Bessemer is situated in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain Range, less than 15 miles from downtown Birmingham. The city, which covers over 45 square miles, is bordered by two interstate thoroughfares -- I-459 to the South and I-20/59 to the Northwest. The climate is mild, with an average annual temperature of 62.4 degrees Fahrenheit and average annual rainfall of 57.12 inches. Over half of the continental United States' markets are within 600 miles of Bessemer, including Chicago in the Midwest, Dallas and Houston in the West, and Pittsburgh in the East. Major regional enterprises include a wide range of high-tech manufacturing concerns, and increasing number of service industries, higher education in the form of state universities and private colleges, and a growing convention industry.
Topography. Most of the city lies in Jones Valley, a gently sloping dale 578 feet above mean sea level. The topography features of the surrounding area include a series of parallel ridges and valleys ranging in elevation from 300 to 1200 feet above sea level. These ridges traverse the city in a northeasterly-southwesterly direction.
Demographics. In the 2001 Equifax report, it was reported that there were 71,788 people living within a five-mile radius of Bessemer. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city itself had a population of 29,672. Bessemer and Birmingham both form a countywide metropolitan area of approximately 662,047 people.
HealthCare. Located on U.S. Highway 11 South, UAB Medical West , a 300-bed healthcare facility, has for more than 34 years provided primary and secondary care. It has become the healthcare facility of choice for most western Jefferson, northern Bibb and east Tuscaloosa County residents. Medical services range from a 24-hour-a-day emergency department to a diagnostic, cardiac catheterization laboratory to a same day surgery program to a mobile magnetic resonance imaging unit to an all private-room women’s center. UAB Medical Westhas more than 90 active staff physicians and 800 full time employees that served more than 67,000 patients last year. The hospital has many primary care clinics, including one in Vance, Alabama, home to Mercedes Benz U.S. International. To complement the services of these specialists, Lloyd Noland Hospital and Medical Center of Birmingham recently opened an outpatient care facility in Bessemer to serve West Jefferson County area residents.
Located at 701 Richard M. Scrushy Parkway, HealthSouth Metro West (formerly Lloyd Noland), is now a part of the HealthSouth network. Founded 78 years ago, it serves as the cornerstone of healthcare in western Birmingham and surrounding communities. Anchored by a 319-bed acute care hospital, HealthSouth Metro West offers a broad range of healthcare services designed to address community needs including a primary care network, a large multi-specialty group practice, special services for seniors, mental health services and occupational health. HealthSouth Metro West has a medical staff of more than 60 physicians, including a large multi- specialty group practice.
Within Jefferson County, there are 4,975 hospital beds in over 17 medical facilities. The area has a approximately 1,900 registered doctors, 727 licensed pharmacists, and 3,019 registered nurses on which to rely for professional and medical care. Service and medical care for elderly patients and invalids is available at nine private nursing homes in the Bessemer area.
Bessemer is fortunate to have the University of Alabama, Birmingham, Medical Center complex in close proximity. This network of hospitals and research centers is one of the South's largest and most respected health care facilities. Its skill in cardiovascular care, including open-heart surgery and heart transplants, has earned it international fame. UAB Hospital is a 908 licensed-bed facility providing health care services from general/acute to tertiary care for some 43,000 patients annually. The Kirklin Clinic at UAB is an innovative outpatient facility housing 35 adult medical specialty and primary care clinics with 450,000 patient visits annually. In the 1998 rankings by U.S. News & World Report, five specialties at the UAB Hospital were ranked among the best in the nation. These specialty areas are cardiology and cardiac surgery (21st), geriatrics (39th), gynecology (40th), pulmonary disease (37th) and rheumatology (fifth). In October 1997, the National Research Corporation named UAB Hospital one of America’s most preferred hospitals. The award recognizes the 120 most-preferred hospitals in the nation according to a national survey of patients about their overall health care needs.
Government. In 1986, Bessemer changed its system of government from a Commission structure to a Mayor-Council form. The Council consists of seven members who represent districts within the city. The Mayor and members of the Council serve a four-year term of office. Services such as fire and police protection, electricity (through the Tennessee Valley Authority), recreational programs in city and neighborhood parks, and education come under city governmental auspices. The city's general obligation bond rating, according to Moody's is "AAA" -- the firm's highest rating.
Jefferson County 's system of government consists of five commissioners who represent districts drawn within the county. Bessemer is unique in that, although not the county seat, it has its own county courthouse, offering all the services that the main courthouse building in Birmingham provides. This courthouse was established in Bessemer during the early 1900s as a means of placating Bessemer and West Jefferson County residents who had considered forming their own county because of rapid population growth in the area.
Fire Protection and Law Enforcement. The Bessemer Fire Department, which also provides emergency medical services to the city, employs 93 firefighters and 9 full-time staff persons. The city has a Fire Insurance Rating of "4"; it is expected to drop to “3” by the end of 2002.
The Bessemer Police Department employs 140 officers with a mobile force of 30+ patrol cars; it also maintains a crime investigation laboratory. Unincorporated areas around Bessemer are protected by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.
Recreation. Bessemer offers an abundance of activities for its citizens -- from the recreational amenities of city life to the natural beauty of unspoiled West Jefferson County lakes and forestland. Of note:
The City supports a park system that includes Roosevelt Park, a facility that has lighted tennis courts, baseball and softball fields, a jogging tract, and an auditorium.
Oak Mountain State Park, located 15 miles to the southeast, is the state's largest park with over 9,940 acres. The park facility includes horse stables, a golf course, a lakeside-shopping pavilion, and an amphitheater for concerts and entertainment events.
The Bessemer YMCA organization maintains 27 acres of land on the City's southwestern side that features two gymnasiums, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, racquetball courts, running tracks, tennis courts and five softball fields.
There are seven golf courses located within the immediate vicinity of Bessemer (less than 15 minutes from downtown): five public courses and one private club. There are also numerous public and private golf courses within the Birmingham metropolitan area.
Public Courses
Bessemer's central location in the State of Alabama makes it possible for her residents to drive to many of Alabama's most popular tourist spots in just a few hours. Such attractions as the Alabama Space and Rocket Center/Marshall Space Flight Center Museum in Huntsville, the Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega (home of NASCAR's Talladega 500 and Winston 500 races), the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, historic Southern homes in Selma and Montgomery, and beautiful, sunny beaches in Mobile and Gulf Shores (only 230 miles away), offer fun and enjoyment for the entire family.
Visionland Theme Park. Located on the city’s western side, Visionland is a 60-acre theme park that features a water park and an amusement park, including one of the nation’s fastest wooden roller coasters, the Rampage. Information on the park is available on the Internet at www.visionland.com.
Tannehill State Park. Located just 10 miles southwest of Bessemer, Tannehill Historic Park is the site of a Confederate armaments foundry that was destroyed by Federal troops during the Civil War. In 1976, as part of the area's contribution to the U.S. Bicentennial celebration, the site was restored and developed into an industrial history park that today is visited by more than 250,000 people annually. The main attraction at the park is a restored, iron-producing blast furnace that dates to the 1840s. The furnace was in operation during the early years of the Civil War, producing cannon and other armaments for the Confederate forces. Another attraction at the park is the Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama, which features exhibits in early iron making and blacksmithing as well as examples of machinery used at the start of America's industrial age. Complementing this structure is a 19th century farm, complete with a blacksmith's shop, a sorghum mill, and a dairy barn; an old red schoolhouse, circa 1900; a working grist mill that produces corn meal for visitors; and a five-acre "open-air museum" containing replicas of pioneer homes.
The Performing Arts. Community interest in and dedication to the Arts has developed a rich cultural life for both the Bessemer and Birmingham area. The Greater Bessemer Arts Association has played a great role in this development, coordinating activities with dance companies such as the State of Alabama Ballet, theater groups such as the Town and Gown Players and the Birmingham Festival Theater Players, and music societies such as the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the nationally known Birmingham Music Club, all of which are based in Jefferson County and regularly perform in the area. The state supported Alabama School of Fine Arts, the only state-supported arts school in the nation for grades 7 to 12, is located in downtown Birmingham.
To accommodate the performances of these organizations, facilities have been established around the Jefferson County area. Most notable in the Bessemer area is the spacious Bessemer Civic Center, with its 1,800-seat hall for theater, music, and dance events. The Birmingham-Jefferson County Civic Center Complex consists of four large structures -- a 120,000 sq. ft. exhibition hall, a 3,000-seat symphony concert hall, a 19,000-seat coliseum, and a 1,000-seat theater -- and provides a sophisticated, elegant setting for the area's cultural events.
Area Attractions. Nearby Birmingham offers much for residents of Bessemer to "see and do." Attractions such as Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens, the Botanical Gardens and Japanese Gardens, the 200-acre Jimmy Morgan Zoo, Watermark Place, the Sloss Furnace Museum, the Red Mountain Geological Museum, and the Birmingham Museum of Art, featuring the works of the famed Kress Collection of Renaissance Art and the Simon Collection of Frederic Remington Bronze Sculptures, greatly contribute to the quality of life in the Bessemer and the West Jefferson County area.
New attractions include: the Mercedes-Benz plant facility and visitors center, where Mercedes manufactures its M-Class vehicle, the McWane Science Museum in downtown Birmingham, the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum.
