Clarke County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of

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 = 135,7 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,087. 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 ...

is Grove Hill. The county's largest city is Jackson. The county was created by the legislature of the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...

in 1812. It is named in honor of General John Clarke of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, who was later elected

governor 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 ...

of that state. The county museum is housed in the Alston-Cobb House in Grove Hill.

History

Pre-European era

For thousands of years, this area was occupied along the rivers by varying cultures of

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. At the time of European encounter, Clarke County was the traditional home of the

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

and the

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 WoodlandsLouisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

, they started to establish relations with the United States. In 1805, by the Treaty of Mount Dexter, the Choctaw conveyed large amounts of land in what is now southeastern

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and southwestern

, including much of the western portion of Clarke County, to the United States for settlement by European Americans.

Modern era

Clarke County was established on December 10, 1812, by the

. The county had numerous forts, built by settlers for protection during the

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

(1813–1814). Some of these forts included: Fort Carney, Fort Easley,

Fort Glass Fort Glass was a stockade fort built in July 1813 in present-day Clarke County, Alabama during the Creek War (part of the larger War of 1812). History Background The Creek War of 1813 began as a civil war between supporters of the Creek national ...

, Fort Landrum,

Fort Madison Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along th ...

, and Fort Sinquefield. The first

was Clarkesville, founded in 1820. The seat was moved to Macon, later renamed Grove Hill, in 1831. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, the county was notable for its salt production. In 1883, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Tony Pace and Mary Cox for interracial dating, in '' Pace v. Alabama''. That precedent was subsequently overturned. In 1892, Clarke County was the scene of a violent confrontation around economic divides that later became known as the Mitcham War.

Alcohol prohibition

Following the national repeal of prohibition in 1933, Clarke County voted to become a

dry county A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across th ...

in 1937, when wet-dry counties were established in Alabama. In the first decade of the 21st century, the county's largest communities voted to legalize alcohol sales: Jackson on May 10, 2005; Thomasville on August 14, 2007; and Grove Hill on November 3, 2009.

Geography

According to the

United States 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 th ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (or 1.1%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Alabama by land area and the fourth-largest by total area.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 43 * US 84

U.S. Highway 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short distan ...

State Route 5 * Alabama 69

State Route 69 Route 69, or Highway 69, may refer to: International * European route E69 Australia * Appin Road Canada * Alberta Highway 69 * Ontario Highway 69 China * G69 Expressway Finland * Finnish national road 69 India * National Highway 69 (In ...

State Route 154 * Alabama 177

State Route 177 * Alabama 178

State Route 178 * Alabama 295

State Route 295

Adjacent counties

* Marengo County (north) * Wilcox County (northeast) *

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: *Monroe County, Alabama * Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida *Monroe County, Georgia * Monroe County, Illinois * Monroe County, Indi ...

(east) * Baldwin County (south) * Washington County (southwest) * Choctaw County (northwest)

Demographics

2020

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 off ...

, there were 23,087 people, 9,090 households, and 5,662 families residing in the county.

2010

According to the

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

: *54.5%

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 ...

*43.9%

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 ha ...

*0.4% Native American *0.3% Asian *0.0%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawa ...

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

*0.7%

Two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

*1.0% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 27,867 people, 10,578 households, and 7,700 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 12,631 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 55.94%

, 43.02%

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Nearly 0.65% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 10,578 households, out of which 35.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 53.90% were married couples living together, 15.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.20% were non-families. Nearly 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60, and the average family size was 3.13. In Clarke County, the population was spread out, with 28.00% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,388, and the median income for a family was $34,546. Males had a median income of $34,111 versus $19,075 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,581. About 18.10% of families and 22.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.60% of those under age 18 and 23.80% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Clarke County contains two public school districts. There are approximately 3,400 students in public PK-12 schools in Clarke County.

Districts

School districts include:Text list
*

Clarke County School District The Clarke County School District is a public school district in Clarke County, Georgia, United States, based in Athens, Georgia. It serves Clarke County, which includes the communities of Athens and Winterville, and part of Bogart. School ...

* Thomasville City School District

Government

Since

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, the majority of Clarke County voters has mostly supported Republican candidates for the presidency, but party affiliations have changed. Prior to the civil rights era, most whites were members of the Democratic Party, although they began to vote for Nixon and other Republican presidential candidates. After the Civil War, many African Americans had joined the Republican Party, but they were essentially disenfranchised around the turn of the 20th century by state changes to its constitution and laws, making voter registration more difficult. After they regained their ability to vote through national legislation in the mid-1960s, they largely joined the Democratic Party, which had supported their effort to regain their constitutional civil rights. Most conservative whites gradually left that party and joined the Republican Party. Voting and party affiliation in Clarke County, as throughout much of Alabama, is aligned by ethnicity, with conservative whites, the majority, voting for Republican candidates and African Americans supporting Democratic candidates. For some positions, white voters have sometimes continued to vote for state-level Democrats, such as Doug Jones in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Communities

Cities

* Jackson * Thomasville

Towns

* Coffeeville * Fulton * Grove Hill (county seat)

Census Designated Places

* Carlton * Rockville * Whatley

Unincorporated communities

* Alma *

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

* Barlow Bend * Bashi * Campbell * Dickinson * Gainestown *

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite ...

* McEntyre * Morvin *

Opine Opines are low molecular weight compounds found in plant crown gall tumors or hairy root tumors produced by pathogenic bacteria of the genus '' Agrobacterium'' and '' Rhizobium''. Opine biosynthesis is catalyzed by specific enzymes encoded by ge ...

* Salitpa * Suggsville * Tallahatta Springs * Tattlersville * Walker Springs

Former communities

Choctaw Corner The Choctaw Corner is a former Native Americans in the United States, Native American boundary location near the modern border between Clarke County, Alabama, Clarke and Marengo County, Alabama, Marengo counties in Alabama, United States. It was e ...

* Clarkesville * Failetown

Notable Person

* Martha Loftin Wilson (1834–1919), missionary worker, journal editor, heroine of the American Civil War

References

External links

Clarke County Alabama Official Site
* Clarke Count
map of roads/towns
(map 2007 Univ. of Alabama).
Coastal Gateway Regional Economic Development Alliance

South Alabama Community Website

Digital Alabama: Clarke County Alabama History
{{Coord, 31, 40, 25, N, 87, 50, 17, W, region:US-AL_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1812 establishments in Mississippi Territory Populated places established in 1812