Smiths Station, Alabama

Smiths Station is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is a part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is also known by locals as Smiths, although the official name is Smiths Station. According to the local legend, a postmaster around 1960 grew tired of writing Smiths Station, so he took it upon himself to drop "Station" from the name of the community. Smiths Station was officially incorporated in June 2001, and is as of 2004^[update] Alabama's second newest city next to Center Point. At the time of the 2000 census, it was still a census-designated place (CDP), and its population was 21,756. Smiths Station is a bedroom community of Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama. Smiths Station High School has an enrollment of 1,800+ students and is the 11th largest high school in the state.

Geography

Smiths is located at .^[1]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 71.9 square miles (186 km²), of which, 71.2 square miles (184 km²) of it was land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (1.00%) was water.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 21,756 people, 7,806 households, and 6,252 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 305.7 people per square mile (118.0/km²). There were 8,437 housing units at an average density of 118.6 per square mile (45.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 84.79% White, 12.67% Black or African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.74% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 2.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,806 households out of which 44.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.9% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 30.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,977, and the median income for a family was $47,765. Males had a median income of $32,246 versus $23,707 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,608. About 7.2% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Smiths Station is a part of the Lee County Schools.

There is one high school in Smiths, Smiths Station High School. The school colors are that of Black and White with a secondary use of Silver. The sports teams are called "The Panthers." The schools "cheer squads" are award winning and appear at all football and basketball games. In years past the football team had more success being the states third most school to appear in state championship games. The "Panther Spirit Marching Band" has been invited to march for the Queen of the United Kingdom and has performed in the Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia, PA. The band holds three Grand Championship awards and numerous best in class awards. The Track and Field team has been nationally ranked several times in the past and has numerous alumni throughout the nation competing at the DI, DII, and professional levels.

References

1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - ALABAMA : urban population

External links

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