# Leeds, Alabama

Leeds is a tricounty municipality located in Jefferson, St. Clair, and Shelby counties in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is an eastern suburb of Birmingham. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,324.
Leeds was founded in 1877, during the final years of the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era. It housed the workers and their families of Lehigh, a Portland cement manufacturing plant.
Leeds is nicknamed "The City of Valor" because of three Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from World War II and the Korean War who called Leeds home: Alford McLaughlin, William Lawley and Henry "Red" Erwin. A wall in the Leeds Historical Society's Jonathan Bass House Museum is dedicated to the three men. In spring 2023, Chip Wise, the Leeds High School band director, composed an original piece titled City of Valor meant to honor the three Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. In October 2023, the Pearl Harbor National Memorial invited Wise and his marching band to perform the piece at Pearl Harbor on March 26, 2024.

## History

The War of 1812, geography, geology, and three cultures shaped the history of Leeds. Lying at the crossroads of ancient Native American paths in the center of Alabama, Leeds drew European settlers and their African-American slaves to a land of fertile growing seasons and rich sources of coal and mineral ore. The early settlers built churches and schools with many remaining in Cedar Grove, Oak Ridge, Ohanafeefee, and Mt. Pleasant. The principal survey of Leeds was entered into Jefferson County Map Book 10, page 21, in 1908. The settlement, dating to 1818 and incorporating on April 27, 1887 as "Leeds", has existed along the banks of the Little Cahaba River; beside an historic stagecoach route; and along two large railroads for the greater part of American history.
James Hamilton, a Scottish-Irish American veteran of the War of 1812 and first sheriff of Shelby County, settled in Cedar Grove in 1816. John Richard Ingram Pashal Stewart, a Cherokee English teacher and American veteran of the War of 1812, settled at Ohanafeefee Village around 1840. At Oak Ridge in 1820 or 1821, European settlers formed Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the first CPC congregation in middle Alabama. By 1887, the original railroad pioneers included free African-American settlers who came to work at the Leeds cement plant and the Central of Georgia as the Georgia Pacific railroads. Some gravitated to historic Mt. Pleasant Church, where a handful of freed slaves had founded Scott City; Hillard Holley, Ciscero Davis, Jeff Harris, and Bill Johnson started Leeds Negro/Primary School in 1921.

## Government

Leeds, named after Leeds, Yorkshire, England was incorporated on April 27, 1887. The City of Leeds operates under a Mayor-Council form of government. The mayor, elected to a four-year term, heads the executive branch of city government. The current Mayor, David Miller, was elected to his 1st term, in October 2012, by almost a 2:1 margin. The city council members are also elected to four-year terms. Council members are elected to represent the city's five districts, and the mayor is elected at-large. The current five-member city council members are Kenneth Washington (District 1), Eric G. Turner (District 2), Johnny G. Dutton (District 3), Angie Latta (District 4) and DeVoris Ragland-Pierce (District 5).
In 2023, Mayor Miller announced a new Downtown Leeds Revitalization Project with Alabama's Department of Transportation, ALDOT, which will develop new ADA compliant sidewalks and lighting throughout the city for the enjoyment of residents and tourists. ALDOT and federal funds will pay for 80% of the project, with the City providing the remaining 20%. The project will break ground in 2024.

## Folklore

The tale of John Henry was believed to have originated in Leeds. In this folk story, John Henry, the "steel-drivin' man", races and wins against a steam engine in the laying of railroad that penetrates the Oak Mountain Tunnel in Leeds. Retired chemistry professor and folklorist John Garst, of the University of Georgia, has argued that the contest happened at the Coosa Mountain Tunnel or the Oak Mountain Tunnel of the Columbus and Western Railway (now part of Norfolk Southern Railway) in Leeds on September 20, 1887.
Based on documentation that corresponds with the account of C.C. Spencer, who claimed in the 1920s to have witnessed the contest, Garst speculates that John Henry may have been a man named Henry who was born a slave to P.A.L. Dabney, the father of the chief engineer of that railroad, in 1850. Since 2007, the city of Leeds has honored John Henry's legend during an annual festival held on the third weekend in September, the Leeds Downtown Folk Festival and John Henry Celebration.

## Geography

Leeds is located at 33°32′44″N 86°33′27″W﻿ / ﻿33.54556°N 86.55750°W﻿ / 33.54556; -86.55750 (33.545592, -86.557388), primarily within Jefferson County.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.5 square miles (58 km$^2$), of which 0.2 square miles (0.52 km$^2$) (0.67%) is covered by water.
The city is located east of Birmingham along Interstate 20, which runs north of the city. Access to the city is available from exits 140 and 144. Via I-20, downtown Birmingham is 18 mi (29 km) west, and Atlanta is east 129 mi (208 km). U.S. Route 411 begins in the city from its junction with U.S. Route 78. US 411 leads northeast 5 mi (8.0 km) to Moody.
In November 2019, the Alabama Political Reporter announced that the Superfund site at Interstate Lead Co. in Leeds was at risk due to flood hazards associated with climate change.

## Demographics
### 2020 census

Leeds racial composition :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 8,831 | 71.66% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,887 | 15.31% |
| Native American | 31 | 0.25% |
| Asian | 85 | 0.69% |
| Pacific Islander | 5 | 0.04% |
| Other/mixed | 516 | 4.19% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 969 | 7.86% |
As of the 2020 United States census, 12,324 people, 4,792 households, and 3,388 families were residing in the city.

### 2010 census

As of the census of 2010, 11,773 people and 4,818 households lived in the city. The population density was 514.9 people per square mile. The 5,221 housing units had an average density of 205.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 78.7% White, 14.3% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 2.0% from two or more races. About 6.6% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 4,818 households, 21.9% had children under 18 living with them, 52% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were not families. about 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48. In the city, the age distribution included 21.9% under 18 and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median income for a household in the city was $44,149. The per capita income for the city was $22,716. About 14.6% of the population was below the poverty line.

## Education

Leeds is served by the Leeds City School District.
In 2009, the City of Leeds Board of Education authorized the construction of two new schools - Leeds Middle School and Leeds High School. Construction began in 2009. The board also authorized the renovations of and additions to Leeds Elementary School, which began in 2008. These renovations included an expanded office and a new awning around the front of the school.
In 2013, Leeds Elementary School gained attention for asking parents for permission to administer corporal punishment to their children. Alabama is one of 19 states that allow corporal punishment in schools, and ranks third in the rate of students subjected to physical punishment.
Leeds Primary School was constructed in 2016 to house prekindergarten through second grade to ease overcrowding at its elementary school. The school opened that same year.
On December 4, 2008, the Leeds High School Greenwave football team won the Class 3A AHSAA state football championship and finished the year 15–0. On February 28, 2009, the Greenwave basketball team won the 3A AHSAA state basketball championship. On December 6, 2010, the Greenwave football team won the Class 3A AHSAA state football championship and finishing the year 15–0. On December 5, 2014, the Greenwave football team won the Class 4A AHSAA state football championship and finished the year 14–1. On December 5, 2015, the Greenwave football team won the 4A AHSAA state football championship and finished the year 14–1. On February 14, 2015, the Greenwave wrestling team won the Class 1A-5A AHSAA state wrestling championship. The Leeds High School track and field team has won several state championships. The 2007 Leeds High School softball team won the 3A state championship after winning six straight games from the loser's bracket.
On September 30, 2023, Leeds High School's "Pride of the Greenwave" Marching Band participated in the Pinson Valley Pride of the Valley Marching Contest receiving Superior ratings for Drum Major, Drum Line, Color Guard, and Band. In addition, they were awarded Best in Class (2A) - Drum Line and Best in Class (2A) - Band.
On August 27, 2024, the 2nd grade was moved from the primary school to the elementary school.

## Notable people

* Rebecca Bace, computer security expert and pioneer in intrusion detection
* Charles Barkley, Basketball Hall of Famer
* Chandler Champion, Miss Alabama (2013)
* Henry E. Erwin, U.S. Army Air Forces, Medal of Honor recipient, World War II
* Kenneth L. Farmer, Jr., U.S. Army major general (retired); U.S. Army deputy surgeon general and Army chief of staff, Medical Command
* Nathan Glick, artist and illustrator
* Caitlín R. Kiernan, author and paleontologist
* William R. Lawley, Jr., U.S. Army Air Forces, Medal of Honor recipient, World War II
* Harry Lee, former Canadian Football League player
* Mark Martin, cartoonist
* Alford L. McLaughlin, U.S. Marine Corps, Medal of Honor recipient, Korean War
* Sam Star, American drag performer and pageant titleholder who competed on the seventeenth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race
* Harry Walker, Major League Baseball player and manager, two-time All Star and 1947 NL batting champion
* Dixie Walker (pitcher) (Ewart Gladstone Walker), Major League Baseball player, father of Dixie Walker (Fred E Walker, Sr.) and Harry Walker