Mountain Brook, Alabama

History

The city was originally developed in 1929 by real-estate businessman Robert Jemison, Jr., as a suburb of Birmingham along the ridges known as Red Mountain and Shades Mountain. It was incorporated on May 24, 1942. The plans, by Boston-based landscape architect Warren H. Manning, called for estate-sized lots along winding scenic roads and denser commercial development centering on three picturesque "villages": English Village, Mountain Brook Village and Crestline Village. Most of Mountain Brook's development preserved the existing trees: 92.03% is under tree cover, one of the highest ratios in the nation. Residential sections such as Cherokee Bend, Brookwood Forest, Overton, and Crestline have houses in a forest setting, with a recreational network of bridle paths. This has protected the area from urban encroachment.

Mountain Brook is the location of the first office park in the U.S., built in 1955. It featured the then novel concepts of ample free parking and low-profile office buildings surrounded by waterspouts and landscaped grounds.

A new city hall, including a fire and police station, was completed in 2013.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it has a total area of 12.82 sqmi, all land.

Demographics

|align-fn=center 2018 Estimate

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,461 people and 8,365 households.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 20,413 people, 7,731 households, and 5,864 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,673.2 PD/sqmi. There were 8,266 housing units at an average density of 675.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 97.2% White, 1.0% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. 1.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,731 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.12.

29.3% of the population was under the age of 18, 4.5% was from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household was $130,721, and the median income for a family was $164,750. Males had a median income of $124,224 versus $54,420 for females. The per capita income for the city was $76,763. 1.8% of families and 3.7% of individuals were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of individuals under 18 and 2.5% of those 65 and over.

According to a list compiled in 2008 by Stephen Higley, it is the ninth wealthiest community in the United States. It is often referred to as "The Tiny Kingdom" due to its high concentration of the region's business and professional leaders, and the disparity of wealth between it and Birmingham where according to census data nearly a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line.

Government

Mountain Brook has a city council/mayor/city manager system of government.

The city council, consisting of five members elected at large, considers most issues and appoints the police chief and fire chief.

The mayor is Graham Smith, elected in 2025.

The city manager is Sam Gaston, appointed by the council and mayor in January 2008.

Education

Schools are part of the Mountain Brook School System and include:

• Brookwood Forest Elementary
• Cherokee Bend Elementary
• Crestline Elementary
• Mountain Brook Elementary
• Mountain Brook Junior High
• Mountain Brook High School

Notable people

• Lou Anders, writer
• Jay Barker, former NFL player
• Nate Bland, former MLB player (Houston Astros)
• Scott Bondy, an American folk/alternative musician. Formerly lead singer of the band Verbena.
• Gregg Carr, orthopedist and former Pittsburgh Steelers football player
• Courteney Cox, actress
• Tommy Dewey, actor (17 Again, The BabyMakers, The Mindy Project)
• Pat DuPré, tennis semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 1979
• Sara Evans, country music singer
• Basil Hirschowitz, gastroenterologist
• Natalee Holloway, murder victim
• Alan Hunter, MTV Veejay
• Kate Jackson, Hollywood actress; star of Charlie's Angels
• David Jaffe, video game designer (God of War, Twisted Metal)
• Doug Jones, former U.S. senator from Alabama
• Don Logan former CEO of Time Warner Inc
• Graeme McFarland, football player (Indiana University)
• Tribble Reese, actor
• Emeel Salem, All-American baseball player at the University of Alabama
• Gordon Sargent, NCAA Individual National Champion Golfer for the Vanderbilt Commodores
• Sarah Simmons, Top 8 finalist on season 4 of The Voice.
• Luther Strange, former U.S. senator from Alabama
• Barret Swatek, Hollywood actress, Republican activist
• William Vlachos, center for the University of Alabama National Championship Team in 2009 and 2011.
• Trendon Watford, NBA basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets

Cultural references

In South and West: From a Notebook, Joan Didion writes, "It is said that the dead center of Birmingham society is the southeast corner of the locker room at the Mountain Brook country club." She adds, "it is hard to make the connection between this Birmingham and that of Bull Connor."

During his 1970 gubernatorial campaign, George Wallace derisively referred to Mountain Brook as "where the rich folks live in the suburbs up across the mountain from Birmingham."

Transportation

Transit service in Mountain Brook is provided by Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, which operates Max Transit bus service.

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. {{GNIS. 2404329
3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau.
4. "Archives: Robert Jemison, Jr.". Birmingham Public Library.
5. Barefield, Marilyn Davis. (1989). "A History of Mountain Brook, Alabama & Incidentally of Shades Valley". Southern University Press.
6. "Success Story - "Hiring First City Arborist" - the City of Mountain Brook". Alabama's Urban & Community Forestry Program.
7. Rodriguez, Ana. (September 19, 2012). "Historical marker in Mountain Brook planned to recognize nation's first office park". The Birmingham News.
8. Rodriguez, Ana. (April 10, 2013). "First look inside Mountain Brook's new $15.3 million municipal complex". The Birmingham News.
9. United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing".
10. "Population Estimates". [[United States Census Bureau]].
11. "Explore Census Data".
12. Crowe, Joe B.. (December 30, 2008). "Mountain Brook one of wealthiest communities in U.S.". The Birmingham News.
13. Eskew, Glenn T.. (1997). "But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements in the Civil Rights Struggle". The University of North Carolina Press.
14. "Mayor – City of Mountain Brook".
15. "Sam Gaston – City of Mountain Brook".
16. (April 26, 2017). "Mountain Brook students enjoy Writers' Festival". villagelivingonline.com.
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20. "Former Auburn linebacker Gregg Carr took the path less traveled to the Hall of Fame". AL.com.
21. Watkins, Mia. (June 16, 2014). "Happy belated birthday, Courteney Cox: hometown girl, actress turns 50". The Birmingham News.
22. (February 12, 2013). "Birmingham's Tommy Dewey lands lead in new Seth McFarlane Fox sitcom". The Birmingham News.
23. "USATODAY.com - Search continues in Aruba for missing teen".
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25. (July 18, 2014). "Why triple-A devs are going indie (and why indies aren't going triple-A)". Yahoo! News.
26. "Things to know about Alabama's new U.S. senator, Doug Jones". The Salt Lake Tribune.
27. (November 15, 2001). "Short shots: KU lands QB". Topeka Capital-Journal.
28. Harvey, Alec. (October 16, 2011). "Birmingham's Tribble Reese has his pick as the star of 'Sweet Home Alabama 2'". The Birmingham News.
29. (April 6, 2007). "Emeel Salem Wins H. Boyd McWhorter Post-Graduate Scholarship". University of Alabama.
30. (April 22, 2013). "Birmingham's Sarah Simmons channels team spirit for her battle round on 'The Voice' (video)". The Birmingham News.
31. (August 9, 2017). "Prelude to the primaries — U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in Aug. 15 election - Lagniappe Mobile". Lagniappe Mobile.
32. "Queen of the World Wide Web: Birmingham's Barret Swatek stars in new Internet sitcom". AL.com.
33. (April 5, 2013). "Former center William Vlachos back at Alabama as a graduate assistant". The Birmingham News.
34. (2017). "South and West: From a Notebook". 4th Estate.
35. (December 9, 2017). "Alabama, Despite History of Unruly Politics, Has 'Never Seen Anything Like This'". [[The New York Times]].
36. "Max Transit".