Heather Jones Skaggs

Bluff Park (Images of America) Heather Jones Skaggs

The community of Bluff Park is home to a variety of residents, ranging from retirees to working families. Historically speaking, Bluff Park was first developed as a mountain resort and summer vacation site. Gardner Cole Hale bought the mountain property in the 1860s and called it Hale Springs. One of the first recorded uses of the name Bluff Park was with the Bluff Park Hotel, built in 1907. After its resort days, the area became more residential. Several of the founding families in Bluff Park settled on the mountain, building homes and farms. One such family, the Hales, ran a lumber mill, a cotton gin, and an icehouse. The Tyler family ran a large dairy farm after they moved to the area around 1888. The community school started around 1899 as a one-room schoolhouse and church, and Bluff Park Elementary is now one of the top elementary schools in the city of Hoover.