Anniston, Alabama
Encyclopedia
Anniston is a city in Calhoun County
in the state
of Alabama
, United States.As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 24,276. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 23,741. The city is the county seat
of Calhoun County
and one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
Named The Model City by Atlanta newspaperman Henry W. Grady
for its careful planning in the late 19th century, the city is situated on the slope of Blue Mountain.
. During that time, the Confederate States of America established and operated an iron furnace near present day downtown Anniston, until the furnace was destroyed by Union
troops in 1865. Later, clay pipe for sewer systems became the focus of Anniston's industrial output. Clay pipe, also called soil pipe, was popular until the advent of plastic pipe in the 1960s.
In 1865, at the end of the Civil War, Union troops near the furnace wrongfully hanged one of the few residents. Charley Lloyd
, a farmer working the land in what is now Anniston west of Noble Street, was executed by Union General John Croxton for allegedly shooting a Union cavalryman. In fact, the Union trooper had been killed by a Confederate
soldier who was fighting the continuing destruction of local facilities. Croxton's only evidence against Lloyd was that the shooting took place near Lloyd's farm.
In 1872, the Woodstock Iron Company, organized by Samuel Noble and Union Gen. Daniel Tyler
, rebuilt the furnace on a much larger scale, as well as started a planned community named Woodstock but later renamed "Anniston" for Annie Scott Tyler, wife of railroad president Alfred L. Tyler. Anniston was chartered as a town in 1873.
Though the roots of the town's economy were in iron
, steel
and pipe clay, planners touted it as a health resort, and several hotels began operating. Schools appeared. The Noble Institute, a school for girls, established in 1886, and the Alabama Presbyterian College for Men founded in 1905. Planning and easy access to rail transportation helped make Anniston the fifth largest city in the state from 1890's to 1950's.
In 1917, the United States Army
established a training camp at Fort McClellan
during the start of World War I. On the other side of town, the Anniston Army Depot
opened during World War II as a major storage and maintenance site, a role it continues to serve as incineration progresses. Most of the old site of Fort McClellan was incorporated into Anniston in the late 1990s. The Army closed the fort in 1999, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure
round of 1995.
Anniston was the center of national controversy in 1961 when a mob bombed a bus filled with civilian Freedom Riders during the American civil rights movement. The Freedom Riders were riding an integrated bus to protest Alabama's Jim Crow segregation
laws that denied African Americans their civil rights
. One of the buses was fire-bombed outside of Anniston on Mother's Day
, Sunday, May 14, 1961. As the bus burned, the mob held the doors shut, intent on burning the riders to death. An exploding fuel tank caused the mob to retreat, allowing the riders to escape the bus. The Riders were viciously beaten as they tried to flee the burning bus; warning shots fired into the air by highway patrolmen prevented the riders from being lynched
on the spot. The site is home to a marker along Alabama Highway 202 W about five miles (8 km) west of downtown.
In response to the violence, the city formed a bi-racial Human Relations Council (HRC) including prominent white business and religious leaders, but when they attempted to integrate the "whites-only" public library on Sunday afternoon, September 15, 1963 (the same day as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham), further violence ensued and two black ministers, N.Q. Reynolds and Bob McClain, were severely beaten by a mob. HRC chairman, white Presbyterian minister Rev. Phil Noble, worked with an elder of his church, Miller Sproull, who was an Anniston City Commissioner, to avoid KKK mob domination of the city. In a telephone conference with President John F. Kennedy
, the President informed the HRC that after the Birmingham church bombing he had stationed Federal Troops at Fort McClellan on the edge of Anniston. On September 16, 1963, with city police present, Noble and Sproull escorted Black ministers into the library.
In February 1964, Anniston Hardware
, owned by the Sproull family, was bombed, presumably in retaliation for Commissioner Sproull's integration efforts. On the night July 15, 1965 a white racist rally was held in Anniston, after which Willie Brewster, a black foundry worker, was shot and killed while driving home from work. A $20,000 reward was raised by Anniston civic leaders, and resulted in the apprehension, trial and conviction of the accused killer, Damon Strange, who worked for a leader of the Ku Klux Klan
.
Historian Taylor Branch
called the conviction of Damon Strange a "breakthrough verdict" on p. 391 of his Pulitzer Prize
-winning book, At Canaan's Edge. Strange was convicted by an all-white Calhoun County jury to the surprise of many people, including civil rights leaders who had planned to protest an acquittal. This was the first conviction of a white person for killing a black person in civil rights era Alabama.
, part of the Appalachian Mountains
, Anniston's environment is home to diverse species of birds, reptiles and mammals. Part of the former Fort McClellan is now operating as Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge to protect endangered Southern Longleaf Pine species.
Anniston is located at 33°39′46"N 85°49′35"W (33.663003, -85.826664).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.5 square miles (117.8 km²) of which 45.4 square miles (117.6 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) (0.07%) is water.
In 2003, part of the town of Blue Mountain was annexed into the city of Anniston, while the remaining portion reverted to unincorporated sections of Calhoun County, thus Blue Mountain no longer exists
Anniston is the county seat
of Calhoun County, Alabama
. Circuit and district courts for the county and the district attorney
's office are located in the Calhoun County Courthouse at the corner of 11th Street and Gurnee Avenue. Other county administrative offices are in the Calhoun County Administrative Building at the corner of 17th and Noble streets.
A United States Courthouse, part of the U.S. Alabama Northern District Court, is located at the corner of 12th and Noble streets.
of 2000, there were 24,276 people, 10,447 households, and 6,414 families residing in the city. The population density
was 534.4 PD/sqmi. There were 12,787 housing units at an average density of 281.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 48.71% White
, 48.69% Black
or African American
, 0.27% Native American
, 0.78% Asian
, 0.07% Pacific Islander
, 0.61% from other races
, and 0.86% from two or more races. 1.68% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 10,447 households out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples
living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,385, and the median income for a family was $36,067. Males had a median income of $31,429 versus $21,614 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $18,769. About 20.1% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.2% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.
The Noble Streetscape Project encouraged local business owners to refurbish storefront facades, while historic homes throughout the downtown area have been repaired and returned to their former glory. The preservation effort even included the historic Calhoun County Courthouse, located on the corner of 11th Street & Gurnee Avenue since 1900. The original building burned down in 1931, but the courthouse was rebuilt a year later. Thanks to a complete restoration in 1990, the stately structure is still in use today.
Anniston has long been a cultural center for northeastern Alabama. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival
was founded in the city in 1972, and has since moved to Montgomery to receive more robust support. The Knox Concert Series regularly brings world-renowned musical and dance productions to the area. Anniston is also home to Community Actors' Studio Theatre community theatre organization, which performs plays, musicals, and revues featuring local performers, actors, and musicians. CAST also features specially funded programs to help educate area children in the arts for free. The city also is home to the Anniston Museum of Natural History
and the Berman Museum of World History. These quaint institutions house mummies, dioramas of wildlife and artifacts from a bygone age in an understandable fashion. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra
since 2004 has performed a summer series of outdoor concerts, Music at McClellan, in Anniston at the former Fort McClellan
. Organizers have said they hope to make the concerts the center of an arts community.
The city has many examples of Victorian-style homes, some of which have been restored or preserved. Several of the city’s churches are architecturally significant or historic, including Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Grace Episcopal Church, and Parker Memorial Baptist Church. Temple Beth EL, dedicated in 1893, has the oldest building in the state continuously and currently being used for Jewish worship and including a little known but impressive and lovely little predominately African-American church, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church on what is known as the Zion Hill community.
The original main street, Noble Street, is seeing a rebirth as a downtown shopping and dining district in the heart of downtown. All of the large shopping centers in the area are in Oxford
, the boom town on Interstate 20 that borders south Anniston. Oxford completed its Western Bypass before federal money ran out, and it houses the Quintard Mall
and the toney, upscale Oxford Exchange
.
statewide edition, and the local 25,000 circulation daily paper, The Anniston Star
. Anniston-based Consolidated Publishing Co., publisher of The Anniston Star, also owns and operates advertising-supported newspapers in nearby Jacksonville, 98.3 and WDNG 1450-AM.
Television station with broadcast facilities - WJXS-TV
, is the only station that directly broadcasts from the Anniston area, but many Birmingham stations as have towers and news bureaus here, such as WJSU-TV (WJSU is a local broadcast station for Birmingham-based ABC 33/40
), WBRC-TV (Fox
), and WVTM-TV (NBC
). Alabama Public Television erected its tallest tower atop Mount Cheaha a dozen miles away from Anniston.
Anniston is a part of the Birmingham
-Anniston-Tuscaloosa
television designated market area. Radio stations are divided up into three sub markets within that market; Anniston is in the Anniston-Gadsden
-Talladega
radio sub market.
Eastern Bypass and a Memorial Parkway overpass in Huntsville will be the big transportation winners if Congress gives final approÈval today to a $789 billion economic stimulus package." A portion of the bypass (from Golden Springs to Iron Mountain Road in the McClellan area) was opened in late January 2011.
revealed Anniston had been among the most toxic cities in the country. The source of local contamination was a Monsanto chemical factory, which closed years ago. The http://www.epa.gov/Region4/waste/npl/nplal/annpcbal.htm EPA description of the site reads in part:
Anniston residents filed class action suits against Monsanto Company for knowingly dumping PCBs
in west Anniston.
A portion of the remaining Fort McClellan is used for Alabama National Guard training and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
's Center for Domestic Preparedness
. It houses the nation's only civilian "live agent" training center; emergency response providers from all over the world come to Fort McClellan to be trained in dealing with live agents and weapons in a real-time, monitored setting.
In 2003, the Anniston Army Depot
began the process of destroying chemical weapons it had stored at Fort McClellan. An incinerator was built to destroy the stockpile of Sarin
and VX
nerve agent and mustard
blister agent stored at the depot. The depot, along with associated defense contractors, is now Anniston's largest employer. Destruction of most of the stored munitions around Anniston has proceeded without incident and is expected to be completed by 2019.
which is used for the maintenance of most Army tracked vehicles. The depot houses a major chemical weapons storage facility, the Anniston Chemical Activity
, and a program to destroy those weapons, the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. Fort McClellan
, former site of the U.S. Army Military Police Training Academy and Chemical Warfare training center, was de-commissioned in the 1990s. A portion of the former fort is now home to the Alabama National Guard
Training Center. Another 9000 acres (36.4 km²) of the fort were set aside for the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge
in 2003. The Department of Homeland Security
also uses a portion of the de-commissioned fort for the Center for Domestic Preparedness
.
. These include:
The school system boasts one of the most high tech computing capabilities in the state [According to representatives from Huntsville as well as various News Agencies.] Every school is equipped with State of the Art MAC (Apple) labs, which includes two 55" plasma screen monitors, Inter-Active Smart Boards (which are also populated throughout the school system) as well as additional computer labs at many of the schools. This does not include the ACCESS lab at the High School used to interact with other schools within the state. These are all connected by high speed OC 48 fiber [donated by Mr. Donald Stewart, and installed by JKM, Inc.] As these capabilities are brought to bear and educators take full advantage of these capabilities, students attending Anniston City Schools will easily out pace many similar schools of their size and more. While the school system has suffered from declining numbers of white students over the past 10 years, this will likely change as the new by-pass is completed and further economic growth in the area begins to take place on the property of the former Fort McClellan.
There is also a public, four-year institution of higher learning, Jacksonville State University
, located in nearby Jacksonville, Alabama
. Anniston is also home to some satellite campuses of Gadsden State Community College
at the former Fort McClellan and the Ayers campus in southern Anniston. There are also some private schools in Anniston. These include a Christian
school called Faith Christian, a longstanding Roman Catholic school at the former Fort McClellan called Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, a Southern Baptist school called Trinity Christian Academy, and a K-12 college-preparatory school called The Donoho School.
Calhoun County, Alabama
Calhoun County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of John C. Calhoun, famous member of the United States Senate from South Carolina. As of 2010 the population was 118,572. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, United States.As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 24,276. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 23,741. The city is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Calhoun County
Calhoun County, Alabama
Calhoun County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of John C. Calhoun, famous member of the United States Senate from South Carolina. As of 2010 the population was 118,572. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area
Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Area
The Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area is the most populated metropolitan area in Northeast Alabama next to Huntsville. At the 2000 census, it had a population of 112,249...
.
Named The Model City by Atlanta newspaperman Henry W. Grady
Henry W. Grady
Henry Woodfin Grady was a journalist and orator who helped reintegrate the states of the former Confederacy into the Union after the American Civil War....
for its careful planning in the late 19th century, the city is situated on the slope of Blue Mountain.
History
Though the surrounding area was settled long before, the mineral resources in the area of Anniston weren't exploited until the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. During that time, the Confederate States of America established and operated an iron furnace near present day downtown Anniston, until the furnace was destroyed by Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
troops in 1865. Later, clay pipe for sewer systems became the focus of Anniston's industrial output. Clay pipe, also called soil pipe, was popular until the advent of plastic pipe in the 1960s.
In 1865, at the end of the Civil War, Union troops near the furnace wrongfully hanged one of the few residents. Charley Lloyd
Charley Lloyd
In April, 1863, Charley Lloyd, a farmer working the land in what is now Anniston, Alabama west of Noble Street, was executed by Union General John T. Croxton for allegedly shooting a Union cavalryman. In fact, the Union trooper had been killed by a Confederate soldier who was fighting with the...
, a farmer working the land in what is now Anniston west of Noble Street, was executed by Union General John Croxton for allegedly shooting a Union cavalryman. In fact, the Union trooper had been killed by a Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
soldier who was fighting the continuing destruction of local facilities. Croxton's only evidence against Lloyd was that the shooting took place near Lloyd's farm.
In 1872, the Woodstock Iron Company, organized by Samuel Noble and Union Gen. Daniel Tyler
Daniel Tyler
Daniel Tyler was an iron manufacturer, railroad president, and one of the first generals of the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, rebuilt the furnace on a much larger scale, as well as started a planned community named Woodstock but later renamed "Anniston" for Annie Scott Tyler, wife of railroad president Alfred L. Tyler. Anniston was chartered as a town in 1873.
Though the roots of the town's economy were in iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and pipe clay, planners touted it as a health resort, and several hotels began operating. Schools appeared. The Noble Institute, a school for girls, established in 1886, and the Alabama Presbyterian College for Men founded in 1905. Planning and easy access to rail transportation helped make Anniston the fifth largest city in the state from 1890's to 1950's.
In 1917, the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
established a training camp at Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan, originally Camp McClellan, was a United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. During World War II, it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million troops...
during the start of World War I. On the other side of town, the Anniston Army Depot
Anniston Army Depot
Anniston Army Depot is a major United States Army facility fulfilling various depot operations. Primary missions are the repair of tracked vehicles and storage of chemical weapons . The depot is located in Bynum, Alabama....
opened during World War II as a major storage and maintenance site, a role it continues to serve as incineration progresses. Most of the old site of Fort McClellan was incorporated into Anniston in the late 1990s. The Army closed the fort in 1999, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
round of 1995.
Anniston was the center of national controversy in 1961 when a mob bombed a bus filled with civilian Freedom Riders during the American civil rights movement. The Freedom Riders were riding an integrated bus to protest Alabama's Jim Crow segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
laws that denied African Americans their civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
. One of the buses was fire-bombed outside of Anniston on Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
, Sunday, May 14, 1961. As the bus burned, the mob held the doors shut, intent on burning the riders to death. An exploding fuel tank caused the mob to retreat, allowing the riders to escape the bus. The Riders were viciously beaten as they tried to flee the burning bus; warning shots fired into the air by highway patrolmen prevented the riders from being lynched
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
on the spot. The site is home to a marker along Alabama Highway 202 W about five miles (8 km) west of downtown.
In response to the violence, the city formed a bi-racial Human Relations Council (HRC) including prominent white business and religious leaders, but when they attempted to integrate the "whites-only" public library on Sunday afternoon, September 15, 1963 (the same day as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham), further violence ensued and two black ministers, N.Q. Reynolds and Bob McClain, were severely beaten by a mob. HRC chairman, white Presbyterian minister Rev. Phil Noble, worked with an elder of his church, Miller Sproull, who was an Anniston City Commissioner, to avoid KKK mob domination of the city. In a telephone conference with President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, the President informed the HRC that after the Birmingham church bombing he had stationed Federal Troops at Fort McClellan on the edge of Anniston. On September 16, 1963, with city police present, Noble and Sproull escorted Black ministers into the library.
In February 1964, Anniston Hardware
Anniston Hardware
Anniston Hardware, in Anniston, Alabama was bombed by the KKK in 1964 during the Civil Rights Movement.The company had been incorporated in 1887 when Anniston was opened to the public. James Creswell Sproull was the founder, and in 1905, he was mayor of Anniston.J.C. Sproull's grandson, H...
, owned by the Sproull family, was bombed, presumably in retaliation for Commissioner Sproull's integration efforts. On the night July 15, 1965 a white racist rally was held in Anniston, after which Willie Brewster, a black foundry worker, was shot and killed while driving home from work. A $20,000 reward was raised by Anniston civic leaders, and resulted in the apprehension, trial and conviction of the accused killer, Damon Strange, who worked for a leader of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
.
Historian Taylor Branch
Taylor Branch
Taylor Branch is an American author and historian best known for his award-winning trilogy of books chronicling the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and some of the history of the American civil rights movement...
called the conviction of Damon Strange a "breakthrough verdict" on p. 391 of his Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning book, At Canaan's Edge. Strange was convicted by an all-white Calhoun County jury to the surprise of many people, including civil rights leaders who had planned to protest an acquittal. This was the first conviction of a white person for killing a black person in civil rights era Alabama.
Geography
At the southernmost length of the Blue RidgeBlue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
, part of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
, Anniston's environment is home to diverse species of birds, reptiles and mammals. Part of the former Fort McClellan is now operating as Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge to protect endangered Southern Longleaf Pine species.
Anniston is located at 33°39′46"N 85°49′35"W (33.663003, -85.826664).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.5 square miles (117.8 km²) of which 45.4 square miles (117.6 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) (0.07%) is water.
In 2003, part of the town of Blue Mountain was annexed into the city of Anniston, while the remaining portion reverted to unincorporated sections of Calhoun County, thus Blue Mountain no longer exists
Government
Anniston is governed by Alabama's "weak mayor" form of city government. Four city council members are elected to represent the city's four wards, and the mayor is elected at-large. Day-to-day functions of city government are managed by the city manager, who is appointed by the mayor and city council.Anniston is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Calhoun County, Alabama
Calhoun County, Alabama
Calhoun County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of John C. Calhoun, famous member of the United States Senate from South Carolina. As of 2010 the population was 118,572. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Circuit and district courts for the county and the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office are located in the Calhoun County Courthouse at the corner of 11th Street and Gurnee Avenue. Other county administrative offices are in the Calhoun County Administrative Building at the corner of 17th and Noble streets.
A United States Courthouse, part of the U.S. Alabama Northern District Court, is located at the corner of 12th and Noble streets.
2000 Census data
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 24,276 people, 10,447 households, and 6,414 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 534.4 PD/sqmi. There were 12,787 housing units at an average density of 281.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 48.71% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 48.69% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.27% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.78% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.07% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.61% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.86% from two or more races. 1.68% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 10,447 households out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,385, and the median income for a family was $36,067. Males had a median income of $31,429 versus $21,614 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $18,769. About 20.1% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.2% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.
Culture, events and attractions
In 1899, the county seat of Calhoun County moved from Jacksonville to Anniston. More than 100 years later, the community is a bustling center of industry and commerce with more than 24,000 residents. Over the years, city officials and local citizens have worked to retain the environmental beauty of the area while allowing it to thrive economically and to preserve its history. The Spirit of Anniston Main Street Program, Inc., a nonprofit organization started in 1993, spearheaded the restoration and revitalization of historic downtown Anniston, with a strong focus on the city's main thoroughfare, Noble Street.The Noble Streetscape Project encouraged local business owners to refurbish storefront facades, while historic homes throughout the downtown area have been repaired and returned to their former glory. The preservation effort even included the historic Calhoun County Courthouse, located on the corner of 11th Street & Gurnee Avenue since 1900. The original building burned down in 1931, but the courthouse was rebuilt a year later. Thanks to a complete restoration in 1990, the stately structure is still in use today.
Anniston has long been a cultural center for northeastern Alabama. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival
Alabama Shakespeare Festival
The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is the seventh largest Shakespeare festival in the world. Each year, it attracts more than 300,000 visitors from throughout the United States and more than 60 countries, to its home in Montgomery, Alabama....
was founded in the city in 1972, and has since moved to Montgomery to receive more robust support. The Knox Concert Series regularly brings world-renowned musical and dance productions to the area. Anniston is also home to Community Actors' Studio Theatre community theatre organization, which performs plays, musicals, and revues featuring local performers, actors, and musicians. CAST also features specially funded programs to help educate area children in the arts for free. The city also is home to the Anniston Museum of Natural History
Anniston Museum of Natural History
The Anniston Museum of Natural History is a museum in Lagarde Park, Anniston, Alabama, exhibiting more than 2,000 natural history items on permanent display, including minerals, fossils, and rare animals in open dioramas....
and the Berman Museum of World History. These quaint institutions house mummies, dioramas of wildlife and artifacts from a bygone age in an understandable fashion. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Alabama Symphony Orchestra
- 1921-1955: Beginnings :The Alabama Symphony Orchestra can trace its beginnings to 1921, when on Friday, April 29, fifty-two volunteer musicians joined to perform at the Birmingham Music Festival at the Old Jefferson Theater...
since 2004 has performed a summer series of outdoor concerts, Music at McClellan, in Anniston at the former Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan, originally Camp McClellan, was a United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. During World War II, it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million troops...
. Organizers have said they hope to make the concerts the center of an arts community.
The city has many examples of Victorian-style homes, some of which have been restored or preserved. Several of the city’s churches are architecturally significant or historic, including Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Grace Episcopal Church, and Parker Memorial Baptist Church. Temple Beth EL, dedicated in 1893, has the oldest building in the state continuously and currently being used for Jewish worship and including a little known but impressive and lovely little predominately African-American church, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church on what is known as the Zion Hill community.
The original main street, Noble Street, is seeing a rebirth as a downtown shopping and dining district in the heart of downtown. All of the large shopping centers in the area are in Oxford
Oxford, Alabama
Oxford is a city in Calhoun and Talladega counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 14,592 at the 2000 census. Oxford is one of two principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, the boom town on Interstate 20 that borders south Anniston. Oxford completed its Western Bypass before federal money ran out, and it houses the Quintard Mall
Quintard Mall
The Quintard Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Oxford, Alabama, United States. Opened in 1970 and expanded in 2000, it has of retail space. Quintard Mall's anchor stores are Dillard's, Goody's, J.C. Penney and Sears. The mall also has a movie theatre, AmStar 12 Cinemas.-History:Quintard...
and the toney, upscale Oxford Exchange
Oxford Exchange
The Oxford Exchange is a retail center located in Oxford, Alabama. The center has more than 32 stores and restaurants. It opened in July 2006.-Sam's Club controversy:...
.
Restaurants
Anniston is home to many restaurants ranging from American, Italian, Greek, Cajun, Mexican, and Chinese cuisines, as well as Barbecue and Southern flavored cuisines. Many locally owned dining establishments are located in the downtown CBD (along Noble Street and Quintard Ave.), as well as Buckner Circle (McClellan), Lenlock, the south Quintard area, and the Golden Springs area.Media
Anniston is served by two daily newspapers: The Birmingham NewsThe Birmingham News
The Birmingham News is the principal daily newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and the largest newspaper in Alabama. The paper is owned by Advance Publications...
statewide edition, and the local 25,000 circulation daily paper, The Anniston Star
The Anniston Star
The Anniston Star is the daily newspaper serving Anniston, Alabama, and the surrounding six-county region. Average Sunday circulation in September 2004 was 26,747. The newspaper is locally-owned by Consolidated Publishing Company, which is controlled by the descendants of Col. Harry M. Ayers, one...
. Anniston-based Consolidated Publishing Co., publisher of The Anniston Star, also owns and operates advertising-supported newspapers in nearby Jacksonville, 98.3 and WDNG 1450-AM.
Television station with broadcast facilities - WJXS-TV
WJXS-CA
WJXS-CA TV 24 is a Class-A low-power television station in the Birmingham TV market with a tower location in Oxford, Alabama, with station facilities in Jacksonville, Alabama, broadcasting local and FamilyNet programming on channel 24....
, is the only station that directly broadcasts from the Anniston area, but many Birmingham stations as have towers and news bureaus here, such as WJSU-TV (WJSU is a local broadcast station for Birmingham-based ABC 33/40
WBMA-LP
WBMA-LD, channel 58, is the ABC television affiliate for Birmingham and central Alabama. Its transmitter is located in Birmingham, while its studio is in Hoover, a suburb of Birmingham....
), WBRC-TV (Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
), and WVTM-TV (NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
). Alabama Public Television erected its tallest tower atop Mount Cheaha a dozen miles away from Anniston.
Anniston is a part of the Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
-Anniston-Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
television designated market area. Radio stations are divided up into three sub markets within that market; Anniston is in the Anniston-Gadsden
Gadsden
Gadsden may refer to:In geography:*Gadsden, Alabama**Gadsden Depot, a United States Army Depot in the city of Gadsden, Alabama*Gadsden, Arizona*Gadsden, Indiana*Gadsden, Tennessee*Gadsden County, Florida...
-Talladega
Talladega
Talladega can have multiple uses:*Talladega, Alabama, a city in northern Alabama, USA*Talladega County, Alabama, which has the city of Talladega as its seat*Talladega National Forest in Alabama...
radio sub market.
Eastern Bypass and a Memorial Parkway overpass in Huntsville will be the big transportation winners if Congress gives final approÈval today to a $789 billion economic stimulus package." A portion of the bypass (from Golden Springs to Iron Mountain Road in the McClellan area) was opened in late January 2011.
Chemical cleanup
In 2002, a investigation by 60 minutes60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
revealed Anniston had been among the most toxic cities in the country. The source of local contamination was a Monsanto chemical factory, which closed years ago. The http://www.epa.gov/Region4/waste/npl/nplal/annpcbal.htm EPA description of the site reads in part:
The Anniston PCB site consists of residential, commercial, and public properties located in and around Anniston, Calhoun County, Alabama, that contain or may contain hazardous substances, including polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) impacted media. The Site is not listed on the NPL, but is considered to be a NPL-caliber site. Solutia Inc.'s Anniston plant encompasses approximately 70 acres of land and is located about 1 mile west of downtown Anniston, Alabama. The plant is bounded to the north by the Norfolk Southern and Erie railroads, to the east by Clydesdale Avenue, to the west by First Avenue, and to the south by U.S. Highway 202. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were produced at the plant from 1929 until 1971.
Anniston residents filed class action suits against Monsanto Company for knowingly dumping PCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of organic compounds with 2 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. The chemical formula for PCBs is C12H10-xClx...
in west Anniston.
A portion of the remaining Fort McClellan is used for Alabama National Guard training and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
's Center for Domestic Preparedness
Center for Domestic Preparedness
The Center for Domestic Preparedness is the only U.S. federal facility chartered to provide comprehensive preparedness training programs to the nation’s emergency response providers. As of 2007, it is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency ....
. It houses the nation's only civilian "live agent" training center; emergency response providers from all over the world come to Fort McClellan to be trained in dealing with live agents and weapons in a real-time, monitored setting.
In 2003, the Anniston Army Depot
Anniston Army Depot
Anniston Army Depot is a major United States Army facility fulfilling various depot operations. Primary missions are the repair of tracked vehicles and storage of chemical weapons . The depot is located in Bynum, Alabama....
began the process of destroying chemical weapons it had stored at Fort McClellan. An incinerator was built to destroy the stockpile of Sarin
Sarin
Sarin, or GB, is an organophosphorus compound with the formula [2CHO]CH3PF. It is a colorless, odorless liquid, which is used as a chemical weapon. It has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction in UN Resolution 687...
and VX
VX (nerve agent)
VX, IUPAC name O-ethyl S-[2-ethyl] methylphosphonothioate, is an extremely toxic substance whose only application is in chemical warfare as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations in UN Resolution 687...
nerve agent and mustard
Sulfur mustard
The sulfur mustards, or sulphur mustards, commonly known as mustard gas, are a class of related cytotoxic, vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin. Pure sulfur mustards are colorless, viscous liquids at room temperature...
blister agent stored at the depot. The depot, along with associated defense contractors, is now Anniston's largest employer. Destruction of most of the stored munitions around Anniston has proceeded without incident and is expected to be completed by 2019.
Military
Anniston is home to the United States, and Australia's Anniston Army DepotAnniston Army Depot
Anniston Army Depot is a major United States Army facility fulfilling various depot operations. Primary missions are the repair of tracked vehicles and storage of chemical weapons . The depot is located in Bynum, Alabama....
which is used for the maintenance of most Army tracked vehicles. The depot houses a major chemical weapons storage facility, the Anniston Chemical Activity
Anniston Chemical Activity
Anniston Chemical Activity is a U.S. Army chemical weapon storage site located in Alabama. The Army had stored approximately seven percent of the nation’s original chemical weapons stockpile at the Anniston Army Depot since the early 1960s. In August 2003, the Army began disposing of these weapons...
, and a program to destroy those weapons, the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan, originally Camp McClellan, was a United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. During World War II, it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million troops...
, former site of the U.S. Army Military Police Training Academy and Chemical Warfare training center, was de-commissioned in the 1990s. A portion of the former fort is now home to the Alabama National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
Training Center. Another 9000 acres (36.4 km²) of the fort were set aside for the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge
Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge
Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in eastern Alabama, near Anniston, Alabama on the former site of Fort McClellan...
in 2003. The Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
also uses a portion of the de-commissioned fort for the Center for Domestic Preparedness
Center for Domestic Preparedness
The Center for Domestic Preparedness is the only U.S. federal facility chartered to provide comprehensive preparedness training programs to the nation’s emergency response providers. As of 2007, it is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency ....
.
Education
Public schools in Anniston are operated by Anniston City SchoolsAnniston City Schools
Anniston City Schools is a school district serving the city of Anniston, Alabama.It includes the following schools:*Anniston High School*Anniston Middle School*Cobb Elementary*Constantine Elementary*Golden Springs Elementary*Randolph Park Elementary...
. These include:
- Anniston High School (Grades 9-12)
- Anniston Middle School (Grades 6-8)
- Cobb Elementary School (Grades K-5)
- Constantine Elementary School (Grades K-5)
- Golden Springs Elementary School (Grades K-5)
- Randolph Park Elementary School (Grades K-5)
- Tenth Street Elementary School (Grades K-5)
The school system boasts one of the most high tech computing capabilities in the state [According to representatives from Huntsville as well as various News Agencies.] Every school is equipped with State of the Art MAC (Apple) labs, which includes two 55" plasma screen monitors, Inter-Active Smart Boards (which are also populated throughout the school system) as well as additional computer labs at many of the schools. This does not include the ACCESS lab at the High School used to interact with other schools within the state. These are all connected by high speed OC 48 fiber [donated by Mr. Donald Stewart, and installed by JKM, Inc.] As these capabilities are brought to bear and educators take full advantage of these capabilities, students attending Anniston City Schools will easily out pace many similar schools of their size and more. While the school system has suffered from declining numbers of white students over the past 10 years, this will likely change as the new by-pass is completed and further economic growth in the area begins to take place on the property of the former Fort McClellan.
There is also a public, four-year institution of higher learning, Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State University is a regional public coeducational university located in Jacksonville, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in four academic units leading to Bachelor's, Master's, and Education Specialist degrees, in addition to continuing and...
, located in nearby Jacksonville, Alabama
Jacksonville, Alabama
Jacksonville is a city in Calhoun County, Alabama, United States. which is a 49% increase since 2000. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Anniston is also home to some satellite campuses of Gadsden State Community College
Gadsden State Community College
Gadsden State Community College is a two-year institution of higher learning located in Gadsden, Anniston, and Centre Alabama. The college's service area includes Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, and St...
at the former Fort McClellan and the Ayers campus in southern Anniston. There are also some private schools in Anniston. These include a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
school called Faith Christian, a longstanding Roman Catholic school at the former Fort McClellan called Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, a Southern Baptist school called Trinity Christian Academy, and a K-12 college-preparatory school called The Donoho School.
Notable residents and former residents
- George T. AndersonGeorge T. AndersonGeorge Thomas Anderson was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Nicknamed "Tige," Anderson was noted as one of Robert E...
, Civil War general - Michael BiehnMichael BiehnMichael Connell Biehn is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in James Cameron's science fiction action films The Terminator as Kyle Reese, Aliens as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks, and The Abyss as Lt. Coffey. He has also acted in such films as Tombstone, The Rock, and Planet Terror...
, actor - Larry Bowie, former American NFL football player
- Anne BradenAnne BradenAnne McCarty Braden was an American advocate of racial equality. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised in rigidly segregated Anniston, Alabama, Braden grew up in a white middle-class family that accepted southern racial morals wholeheartedly...
, Civil Rights activist - Dakoda BrookesDakoda BrookesDakoda Brookes is the stage name of an American pornographic actress.-Awards:* 2009 FAME Awards nominee – Favorite Female Rookie* 2009 XRCO Award nominee - Cream Dream* 2009 XBIZ Award nominee – New Starlet of the Year...
, pornographic actress - June BurnJune BurnJune Burn was an American author.June Burn was born Inez Chandler Harris on June 19, 1893 in Anniston, Alabama. Her father was a Methodist circuit riding minister. At age sixteen she moved to Oklahoma and eventually graduated from Oklahoma State University. In 1917 she started working as a...
, author - Red ByronRed ByronRobert "Red" Byron was a NASCAR driver who was successful in the sanctioning body's first years. He was NASCAR's first Modified champion in 1948 and its first Strictly Stock champion in 1949.-Background:Born in Colorado he moved to Anniston, Alabama at an early age, Byron began...
, NASCARNASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
driver - Asa Earl CarterAsa Earl CarterAsa Earl Carter was an American political speechwriter and author. He was most notable for publishing novels and a best-selling, award-winning memoir under the name Forrest Carter, an identity as a Native American Cherokee...
, Segregationist, speech writer, and author of The Education of Little TreeThe Education of Little TreeThe Education of Little Tree is a memoir-style novel written by Asa Earl Carter under the pseudonym Forrest Carter. Since its first publication by Delacorte Press in 1976, the book has been the subject of acclaim. Many people have been drawn to its message of simple living, tradition, and love of... - Quinton CaverQuinton CaverQuinton Tyrone Caver is a former gridiron football linebacker who played in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League . He played American football for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL and Canadian football for the Hamilton...
, American NFL football player - B. B. ComerB. B. ComerBraxton Bragg Comer was an American Democratic politician who was the 33rd Governor of Alabama from 1907 to 1911.-Early Life and Education:...
, Governor of Alabama - John CratonJohn CratonJohn Douglas Craton is an American classical composer. His works have been performed throughout the United States and Europe. While his compositions cover a diverse range, he is best known for his operas and works for classical mandolin.-Biography:...
, classical composer - Michael CurryMichael CurryMichael Edward Curry is the associate head coach of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. He previously served as head coach of the Detroit Pistons...
, NBA player - Cow Cow DavenportCow Cow DavenportCharles Edward "Cow Cow" Davenport was an American boogie woogie piano player. He also played the organ and sang.-Career:...
, Boogie-woogieBoogie-woogieBoogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
pianist - Eric DavisEric Davis (football player)Eric Wayne Davis is a former professional American football player who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 1990 NFL Draft. Davis played in 13 NFL seasons from 1990 to 2002...
, NFL corner back - William Levi Dawson, (1899-1990), composer of NegroNegroThe word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
Folk Symphony - Bobby EdwardsBobby EdwardsBobby Edwards is an American country singer who recorded between 1959 and 1964.-Biography:...
, country singer - Andra FranklinAndra FranklinAndra Bernard Franklin was an American running back in the National Football League from 1981 to 1984 for the Miami Dolphins. Franklin played collegiately at the University of Nebraska...
, NFL football player - Kevin GreeneKevin GreeneKevin Darwin Greene is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League for 15 years and who retired after the 1999 NFL season...
, retired American NFL football player - Audrey Marie HilleyAudrey Marie HilleyAudrey Marie Hilley was an American murderer. Her life and spree are the subjects of the 1991 telefilm Wife, Mother, Murderer. The movie starred Judith Light in the title role, with Whip Hubley and David Ogden Stiers....
, famous for poisoning her husband and trying to poison her daughter - Delvin HughleyDelvin HughleyDelvin Hughley is an Arena Football League defensive back for the Colorado Crush. Hughley also spent time in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos....
, American Arena Football LeagueArena Football LeagueThe Arena Football League is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States. It is currently the second longest running professional football league in the United States, after the National Football League. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster...
and former NFL football player - Thomas KilbyThomas KilbyThomas Erby Kilby, Sr. was an American Democratic politician.He was a mayor of Anniston, Alabama from 1905 to 1909, Alabama State Senator from 1911 to 1915, eighth Lieutenant Governor of Alabama from 1915 to 1919 and 36th Governor of Alabama from 1919 to 1923.In 1920, Kilby arbitrated the...
, Governor of AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland... - Perry LentzPerry LentzPerry Carlton Lentz, is a teacher, an author, and professor of English language and literature at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.-Early life and education:...
, author and professor of English - Douglas LeighDouglas LeighDouglas Leigh was an American advertising executive and lighting designer, and a pioneer in signage and outdoor advertising. He is famous for making New York City's Times Square the site of some of the world's most famous electric billboards...
, innovative lighting designer of Times Square and the Empire State Building - Kivuusama MaysKivuusama Mays-Career:Kivuusama was drafted in the fourth round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings and played that season with the team. He split the following season between the Vikings and the Green Bay Packers....
, former American NFL football player - Lucky MillinderLucky MillinderLucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder was an American rhythm and blues and swing bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical taste made his bands successful...
, Rhythm and bluesRhythm and bluesRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and swing band leader and singer - Katherine OrrisonKatherine OrrisonKatherine Orrison is an author and film scholar specializing in the films of Cecil B. De Mille.- Biography :Orrison graduated from the Sacred Heart Convent in Cullman, Alabama and attended the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts in Pasadena, CA and the American Film Institute in Beverly...
, author and film historian - Will OwsleyOwsley (musician)William Reese "Will" Owsley III , known professionally as Owsley, was an American singer-songwriter, best known as for his work as guitarist in Amy Grant's touring band. His solo albums won critical acclaim and one Grammy Award nomination...
, Grammy nominated singer-songwriter - John L. PenningtonJohn L. PenningtonJohn L. Pennington was a newspaper publisher, an Alabama state senator, and the fifth Governor of Dakota Territory.-Biography:...
, Newspaper publisher, governor of Dakota TerritoryDakota TerritoryThe Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of... - David K. Price, Educator, Owner of Basix Knowledge Academy
- Mike D. RogersMike D. RogersMichael Dennis "Mike" Rogers , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life and education:...
, Congressman from Alabama's 3rd congressional districtAlabama's 3rd congressional districtAlabama's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It encompasses Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell, Talladega, and Tallapoosa counties... - Patrick J. Que SmithPatrick J. Que SmithPatrick "j.Que" Smith is an American Grammy nominated record producer and Songwriter. He has contributed to songs from Usher, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Fantasia, Ciara, Avant, Chris Brown, The Gospellers, and Omarion....
, Grammy winning songwriter - Shannon Spruill, professional wrestler
- David SatcherDavid SatcherDavid Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. FAAFP, FACPM, FACP is an American physician, and public health administrator. He was a four-star admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the 10th Assistant Secretary for Health, and the 16th Surgeon General of the United...
, former Surgeon General - Vaughn StewartVaughn StewartVaughn Morton Stewart, a native of Anniston, Alabama, was a collegiate and professional football player.-Football career:...
, former NFL football player