Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden, Alabama Aerial photo of downtown Gadsden Aerial photo of downtown Gadsden Location in Etowah County and the state of Alabama Location in Etowah County and the state of Alabama Gadsden is a town/city in and the governmental center of county of Etowah County in the U.S.
It is the major city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populace of 103,931.
As of the 2010 census, the populace of the town/city was 36,856, with an estimated populace of 36,295 in 2014. Gadsden and Rome, Georgia, are the biggest cities in the triangular region defined by the Interstate highways between Atlanta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga.
Gadsden was at one time in the 19th century Alabama's second most meaningful center of commerce and industry, trailing only the seaport of Mobile.
The two metros/cities were meaningful shipping centers: Gadsden for riverboats and Mobile for global trade.
Through the 1980s, Gadsden was a center of heavy industry, including the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and the Republic Steel Corporation.
More than a decade after the sharp diminish in industry, in 1991 Gadsden was awarded the honor of All-America City by the National Civic League, an award that honored the way Gadsden's people, government, businesses, and voluntary organizations work together to address critical small-town issues.
The first substantial white settlement in what is now Gadsden was a village called "Double Springs".
The initial building still stands as the earliest in Gadsden.
The brothers proposed constructing a barns from Savannah to Nashville through their land. The initial 120 acres (49 ha) survey of Gadsden encompassed the Hughes brothers' land, plus that of John S.
The Hughes brothers suggested renaming the town as "Lafferty's Landing", but instead "Gadsden" was adopted with respect to Colonel James Gadsden of South Carolina, later to turn into famous for negotiating the United States' Gadsden Purchase from Mexico. In 1867, with the organization of Baine County, Gadsden was incorporated and made the county seat.
Baine County was dissolved in 1868 and Etowah County created in its place and Gadsden retained its standing as county seat. After most of Gadsden's primary industries closed in the 1970s and 1980s, the town/city began to decline.
A Rand Mc - Nally article in 1989 listed Gadsden as one of the "Seven Worst Cities to Live in the United States". The town/city government was spurred to action by these reports.
Redevelopment accomplishments such as the Cultural Arts Center and downtown revitalization earned Gadsden first place in the 2000 City Livability Awards Program. Underemployment continues to be a harsh problem, as pointed out by the economic data presented below.
Gadsden is positioned in central Etowah County at 34 0 37 N 86 0 37 W (34.010147, 86.010356), on both sides of the Coosa River.
Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 38.3 square miles (99.2 km2), of which 37.1 square miles (96.2 km2) is territory and 1.1 square miles (2.9 km2), or 2.96%, is water. The southern end of Lookout Mountain rises to the north of the town/city center.
Typical of the Deep South, Gadsden experiences a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) with four distinct seasons.
On average, the low temperature falls to the freezing mark or below on 60 days a year, and to or below 20 F ( 7 C) on 6.9 days. While precipitation is abundant (January and February are on average the wettest months), calculable snow flurry is rare, with most years receiving none.
Climate data for Gadsden, Alabama (1981 2010 normals) As of the census of 2000, there were 38,978 citizens , 16,456 homeholds, and 10,252 families residing in the city.
Perspective map of Gadsden in 1887 In the city, the populace was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median income for a homehold in the town/city was $24,823, and the median income for a family was $31,740.
As of the census of 2010, there were 36,856 citizens , 15,171 homeholds, and 9,183 families residing in the city.
In the city, the populace was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median income for a homehold in the town/city was $28,386, and the median income for a family was $34,643.
The Coosa River and East Gadsden are visible in the background.
Citing statistics from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations and the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, the Gadsden-Etowah County Industrial Development Authority reports that approximately 12,000 inhabitants of Etowah County were underemployed and 2,179 inhabitants were unemployed as of 2008. The Gadsden City Board of Education oversees fourteen 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, Gadsden City High School, replaced the three former town/city high schools (Emma Sansom High School, Gadsden High School, and Litchfield High School) via consolidation for the 2006-2007 school year.
Gadsden is home to Gadsden State Community College, the second biggest of the 27 two-year establishments in the Alabama Community College System, initiated by former Governor George Wallace.
Small satellites of Jacksonville State University and the University of Alabama also offer college courses in Gadsden.
Gadsden is home of the first statewide day treatment program for juvenile offenders.
Lewis (1927-1993), the town/city of Gadsden, and the Gadsden City Board of Education, the C.I.T.Y.
Program of Etowah County (Gadsden) received the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Unique and Innovative Project Award.
Gadsden was home to Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform Jewish house of worship established in 1908.
Gadsden also homes churches of Christ, Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal, Mormon, and Catholic faiths.
Downtown Gadsden Gadsden Mall Gadsden Museum of Art Gadsden is positioned in the Birmingham DMA (Designated Market Area) for tv stations.
The Gadsden Times (Daily morning paper.
Gadsden Messenger: Weekly, locally owned newspaper.
WSGN 91.5 - NPR/PBS (Gadsden State Community College) Gadsden Regional Medical Center: 346-bed facility Gadsden is served by a municipal police department that includes a bomb squad and a tactical unit.
In May 2010, the Gadsden Police Department acquired two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) under the auspices of a $150,000 federal grant.
Further information: List of Gadsden, Alabama citizens Hazel Brannon Smith, journal publisher in Lexington, MS, and first woman to receive a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing, was born and interval up here, attending high school in Gadsden.
Gadsden: City of Champions.
"Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Gadsden city, Alabama".
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014".
A Study of the Origins of Gadsden, Alabama.
Gadsden-Etowah Tourism Board: Early Gadsden History (archived) "Gadsden Receives First Place in 2000 City Livability Awards Program." "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015".
Alabama Department of Youth Services, Etowah County Juvenile Probation Office, Gadsden City Board of Education City of Gadsden official website Historic Downtown Gadsden Gadsden Riverfest - Yearly summer music festival Gadsden Museum of Arts Institute of Southern Jewish Life, History of Gadsden Municipalities and communities of Etowah County, Alabama, United States Cities in Alabama - Cities in Etowah County, Alabama - Gadsden, Alabama - County seats in Alabama - Populated places established in 1845 - 1845 establishments in the United States
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