Homewood

Homewood is located in southwest Jefferson County in the central part of Alabama. It has a mayor-city council form of government. The Jack's Family Restaurants chain was founded in Homewood in 1960.

History

Downtown Homewood The first settlers arrived in what is now the Homewood area in the early 1800s. The area did not experience significant growth until the rapidly expanding city of Birmingham suffered a major cholera epidemic in 1873. In response, many Birmingham residents began looking for a healthier environment in which to live. Speculators began buying up land and developing communities in the countryside surrounding Birmingham. A number of communities that eventually would merge to become Homewood sprang up during this period, including Rosedale, Grove Park, Edgewood, and Oak Grove. Edgewood saw probably the greatest amount of development, boasting its own Electric Railway to downtown Birmingham by 1911 and an artificial lake by 1915. It incorporated in 1920.

In 1926, Charles Rice, a local attorney often referred to as the "Father of Homewood," established a movement to merge several of the communities, and in September of that year, Rosedale, Edgewood, and Grove Park voted to merge and incorporate under the name Homewood. The first city hall complex was built in 1928, and the town of Hollywood became part of the city in 1929.

The Great Depression and a polio epidemic, which sickened 80 children, greatly damaged the city's economy and social fabric. The region's economy picked up after the outbreak of World War II and the accompanying boom in Birmingham's steel mills as they ramped up production for the war effort. During the 1940s, the police and fire departments doubled in size, and a new public library was built. The city's population increased by 74 percent between 1940 and 1950. Oak Grove was annexed into Homewood in 1955.

Homewood voters defeated a move by Birmingham to annex the city in 1959. A second attempt apparently succeeded by just six votes in July 1964, but voting irregularities and lawsuits kept the outcome of that election in the courts until September 9, 1966, when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled the 1964 vote null and void. In a special election on December 13, 1966, 65 percent of Homewood residents voted against the annexation.

Homewood escaped the worst of the violence that plagued nearby Birmingham during the civil rights movement of the early 1960s, although an apparently racially motivated bombing did take place in Homewood's Rosedale community in 1963. In 1970, the city created its own school system, breaking away from the Jefferson County system. The new Homewood High School opened in December 1972.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, Homewood recorded a population of 25,170. Of that number, 83.1 percent identified themselves as white, 11.2 percent as African American, 6.3 percent as Hispanic or Latino, 2.3 percent as Asian, 2.1 as two or more races, and 0.1 percent as American Indian. The city's median household income was $84,418, and per capita income was $49,271.

Employment

According to 2020 Census estimates, the workforce in Homewood was divided among the following industrial categories:

• Educational services, and health care and social assistance (29.4 percent)
• Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (14.4 percent)
• Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (11.4 percent)
• Finance, insurance, and real estate, rental, and leasing (11.2 percent)
• Retail trade (7.4 percent)
• Other services, except public administration (6.1 percent)
• Manufacturing (5.6 percent)
• Construction (3.6 percent)
• Transportation and warehousing and utilities (3.6 percent)
• Public administration (2.9 percent)
• Wholesale trade (2.3 percent)
• Information (2.0 percent)
• Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (0.2 percent)

Transportation

Homewood is served by numerous roads, including U.S. Highway 31and Interstate 65 (both north-south). Interstates 20 and 59 lie just north of the city. The closest airport to Homewood is the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, approximately 10 miles to the north.

Education

Schools in Homewood are overseen by the Homewood City School District; the town has three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.

Events and Places of Interest

The Hollywood Historic District, the Rosedale Historic District, and the Rosedale Park Historic District are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, the Gates-Ballew House is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Hollywood Historic District Homes The Homewood Community Center includes fitness facilities and a swimming pool. The city also has a Senior Center with a computer room that offers instruction in basic computer skills, a kitchen, game room, and arts and crafts room. The Lee Community Center includes a basketball court and a computer room, and offers many youth programs and camps.

Sports venues include a soccer park, baseball and softball fields, and a youth football/lacrosse field. City parks offer two swimming pools, picnic areas and pavilions, walking and running tracks, playground equipment, and an amphitheater.

Annual events include an Easter Egg Hunt; a We Love Homewood day in early May with arts and crafts and food vendors, and musical entertainment; a Fourth of July celebration with rides, food, entertainment, and city fireworks; A Back to School Bash held at Homewood Central Park in late August that features rides, food, and entertainment; a Fall Festival in late October at the Homewood Community Center with games, a costume contest, and concession stand; the winter Salamander Festival, sponsored by the Friends of Shades Creek; and an annual Christmas Parade.