| Prichard, Alabama | |||
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| — City — | |||
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| Nickname(s): The City Of Champions", "The Crossroads of Mobile County | |||
| Location in Mobile County and the State of Alabama | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Alabama | ||
| County | Mobile | ||
| Founded | 1925 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Ron Davis (D) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 25.5 sq mi (66.0 km2) | ||
| • Land | 25.4 sq mi (65.8 km2) | ||
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 30 ft (9 m) | ||
| Population (2005)[1] | |||
| • Total | 27,963 | ||
| • Density | 1,100.7/sq mi (425.0/km2) | ||
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) | ||
| ZIP codes | 36610, 36617 | ||
| Area code(s) | 251 | ||
| FIPS code | 01-62496 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0125275 | ||
| Website | http://www.thecityofprichard.org | ||
Prichard is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, in the United States.
Prichard borders the north side of Mobile, as well as the Mobile suburbs of Chickasaw, Alabama, Saraland, Alabama, and the unincorporated sections of Eight Mile, Alabama. As of 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 27,963.[1] It is a part of the Mobile metropolitan statistical area.
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Prichard began as a settlement in the 1830s bordering Telegraph Road (known now as U.S. Highway 43) It remained largely unsettled until the Clotilde landed in Mobile Bay prior to the Civil War. Africatown evolved into a greater part of the Plateau/Magazine area which developed along Telegraph Road, and eventually, Plateau and Magazine had their territory split between Mobile and Prichard.
After 1900, Prichard began a slow and steady development. In 1925, Prichard was incorporated as a city. During World War II Prichard became a company town as many Mobile shipbuilding companies built homes for their workers in Prichard. During the 1950s and 60's, Prichard annexed historic Whistler as well as parts of Eight Mile, Alabama and Kushla. The 40's and 50's saw phenomenal growth in the Mobile area, and Mobile, Prichard and Chickasaw all recorded their highest city-proper populations in 1960. Following the Civil Rights Movement however, Prichard's rigid system of segregation collapsed, and many blacks who had previously lived in the Bullshead/Neely/Trinity Gardens area of Prichard began moving into East Prichard (downtown Prichard) causing a dramatic white flight to occur.
In 1960, Prichard recorded a population of 47,371. In 1970, the population had decreased to 41,000 and by 1990 it had decreased to approximately 34,000. In 1970, Vigor High School on Wilson Avenue, which had been Prichard's white high school during segregation was 70% white, by 1980, it was 80% black, even considering the fact that most of Prichard's remaining white areas were in its district. In 1994, construction of Interstate 165 was completed, and it has produced some economic benefits in East Prichard. The 1980s downtown vacancy rate was near 80%, as of 2000, it was closer to 30%. In 2004, the Prichard Housing Authority began demolition of the Bessemer Avenue Housing Project in Bullshead.
In December 2006, the city of Prichard was selected as the site of the future Alabama Motorsports Park, a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Speedway and theme park. This complex of racetracks and entertainment venues is planned to be on nearly 3,000 acres (12 km2) of land near the intersection of Industrial Parkway (Alabama State Route 158) and US Highway 45 in the northern section of Prichard.[2][3]
In 1972, while still a majority white city, Prichard elected its first black Mayor, Algernon Johnson (A.J.) Cooper, who would serve 2 terms as Prichard's mayor, and would eventually serve in the administration of President Bill Clinton. In 1968, Cooper founded the Black American Law Students Association at New York University. While Mayor Cooper was popular with both blacks and whites, however, he engaged in many battles with the Prichard City Council during his tenure.
In the 1980s and 1990s problems with crime, drugs and middle class flight were elevated when the area's major financial and employment base left with the closing of factories operated by Scott Paper Company and International Paper as well as Brookley Field Air Base. This devastated the area and the city struggled to recover. In 1999, the city declared bankruptcy.[4]
In November 2004, Mobile County voters narrowly (500 votes out of 100,000 cast on the issue) defeated a local amendment which would have allowed Prichard to set up a special trade zone. The measure passed by a 2/3s vote in Prichard, and also passed by smaller margins in Mobile and Chickasaw, but was defeated by the rest of Mobile County.
In 2004, the city hired an actuary to analyze and summarize their employees’ pension plan. He told the city the plan would run out of money by the summer of 2009. In September of that year, the city's pension fund ran out of money and stopped paying pensions.[5] The city filed for bankruptcy again in October 2009.[6]
The current mayor of Prichard is Ron Davis. Davis was elected mayor in the 2004 municipal elections, defeating incumbent mayor Charles Harden. In 2010, Councilwoman Earline Martin-Harris suggested dissolving the city and offered an alternative budget which would make all city employees part-time employees. As of April 2011, pensioners have not received their pension checks nor has a budget been passed in eighteen months.
The city is served by a five-member city council, which is composed of five districts of equal size. The city council is responsible for establishing the policies of the city of Prichard. The current council president is Herman Towner. The Prichard City Council meets every Thursday at 4:30 pm in the Council Chambers at Prichard City Hall.
| District | Representative | Position |
|---|---|---|
| I | Herman Towner | Council President |
| II | Earline Martin-Harris | Councilwoman |
| III | ||
| IV | Troy Ephriam | Councilman |
| V | Ossia Edwards | Councilwoman |
Prichard is located at (30.748038, -88.100384)[7].
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.5 square miles (66 km2), of which, 25.4 square miles (66 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (0.31%) is water.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 4,580 |
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| 1940 | 6,084 | 32.8% | |
| 1950 | 19,014 | 212.5% | |
| 1960 | 47,371 | 149.1% | |
| 1970 | 41,578 | −12.2% | |
| 1980 | 39,541 | −4.9% | |
| 1990 | 34,311 | −13.2% | |
| 2000 | 28,633 | −16.5% | |
| Est. 2007 | 27,791 | −2.9% | |
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 28,633 people, 9,841 households, and 7,272 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,127.6 people per square mile (435.4/km²). There were 11,336 housing units at an average density of 446.4 per square mile (172.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.53% Black or African American, 14.18% White, 0.30% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.07% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. 0.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 9,841 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.8% were married couples living together, 36.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $19,544, and the median income for a family was $23,519. Males had a median income of $26,543 versus $17,040 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,626. About 31.8% of families and 35.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 47.8% of those under age 18 and 25.8% of those age 65 or over.
The Mobile County Public School System serves Prichard. Elementary schools in Prichard include Collins-Rhodes Elementary School,[9] Grant Elementary School,[10] Indian Springs Elementary School,[11] Robbins Elementary School,[12] and Whitley Elementary School.[13]
Students are zoned to North Mobile County Middle School.[14]
Vigor High School is in Prichard.[15] Blount High School is in an unincorporated area in Eight Mile, adjacent to Prichard.[16] Faulkner Vocational School, a magnet school, is in Prichard.[17]
The current Collins Rhodes school opened in 2007,[18] replacing Eight Mile Elementary School.[19] On September 7, 2010 North Mobile County Middle School opened, replacing the role of Adams Middle School in Saraland, because residents outside of Saraland are no longer zoned to Adams Middle.[20]
The University of Mobile is also located within the city.
The city operates the Prichard Public Library and the Mitchell Public Library.[21]
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