Hueytown, AL, is located in Jefferson County, between Birmingham and Bessemer. The city is named after its founder, Huey Long who was Governor of Louisiana. Huey’s philosophy of providing services to the poor against big business interests influenced his nephews—Jimmie Lee and Russell B. Long—both U.S, senators from Louisiana during the middle of the twentieth century. Huey’s son, Palmer Reid Long, was a charter member of the Bankhead House in Washington, D.C., which was established in honor of Alabama Senator John H. Bankhead II to serve as headquarters for Louisiana’s Democratic Party.

The city was incorporated from 1910 to 1912 with William Rufus King as its first mayor. King was the last Republican to hold that office, serving from 1912 through 1916. Hueytown is located at 33°7’23” North, 86°43’29” West (33.124606, -86.724504).

Religion has played a large role in developing and maintaining the social life of Hueytown. The city was founded as a railroad town by the L & N Railroad in 1887, just outside two other small, unincorporated settlements called Jonesboro and Jug Factory. One of Hueytown’s major draws to this day is its proximity to the spiritual headquarters of several Christian sects, including 28 churches (not counting branch locations) of the Assemblies of God, nine Southern Baptist churches, four United Methodist churches, three Churches of Christ congregations and one Catholic church.

At one time there was a sign just outside Hueytown that read “Welcome to the home of the world’s largest outdoor baptist revival.” The southern part of Jefferson County has long been known as the “buckle” of the Bible Belt due to the high concentration of churches and other venues related to Christianity.

Social life also has been influenced by Hueytown’s predominant industries: coal mining and steel production. Coal mines operated around Hueytown until after World War II, but mining jobs gradually became less important as foreign steel producers captured U.S. markets during the 1970s and 1980s. The steel mill in Hueytown was shut down by its owner, U.S. Steel Corp., and its 2,000 employees were laid off on July 12, 1986. 

The town is serviced by the Bessemer Division of the L & N Railroad which still operates today.

Hueytown was the home of Gene Littler, one of America’s top professional golfers in the 1950s and 1960s and a winner of two major championships: the 1959 and 1961 PGA Championships.   Littler’s father, a steelworker at U.S. Steel in Hueytown, introduced him to the game of golf as a toddler by placing a club in his hands and rolling a ball across the floor for him to strike with the club.