Steele is located in northeast St. Clair County in northeast Alabama. It has a mayor/council form of government.
History

After the war, the town's first store was constructed and a hotel was built that also housed the post office, and the town soon boasted gristmills and a sawmill. In 1880, a two-story schoolhouse was constructed to replace a log cabin structure and was later known as the Valley Grove Academy. Around 1900, townspeople tried to incorporate Steele, but the effort was unsuccessful. A peach-packing plant was established about this time that also made baskets for the peaches harvested from nearby Chandler Mountain. Another factory produced charcoal for the local iron furnaces. Steele was finally incorporated in 1952.
Demographics
According to 2016 Census estimates, Steele recorded a population of 1,089. Of that number, 96.1 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 2.8 percent as Hispanic, 0.6 percent as two or more races, 3.4 percent as American Indian, and. The town's median household income was $32,625, and the per capita income was $19,146.
Employment
According to 2016 Census estimates, the workforce in Steele was divided among the following industrial categories:
- Manufacturing (23.9 percent)
- Retail trade (20.0 percent)
- Educational services and health care and social assistance (17.8 percent)
- Construction (7.8 percent)
- Wholesale trade (5.0 percent)
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (4.8 percent)
- Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (4.6 percent)
- Information (3.9 percent)
- Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (3.0 percent)
- Other services, except public administration (3.0 percent)
- Public administration (3.0 percent)
- Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (2.8 percent)
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extraction (0.4 percent)
Education
Public education in Steele is administered by St. Clair County Board of Education, which oversees a junior high school in the town.
Transportation
Interstate 59 runs northeast-southwest through the southeastern portion of the town. U.S. Highway 11/State Route 7 run parallel to the interstate through the center of town. The Norfolk Southern Corporation operates a rail line through Steele. The Northeast Alabama Regional Airport, a public-use aviation facility in Gadsden, lies approximately 10 miles to the east.
Events and Places of Interest

Additional Resources
Crow, Mattie Lou Teague. History of St. Clair County, Alabama. Huntsville, Ala.: Strode Publishers, 1973.