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 Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States. Its location is atop

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge 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-century "La ...

. A number of private

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

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 (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

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. Determination The primary purpose of a ...

of a magnitude 4.6

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

. 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 The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands division. The physiographic province is divided into three sec ...

region of the southwestern

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

, 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 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, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.23%, is water.

Climate

Mentone has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

( Cfa) with hot, humid summers and cool, wet winters.

Demographics

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, 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 chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.11%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 ...

, 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