Arab () is a city in

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

and Cullman counties in the northern part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

, located from

Guntersville Lake Guntersville Lake (generally referred to locally as Lake Guntersville) is in northern Alabama between Bridgeport and Guntersville. Location The lake stretches 75 miles (121 km) from Guntersville Dam to Nickajack Dam. It is Alabama's larges ...

and

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 p ...

, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,461.

History

What is now Arab was established by Stephen Tuttle Thompson in the 1840s, and was originally known as "Thompson's Village". The current name of the town was an unintentional misspelling by the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

in 1882 of the city's intended name, taken from Arad Thompson, the son of the town founder, who had applied for a post office that year. "Arad" was one of three names sent to the Postal Service for consideration, the others being "Ink" and "Bird." Arab has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. Arab was incorporated in 1892. Arab was a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminator ...

, with a sign warning African Americans not to stay in Arab after dark and, historically, even barring them during the day. Ku Klux Klan material has been disseminated multiple times in Arab in recent years. Arab was one of the towns reaching contact with the

2011 Super Outbreak The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest, costliest, and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks ever recorded, taking place in the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States from April 25–28, 2011, leaving catastrophic destruction ...

of tornado activity.

Geography

Arab is located at an elevation of on top of Brindlee Mountain, near the southwest end of the

Appalachian Plateau The Appalachian Plateau is a series of rugged dissected plateaus located on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains are a mountain range that run down the Eastern United States. The Appalachian Plateau is the nor ...

. The city is primarily in southern Marshall County; a small portion extends south into Cullman County. U.S. Route 231 runs north-to-south through Arab, and State Route 69 runs east-to-west, through the city's business district. US 231 leads north to

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 ...

and south to Oneonta, while SR 69 leads east to Guntersville and southwest to Cullman. 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 city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.99%, are water. The city lies on the

Tennessee Valley Divide The Tennessee Valley Divide is the boundary of the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and its tributaries. The Tennessee River drainage basin begins with its tributaries in southwestern Virginia and flows generally west to the confluence of t ...

, with the north side draining either west to Cotaco Creek or east to Shoal Creek, both tributaries 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 name ...

, while the south half of the city drains to the headwaters of the

Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River Mulberry Fork is a tributary of the Black Warrior River, long, in the U.S. state of Alabama. The Mulberry Fork is one of three forks, along with the Locust Fork and the Sipsey Fork, that join to form the Black Warrior. It drains part of the sou ...

, part of the

Tombigbee River The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...

watershed.

Demographics

City of Arab

Arab was incorporated as a town in 1892, but it did not first report a population on the census until the 1920 U.S. Census.

2000 census data

At the 2000 census there were 7,174 people in 3,012 households, including 2,075 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 3,223 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 98.29%

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 ...

, 0.18%

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 ...

, 0.49% Native American, 0.39%

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 ...

, 0.17% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. 0.66% 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. Of the 3,012 households 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 28.2% of households were one person and 13.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87. The age distribution was 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males. The median household income was $36,716 and the median family income was $45,761. Males had a median income of $32,425 versus $24,265 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,035. About 8.2% of families and 10.0% 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 12.5% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 8,050 people in 3,359 households, including 2,257 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 3,693 housing units at an average density of . The

of the city was 96.6%

, 0.1%

, 0.6% Native American, 0.7%

, 0.7% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. 1.7%. were

of any race. Of the 3,359 households 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 29.6% of households were one person and 14.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92. The age distribution was 23.7% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% 65 or older. The median age was 42.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males. The median household income was $42,435 and the median family income was $64,432. Males had a median income of $44,401 versus $40,062 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,986. About 13.3% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the

, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 8,461 people, 3,177 households, and 2,094 families residing in the city.

Arab Precinct/Division (1920-)

Arab Precinct (Marshall County 26th Precinct) first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census. In 1960, it was changed to the Arab Census Division as part of a general reorganization of counties. The census division only includes the Marshall County portion of the town of Arab. The Cullman County portion is in the Baileyton-Joppa Census Division.

Government

Arab has a mayor-council form of city government consisting of five council members and a mayor. City elections occur every four years, coinciding with the presidential elections. Council seats are at-large and are not associated with districts. Arab City Schools is the public school district. Arab has its own paid police department. Their fire department has one station, sitting on top of Marshall County 911 center. Both are paid departments.

Infrastructure

Utilities

Electricity service in Arab is provided through Arab Electric Cooperative, which buys power through 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 Carolin ...

. Water service in Arab is provided through Arab Water Works, which gets water from Browns Creek in

. Natural gas is also provided in Arab, through Marshall County Gas District, which is based out of Guntersville.

Transportation

* U.S. Highway 231 *

Alabama State Route 69 State Route 69 (SR 69) is a state highway that extends from the southwestern to the northeastern parts of the U.S. state of Alabama. The southern terminus of the highway is at an intersection with SR 177 at Jackson. The northern terminus of the ...

Notable people

* Liles C. Burke, judge in the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (in case citations, N.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are a ...

* Vernon Derrick, fiddle and mandolin player * Fred Nall Hollis, artist * Jill King, singer/songwriter * Jack Lively, Major League Baseball pitcher * Wayne Mills, country music singer

References

External links

*
Arab Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Alabama Cities in Cullman County, Alabama Cities in Marshall County, Alabama Huntsville-Decatur, AL Combined Statistical Area Populated places established in 1882 1882 establishments in the United States Sundown towns in Alabama