Rainbow City is a city in Etowah County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1950. The population was 9,602 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

This city was named after U.S. Highway 411, called Rainbow Drive, which runs through the middle of the city.

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

's troops were the first visitors to the area in 1540. In 1818, families from

the Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

began to migrate to the area and homestead land near the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ac ...

, calling the area "Coosa Bend". This area was later called "Morgan's Cross Road", located at the intersection of the Gadsden-Ashville Road and Gilbert's Ferry Road. John Sheffield Jones, the grandson of an original settler, donated $1,000 and the land for the construction of the first John S. Jones Elementary School. This school later burned to the ground; a new elementary school was built and serves the Rainbow City area today. On April 2, 1831, a church was organized at the Harmony Meeting House. A few years later, the first

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

association was organized. Harmony was one of the first five members in the association. The adjoining cemetery, Old Harmony Cemetery, has been declared a historic landmark.

Education

The city is served by the Etowah County Board of Education. The city has one public elementary school, and shares a middle and high school with neighboring Southside. There is also a private school for the city. John S. Jones is one of several elementary schools in the area. It houses grades K-5.

Southside High School

Southside is the shared high school for the area of Southside and Rainbow City. It houses grades 9–12.

Westbrook Christian School

Westbrook is a private school that houses grades PreK-12.

Geography

Rainbow City is located in southern Etowah County at (33.943964, −86.061546). It is bordered to the northeast by Gadsden, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, to the southeast by the

, across which is the city of Southside, and to the southwest, across Little Canoe Creek, by the town of Steele in St. Clair County. U.S. Route 411 (Rainbow Drive) is the main road through the city, leading northeast to the center of Gadsden and southwest to Ashville.

Alabama State Route 77 State Route 77 (SR 77) is a north–south state highway in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. The southern terminus of the highway is at an intersection with U.S. Route 431 (US 431) near LaFayette. The north ...

(Grand Avenue) crosses US 411 in the center of Rainbow City, leading northwest to

Interstate 59 Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia ...

at Exit 181 and south to

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, Rainbow City has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.58%, is water.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,428 people, 3,586 households, and 2,517 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,824 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.09%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.51%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.34% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.51% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 1.45% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 3,586 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.84. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,216, and the median income for a family was $50,844. Males had a median income of $38,278 versus $26,483 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,860. About 6.9% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,602 people, 4,113 households, and 2,721 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,534 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.4%

, 7.2%

, 0.4% Native American, 2.6% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. 2.4% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 4,113 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.88. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,236, and the median income for a family was $60,000. Males had a median income of $45,593 versus $32,421 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,422. About 10.5% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,191 people, 3,847 households, and 2,508 families residing in the city.

Politics and government

The current mayor of Rainbow City is Joe Taylor, who was first elected in 2020. The Current City Council consists of Anita Bedwell, Randy Vice, Clark Hopper, Jeff Prince, and Jameson Jenkins.

Transportation

Etowah County Rural Transportation provides

dial-a-ride Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...

bus service throughout the city and county.

Notable people

Brodie Croyle John Brodie Croyle (; born February 6, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football Le ...

, former

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

quarterback and retired NFL player *

Patrick Nix Patrick Nix is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the head coach of Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama. He played college football as a quarterback at Auburn University from 1992 to 1995. He is the fath ...

, former Auburn quarterback and current high school football coach in Pinson Valley

References

External links

Rainbow City official website
{{authority control Cities in Alabama Cities in Etowah County, Alabama