1,588 families living in the community. The population density was 2,300 PD/sqmi. There were 3,550 housing units at an average density of 1,267.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the community was 73.6% White, 16.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 4.4% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 3.5% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. 7.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,242 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.0% were non-families. 42.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the community, the population was spread out, with 20.3% under the age of 18, 13.5% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $57,214, and the median income for a family was $116,498. Males had a median income of $57,413 versus $41,948 for females. The per capita income for the community was $40,578. About 2.4% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 0% of those age 65 or over.

title: Brook Highland, Alabama


text:
Leavenworth, Kansas

Leavenworth is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of the Missouri River. The site of Fort Leavenworth, built in 1827, the city became known in American history for its role as a key supply base in the settlement of the American West. During the American Civil War, many volunteers joined the Union Army from Leavenworth. The city has been notable as the location of several prisons, particularly the United States Disciplinary Barracks and United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth.

History
Leavenworth, founded in 1854, was the first city incorporated in the territory of Kansas. The city developed south of Fort Leavenworth, which was established as Cantonment Leavenworth in 1827 by Colonel Henry Leavenworth. Its location on the Missouri River attracted refugee African-American slaves in the antebellum years, who were seeking freedom from the slave state of Missouri across the river. Abolition supporters helped them find refuge. In the years before the American Civil War, Leavenworth was a hotbed of anti-slavery and pro-slavery agitation, often leading to open physical confrontations on the street and in public meetings.

On April 3, 1858, the "Leavenworth Constitution" for the state of Kansas was adopted here. Although the federal government never approved this early version of the state constitution, it was considered one of the most radical of the four constitutions drafted for the new territory because it recognized freed black people as citizens.

Refugee African Americans continued to settle in the city during the war. By 1865 it had attracted nearly one-fifth of the 12,000 black people in the state. In 1866, the 10th Regiment of Cavalry, an all-black unit within the U.S. Army, was stood up at Fort Leavenworth. Charles Henry Langston was an African-American leader from Boston who worked and lived in Leavenworth and northeast Kansas in the Reconstruction era and afterward. In Kansas, Langston worked for black suffrage and the right of African Americans to sit on juries, testify in court, and have their children educated in common schools. African Americans gained suffrage in 1870 after passage of the federal 15th constitutional amendment, and the legislature voted for their right to sit on juries in 1874.

African Americans continued to migrate to the state of Kansas after the war. There were a total of 17,108 African Americans in Kansas in 1870, with 43,107 in 1880, and 52,003 by 1900. Most lived in urban areas.

20th century to present
Fred Alexander, a 22-year-old black veteran of the Spanish–American War, was arrested on circumstantial evidence following months of assaults on young white women in late 1900. Witnesses had identified a "large white man" and a "slight black man" as having been seen in the vicinity of the attacks, Police moved him to the penitentiary during questioning, but a lynch mob was forming in Leavenworth. The sheriff needed to bring him to Leavenworth for arraignment at the county court. He refused the governor's offer of state militia, and was unable to protect the prisoner. On January 15, 1901, Alexander was taken from jail by a mob of 5,000 people and to the site of the murder of Pearl Forbes, where he was brutally lynched: burned alive. He protested his innocence to the end. An inquest concluded he had been killed by "persons unknown".

His family refused to claim his body for burial. His father Alfred Alexander, an exoduster, said "The people have mutilated him, now let them bury him." The city arranged burial. African Americans in the region were horrified at Alexander's murder by the mob and created the first state chapter of the Afro-American Council, then the only national organization working for civil rights. (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded a few years later, and absorbed most members of the AAC.)

In 1972 Benjamin Day became the city's first African-American mayor. Day had been elected to the City Commission one year earlier. Leavenworth appoints its mayor from among the members of the Commission, and Day was named mayor in 1971. Day was a former educator and principal in Leavenworth.

Fort Leavenworth was located outside the city limits until its territory was annexed by the city on April 12, 1977.

In 2008, an underground series of "vaults" was found in the city, apparently built during the late 19th century.

Geography
Leavenworth is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of U.S. Route 73 and Kansas Highway 92 (K-92), Leavenworth is 25 mi northwest of downtown Kansas City, 145 mi south-southeast of Omaha, and 165 mi northeast of Wichita.

The city lies on the west bank of the Missouri River in the Dissected Till Plains region of North America's Central Lowlands. Four small tributaries of the river flow generally east through the city. From north to south, these are Quarry Creek, Corral Creek, Three Mile Creek, and Five Mile Creek. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.06 sqmi, of which, 24.04 sqmi is land and 0.02 sqmi is water. Fort Leavenworth occupies the northern half of the city's area.

Leavenworth, along with the rest of Leavenworth County, lies within the Kansas City metropolitan area. Lansing, Kansas, is located to the south.

Climate
Leavenworth experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with hot, humid summers and cold, drier winters. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the hottest month, and June is the wettest month.

Demographics
Leavenworth is the 10th most populated city in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

2020 census
The 2020 United States census counted 37,351 people, 13,143 households, and 8,369 families in Leavenworth. The population density was 1,540.7 per square mile (594.9/km$2$). There were 14,756 housing units at an average density of 608.7 per square mile (235.0/km$2$). The racial makeup was 71.01% (26,523) white or European American (67.28% non-Hispanic white), 13.77% (5,145) black or African-American, 1.08% (405) Native American or Alaska Native, 1.78% (666) Asian, 0.31% (117) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 1.99% (742) from other races, and 10.05% (3,753) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 8.82% (3,294) of the population.

Of the 13,143 households, 34.0% had children under the age of 18; 45.6% were married couples living together; 26.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 31.0% of households consisted of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 3.1. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 22.7% of the population.

24.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 83.1 males.

The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $60,870 (with a margin of error of +/- $3,391) and the median family income was $81,133 (+/- $5,077). Males had a median income of $36,795 (+/- $4,066) versus $25,100 (+/- $2,878) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $31,027 (+/- $2,275). Approximately, 7.7% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under the age of 18 and 6.4% of those ages 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 35,251 people, 12,256 households, and 8,129 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,466 PD/sqmi. There were 13,670 housing units at an average density of 568.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 75.4% White, 15.1% African American, 0.9% American Indian, 1.8% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.0% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 8.1% of the population.

There were 12,256 households, of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.7% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.15.

The median age in the city was 34.8 years. 26% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 31.6% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 10% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.9% male and 46.1% female.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,823, and the median income for a family was $61,576. Males had a median income of $49,693 versus $30,888 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,102. About 9.8% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Religion
Leavenworth contains a number of religious traditions stemming from its history and international military population. In the mid to late 19th century, Leavenworth had one of the largest Jewish communities in Kansas, made up of immigrants from Europe. Leavenworth had multiple Orthodox congregations by 1870. Over generations many Jews ultimately intermarried and their descendants became Christian.

There are two United Methodist Churches, the First United Methodist Church and Trinity United Methodist Church. Other Protestant churches include Lutheran, Episcopal, Southern Baptist, American Baptist, African Methodist Episcopal, United Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Community Church of Christ, Church of the Nazarene, Grace and Truth Fellowship, Assemblies of God, and Seventh-Day Adventist. Other religious institutions include a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Islamic Center of Leavenworth, A few churches conduct services in Hangul.

Leavenworth is part of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, with two Roman Catholic parishes in the city. Leavenworth was originally the Roman Catholic Diocese of the Indian Territory. It stretched some 600 miles from the West bank of the Missouri River to the summit of the Rockies, and about three times that distance from the Canadian border on the North to the Red River on the South. John Baptist Miège was the first Bishop of the Leavenworth Archdiocese, and erected the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, completed in 1854 and dedicated on December 8, 1854 on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It remained the Cathedral until Bishop George Donnelly moved the see city of the Diocese to Kansas City Kansas in 1947.

Economy
, 58.6% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 7.8% was in the armed forces, and 50.8% was in the civilian labor force with 47.0% being employed and 3.8% unemployed. The composition, by occupation, of the employed civilian labor force was: 34.5% in management, business, science, and arts; 22.8% in sales and office occupations; 23.2% in service occupations; 8.4% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance; 11.0% in production, transportation, and material moving. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were: educational services, health care, and social assistance (22.7%); public administration (15.6%); and retail trade (13.0%). The U.S. military at Fort Leavenworth is the city's largest employer, employing roughly 5,600 people, followed by Leavenworth Public Schools and the Department of Veteran Affairs Eastern Kansas Health Care System.

The cost of living in Leavenworth is below average; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the city is 87.1. , the median home value in the city was $124,200, the median selected monthly owner cost was $1,282 for housing units with a mortgage and $428 for those without, and the median gross rent was $762.

Top employers
According to the town's 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Museums
The C.W. Parker Carousel Museum is listed as one of the "8 Wonders of Kansas Customs" by the Kansas Sampler Foundation.

The Fred Harvey Museum, owned and operated by the Leavenworth Historical Museum Association, offers insights into the Harvey family and information about the chain of Harvey Houses in the American Southwest. Also owned and operated by Leavenworth Historical Museum Association, First City Museum tells the rich history of Leavenworth. Displays include famous citizens, businesses, Indian tribes, the prison industry, the military, large collection of horse drawn vehicles and a 17th century dugout canoe.

The Leavenworth County Historical Society maintains a museum at the Edward Carroll House, a Victorian-era mansion that is open to the public for touring.

The Richard Allen Cultural Center and Museum contains items and artifacts from African-American pioneers and members of the military, including the "Black Dignity" collection of 1870s-1920s photographs from the Mary Everhard Collection.

Events
Leavenworth enjoys year-round plays and musicals performed by a community theater group, the River City Community Players.

The Annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade is held each year since 1984 on March 17 at 12 noon in downtown Leavenworth. The day begins with a 9:00 a.m. Roman Catholic Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, "The Old Cathedral": ancestral home of the Irish of Leavenworth. Various fraternal and civic clubs and restaurants host events; monies raised above Parade costs are donated to local charities.

Military
A parade is held each year on Veterans' Day in downtown Leavenworth to honor veterans. Leavenworth has an active Byron H. Mehl American Legion Post #23 and Veterans of Foreign Wars George Edward White Post 56. Leavenworth High School boasts the very first Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in the country.

Points of interest
Leavenworth has a 28-block historic shopping district, which includes antique shops, restaurants, a brewery and a variety of artisan gift shops.

Haymarket Square is a covered lot where a local farmer's market takes place from May to October.

Parks and recreation
The Leavenworth Parks and Recreation Department maintains a system of more than 25 public parks as well as Riverfront Community Center, which includes an indoor cardio room and pool, and Wollman Aquatic Center. An off-leash dog park near the Dwight D. Eisenhower Veterans Affairs Medical Center was built with public donations in 2010.

Government
Leavenworth is a city of the first class with a commission-manager form of government. The city commission is the city's governing body and consists of five members, including the mayor and the mayor pro-tem. It sets city policies, adopts the city government's annual operating budget, and appoints city boards, commissions, and officials, including the city manager. Commissioners are elected to either four-year or two-year terms; one is appointed to serve as mayor, and another to serve as mayor pro-tem. The commission meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. The city manager is the city's chief executive, responsible for the day-to-day administration of the city government. The manager supervises all city government departments and employees, prepares and proposes the annual operating budget, and recommends policies to the city commission.

As the county seat, Leavenworth is the administrative center of Leavenworth County. The county courthouse is located south of downtown at 4th and Walnut streets, and all departments of the county government base their operations in the city.

Leavenworth lies within Kansas's 2nd U.S. Congressional District. For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature, the city is in the 5th district of the Kansas Senate and the 40th, 41st, and 42nd districts of the Kansas House of Representatives.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs operates the Dwight D. Eisenhower Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leavenworth as part of its Eastern Kansas Health Care System. The Medical Center includes a Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP), part of an initiative to provide mail-order prescriptions to veterans using automated systems at strategic locations throughout the United States, as well as the Central Plains Consolidated Patient Account Center (CPAC), a billing and collection agency.

Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth, known as the "Intellectual Center of the Army", is home to the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center. It is also home to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, School of Advanced Military Studies, the Center for Army Leadership, the Combat Studies Institute, the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, the Center for Army Lessons Learned and the Mission Command Center of Excellence.

Prisons
Leavenworth is the location of several federal and state detention centers and prisons:
 * United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth (USP) constructed in 1903, and its satellite prison camp, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons
 * United States Disciplinary Barracks, the U.S. military's only maximum-security facility
 * Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, another U.S. military facility
 * Leavenworth Detention Center, operator by for-profit prison corporation, CoreCivic for the United States Marshals Service

Primary and secondary education
Two public school districts serve the city. The majority of the city lies within Leavenworth USD 453, which operates six schools: four elementary schools, one middle school, and Leavenworth High School. USD 453 also operates Leavenworth Virtual School, an Internet-based school for students from grades Kindergarten through eighth grade. Senior high school students from Fort Leavenworth attend Leavenworth High School. 5th and 6th graders attend Richard Warren Middle School, which recently completed construction of a technology extension to the original building. Fort Leavenworth USD 207 encompasses Fort Leavenworth, and operates three elementary schools and one junior high school. A small portion of southern Leavenworth is in Lansing USD 469. Residents of this district are zoned to Lansing High School.

There are also two private schools in Leavenworth, and formerly there was a private high school. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas oversees one Catholic school, Xavier Elementary School (Grades Pre-K-8). Immaculata High School (Kansas) closed at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod operates one Lutheran school, St. Paul Lutheran School (Pre-K-8).

Colleges and universities
The main campus of University of Saint Mary, a four-year, private Catholic university, is in Leavenworth. In addition, Kansas City Kansas Community College operates a satellite campus in the city.

Media
The Leavenworth Times, published by CherryRoad Media is the city's daily newspaper. CherryRoad Media also publishes The Fort Leavenworth Lamp, a weekly newspaper covering local military news, on contract with the U.S. Army.

Leavenworth is in the Kansas City radio and television markets. Two radio stations are licensed in the city: KKLO broadcasts from Leavenworth on 1410 AM, a Fox News affiliate; KQRC-FM broadcasts from Mission, Kansas on 98.9 FM, playing a Rock format. The major regional newspaper is the Kansas City Star.

Transportation
In April 2023, RideLV began to provide on-demand transit service within the city using a mobile software app. The service is operated by The Guidance Center in partnership with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. However, Leavenworth remains the largest city in Kansas without fixed-route public transit service.

In popular culture
Leavenworth is the setting for "Hurt People", a 2009 novel by Cote Smith.

Notable people
Political activist Charles Henry Langston lived and worked here (1863-1870), assisting African-American refugees from slave states and, after the Civil War, working for black suffrage and equal rights of blacks in the West; he moved to Lawrence for the remainder of his life. General of the Army and 34th President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower once served at Fort Leavenworth. Both Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok lived and worked in Leavenworth during its Old West frontier period.

Other notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Leavenworth include rock musician Melissa Etheridge, restaurant entrepreneur Fred Harvey, architect Frank Jacobus, Broadway producer and Tony Awards founder Brock Pemberton, U.S. Supreme Court justice David Josiah Brewer, and former NBA player, Wayne Anthony Simien.

Sister cities

 * Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
 * Ōmihachiman, Japan

title: Leavenworth, Kansas


text:
Meadowbrook, Alabama

Meadowbrook is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 9,688. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area.

Geography
Meadowbrook is located at 33.40389°N, -86.69083°W (33.403788, -86.690758).

The community is located within the southeastern suburbs of Birmingham, generally bounded by U.S. Route 280 to the north, Alabama State Route 119 to the east, Valleydale Rd to the west, and Meadow Brook Rd to the south. Downtown Birmingham is 13 mi (21 km) to the northwest via US 280.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 4.2 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
At the 2000 census there were 4,697 people, 1,659 households, and 1,373 families living in the community. The population density was 1,909.9 PD/sqmi. There were 1,695 housing units at an average density of 689.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the community was 94.29% White, 2.87% Black or African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.09% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 0.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,659 households 46.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.6% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.2% were non-families. 14.9% of households were one person and 2.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.17.

The age distribution was 30.8% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.

The median household income was $83,715 and the median family income was $92,579. Males had a median income of $70,462 versus $35,179 for females. The per capita income for the community was $35,511. About 1.3% of families and 1.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.6% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
At the 2010 census there were 8,769 people, 3,187 households, and 2,523 families living in the community. The population density was 2,100 PD/sqmi. There were 3,325 housing units at an average density of 791.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the community was 92.8% White, 3.9% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. 1.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 3,187 households 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.2% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 17.7% of households were one person and 3.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.15.

The age distribution was 27.5% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 34.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% 65 or older. The median age was 40.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

The median household income was $98,862 and the median family income was $103,602. Males had a median income of $83,039 versus $52,460 for females. The per capita income for the community was $40,393. About 1.3% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 0% of those age 65 or over.

title: Meadowbrook, Alabama


text:
Georges Duby

Georges Duby (7 October 1919 – 3 December 1996) was a French historian who specialised in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages. He ranks among the most influential medieval historians of the twentieth century and was one of France's most prominent public intellectuals from the 1970s to his death. In 2019, his work was published in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. He is one of the rare historians to benefit from such an honor, with Herodotus, Thucydides, Ibn Khaldoun, Froissart and Michelet.

Born in Paris to a family of craftsmen of Burgundian and Alsacian origin, Duby was initially educated in the field of historical geography before he moved into history. He earned an undergraduate degree at Lyon in 1942 and completed his graduate thesis at the Sorbonne under Charles-Edmond Perrin in 1952. He taught first at Besançon and then at the University of Aix-en-Provence before he was appointed in 1970 to the Chair of the History of Medieval Society in the Collège de France. He remained attached to the Collège until his retirement in 1991. He was elected to the Académie française in 1987.

Impact of the Mâconnais book
Although Duby authored dozens of books, articles and reviews during his prolific career—for academic as well as popular audiences—his reputation and legacy as a scholar will always be attached to his first monograph, a published version of his 1952 doctoral thesis entitled La société aux XIe et XIIe siècles dans la région mâconnaise (Society in the 11th and 12th centuries in the Mâconnais region). La société exerted a profound influence on medieval scholarship in the second half of the twentieth century, placing the study of medieval feudal society on an entirely new footing. Working from the extensive documentary sources surviving from the Burgundian monastery of Cluny, as well as the dioceses of Mâcon and Dijon, Duby excavated the complex social and economic relationships among the individuals and institutions of the Mâconnais region, charting a profound shift in the social structures of medieval society around the year 1000.

Duby argued that in early eleventh century, governing institutions—particularly comital courts established under the Carolingian monarchy—that had represented public justice and order in Burgundy during the ninth and tenth centuries receded and gave way to a new feudal order wherein independent aristocratic knights wielded power over peasant communities through strong-arm tactics and threats of violence. The emergence of this new, decentralized society of dynastic lords could then explain such later eleventh-century phenomena as the Peace of God, the Gregorian reform movement and the Crusades.

Following upon this, Duby formulated a famous theory about the Crusades: that the tremendous response to the idea of Holy War against the Muslims can be traced to the desire of iuvenes, knights, mostly young and with little prospect of becoming lords, to make their fortunes by venturing abroad and seeking fame in the Levant. While Duby's theory had long-lasting influence, later scholars such as Jonathan Riley-Smith argued against it, arguing that there was no large-scale shortage of land in Western Europe at the time, that knights actually lost money going on crusade, and that lay religious sentiment was their primary motivation. Not all modern scholars follow Riley-Smith in this regard.

Duby's intensive and rigorous examination of a local society based on archival sources and a broad understanding of the social, environmental and economic bases of daily life became a standard model for medieval historical research in France for decades after the appearance of La société. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, French doctoral students investigated their own corners of medieval France, Italy and Spain in a similar way, hoping to compare and contrast their own results with those of Duby's Mâconnais and its thesis about the transformation of European society at the end of the first millennium.

Although he was never formally a student in the circle of scholars around Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre that came to be known as the Annales School, Duby was in many ways the most visible exponent of the Annaliste tradition, emphasizing the need to place people and their daily lives at the center of historical inquiry.

Histoire des mentalités
Duby was also a pioneer in what he and other Annaliste historians in the 1970s and 80s came to call the "history of mentalities", or the study of not just what people did, but their value systems and how they imagined their world. In books like The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined and The Age of Cathedrals, Duby showed how ideals and social reality existed in dynamic relationship to one another. His distilled biographical essay on William Marshal set the knight's career in the context of feudal loyalties, honour and the chivalric frame of mind.

Duby's interest in the idea of historical "mentalities" extended to thinking about the position of contemporary society vis-a-vis its past. In Le Dimanche de Bouvines (1973) on the pivotal 1214 battle of Bouvines, Duby chose not to analyze the battle itself, but the ways it had been represented and remembered over time and the role its memory had played in the formation of French ideas about its medieval past. The book remains a classic of Annales-style historiography, eschewing the "great man" and event-oriented theories of political history in favor of asking questions about the evolution of historical perceptions and ideas over the long term, the longue durée. Duby also wrote frequently in newspapers and popular journals and was a regular guest on radio and television programs promoting historical awareness and support for the arts and social sciences in France. He served as the first director of Société d'édition de programmes de télévision (aka La Sept), a French broadcast network dedicated to educational programming.

His last book, L'histoire continue (History Continues) (1991; Engl. trans. 1994), is an intellectual autobiography. In it, Duby stresses the importance of the historian as a public figure who can make the past relevant and exciting to those in the present. 'Make no mistake: the first function of historical literature had always been to entertain.'

Honours

 * Commandeur of the Legion of Honour.
 * Grand officier of the National Order of Merit.
 * Commandeur of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques.
 * Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
 * Chevalier of the Order of Agricultural Merit.
 * Officier of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Awards

 * Grand prix Gobert (1977)
 * Prix des Ambassadeurs (France, 1973)
 * Lauréat du concours général (France)

Acknowledgement

 * Member of the Académie Française
 * Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
 * Member of the British Academy
 * Member of the Medieval Academy of America
 * Member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
 * Member of the Accademia dei Lincei
 * Member of the Academia Europaea
 * Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
 * Member of the Royal Spanish Academy
 * Member of the Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona
 * Member of the American Philosophical Society
 * Member of the Royal Historical Society

Honorary degrees

 * University of Cambridge
 * University of Oxford
 * University of Amsterdam
 * Université catholique de Louvain
 * University of Liège
 * Université de Montréal
 * American University of Paris
 * University of Granada
 * University of Santiago de Compostela
 * John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
 * Harvard University

Selected bibliography

 * A History of French Civilization (with Robert Mandrou) (New York: Random House) 1964
 * The Making of the Christian West: 980–1140; The Europe of the Cathedrals: 1140–1280; Foundations of a New Humanism: 1280–1440 (Geneva: Skira) 1966–67
 * Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press) 1968. ISBN 0-872-49347-4
 * The Early Growth of the European Economy: Warriors and Peasants from the Seventh to the Twelfth Century (Ithaca: Cornell) University Press) 1974. ISBN 978-0-8014-9169-6.
 * La Société aux XIe et XIIe siècles dans la région mâconnaise (portions translated in The Chivalrous Society (1978; repr. 1981))
 * Le Dimanche de Bouvines (1973) (Translated in English as The Legend of Bouvines (1990) ISBN 0-520-06238-8)
 * The Year 1000 (1974).
 * The Age of the Cathedrals: Art and Society 980–1420 (1976).
 * The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) 1981.
 * Dialogues, with Guy Lardreau, Paris, Flammarion, 1981, repr. Les petits Platons, 2013.
 * The Knight, The Lady, and the Priest: The Making of Modern Marriage in Medieval France (New York: Pantheon) 1981.
 * Guillaume le Maréchal (Paris: Fayard), 1983, tr. as William Marshal: The Flower of Chivalry (1984).
 * L'histoire continue (1991)

title: Georges Duby


text:
Montevallo, Alabama

Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000 students. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city of Montevallo is 7,229.

Geography
Montevallo is located at 33.105°N, -86.86278°W (33.1049, -86.8628). A plaque on Reynolds Cemetery Road, just off Alabama State Route 25, in the eastern corner of the town, marks the geographic center of the state of Alabama. Middle Street, formerly known as Main Street, had its name changed in 1899 for this reason, upon the completion of a new state survey.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.7 sqmi, of which 7.6 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi (0.66%) is water.

History
The area where Montevallo is now was controlled by the Creek Indians. After being acquired in 1814 Jesse Wilson claimed a small hill on the northern bank of Wilson's Creek by the present Montevallo City Cemetery and created a homestead there, making it the oldest settlement in Shelby County. Wilson's friends and family followed afterwards and also settled in the area, and a settlement known as Wilson's Hill developed on the site. The settlement's location at almost the exact center of Alabama meant it was considered one of the potential sites for the University of Alabama. In an attempt to encourage the university to choose the site the settlement changed its name to Montevallo, which is Italian for the hill in the valley.

Montevallo was used by local farmers as a market town where they could sell and package their produce. It was incorporated as a city in 1848. In 1853 a railway was built between Montevallo and Selma which allowed further economic growth to Montevallo and in 1856 a coal mine was created nearby leading to further growth.

During the American Civil War, Union troops under the command of James H. Wilson camped in Montevallo in the spring of 1865 and skirmished with Confederates near the railroad depot. After the war, commercial life and growth was dominated by the coal mine owned by Truman Aldrich who leased the mine and attempted to increase production in response to the growing iron industry in the region and the growing city of Birmingham. Starting in 1890, company owned worker housing was built in Montevallo to house miners.

In the early 1890s, residents of Montevallo entered the city in a competition to be selected for the site of the Alabama Girl's Industrial School (later the University of Montevallo) a technical college for white women, raising funds to purchase land and antebellum buildings for the college they won and the college was founded in Montevallo in 1896. Commerce and economic growth increased in Montevallo after the establishment of the college, which was renamed Alabama College in 1919, started admitting men in 1956 and started admitting African Americans in 1968 and became the modern liberal arts University of Montevallo. The university became the main source of commerce in Montevallo and money generated by it was used by the municipal government to build schools. The university also allowed the community some stability during the Great Depression. It quickly took over the coal mine as the major employer in Montevallo, the coal mine closing in 1946.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,825 people, 1,711 households, and 946 families residing in the city. The population density was 638.5 PD/sqmi. There were 1,897 housing units at an average density of 251.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 72.54% White, 25.89% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,711 households, out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.4% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 18.3% under the age of 18, 36.0% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 14.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,541, and the median income for a family was $40,164. Males had a median income of $36,222 versus $23,705 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,468. About 14.5% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.6% of those under age 18 and 21.5% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 6,323 people, 2,346 households, and 1,325 families residing in the city. The population density was 832.0 PD/sqmi. There were 2,654 housing units at an average density of 349.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 70.2% White, 24.6% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. 5.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,346 households, out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 17.7% under the age of 18, 29.1% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,417, and the median income for a family was $75,500. Males had a median income of $53,125 versus $31,361 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,741. About 11.8% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,229 people, 2,249 households, and 1,234 families residing in the city.

Parnell Memorial Library
The Montevallo Public Library was founded in March 1958 under the leadership of the City of Montevallo and the Montevallo Branch of the American Association of University Women. The library began modestly as a collection of several hundred books in a small room at City Hall. The first librarian was Lillian Ward.

In 1974 the public library was moved to the Depot-in-the-Park, where Mayme Yarbrough was the librarian. It remained there until a 1978 fire destroyed the building and all its contents. The library was relocated to the City Hall Annex until 1984. At that time, the library was moved to the renovated telephone company switching building. The renovation of the building was made possible through the efforts of many people in this community and beyond. From March 1984 until December 2006, that facility served as Montevallo's public library.

In response to the offer from Dr. L. C. Parnell, Jr., to house his Civil War collection in the existing library at 845 Valley Street if an expansion of the library were undertaken, Parnell Memorial Library Foundation was incorporated on March 23, 1998. The mission of the Foundation is to promote funding for expansion of the facilities, services, and programs of Parnell Memorial Library.

As community needs grew, and particularly as community arts programming expanded, it was apparent that Montevallo needed a facility that was more than a traditional library. One of the primary agents of community arts programming is the Montevallo Main Street Players. The community theater group began more than thirty years ago and has performed in various city locations, including the Depot-in-the-Park and the City recreational building. For years, members of the Montevallo Main Street Players have needed a theater, complete with an up-to-date lighting and sound system, that they can use consistently for producing plays and storing props.

In June 2001, representatives from the Foundation, the Montevallo Library Board, the Library Staff, the Montevallo Main Street Players, and the City of Montevallo agreed that the community needed a new library in a new location to meet diverse community needs and to house the Parnell Collection of historical books and documents. The group requested that the City locate property suitable for building a new library that would also serve as a community cultural center. Groundbreaking took place on November 1, 2004, and the Grand Opening was held February 25, 2007.

The new library includes an art gallery and a quality theater used by the Montevallo Main Street Players, the public schools, and other area groups. Along with the large meeting room, the theatre is a much-needed venue for productions by touring theatre companies and musical groups as well as for City of Montevallo meetings and other civic gatherings.

Shoal Creek Park
Shoal Creek Park is a historical 167-acre estate that provides a series of walking and biking trails, in addition to a Pavilion, Antebellum style house, known as Perry Hall, and parking lot, located on Highway 119 in Montevallo surrounding Shoal Creek.

Perry Hall was constructed in 1834 on an 800-acre farm owned by the Perry family. The ownership of the house and land were later transferred to the Mahler family in 1946, and later donated to the city of Montevallo in 2013 by Ms. Elizabeth “Betty” Mahler.

Orr Park
Orr Park, located in Montevallo along Shoal Creek offers residents and visitors a natural recreational environment. Orr Park offers two playgrounds, six baseball/softball fields, a walking trail, a football field and a practice field.

Orr Park contains a local attraction dubbed "Tinglewood". In the early 1990s, local artist Tim Tingle, a coal miner by trade, took it upon himself to transform storm-damaged cedar trees into works of art. The carvings feature gnomes, a dragon, and a fish eating a snake, among others.

American Village
The American Village is a classroom and American history and civics education center. The American Village serves the Nation as an educational institution whose mission is to strengthen and renew the foundations of American liberty and self-government by engaging and inspiring citizens and leaders, with a special emphasis on programs for young people.

Notable people

 * Slade Blackwell, member of the Alabama Senate
 * Andrew Jackson Caldwell, U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1883 to 1887
 * James Hardy, surgeon who performed the first successful human lung transplant. Was born in Newala, a small community outside of Montevallo.
 * Jim Hayes, former Major League Baseball player for the Washington Senators
 * Polly Holliday, actress in TV series such as Alice and movies such as All the President's Men and Mrs. Doubtfire.
 * Frank Ragan King, Commander in the United States Navy who was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
 * Burwell Boykin Lewis, former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and president of the University of Alabama from 1880 to 1885
 * Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr., 11th director of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
 * Piano "C" Red, (1933–2013), Chicago blues and boogie-woogie pianist, singer and composer
 * Eugene Bondurant Sledge, United States Marine, university professor, and author
 * Korey Cunningham, University of Cincinnati Lineman, NFL Five season Professional athlete OT age 28. Teams AZ Cardinals 2018 7th Round Draft Pick, NE Patriots, and NY Giants. "The World lost a great soul", Justin Pugh. April 25, 2024 Korey Cunningham passed away in his Clifton, NJ Home.

Sister city
The friendly relationship between Echizen Town and Montevallo began in 1995 with a common interest in pottery. Echizen Town is well known for its unusual pottery and the University of Montevallo excels in teaching and creating the art. Echizen Town is also well known in Japan for its high quality crab, rice, and daffodils. Many people often confuse Echizen Town with Echizen City, a larger city to the south of Echizen Town, known for its production of knives and paper.

title: Montevallo, Alabama