Wedowee is a town in

Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States: *Randolph County, Alabama *Randolph County, Arkansas *Randolph County, Georgia *Randolph County, Illinois *Randolph County, Indiana *Randolph County, Missouri *Randolph County, Nort ...

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. At the 2010 census the population was 823, up from 818 in 2000. The small town is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Randolph County. It was initially incorporated in 1836, but its charter lapsed by the late 19th century. It was reincorporated in 1901. Randolph County High School is located in Wedowee.

History

Wedowee, which means "old water" in the Creek language, was named after a Muscogee Creek Indian chief. This area was historically occupied by the

Muscogee Creek people The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsIndian Removal Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...

of the Creek in the 1830s to

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

west of the Mississippi River by the US government, this area was settled by European Americans. The town of Wedowee was designated as the county seat of

in 1835. The county was developed for the cultivation of cotton as a commodity crop, with labor primarily done by enslaved African Americans, many of whom had been sold to the Deep South from the Upper South in the domestic slave trade. Since the late 20th century, Lake Wedowee was created by the impoundment of the

Tallapoosa River The Tallapoosa River runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 from the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, United States, southward and wes ...

. This has enhanced the tourist drawing power of the town. Also known as the R. L. Harris Reservoir, the lake draws thousands of visitors to Wedowee every year.

Geography

Wedowee is located on the

Piedmont plateau The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States. It is situated between the Atlantic coastal plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont ...

at (33.308603, -85.485447). It is also located in the foothills of the

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 ...

. The city is located in the central part of Randolph County along

U.S. Route 431 U.S. Route 431 (US 431) is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently travels for approximately from US 231/Alabama State Route 210 and US 231 Business (US 231 Bus.) and US 431 Bus. in Dothan, Alabama, to Owensboro, ...

, which is the main route through the city. U.S. 431 leads northwest 34 mi (55 km) to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and southeast 13 mi (21 km) to Roanoke.

Alabama State Route 48 State Route 48 (SR 48) is a state highway in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. The western terminus of the highway is at its intersection with SR 9 at Lineville. The highway continues eastward to the Georgia state line, where ...

also runs through the city, leading northeast 9 mi (14 km) to

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

and west 16 mi (26 km) to Lineville. 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 (0.85%) 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 818 people, 337 households, and 200 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 378 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 68.70%

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 ...

, 30.20%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.49%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.24% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.24% from two or more races. 0.12% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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. There were 337 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% 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, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.95. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,136, and the median income for a family was $37,292. Males had a median income of $24,250 versus $22,250 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 $12,638. About 17.1% of families and 20.9% 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 25.7% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Hulond Humphries – part-time hog farmer; former high school principal and district superintendent; caused a number of controversies in the 1990s as a result of his opposition to

interracial dating Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 19 ...

* John Merrill – politician; current

Secretary of State of Alabama The secretary of state of Alabama is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Alabama. The office actually predates the statehood of Alabama, dating back to the Alabama Territory. From 1819 to 1901, the secretary of state served ...

T. Jack Lee Thomas Jack Lee (1935 – February 24, 2019) was the sixth Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, from July 6, 1989 to January 6, 1994. Early life Prior to his appointment as Director of the Marshall Center, ...

– sixth Director of the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville postal address), is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's first ...

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

, Alabama, 1989-1994 *

Stanley O'Neal Earnest Stanley O'Neal (born October 7, 1951) is an American business executive who was formerly chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch having served in numerous senior management positions at the company prior to this appointment. O'Neal ...

– former CEO of

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

; currently on the board of

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

William Hugh Smith William Hugh Smith (April 26, 1826 – January 1, 1899) was an American planter and politician, the 21st Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama. He was the first Republican elected as governor in the state, serving from 1868 to 1870 during t ...

– 21st Governor of Alabama, 1868-1870; serving during the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

era, he was the first

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. He had moved with his parents to Wedowee in 1839, at the age of 13; read law under John T. Heflin of Wedowee. A historic marker now stands on the site of his family's home along N. Main Street (

) in Wedowee. *

Alvin Wright Alvin Wright (February 5, 1961 – March 23, 2018) was a professional American football defensive lineman. Wright, a nose tackle, played with the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams from 1986 to 1991 and was All-Pro in 1990. High sc ...

– former NFL

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

Gallery

File:Downtown Wedowee Alabama.JPG, Downtown Wedowee File:Wedowee Alabama City Hall.JPG, Wedowee City Hall File:Randolph County Alabama Courthouse.JPG, The Randolph County Courthouse is located in Wedowee. File:Randolph County Alabama Historic Marker.JPG, A historic marker which describes the early history of

is located on the grounds of the Randolph County Courthouse in Wedowee. File:Wedowee Alabama Governor William Hugh Smith Historic Marker.JPG, This historic marker marks the site of the home of

, 21st Governor of Alabama (1868–1870).

References

External links

Wedowee article, Encyclopedia of Alabama
{{authority control Towns in Randolph County, Alabama Towns in Alabama County seats in Alabama