Jasper, Alabama extends over 27 square miles of the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Jasper is the seat of Walker County, which at one time ranked with the leading producers of coal. Alabama’s premier city, Birmingham, lies 38 miles to the southeast.
Jasper reported its population as 14,052 during the Census 2000. Twenty percent of Jasper residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Walker County’s only college is Bevill State Community College in Sumiton, although eight other colleges and universities are within a forty-mile drive from Jasper, including Samford University and the Southeastern Bible College.
In 1815, settlers named the community of Jasper after Sgt. William Jasper, a heroic figure during the Creek War, against the Native American Muscogee Tribe. It was not until 1886 that Jasper’s population boomed, with the advent of the Kansas City-Memphis-Birmingham Railroad and the Sheffield and Birmingham Railroad extending their lines through the town. By 1891, Jasper boasted six coalmines, four-hundred coke ovens, two sawmills, two sandstone quarries, four hotels and two banks.
Today, Jasper is the commercial and cultural hub for the surrounding northwestern Alabama counties. Walker Baptist Hospital, the only medical facility in the area, continuously receives awards for excellent service, the most recent one from Total Benchmark Solution. Jasper is home to Dill Communications, Drummond Company (coal), Wal-Mart Supercenter and a wealth of small stores and quality restaurants.
Citizens of Jasper, AL exhibit outstanding community spirit, with a host of charitable organizations, social clubs and over fifty churches. One can find almost every major religious denomination here, such as the Sixth Avenue Church of Christ, St. Cecilia's Catholic Church and Northside Baptist Church. Many of the churches are over a hundred years old, and their delicate architecture, stained glass, and meticulous landscaping lend ambience to the town of Jasper.
Jasper is the birthplace of actress Polly Holiday, singer Sandy Posey, the political family of Bankheads and millionaire James Stanley Freeman. The unforgettable Tallulah Bankhead spent much of her childhood in Jasper. Actor George Lindsey, who played Goober Pyle on the classic Andy Griffith Show, also came from Jasper, and the character Goober spoke often of his beloved hometown. The current TV smash hit, Lost, has the fictional bad-boy character Sawyer also hailing from the small town of Jasper.
Jasper, Alabama shows small-town living at its finest. While near enough to Birmingham to take advantage of city amenities, Jasper retains all the value of a close-knit, small Southern community.
