Stapleton is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northern Baldwin 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, with a population of 51

It is part of the

Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area Baldwin County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, on the Gulf coast. It is one of only two counties in Alabama that border the Gulf of Mexico, along with Mobile County. As of the 2020 census, the populat ...

. Stapleton lies along U.S. Route 31 and State Route 59 and has been considered for incorporation within the cities of Loxley and

Bay Minette Bay Minette is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 8,044. History In the first days of Baldwin County, the town of McIntosh Bluff (now in Mobile Count ...

. There is a

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

festival held at Stapleton Elementary School every fall. There are about 250 students at the school that runs from Pre-K to the 6th grade.

Demographics

History

The first post office in the town of Canby, as Stapleton was then known, was established in 1895. Later, the Hamm brothers of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, IL convinced the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

(L&N) to build a subsidiary line between Bay Minette and Foley. By 1905 this spur called the Bay Minette & Fort Morgan Railroad had penetrated the thirty-seven miles of dense Baldwin County pine forests with the town of Canby lying along the route. Shortly afterwards the town's name was changed to honor W. D. Stapleton, the man who was instrumental in getting a railroad depot for their town. The railroad was important to the local economy and early on the trains passed through Stapleton several times a day as they made their way to the southern end of the county and back. Highway traffic also picked up as of 1936 when the only paved road in Baldwin County, other than a small strip in Bay Minette going from the courthouse to the railroad, was the stretch of US 31 coming in from Atmore and ending at Stapleton. By the 1970s the train traffic had slowed to at most one train making the down and back trip each day. Now the train tracks are completely gone.

Education

Stapleton is zoned to schools in the

Baldwin County Public Schools The Baldwin County Board of Education oversees most public schools in Baldwin County, Alabama, and is based in Bay Minette, Alabama. The Board serves the entire county. Over 30,000 students are within the supervision of the Board. 3,400 employe ...

. Stapleton Elementary School serves Pre-K through 6th grade. Grades 7 through 8 attend Bay Minette Middle School. Grades 9 through 12 are zoned to Baldwin County High School. The students can participate in band starting in sixth grade, but are also exposed to many other opportunities at their after school program.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Baldwin County, Alabama Unincorporated communities in Alabama