Jasper

Jasper, Alabama
—  City  —
Location in Walker County and the state of Alabama
Coordinates: 33°50′32″N 87°16′38″W / 33.84222°N 87.27722°W / 33.84222; -87.27722
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Walker
Government
- Mayor	Sonny Posey
Area
- Total	26.9 sq mi (69.6 km2)
- Land	26.9 sq mi (69.6 km2)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	328 ft (100 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	14,052
- Density	522.4/sq mi (201.9/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	35501-35504
Area code(s)	205
FIPS code	01-38416
GNIS feature ID	0120822
Website	http://www.jaspercity.com/

Jasper is a city in Walker County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 14,659. As of July 1, 2006 the population had increased to 15,117.^[1] The city is the county seat of Walker County^[2], and once ranked among the world's leading producers of coal.

Geography

Jasper is located at 33°50′32″N 87°16′38″W / 33.84222°N 87.27722°W / 33.84222; -87.27722 (33.842347, -87.277174)^[3].

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.9 square miles (69.6 km²), of which, 26.9 square miles (69.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04% is water.

History

A welcome sign sits beside Walker High School, notating the school's state titles.

Jasper, named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, a Red Stick War soldier, was settled in 1815, but was not incorporated until 1888. The first significiant growth of the area was realized in 1886, when the Kansas City-Memphis & Birmingham and the Sheffield & Birmingham Railroads were completed through Jasper. The population grew from 200 people in 1886 to more than 3,000 in 1890. In a special edition in 1891, The Mountain Eagle stated there were 400 coke ovens in operation, six coal mines, one foundry and machine shop, two saw mills, one brick work, two sandstone quarries, four hotels, and two banks.

Notable residents

It is the birthplace of famous TV and movie stars Polly Holliday and George Lindsey, the actor who played Goober on The Andy Griffith Show, as well as singer Sandy Posey,and award winning songwriter Samuel Young. It is also the birthplace of United States Senator John H. Bankhead II, former Speaker of the House William Brockman Bankhead, Alabama millionaire James Stanley Freeman and his son, famed World War II admiral James Shepherd Freeman, and home of the late Congressman Tom Bevill, who is known for making the first 911 emergency call. The late actress Tallulah Brockman Bankhead lived for a while at her father's home in Jasper as a child, and was later married in that home. One of the fictional characters from the TV show, Lost , James "Sawyer" Ford was originally from Jasper, Alabama. He reveals this in Season 3. MMA fighter and famous boxer "Butterbean" Eric Esche resides in Jasper and owns the Mr. Bean's BBQ restaurant.

References in popular culture

Jasper is the birthplace of James "Sawyer" Ford, a fictional character from ABC's television series Lost.

The city of Jasper is mentioned multiple times by Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show, as it was the actual hometown of actor George Lindsey.

Jasper is the birthplace of actress Polly Holliday as "Flo" on the popular television series Alice and her own series Flo

The city of Jasper is mentioned as the birthplace of the children's storybook chihuahua, Coco Bear.

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 14,052 people, 5,728 households, and 3,809 families residing in the city. The population density was 523.0 people per square mile (201.9/km²). There were 6,473 housing units at an average density of 240.9/sq mi (93.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.15% White, 13.98% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.l.

There were 5,728 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33, and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,044, and the median income for a family was $43,674. Males had a median income of $35,182 versus $22,868 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,491. About 10.2% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Elementary (K-5)

Memorial Park School, T.R. Simmons Elementary School, West Jasper Elementary School

Junior High (6-8)

Maddox Middle School (formerly "Jasper Junior High," grades 7 - 8; co-located with "Central Elementary School," grades 1 - 6) Notable Alumni: Insley Perdock,

Combined Elementary and Junior High (K-8)

Farmstead Elementary/Junior High School (member of Walker Co. BOE)

High School (9-12)

Walker High School

Businesses

• MonsterFM.com/Broadcast Services [1] - Broadcast Media
• Dill Communications [2] - Communications
• Drummond Company [3] - Coal
• Walker Baptist Hospital [4] - Healthcare
• Computer Electronics Service [5] = Computer Repair
• Sirius Design Studio [6] - Web Design

Media

• Jasper is home to one local FM radio station: WQJJ-LP 97.7 Fox-FM (97.7 FM) [7], which serves as Walker and Winston Counties' local full-service FM radio station.

• Jasper is home to two AM radio stations: WJLX (1240 AM), and WIXI (1360 AM)

• Jasper's hometown newspaper is The Daily Mountain Eagle.

• Jasper's weekly newspaper is The Corridor Messenger, began by Alabama House Majority Leader Ken Guin and his wife, Tanya. It employs four staff members including just two reporters.

Churches

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• St. Cecilia's Catholic Church [8] - Roman Catholic
• Jasper's First Baptist Church - Southern Baptist
• Jasper First Church of The Nazarene [9] - Nazarene
• Sixth Avenue Church of Christ [10] - Church of Christ
• Woodland Trace Church of Christ [11] - Church of Christ
• New Prospect Baptist Church [12] - Southern Baptist
• First United Methodist Church [13] - United Methodist
• St. Mary's Episcopal Church - Episcopal
• First Free Will Baptist Church
• The Oasis Church (Assembly of God)

Jasper Independent Methodist

References

External links

• [14]City of Jasper
• [15]Walker County on Myspace
• Institute of Southern Jewish Life, History of Jasper

• Jasper, Alabama is at coordinates 33°50′32″N 87°16′38″W / 33.842347°N 87.277174°W / 33.842347; -87.277174 (Jasper, Alabama)Coordinates: 33°50′32″N 87°16′38″W / 33.842347°N 87.277174°W / 33.842347; -87.277174 (Jasper, Alabama)

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Walker County, Alabama County seat: Jasper Cities Carbon Hill | Cordova | Dora | Jasper | Sumiton‡ Towns Eldridge | Kansas | Nauvoo‡ | Oakman | Parrish | Sipsey Unincorporated community Curry Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties