Mentone is a town in

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missour ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, United States. It is located atop

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-cen ...

. A number of private

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

s are located near Mentone. For a number of years, Mentone has hosted an unusually large number of summer camps. Mentone attracts many visitors and tourists annually, partly due to the summer camps.

History

The community was named after

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

in France and was incorporated in 1935. In April 2003, it was the town nearest the

epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...

of a magnitude 4.6

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

. The surprise quake had alarmed residents in the dark hours of the morning and was felt across several states, but it had caused no injuries and only minor damage to the town. Mentone is in the Ridge and Valley region of the southwestern

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, an area that generally goes several decades between significant earthquakes but has never had a major one in recorded history.

Geography

Mentone is located in eastern DeKalb County at (34.572360, -85.580283). It is bordered to the west by the town of

Valley Head The head of the valley or, less commonly, the valley head, refers to the uppermost part of a valley.Leser (2005), p. 935. Description The head of a valley may take widely differing forms; for example, in highland regions the valley often ends i ...

. The center of town is located on the crest of Lookout Mountain at an elevation of . The western border of the town, with Valley Head, follows the western slopes of the mountain. Extending south from the town center is the mountain's ridgecrest that rises to an elevation of within the town limits. The West Fork of the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

crosses the eastern portion of the town at an elevation less than below the ridgecrest. 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 , or 0.23%, is water.

Climate

Mentone has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa) with hot, humid summers and cool, wet winters.

Demographics

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 in ...

, there were 451 people, 201 households, and 127 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 350 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.34%

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 o ...

, 1.11%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.67% Native American, and 2.88% from two or more races. Furthermore, 0.22% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. The 2010 census listed the population at 360, down from 451 in 2000. There were 201 households, of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. Moreover, 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 persons, and the average family size was 2.87 persons. Within the town, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% from 65 and older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 86.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,625, and the median income for a family was $28,750. Males had a median income of $27,411 versus $17,656 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 $13,561. About 13.5% of families and 12.2% 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 ...

, with 10.0% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those aged 65 or over.

References

External links

Mentone Area Preservation AssociationMentone, Alabama Information

DeKalb County, Alabama Tourist Association
{{authority control Lookout Mountain Towns in DeKalb County, Alabama Towns in Alabama