Leeds, Alabama

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[4] 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.[5]

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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[6] 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.[7]

As of the 2020 United States census, 12,324 people, 4,792 households, and 3,388 families were residing in the city.

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.