Red Bay, Alabama

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Red Bay redirects here. For the Canadian town, see Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Coordinates: 34°26′24″N 88°8′18″W / 34.44, -88.13833
Red Bay, Alabama
Location in Franklin County and the state of Alabama
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Franklin
Area
- Total	9.8 sq mi (25.5 km²)
- Land	9.8 sq mi (25.4 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0.1 km²)
Elevation	643 ft (196 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	3,374
- Density	344.3/sq mi (132.3/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	35582
Area code(s)	256
FIPS code	01-63576
GNIS feature ID	0155213

Red Bay is a city in Franklin County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 3,374.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Town History
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Red Bay is located at 34°26′24″N, 88°8′18″W (34.439898, -88.138208)^[1].

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.9 square miles (25.5 km²), of which, 9.8 square miles (25.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.51%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 3,374 people, 1,429 households, and 987 families residing in the city. The population density was 343.7 people per square mile (132.7/km²). There were 1,594 housing units at an average density of 162.4/sq mi (62.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.86% White, 1.45% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.62% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,429 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% 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 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,596, and the median income for a family was $32,177. Males had a median income of $28,524 versus $20,169 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,653. About 17.7% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Town History

[edit] Red Bay High School

The first school in Red Bay was located where the First United Methodist Church stands today. In 1903, this school had one faculty member who was responsible for teaching, as well as most of the custodial duties. After crops were harvested, students attended school through the remainder of the fall and winter months until the spring planting season.

The second school was constructed in the early 1900s. It was located on the site that is now the location of the Red Bay City Park. It was a small building with few amenities. The school continued dismissals timed with the local harvests.

In 1927, a new school site was selected, and a new school built for $45,000. Since this construction, the location of the school has not changed. The building constructed in 1927 was a brick "U," one of the most popular school designs in Alabama at the time. Facing the school, the right wing of the "U" housed the elementary classes while the left wing held the high school. Once inside the school, after going under the stone entryway, the office of the principal was on your immediate left. A small room on the right served as the library. A large auditorium with double wooden seats that could be folded and stored was centrally located between the two wings. The building housing the home economics and agriculture departments was located on the left of the main school building. At a later date, classrooms were added to the left wing of the main building. Due to the slope of the site, a ground-level lunchroom was included in this addition. With steps leading from the hallway, the first cafeteria available to Red Bay students became operational.

Due to increased enrollment, a new high school section was completed in 1962. In 1967, the auditorium and elementary wing of the 1927 building was destroyed by fire. The disaster occurred while school was in session, but no injuries occurred. Plans began immediately to rebuild the school. A new auditorium and elementary classroom section first welcomed students during the 1968-69 school year.

In 1976, Red Bay celebrated both the nation's bi-centennial and the opening of a new gymnasium. Eight years later, in 1984, a new cafeteria was ready for use in time for the school's annual football banquet. The former cafeteria was renovated providing five additional classrooms, a photography lab, and a yearbook staff workroom.

[edit] School Athletics

Football games were first played in a pasture where the present Sunshine Homes plant is located. Later, the games were played at the American Legion Field which is the current location of Tiffin Motor Homes.

[edit] City Hall Fire

In the summer of 2006, the Red Bay city hall burned to the ground. Among local residents, the fire is rumored to have started when a squirrel was caught in an electrical transformer, which then exploded, causing the fire which destroyed city hall and the city jail. The fire department did not have an opportunity to "put out the fire" due to previous construction projects to the city hall. The fire was located between the ceiling which had a roof above it and another roof structure above the original which, again, prevented the fire department from getting water on the fire. Construction on a new city hall building has recently begun. The contractor bid for the new city hall by Burton Construction of Belmont, Mississippi was supposedly to be $750,000 dollars. Bids were also let for a new police department and the lowest bid was for $500,000 dollars.

[edit] Town Myths

One of the distinguishing features of Red Bay is the collection of myths passed through oral tradition in the community. Whether the stories are true or not is not important. They are part of a rich tradition of Alabama storytelling that truly keeps Red Bay immortal, no matter how small the community is.

Electric Paddles- Electric paddles are banned in the city. This is rumored to be due to the death of a student who was disciplined with one at Red Bay in the 1980s.

Red Bay Hotel- According to locals the only city hotel is haunted. A being has been reported flying around the building at midnight. This is thought to be connected to the fact that the hotel is built atop an Indian burial ground.

Tiger Mascot- It is also rumored that a tiger is buried beneath the fifty yard line of the football field at the highschool. The tiger was shipped in as a sign of good luck, to signify the team's connection with their mascot.