Fairhope is a city located in Baldwin County, Alabama. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 12,480.
Fairhope is located at 30°31'35.018" North, 87°53'44.473" West (30.526394, -87.895687).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.5 km2 (11.0 mi2). 28.5 km2 (11.0 mi2) of it is land and 0.09% is water.
Nearby towns include Point Clear, Daphne, Spanish Fort, Silverhill, Loxley, Robertsdale, Summerdale, and Foley.
As of the census of 2000, there are 12,480 people, 5,345 households, and 3,575 families residing in the city. The population density is 438.1/km2 (1,135.1/mi2). There are 6,000 housing units at an average density of 210.6/km2 (545.7/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 90.22% White, 7.79% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 5,345 households out of which 27.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% are married couples living together, 10.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% are non-families. 30.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 15.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.27 and the average family size is 2.83.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 44 years. For every 100 females there are 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 78.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $42,913, and the median income for a family is $56,976. Males have a median income of $41,692 versus $27,959 for females. The per capita income for the city is $25,237. 7.5% of the population and 4.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 7.3% of those under the age of 18 and 9.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Fairhope was founded in November, 1894 as a utopian single tax colony by the "Fairhope Industrial Association," a group of 28 followers of economist Henry George who had incorporated earlier that year in Des Moines, Iowa. Their corporate constitution explained their purpose in founding a new colony:
In forming their demonstration project they pooled their funds to purchase land at "Stapleton's pasture" on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay and then divided it into a number of long-term leaseholds. The corporation payed all governmental taxes from rents paid by the lessees, thus simulating a single-tax, the purpose of which was to eliminate disincentives for productive use of land and thereby retain the value of land for the community.
"Fairhope Street" was one of the properties on the earliest versions of the board game "Monopoly".
In 1907 educator Marietta Johnson founded the School for Organic Education in Fairhope. The school was praised in John Dewey's influential 1915 book Schools of Tomorrow. Dewey and Johnson were founding members of the Progressive Education Association.
The Fairhope Single-Tax Corporation still operates, with 1800 leasholds covering more than 4000 acres in and around the current city of Fairhope. Despite the ideals of the corporation, however, the process of land speculation has propelled the transformation of Fairhope from utopian experiment to artist's and intellectual's colony, to boutique resort and affluent suburb of Mobile.
Source:
FairhopeAL.com
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