Hale County, Alabama
Encyclopedia
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 2010 the population was 15,760. Its county seat
is Greensboro
and it is part of the Tuscaloosa
Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
, 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. At this time Greensboro appointed its first African American Police Chief, Claude E. Hamilton. In 2006, African American and white citizens joined together and elected Hale County's first African American Sheriff, Kenneth W. Ellis. Prior to being elected Sheriff, Ellis served as the Police Chief of the Town of Moundville, in north Hale County.
In recent years Hale County has experienced some cases of voter fraud. In the late 1990s former Greensboro police officer, Aaron Evans, who is African American, was convicted of voter fraud in a Greensboro Municipal Election. In 2008, former Hale County Circuit Clerk, Gay Nell Tinker Singleton, and former Greensboro City Council person, Valaida Paige, both whom are also African American, were indicted by a Hale County grand jury for voter fraud in county and municipal elections.
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 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.
such as Glencairn
and Magnolia Grove
.
County (United States)
In the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...
of the U.S. 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...
. It is named in honor of Confederate officer Stephen Fowler Hale
Stephen F. Hale
Stephen F. Hale was an American politician and military officer. A resident of Alabama, he signed the Confederate States Constitution and was later commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Confederate States Army. He also served as Alabama's secession commissioner to Kentucky in an effort to...
. As of 2010 the population was 15,760. Its 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....
is Greensboro
Greensboro, Alabama
Greensboro is a city in Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 2,731. The city is the county seat of Hale County. It is part of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
and it is part of the 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...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Tuscaloosa metropolitan area
The Tuscaloosa metropolitan area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in west central Alabama, anchored by the city of Tuscaloosa...
.
History
Hale County was established following the end of the American 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...
, 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
Walker Evans
Walker Evans was an American photographer best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans's work from the FSA period uses the large-format, 8x10-inch camera...
photographed the area in 1936 while he collaborated with James Agee
James Agee
James Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
on the 1941 book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Since the 1960s, artist William Christenberry
William Christenberry
William Christenberry is a photographer, painter, and sculptor who works with personal and somewhat mythical themes growing out of his childhood experiences in Hale County, Alabama....
, 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
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
Rural Studio
Rural Studio
The Rural Studio is a design-build architecture studio run by Auburn University which aims to teach students about the social responsibilities of the profession of architecture while also providing safe, well-constructed and inspirational homes and buildings for poor communities in rural west...
, an architectural outreach program founded by architect and artist Samuel Mockbee
Samuel Mockbee
Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee was an American architect and a co-founder of the Auburn University Rural Studio program in Hale County, Alabama....
and D. K. Ruth. It is also the birthplace of Eugene Sawyer
Eugene Sawyer
Eugene Sawyer was an American businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois as a member of the Democratic Party. He was the second African American to serve as mayor of Chicago....
, the second African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
mayor of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
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. At this time Greensboro appointed its first African American Police Chief, Claude E. Hamilton. In 2006, African American and white citizens joined together and elected Hale County's first African American Sheriff, Kenneth W. Ellis. Prior to being elected Sheriff, Ellis served as the Police Chief of the Town of Moundville, in north Hale County.
In recent years Hale County has experienced some cases of voter fraud. In the late 1990s former Greensboro police officer, Aaron Evans, who is African American, was convicted of voter fraud in a Greensboro Municipal Election. In 2008, former Hale County Circuit Clerk, Gay Nell Tinker Singleton, and former Greensboro City Council person, Valaida Paige, both whom are also African American, were indicted by a Hale County grand jury for voter fraud in county and municipal elections.
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 km²) (or 1.94%) is water.Adjacent counties
- Tuscaloosa CountyTuscaloosa County, AlabamaTuscaloosa County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama.It is named in honor of the pre-Choctaw chief Tuskaloosa. In 2010, the population was 194,656...
(north) - Bibb CountyBibb County, AlabamaBibb County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of William W. Bibb, the first Governor of Alabama. As of 2010 the population was 22,915. The county seat is Centreville...
(northeast) - Perry CountyPerry County, AlabamaPerry County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was established in 1819, and is named in honor of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry of Rhode Island and the United States Navy. As of 2010 the population was 10,591...
(southeast) - Marengo CountyMarengo County, AlabamaMarengo County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of a battlefield near Turin, Italy, where the French defeated the Austrians on June 14, 1800. As of 2010 the population was 21,027...
(south) - Greene CountyGreene County, AlabamaGreene County is the least populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island. As of 2010 the population was 9,045...
(west)
Major highways
U.S. Highway 80
State Route 14State Route 14 (Alabama)State Route 14 in Alabama, also known as SR-14, is a public highway maintained by the state of Alabama. SR-14 runs from west to east through the central portion of the state...
State Route 25State Route 25 (Alabama)State Route 25 is a long and relatively rural State highway in the State of Alabama. From US-78 in Leeds northeast to its terminus at the State of Georgia line, SR-25 is the unsigned partner route of U.S. Highway 411...
State Route 60
State Route 61
State Route 69State Route 69 (Alabama)State Route 69 is a long route that extends from the southwestern to the northeastern parts of the state. The southern terminus of the route is at a junction with State Route 177 at Jackson. The northern terminus of the route is at its junction with U.S...
Airports
- Greensboro Municipal AirportGreensboro Municipal AirportGreensboro Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Greensboro, a city in Hale County, Alabama, United States....
(7A0) in GreensboroGreensboro, AlabamaGreensboro is a city in Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 2,731. The city is the county seat of Hale County. It is part of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:... - Moundville AirportMoundville AirportMoundville Airport is a privately owned, public-use airport in Hale County, Alabama, United States. It is located two nautical miles south of the central business district of Moundville, Alabama.- Facilities and aircraft :...
(L44) in MoundvilleMoundville, AlabamaMoundville is a town in Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2000 census the population was 1,809. It is part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Statistical Area. Moundville is known for its quintessential southern landscapes and Indian Mounds.-Geography:Moundville is...
Demographics
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 17,185 people, 6,415 households, and 4,605 families residing in the county. 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 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
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...
, 58.95% 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...
, 0.17% 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...
, 0.16% 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...
, 0.02% 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...
, 0.29% 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 0.58% from two or more races. 0.91% 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 6,415 households out of which 36.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.60% 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, 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 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
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 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. This house was used to shelter Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from the Ku Klux Klan during a 1960's meeting at St. Matthew Church, also located in Greensboro. It is also home to a large number of antebellum-era houses and churches, including some that are listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
such as Glencairn
Glencairn (Greensboro, Alabama)
Glencairn, also known as the John Erwin House, is a historic house in Greensboro, Alabama, United States. The house and grounds were recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1935. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 18, 1978, due to its...
and Magnolia Grove
Magnolia Grove (Greensboro, Alabama)
Magnolia Grove is a historic Greek Revival mansion in Greensboro, Alabama. The house was named for the grove of Southern magnolias in which it stands. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1973, due to its architectural and historical significance...
.
Towns
- AkronAkron, AlabamaAkron is a town in Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 356. Akron has one site on the National Register of Historic Places, the Greek Revival cottage known as Tanglewood.-Geography:...
- MoundvilleMoundville, AlabamaMoundville is a town in Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2000 census the population was 1,809. It is part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Statistical Area. Moundville is known for its quintessential southern landscapes and Indian Mounds.-Geography:Moundville is...
(partial; part of Moundville is in Tuscaloosa CountyTuscaloosa County, AlabamaTuscaloosa County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama.It is named in honor of the pre-Choctaw chief Tuskaloosa. In 2010, the population was 194,656...
) - NewbernNewbern, AlabamaNewbern is a town in Hale County, Alabama, United States. 2009 census estimates placed the population at 222. It is part of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The community was named for New Bern, NC. It is in the Central Standard Time Zone....
Unincorporated communities
- GallionGallion, AlabamaGallion is an unincorporated community in Hale County, Alabama. It was named in honor of Jo Gallion, a railroad official. Gallion has a post office with a ZIP code of 36742 . Gallion has one site on the National Register of Historic Places, a plantation house known as Waldwic.-Geography:Gallion...
- PrairievillePrairieville, AlabamaPrairieville is an unincorporated community in Hale County, Alabama. It is the location of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, one of Alabama's National Historic Landmarks. It also has three other sites on the National Register of Historic Places, Battersea, Bermuda Hill, and...
- SawyervilleSawyerville, AlabamaSawyerville, previously known as Sawyers Depot, is an unincorporated community in west-central Hale County, Alabama and is a part of the Tuscaloosa metropolitan area. It derives its name from the town’s first post master. The community is rural and came to flourish due to its proximity to the...
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 Archaelogical Park, Hale County, AL
- William Christenberry: Place, Time, and Memory Southern Spaces September 28, 2007