Langston is a town in
Jackson County,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, United States, and is included in the
Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 270, up from 254. Langston initially incorporated in 1899.
Jackson County Historical Timeline
Ancestry.com. At some point after 1920, it disincorporated and did not reincorporate again until 1980 (after the census was taken that year, since it did not appear on it). Its peak population was in 1920, when it had a population of 500.
History
Langston was settled in the 1810s, and was initially known as "Coffeetown" after the Coffee brothers, who were among the early settlers. A post office was established in 1845 with Langston Coffee as the first postmaster. In 1869, most of Coffeetown's residents moved to Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and the following year, James Morgan sold lots for the creation of a new town. The new town was named "Langston" after Langston Coffee.[James Kaetz,]
Langston
" ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'', 8 September 2016.
Langston initially thrived as a river port along the Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...
, eventually growing to include nine stores and a blacksmith shop. With the rise of railroad traffic in the late 19th century and automobile traffic in the early 20th century, however, the town began to decline. The construction of Guntersville Dam
Guntersville Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Marshall County, in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as pa ...
by the Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...
in the late 1930s flooded a significant portion of the town, further reducing its population.
Geography
Langston is located at . The town is situated on the eastern shore of the Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...
, at river mile 377. This section of the river is part of Guntersville Lake, which is formed by Guntersville Dam nearly downstream. Sand Mountain rises immediately to the east of Langston. Scottsboro lies across the river to the north, and Section
Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea
* Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents
** Section sign ...
lies atop Sand Mountain to the northeast. County Road 67 connects Langston with State Route 35 to the northeast.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (39.06%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 254 people, 109 households, and 80 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 193 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.09% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 3.15% Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
and 2.76% Native American.
There were 109 households, out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.74.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 35.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,333, and the median income for a family was $42,344. Males had a median income of $26,750 versus $29,375 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $16,266. About 2.7% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including none of those under the age of eighteen and 13.9% of those 65 or over.
References
External links
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Towns in Jackson County, Alabama
Towns in Alabama
Alabama populated places on the Tennessee River