Hueytown, Alabama

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Hueytown, Alabama
Location in Jefferson County and the state of Alabama
Location in Jefferson County and the state of Alabama
Coordinates: 33°26′16″N 86°59′51″W / 33.43778, -86.9975
Country United States
State Alabama
County Jefferson
Area
 - Total 11.6 sq mi (30.1 km²)
 - Land 11.6 sq mi (30.1 km²)
 - Water 0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation 600 ft (183 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 15,364
 - Density 1,324.5/sq mi (510.4/km²)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 35022-35023
Area code(s) 205
FIPS code 01-36448
GNIS feature ID 0158850

Hueytown is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,364.

Hueytown was the home of the legendary NASCAR Alabama Gang. It also made international headlines with the unexplainable "Hueytown Hum," a mysterious noise once believed to be related to an underground coal mine in the area.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Hueytown is located at 33°26′16″N, 86°59′51″W (33.437709, -86.997579)[1].

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.6 square miles (30.1 km²), of which, 11.6 square miles (30.1 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.17%) is water.

It is considered a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, and is included in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 15,364 people, 6,155 households, and 4,517 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,323.7 people per square mile (510.9/km²). There were 6,519 housing units at an average density of 561.7/sq mi (216.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.81% White, 15.49% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.34% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,155 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males.

[edit] Economy

Recently, Hueytown has undergone economic growth with the opening of a new shopping center anchored by a Publix Super Market, which opened on April 26, 2006. Although most of this strip mall remains unleased, a Cingular store, Chic nails, and Xpress Ship are located in this strip mall. A Wal-mart is scheduled to open in 2008.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,225, and the median income for a family was $49,380. Males had a median income of $36,087 versus $26,025 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,735. About 5.3% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Hueytown's public schools are a part of the Jefferson County school system. Schools serving the city include Hueytown High School, Hueytown Middle School (formerly Pittman Middle School), Hueytown Elementary School, and North Highland Elementary School. Two private religious schools, Garywood Christian School and Brooklane Baptist Academy, are located in Hueytown.

The mascot for Hueytown High School is the Golden Gopher.

For the middle school, the mascot is the Purple Panther.

[edit] Sports

The abbreviation HYT (HueYTown) has become a popular term of reference for Hueytown among some of the residents; it is constantly used for sports. (for example HYT football)

Hueytown High School's football team made it to the Alabama State Playoffs both in 2006 and 2007. The team also had a school record for wins in '07 with a 10-2 record.

HHS's Softball team has the Alabama State Softball championship 3 times in 4 years, 2005 and 2006 as a 5A school and 2008 as a 6A school.

[edit] The Alabama Gang

Hueytown was home to one of the dominant racing groups in NASCAR, the Alabama Gang. The city's main thoroughfare, Allison-Bonnett Memorial Drive, takes its name from drivers Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Davey Allison, Clifford Allison and Neil Bonnett. The Alabama Gang also includes racing legend Charles "Red" Farmer. Though not considered a member of The Alabama Gang, Bobby and Donnie's older brother Eddie Allison had an active role in NASCAR for many years and still resides in Hueytown. His son, Jacob, is a radio personality on Birmingham, Alabama station WJOX. He also resides in Hueytown.

Interestingly, and certainly because of its established motorsports roots, Hueytown was chosen as BMW Motorsport's initial North American base of operations before its first season with the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) in 1975.

[edit] References

  1. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links