Calhoun County, Alabama

Calhoun County is a county in the east central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census, the population was 118,572.[1] Its county seat is Anniston.[2] It was named in honor of John C. Calhoun, noted politician and US Senator from South Carolina.

Calhoun County
U.S. county
Calhoun County courthouse in Anniston
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°46′10″N 85°49′15″W
Country United States
State Alabama
FoundedDecember 18, 1832
as Benton County
Named forJohn C. Calhoun
SeatAnniston
Largest cityAnniston
Area
 • Total612 sq mi (1,590 km2)
 • Land606 sq mi (1,570 km2)
 • Water6.4 sq mi (17 km2)  1.0%%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total118,572
 • Estimate 
(2019)
113,605
 • Density190/sq mi (75/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district3rd
Websitewww.calhouncounty.org
 
  • County Number 11 on Alabama Licence Plates

Calhoun County is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Benton County was established on December 18, 1832, named for Thomas Hart Benton, a member of the United States Senate from Missouri. Its county seat was Jacksonville. Benton, a slave owner, was a political ally of John C. Calhoun, U.S. senator from South Carolina and also a slaveholder and planter. Through the 1820s-1840s, however, Benton's and Calhoun's political interests diverged. Calhoun was increasingly interested in using the threat of secession as a weapon to maintain and expand slavery throughout the United States. Benton, on the other hand, was slowly coming to the conclusion that slavery was wrong and that preservation of the union was paramount. On January 29, 1858, Alabama supporters of slavery, objecting to Benton's change of heart, renamed Benton County as Calhoun County.

During the Reconstruction era and widespread violence by whites to suppress black and white Republican voting in the state during the campaign for the 1870 gubernatorial election, four blacks and one white were lynched.[3]

After years of controversy and a State Supreme Court ruling in June 1900, the county seat was moved to Anniston.

The city was hit by an F4 tornado during the 1994 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak on March 27, 1994. Twelve minutes after the National Weather Service of Birmingham issued a tornado warning for northern Calhoun, southeastern Etowah, and southern Cherokee counties, the tornado destroyed Piedmont's Goshen United Methodist Church.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 612 square miles (1,590 km2), of which 606 square miles (1,570 km2) is land and 6.4 square miles (17 km2) (1.0%) is water.[4]

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Transportation

Major highways
  • Interstate 20
  • U.S. Highway 78
  • U.S. Highway 278
  • U.S. Highway 431
  • State Route 9
  • State Route 21
  • State Route 144
  • State Route 200
  • State Route 202
  • State Route 204
  • State Route 301

Rail

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
184014,260—
185017,16320.4%
186021,53925.5%
187013,980−35.1%
188019,59140.1%
189033,83572.7%
190034,8743.1%
191039,11512.2%
192047,82222.3%
193055,61116.3%
194063,31913.9%
195079,53925.6%
196095,87820.5%
1970103,0927.5%
1980119,76116.2%
1990116,034−3.1%
2000112,249−3.3%
2010118,5725.6%
Est. 2019113,605[5]−4.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790–1960[7] 1900–1990[8]
1990–2000[9] 2010–2018[1]

As of the census[10] of 2010, there were 118,572 people, 47,331 households, and 31,609 families residing in the county. The population density was 194 people per square mile (75/km2). There were 53,289 housing units at an average density of 87 per square mile (34/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 74.9% White, 20.6% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 3.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 47,331 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,407, and the median income for a family was $49,532. Males had a median income of $41,599 versus $29,756 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,574. About 15.2% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Calhoun is a staunchly Republican county in Presidential and Congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976. In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won almost sixty-nine percent of the county's vote.

Presidential elections results
Presidential election results [11]
Year GOP DEM Others
2016 68.7% 32,865 27.7% 13,242 3.7% 1,757
2012 65.3% 30,278 33.5% 15,511 1.2% 575
2008 65.7% 32,348 33.2% 16,334 1.1% 560
2004 65.9% 29,814 33.3% 15,083 0.8% 352
2000 57.3% 22,306 40.6% 15,781 2.1% 822
1996 49.0% 18,088 42.6% 15,725 8.4% 3,098
1992 48.2% 20,623 38.4% 16,453 13.4% 5,724
1988 58.3% 19,806 36.7% 12,451 5.0% 1,711
1984 61.2% 23,291 33.5% 12,752 5.4% 2,039
1980 49.2% 17,475 47.9% 17,017 3.0% 1,049
1976 36.0% 11,763 62.6% 20,466 1.4% 471
1972 76.9% 20,364 22.0% 5,832 1.0% 275
1968 11.4% 3,061 15.5% 4,146 73.1% 19,568
1964 63.1% 10,635 36.9% 6,210
1960 33.2% 4,821 66.0% 9,590 0.9% 125
1956 32.2% 4,473 65.2% 9,069 2.6% 358
1952 27.4% 3,064 71.7% 8,023 1.0% 106
1948 20.5% 856 79.5% 3,325
1944 13.8% 694 85.7% 4,308 0.6% 28
1940 12.7% 645 86.9% 4,408 0.4% 18
1936 11.7% 581 87.1% 4,322 1.2% 58
1932 13.4% 684 86.0% 4,392 0.6% 31
1928 54.5% 2,537 45.5% 2,117 0.0% 1
1924 27.2% 766 67.7% 1,907 5.2% 146
1920 24.8% 1,139 74.4% 3,423 0.9% 39
1916 16.2% 442 81.8% 2,231 2.0% 54
1912 10.1% 238 70.5% 1,666 19.5% 460
1908 26.9% 570 67.8% 1,438 5.3% 113
1904 14.9% 287 80.5% 1,556 4.7% 90

Calhoun is part of Alabama's 3rd congressional district, which is held by Republican Mike D. Rogers.

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Places of interest

Calhoun County is home to Jacksonville State University, the Anniston Museum of Natural History, the Berman Museum of World History and the Coldwater Covered Bridge. It also contains a portion of the Talladega National Forest.

See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. Shapiro, Herbert (1988). White Violence and Black Response: From Reconstruction to Montgomery. U of Massachusetts P. p. 12. ISBN 9780870235788.
  4. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  5. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  8. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 24, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  10. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  11. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Retrieved November 15, 2016.

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