Gadsden

Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about 56 miles (90 km) northeast of Birmingham and 90 miles (140 km) southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 33,945. In 1991, following more than a decade of sharp decline in industry, Gadsden was awarded the honor of All-America City by the National Civic League. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Republic Steel were among the city's major industries. The city reached its peak of population in 1960, when it was home to more than 30,000 people. It has a humid subtropical climate (Kppen Cfa) with four distinct seasons. The average temperature in January is 41 °F (5.2 °C). On average, the low temperature falls below the freezing mark on 60 days a year, and below 20 °C on 20 days or less. Gads den is located at 34°037N 86°0 37W (34.010147, 86.010356), and the city has a total area of 38.3 square miles (99.2 km), of which 37.2 sq mi (1.96 km) is land and 1.2sq mi (2.9 km), or 2.96% is water. The southern end of Lookout Mountain rises to the city center.

History

Gadsden is the primary city name, but also East Gadsden, Hokes Bluff are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Gadsden. The first substantial European-American settlement in the area that developed as Gadsden was a village called "Double Springs". It was founded in about 1825 by John Riley, a mixed-race American Indian and European- American settler. The house was purchased by brothers Gabriel and Asenath Hughes in 1840. The Hughes brothers proposed constructing a railroad from the port of Savannah to Nashville through their land. In 1845, Captain James Lafferty piloted the steamboat Coosa to the settlement. He landed near the site where the Memorial Bridge was built. Residents adopted "Gadsden" in honor of Colonel James Gads den of South Carolina. By the late 19th century, Gadsen had developed as a major river port on the Coosa River, and was second to Mobile, a seaport on the Gulf Coast, in importance. In the 1970s and 1980s, the city lost many jobs and much population, and began to decline. With unionization, industrial workers could earn middle-class salaries and improve their lives, even as African Americans struggled under Jim Crow laws and political disenfranchisement. The city reached its peak of population in 1960. Redevelopment efforts, such as the Cultural Arts Center and downtown revitalization, earned Gadsgen first place in the 2000 City Livability Awards Program of the US Conference of Mayors. Underemployment continues to be a severe problem, as indicated by the economic data presented below..

Geography and climate

Gadsden has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) with four distinct seasons. The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on June 30, 2012. The city is located in central Etowah County at 34°0 37N 86°037W (34.010147, 86.010356), and developed on both sides of the Coosa River. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.3 square miles (99.2 km²), of which 37.1 square miles is land and 1.9 km², or 2.96%, is water. The southern end of Lookout Mountain rises to the north of the city center, and Gadsden is located on the banks of the Lookout River, a tributary of the Tennessee River. The average annual temperature is 80.6°F (27.0 °C), and there are 6061 days of 90 °f (32 °C+) highs annually. There are 2.1 days of 100 °F (38 °C)+ highs annually, and the July daily average temperature is80.6 °F F (27.0°C) The average yearly rainfall is 2.2 inches (51.5 mm) or 6.4 inches (150 millimeters) or 1.3 inches (3.4 cm) per year. The annual average temperature in January is 41.3 °F (-5.2 °C).

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,978 people, 16,456 households, and 10,252 families living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 62.7% White, 34.0% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. 2.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The median income for a household in theCity was $24,823, and the median income. for a family was $31,740. The per capita income for the city is $15,610. The city has a population of 33,945, and as of the 2020 U.S. census there were 33,745 people residing in the City. The average household size is 2.28, with the average family size being 2.91. The population of the City has a density of 1,083.6 inhabitants per square mile (418.4/km²), with the population of 18,797 living at an average density of 522.6 per squaremile (201.8/ km²) The city's population is expected to grow to 38,000 by the end of the decade, with a population growth rate of 1.8% from 2000 to 20,000 in the next few years. It has a median age of 39.3 years, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.3 males.

Employment

12,000 residents of Etowah County were underemployed and 2,179 residents were unemployed as of 2008. The Gadsden-Etowah county Industrial Development Authority reports that approximately 12,000 people were unemployed. The county's unemployment rate was 2.7 percent in 2008, according to the authority. The unemployment rate for the state as a whole was 3.1 percent in 2007. The state's economy is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2009, the authority says. The U.S. unemployment rate is 3.9 percent, the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations says. In 2007, the unemployment rate in the state was 4.7%. The state had a total of 2.9 million people unemployed, the state Department of Industry Relations says, up from 2.8 million in 2007 and 3.2 million in 2006. The national unemployment rate has been 3.3 percent since 2007, down from 3.8 percent in 2006 and 4.2 percent in 2005. The economy is projected to grow at a rate of 2 percent in 2010 and 2.4 percent in 2011, the agency says. It says the county's economy will grow by 1.7 million people in 2010. The region's unemployment rates are expected to rise to 3.6 percent in 2012 and 4 percent in 2013. The nation's employment rate is forecast to be 3.0 percent in 2014 and 5 percent in 2015. The United States unemployment rate stands at 3.7 per cent.

Religion

The city was home to Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue founded in 1908. In a 1960 attack, the synagogue was fire-bombed, its windows smashed, and two members shot and wounded by a Nazi sympathizer. Because of declining numbers as some members moved away and others died, the congregation ceased operations in 2010. Gadsden houses numerous churches: Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Church of Christ, Pentecostal, Catholic, and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The city is also home to the University of Alabama inadsden, a private liberal arts college. The university is located on the Alabama-Mississippi state line. It was founded in 1864 and is located in the heart of the Mobile area. It is home to several colleges and universities, including Alabama State University, Alabama Tech, and Alabama A&M University. It also has the College of Arts and Sciences, which was established in 1881. The University of Mississippi is located nearby, and has a campus that opened in 1883. It has been the home of the Alabama School of Law and Medicine since 1883, and the Alabama College of Pharmacy and Dentistry, which opened in 1888. The Gadsen High School was founded on the university's campus in 1885. The school was the site of the first African-American high school, and later the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College, which began in 1891. The Alabama State College of Science and Technology, which started in 1894, was the first college in the state to graduate its students.

Law enforcement

Gadsden has a 106-member municipal police department. The Patrol Division operates patrol, a bomb squad unit, special projects team, and a joint SWAT team with the Etowah County Sheriff Office. The Detective Division serves a homicide or persons unit, property crime unit, financial crimes unit, and juvenile unit. In May 2010, the Gadsden Police Department acquired two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) under the auspices of a $150,000 federal grant. The drones are equipped with video cameras and wireless transmitters, designed to be used for aerial surveillance. The department also has a SWAT team that works with the county sheriff's office on special projects and investigations. The Gadsen Police Department is a member of the National Law Enforcement Officers' Association (NLEA) and the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACP). The NLEA is a trade group for law enforcement professionals. The NLCP is based in Birmingham, Alabama, and the NACP is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. NLCA members include the FBI, the DEA, the ATF, the National Institute of Justice, the FBI Division of Criminal Investigation, and other law enforcement agencies.

Education

Gadsden is home to Gadsden State Community College, the second largest of the 27 two-year institutions in the Alabama Community College System. The Community Intensive Treatment for Youth Program (C.I.T.Y.) was founded in January 1981 by Edward E. Earnest. On October 1, 2009, the name of the program was changed to Special Programming for Achievement Network (S.P.A.N.) It operates under the directorship of the Alabama Department of Youth Services. Small satellites of Jacksonville State University and the University of Alabama also offer college courses in Gads den. Gadsen is the home to the first statewide day-treatment program for juvenile offenders. The city has 14 schools: eight elementary schools, three middle schools, one high school, and two specialty schools (one alternative center and one technical center). A new high school was built in 2006-2007 to replace the three former city high schools (Emma Sansom High. School, Gadsgen High School, and Litchfield High School) via merger for the 2006-2007 school year. The school district has a population of 1,816,000 (as of the 2010 census). The city is located on the Alabama-Mississippi state line. It is located in the northern part of the state, near the state line with Mississippi. The town is located near the Alabama Turnpike, which runs into the Mississippi River. It has an estimated population of 2,000,000.

Infrastructure

The state of Alabama is home to several major highways, railroads, airports, and hospitals. The state's infrastructure includes Interstate 59, U.S. Highway 431, Interstate 759, and the Alabama and Tennessee River Railway. Gadsden Regional Medical Center: 346-bed facility. Mountain View Hospital: Psychiatric and chemical dependency facility. Riverview Regional Medical center: 281- bed facility. North Alabama Regional Airport (municipal airport) is the state's largest airport, with a population of 1.2 million. The city is also home to the nation's largest hospital system, with 346 beds, and one of the largest hospitals in the United States, with 281 beds. It also has the largest number of psychiatric facilities in the state, with more than 100 beds. The town has the second largest population in the country, with 1.3 million people, and a population growth rate of 0.7% per year. It is the second-largest state in the nation in terms of population growth, after Mississippi. It has the highest population growth rates in the South, followed by Mississippi and Louisiana. It's also the third-largest in the Southeast, after Georgia and Mississippi, and fourth in the Midwest. The county has the fourth-highest population growth Rate of growth of any state in recent years, behind Mississippi and Tennessee, and second-highest in the West, after Texas and Texas. The region's population has grown at a rate of 2.5% annually since 2000.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Gadsden, Etowah County, Alabama = 63.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 84. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 99. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Gadsden = 5.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 33,945 individuals with a median age of 39.3 age the population dropped by -6.57% in Gadsden, Etowah County, Alabama population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 906.89 residents per square mile of area (350.15/km²). There are average 2.22 people per household in the 15,728 households with an average household income of $27,096 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 12.30% of the available work force and has dropped -7.38% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 12.94%. The number of physicians in Gadsden per 100,000 population = 180.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Gadsden = 54.9 inches and the annual snowfall = 1.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 104. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 205. 92 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 34.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 32, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Gadsden, Etowah County, Alabama which are owned by the occupant = 54.96%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 51 years with median home cost = $77,720 and home appreciation of 1.11%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $3.13 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,431 per student. There are 16.1 students for each teacher in the school, 348 students for each Librarian and 406 students for each Counselor. 5.95% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 8.30% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 6.63% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).