Pelham, AL, is a city in Shelby County, Alabama. The estimated population was 14,661 as of 2010.

The city is the county seat of Shelby County and is known as “the town with a heart.” Some well-known people who have ties to Pelham include country music star Ronnie McDowell, former U.S. Representative Terry Everett, and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough.

Pelham is known for being the location of the former World War II prisoner of war Camp Sibert. The camp opened in 1942 to hold enemy prisoners of war. It was part of a network of camps that held Axis military personnel captured overseas by Allied forces. It is now closed and has been converted into residential housing known as St. Clair Village, but parts are being torn down and returned to nature.

Pelham is located at 33°27’48” North, 86°46’21” West (33.463519, -86.778903).

Pelham was founded in 1818 by Tuscaloosa lawyer William Ely Watson and was named for his friend and former teacher at the University of Pennsylvania, Pelham Glassford.

Pelham is home to St. Clair County Community College’s Shelby-Hoover campus, which serves students in the ten-county area around Birmingham. The college also hosts events for community members at its campus facility called The Point at St. Clair. This event venue offers meeting spaces, a cafeteria, and an outdoor pavilion.

St. Clair County’s first newspaper was “The Pelham Weekly”, which began publishing in the late 19th century. It was later renamed “The Shelby County Reporter”. Today, The Pelham Weekly has evolved into “The Examiner,” a quarterly print newspaper that is published by AL-Memo Media. It also publishes a weekly e-newsletter, The Pelham Scoop.

Pelham’s first school was established in 1821 and served children of all races until the time of desegregation after Reconstruction. There are currently three public schools that serve grades K–12 in the city limits. Those are Pelham High School, Pelham Middle School, and Pelham Elementary School. High-school students may attend either the Shelby County school system at Thompson High School or a magnet program offered by Shades Cahaba in Hoover.

Pelham is home to William “Bill” H. Lee Logistical Park, a massive industrial center that was redeveloped from former military buildings on the grounds of the now-defunct Camp Sibert. The park is home to a number of companies involved in logistics, distribution, and tracking as well as warehouse space for those companies.

The city also has a thriving retail sector with shops and restaurants lining the Pelham roads. In addition, several new housing developments have been built in recent years, adding to the city’s population.