Oakridge Neighborhood Association

Oakridge Neighborhood Association

The Oakridge Neighborhood

The Oakridge neighborhood association is located near McDonald Chapel and Pleasant Grove, south of the Bayview lake and the Village Creek Reservoir.

The neighborhood preserves the small town atmosphere but also affords easy access to Alabama's largest metropolitan area. In less than a thirty minute drive you can be anywhere in downtown Birmingham.

The area was first homesteaded in 1836. Soon, like many other parts of Alabama, it was discovered that the region was an excellent source of coal. Mines began to crop up and soon coalmining was a major industry in the region. Today there are still over 100 active coal mines in Alabama.

Ground was broken in 2008 for a new $38 million high school to serve the area. The new school will be nearly a quarter of a million square feet and boast a 650-seat auditorium and a 100-seat lecture hall. It will have the capacity to serve nearly 1000 students.

The nearby Pleasant Grove Public Library has been operating since 1972 and has over 30,000 books.

Powerful tornadoes swept through the area in 1956 and 1998. The tornado in 1998 was an F5 on the new Fujita scale.