Prichard, Alabama

Prichard, Alabama
City
Official seal of Prichard, Alabama Seal
Nickname(s): "The City Of Champions", "The Crossroads of Mobile County"
Location in Mobile County and the State of Alabama
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Mobile
Founded	1925
Government
• Mayor	Troy Ephriam (D)
Area
• Total	25.4 sq mi (65.8 km2)
• Land	25.3 sq mi (65.5 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	30 ft (9 m)
Population (2013)
• Total	22,399
• Density	896/sq mi (346.1/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	36610, 36612, 36613
Area code(s)	251
FIPS code	01-62496
GNIS feature ID	0125275
Website	http://www.thecityofprichard.org

Prichard is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States.

Prichard borders the north side of Mobile, as well as the Mobile suburbs of Chickasaw, Saraland, and the unincorporated sections of Eight Mile. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the city was 22,659. It is a part of the Mobile metropolitan statistical area.

History

Prichard began as a settlement in the 1830s, bordering Telegraph Road (known now as U.S. Highway 43) It remained largely unsettled until the Clotilde landed in Mobile Bay prior to the Civil War. Africatown evolved into a greater part of the Plateau/Magazine area which developed along Telegraph Road, and eventually, Plateau and Magazine had their territory split between Mobile and Prichard.

After 1900, Prichard began a slow, steady development. In 1925, Prichard was incorporated as a city. During World War II, Prichard became a company town as many Mobile shipbuilding companies built homes for their workers in Prichard. During the 1950s and 1960s, Prichard annexed historic Whistler as well as parts of Eight Mile and Kushla. The 1940s and 1950s saw phenomenal growth in the Mobile area, and Mobile, Prichard and Chickasaw all recorded their highest city-proper populations in 1960. Following the Civil Rights Movement however, Prichard's rigid system of segregation collapsed, and many blacks who had previously lived in the Bullshead/Neely/Trinity Gardens area of Prichard began moving into East Prichard (downtown Prichard), causing a dramatic white flight to occur.

In 1960, Prichard recorded a population of 47,371. In 1970, the population had decreased to 41,000 and by 1990,to approximately 34,000. In 1970, Vigor High School on Wilson Avenue, which had been Prichard's white high school during segregation was 70% white, by 1980, it was 80% black, even considering that most of Prichard's remaining white areas were in its district. In 1994, construction of Interstate 165 was completed, and it has produced some economic benefits in East Prichard. The 1980s downtown vacancy rate was near 80%, as of 2000, it was closer to 30%. In 2004, the Prichard Housing Authority began demolition of the Bessemer Avenue Housing Project in Bullshead.

In December 2006, the city of Prichard was selected as the site of the future Alabama Motorsports Park, a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Speedway and theme park. This complex of racetracks and entertainment venues is planned to be on nearly 3,000 acres (12 km²) of land near the intersection of Industrial Parkway (Alabama State Route 158) and US Highway 45 in the northern section of Prichard.

Recent political history

In 1972, while still a majority white city, Prichard elected its first black mayor, Algernon Johnson (A.J.) Cooper, who would serve two terms as Prichard's mayor, and would eventually serve in the administration of President Bill Clinton. In 1968, Cooper founded the Black American Law Students Association at New York University. While Mayor Cooper was popular with both blacks and whites, however, he engaged in many battles with the Prichard City Council during his tenure.

In the 1980s and 1990s problems with crime, drugs and middle class flight were elevated when the area's major financial and employment base left with the closing of factories operated by Scott Paper Company and International Paper. This devastated the area and the city struggled to recover. In 1999, the city declared bankruptcy.

In November 2004, Mobile County voters narrowly (500 votes out of 100,000 cast on the issue) defeated a local amendment which would have allowed Prichard to set up a special trade zone. The measure passed by a two-thirds vote in Prichard, and passed by smaller margins in Mobile and Chickasaw, but was defeated by the rest of Mobile County.

City government

The current mayor of Prichard is Troy Ephriam. Ephriam was elected mayor in the 2012 municipal elections, defeating incumbent mayor Ron Davis.

The city is served by a five-member city council, which is composed of five districts of equal size. The city council is responsible for establishing the policies of the city of Prichard. The current council president is Earline Martin-Harris. The Prichard City Council meets every Thursday at 4:30 pm in the Council Chambers at Prichard City Hall.

Mayor Troy Ephriam

Current City Council Membership

District	Representative	Position
I	Lorenzo Martin	Councilman
II	Severia Campbell-Morris	Councilwoman
III	Derrick I. Griffin	Councilman
IV	George E. McCall, jr	Councilman
V	Ossia Edwards	Councilwoman

Geography

Prichard is located at (30.748038, -88.100384).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.4 square miles (66 km²), of which 25.3 square miles (66 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (0.31%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	4,580		—
1940	6,084		32.8%
1950	19,014		212.5%
1960	47,371		149.1%
1970	41,578		−12.2%
1980	39,541		−4.9%
1990	34,311		−13.2%
2000	28,633		−16.5%
2010	22,659		−20.9%
Est. 2014	22,312		−1.5%
U.S. Decennial Census 2013 Estimate

As of the census of 2010, there were 22,659 people, 8,240 households, and 5,659 families residing in the city. The population density was 896.0 people per square mile (346.1/km²). There were 9,891 housing units at an average density of 391.1 per square mile (151.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.80% Black or African American, 12.47% White-American, 0.38% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.004% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,240 households out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.8% were married couples living together, 33.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.8 years. For every 100 females there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,894, and the median income for a family was $29,100. Males had a median income of $29,664 versus $21,969 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,137. About 28.7% of families and 33.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.5% of those under age 18 and 22.6% of those age 65 or over.

City Pensions Controversy

In 2003, the city hired an actuary to analyze and summarize their employees’ pension plan. He warned the city that at the current rate of government spending the plan would run out of money by the summer of 2009. In September of that year, the city's pension fund ran out of money and stopped paying pensions. The city filed for bankruptcy again in October 2009.

In 2010, Councilwoman Earline Martin-Harris suggested dissolving the city and offered an alternative budget which would make all city employees part-time employees. As of April 2011, pensioners had not received their pension checks nor had a budget been passed in eighteen months.

The dispute continued into 2013, as the city did not reach an agreement with soon-to-retire employees. In response to these developments, four of these employees requested that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William Shulman dismiss the city's bankruptcy.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The Mobile County Public School System serves Prichard. Elementary schools in Prichard include Collins-Rhodes Elementary School, Grant Elementary School, Indian Springs Elementary School, Robbins Elementary School, and Whitley Elementary School.

Students are zoned to North Mobile County Middle School.

Vigor High School is in Prichard. Blount High School is in an unincorporated area in Eight Mile, adjacent to Prichard. Faulkner Vocational School, a magnet school, is in Prichard.

The current Collins Rhodes school opened in 2007, replacing Eight Mile Elementary School.

Colleges and universities

The University of Mobile is also located within the city.

Public libraries

The city operates the Prichard Public Library and the Mitchell Public Library.

Notable people

• Jimmie V. Adams, retired United States Air Force four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Forces (CINCPACAF), from 1991 to 1993
• Delores Brumfield, former member of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
• Jacoby Glenn, American football cornerback
• Lil Greenwood, jazz and R&B singer
• Kennedy Winston, professional basketball player

References

• information on metropolitan statistical areas and Mobile MSA

External links

• City Of Prichard Online
• Prichard Public Library
• Alabama Motorsports Park