The city of Hoover is located just outside of Birmingham in the Jefferson and Shelby counties. Like the surrounding cities of the Birmingham metropolitan area, Hoover is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It has grown in size over the years and has consistently been named one of the best cities to live in Alabama.
History
Since 1930, Hoover was referred to as the Green Valley community and was mostly residential. It was incorporated in 1967 and named after William H. Hoover who owned a local insurance company and founded the Employers Mutual Insurance of Alabama in the 1920s. Mr. Hoover purchased land along Highway 31 after the Alabama Highway Department began its road widening project in the area. In 1958, he relocated his business from Birmingham to the new stretch of highway. He later sold land to his employees, forming the Hoover community. The public took notice of this exclusive new area and interest peaked after a 1959 Birmingham home builders tour. Since then, Hoover has seen exponential growth in homes, businesses, schools and overall population.
Over the years, the city has annexed many other small communities in order to increase its tax revenue. The Riverchase business and residential community was annexed in 1980. This significantly increased the city’s tax income due to the number of workers, employers and office buildings that made up the area.