Hale County, Alabama

Hale County, Alabama
Hale County Courthouse in Greensboro, Alabama
Location in the state of Alabama
Alabama's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 30, 1867
Seat	Greensboro
Largest city	Greensboro
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	656.47 sq mi (1,700 km²) 643.74 sq mi (1,667 km²) 12.74 sq mi (33 km²), 1.94%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	15,760 24/sq mi (9.4/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Hale County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of Confederate officer Stephen Fowler Hale. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,760. Its county seat is Greensboro and it is part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Hale County was established following the end of the American Civil War, on January 30, 1867. Located in the west-central section of the state, it was created from portions of Greene, Marengo, Perry, and Tuscaloosa counties. The vast majority came from Greene County. The first American settlers hailed from Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas.

Hale County is connected to three major twentieth century artists: Walker Evans photographed the area in 1936 while he collaborated with James Agee on the 1941 book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Since the 1960s, artist William Christenberry, born in Tuscaloosa, has been photographing various structures in Hale County as part of his multi-media artistic investigations. More recently, Hale County has become the home of the nationally-recognized Auburn University Rural Studio, an architectural outreach program founded by architect and artist Samuel Mockbee and D. K. Ruth. It is also the birthplace of Eugene Sawyer, the second African American mayor of Chicago.

Since the American Civil War, whites controlled economic and political power in Hale County. However, in 1997 after a highly contested mayoral election the city of Greensboro elected its first African American mayor, John E. Owens Jr., and appointed its first African American police chief, Claude E. Hamilton. In 2006, county residents elected their first African American sheriff, Kenneth W. Ellis, who was formerly the Moundville police chief.^{[citation needed]}

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 656.47 square miles (1,700.2 km²), of which 643.74 square miles (1,667.3 km²) (or 98.06%) is land and 12.74 square miles (33.0 km²) (or 1.94%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Tuscaloosa County (north)
• Bibb County (northeast)
• Perry County (southeast)
• Marengo County (south)
• Greene County (west)

National protected area

• Talladega National Forest (part)

Transportation

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 80
• State Route 14
• State Route 25
• State Route 60
• State Route 61
• State Route 69

Airports

• Greensboro Municipal Airport (7A0) in Greensboro
• Moundville Airport (L44) in Moundville

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	21,792		—
1880	26,553		21.8%
1890	27,501		3.6%
1900	31,011		12.8%
1910	27,883		−10.1%
1920	24,289		−12.9%
1930	26,265		8.1%
1940	25,533		−2.8%
1950	20,832		−18.4%
1960	19,537		−6.2%
1970	15,888		−18.7%
1980	15,604		−1.8%
1990	15,498		−0.7%
2000	17,185		10.9%
2010	15,760		−8.3%
Est. 2011	15,421		−2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 2011 estimate through 1960

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,185 people, 6,415 households, and 4,605 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 7,756 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 39.83% White, 58.95% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,415 households out of which 36.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.60% were married couples living together, 22.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the county the population was spread out with 29.60% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 89.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.60 males.

The Safe House Museum in Greensboro, Alabama

The median income for a household in the county was $25,807, and the median income for a family was $31,875. Males had a median income of $28,493 versus $19,363 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,661. About 22.20% of families and 26.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.00% of those under age 18 and 26.70% of those age 65 or over.

Tourism

Greensboro, the county seat, is home to the 'Safe House Museum'. On March 21, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. attended a meeting at Greensboro's St. Matthew Church, and then spent the night in this house where he sought refuge from the Ku Klux Klan. The museum reveals the struggle for equality for African Americans in Alabama, and its curator, Ms. Theresa Burroughs, was both a family friend of King, and a foot soldier in the Civil Rights Movement.

Greensboro is also home to a large number of antebellum-era houses and churches, including some that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places such as Glencairn and Magnolia Grove.

Settlements

City

• Greensboro

Towns

• Akron
• Moundville (partial; part of Moundville is in Tuscaloosa County)
• Newbern

Unincorporated communities

• Gallion
• Prairieville
• Sawyerville

Ghost town

Arcola

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hale County, Alabama
• Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in Hale County, Alabama

External links

• Moundville Archaeological Park, Hale County, AL
• William Christenberry: Place, Time, and Memory Southern Spaces September 28, 2007