Anniston is a city and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Calhoun County in
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, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the
Anniston–Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the
2010 census, the population of the city was 23,106.
According to 2019
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 ...
estimates, the city had a population of 21,287.
Named "The Model City" by
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
newspaperman
Henry W. Grady
Henry Woodfin Grady (May 24, 1850 – December 23, 1889) was an American journalist and orator who helped reintegrate the states of the Confederacy (American Civil War), Confederacy into the Union (American Civil War), Union after the American C ...
for its careful planning in the late 19th century, the city is situated on the slope of Blue Mountain.
History
Civil War
Though the surrounding area was settled much earlier, the mineral resources in the area of Anniston were not exploited until the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. The
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
operated an iron furnace near present-day downtown Anniston, until it was destroyed by raiding
Union cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
in early 1865. Later,
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
for sewer systems became the focus of Anniston's industrial output. Cast iron pipe, also called soil pipe, was popular until the advent of plastic pipe in the 1960s.
Woodstock Iron Company

In 1872, the Woodstock Iron Company, organized by
Samuel Noble and Union Gen.
Daniel Tyler, rebuilt the furnace on a much larger scale,
and started a planned community named Woodstock, soon renamed "Annie's Town" for Annie Scott Tyler, Daniel's daughter-in-law and wife of railroad president
Alfred L. Tyler. Anniston was chartered as a town in 1873.
Though the roots of the town's economy were in iron, steel, and
clay pipe, planners touted it as a health resort, and several hotels began operating. Schools also appeared, including the Noble Institute, a school for girls established in 1886, and the Alabama Presbyterian College for Men, founded in 1905.
Careful planning and easy access to rail transportation helped grow Anniston. In 1882, Anniston was the first city in Alabama to be lit by electricity. By 1941, Anniston was Alabama's fifth largest city.
World War I and II
In 1917, at the start of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the United States Army established a training camp at
Fort McClellan. On the other side of town, the
Anniston Army Depot opened during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as a major weapons storage and maintenance site, a role it continues to serve as munitions-incineration progresses. Most of the site of Fort McClellan was incorporated into Anniston in the late 1990s, and the Army closed the fort in 1999 following the
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) was a process by a Federal government of the United States, United States federal government commission to increase the efficiency of the United States Department of Defense by coordinating the realignment and ...
round of 1995.
Civil Rights era

Anniston was the center of national controversy in 1961 when a mob bombed a bus filled with civilian
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the Racial segregation in the United States, segregated Southern United States, Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of t ...
during the
American Civil Rights Movement. As two Freedom buses were setting out to travel the south in protest of their
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
following the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
case saying bus segregation was unconstitutional, one headed to Anniston, and one to
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
, before finishing in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. The
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the Racial segregation in the United States, segregated Southern United States, Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of t ...
were riding an integrated bus to protest Alabama's
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...
segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of human ...
laws that denied African Americans their
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
. One of the buses was attacked and firebombed by a mob outside Anniston on
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...
, Sunday, May 14, 1961. Prior to the bus being firebombed, attackers broke windows, and slashed tires, using metal pipes, clubs, chains and crowbars, before the police came to escort the bus away.
The bus was forced to a stop just outside of Anniston, in front of Forsyth and Sons grocery, by more mob members. As more windows were broken, rocks and eventually a firebomb were thrown into the bus. As the bus burned, the mob held the doors shut, intent on burning the riders to death. An exploding fuel tank caused the mob to retreat, allowing the riders to escape the bus. The riders were viciously beaten as they tried to flee, where warning shots fired into the air by highway patrolmen prevented the riders from being
lynched on the spot.
A 12-year-old girl, Janie Forsyth, set out against the mob with a bucket of water and cups to help the Riders, first tending to the one who had looked like her own nanny. Forsyth and Son grocery is located along
Alabama Highway 202 about west of downtown. The site today is home to a historic marker and was designated
Freedom Riders National Monument by President Barack Obama in January 2017.
In response to the violence, the city formed a bi-racial Human Relations Council (HRC) made up of prominent white business and religious leaders, but when they attempted to integrate the "whites-only" public library on Sunday afternoon, September 15, 1963 (the same day as the
16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham), further violence ensued and two black ministers, N.Q. Reynolds and Bob McClain, were severely beaten by a mob. The HRC chairman, white
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
minister Rev. Phil Noble, worked with an elder of his church, Anniston City Commissioner Miller Sproull, to avoid
KKK mob domination of the city. In a telephone conference with President
John F. Kennedy, the President informed the HRC that after the Birmingham church bombing he had stationed additional federal troops at Fort McClellan. On September 16, 1963, with city police present, Noble and Sproull escorted black ministers into the library. In February 1964, Anniston Hardware, owned by the Sproull family, was bombed, presumably in retaliation for Commissioner Sproull's integration efforts.
On the night of July 15, 1965, a white racist rally was held in Anniston, after which
Willie Brewster, a black foundry worker, was shot and killed while driving home from work. A $20,000 reward was raised by Anniston civic leaders, and resulted in the apprehension, trial and conviction of the accused killer, Damon Strange, who worked for a leader of the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
. Historian
Taylor Branch
Taylor Branch (born January 14, 1947) is an American author and historian who wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning trilogy chronicling the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and much of the history of the American civil rights movement. The final volume o ...
called the conviction of Damon Strange a "breakthrough verdict" on p. 391 of his
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
-winning book, ''
At Canaan's Edge''. Strange was convicted by an all-white Calhoun County jury to the surprise of many people, including civil rights leaders who had planned to protest an acquittal. This was the first conviction of a white person for killing a black person in civil rights era Alabama.
Anniston was a 1978 winner of the
All-America City Award
The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stron ...
, presented by the
National Civic League
The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 as the "National Municipal League”; it adopted its new name in 1986. Its mission is to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communit ...
.
PCB contamination
PCBs were produced in Anniston from 1929 to 1935 by the
Swann Chemical Company. In 1935
Monsanto Industrial Chemicals Co. bought the plant and took over production, which continued until 1971. In 1969, the plant was discharging about of the chemicals into Snow Creek per day, according to internal company documents.
In 2002, an investigation by ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'' revealed Anniston had been among the most toxic cities in the country. The primary source of local contamination was a
Monsanto
The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...
chemical factory, which had already been closed. The EPA description of the site reads in part:
The Anniston PCB site consists of residential, commercial, and public properties located in and around Anniston, Calhoun County, Alabama, that contain or may contain hazardous substances, including polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula Carbon, C12Hydrogen, H10−''x''Chloride, Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectri ...
(PCB) impacted media. The Site is not listed on the NPL, but is considered to be a NPL-caliber site.
21st century
In 2016, attorney Jack Draper was elected mayor of Anniston, and he was reelected to a second term in 2020. After a law was passed in Alabama extending mayoral terms by one year, Draper resigned in 2025, citing the effects of the extended incumbency, in addition to focusing on his health and family. Vice mayor Ciara Smith succeeded Draper via appointment, and she became the youngest and first African-American person to hold the office of mayor.
Geography
At the southernmost length of the
Blue Ridge, part of the
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 ...
, Anniston's environment is home to diverse species of birds, reptiles and mammals. Part of the former Fort McClellan is now operating as
Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge to protect endangered
Southern Longleaf Pine species.
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 city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.15%, is water.
In 2003, part of the town of Blue Mountain was annexed into the city of Anniston, while the remaining portion of the town reverted to unincorporated Calhoun County.
Part of the city limits extend down to
Interstate 20, with access from exit 188. Via I-20,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
is 65 mi (105 km) west, and
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
is 91 mi (146 km) east.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Anniston 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 ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Demographics
Anniston first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as an incorporated town.
2020 census data
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 21,564 people, 9,277 households, and 5,455 families residing in the city.
2010 census data
As of the census of 2010, there were 23,106 people living in the city. The population density was . There were 11,599 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 51.5%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 43.6%
Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
, 0.3%
Native American, 0.8%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, and 1.7% from two or more races. 2.7% 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.
There were 9,603 households, out of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were married couples living together, 21.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,400, and the median income for a family was $37,067. Males had a median income of $31,429 versus $21,614 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,689. About 25.1% of families and 29.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.2% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.
Anniston Precinct/Division (1880–)
Anniston Beat (Precinct) (Calhoun County 15th Beat) first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census. In 1890, "beat" was changed to "precinct." In 1960, the precinct was changed to "census division" as part of a general reorganization of counties. In 1980, three additional census divisions were consolidated into Anniston, including
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
,
Weaver and
West End.
Crime
Homicides
Arts and culture
In 1899, the county seat of Calhoun County moved from
Jacksonville
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
to Anniston. More than 100 years later, the community is a bustling center of industry and commerce with more than 22,000 residents. Over the years, city officials and local citizens have worked to retain the environmental beauty of the area while allowing it to thrive economically and to preserve its history. The Spirit of Anniston Main Street Program, Inc., a nonprofit organization started in 1993, spearheaded the restoration and revitalization of historic downtown Anniston, with a focus on the city's main thoroughfare, Noble Street.
The Noble Streetscape Project encouraged local business owners to refurbish storefront façades, while historic homes throughout the downtown area have been repaired and returned to their former condition. The preservation effort included the historic Calhoun County Courthouse, located on the corner of 11th Street and Gurnee Avenue since 1900. The original building burned down in 1931, but the courthouse was rebuilt a year later. Thanks to a complete restoration in 1990, the stately structure is still in use today.
Anniston has long been a cultural center for northeastern Alabama. The
Alabama Shakespeare Festival was founded in the city in 1972 and remained there until moving to
Montgomery in 1985 seeking more robust financial support. The Knox Concert Series produces an annual season of world-renowned musical and dance productions, and the Community Actors' Studio Theatre community theatre organization performs plays, musicals, and revues featuring local performers, actors, and musicians. CAST also features specially funded programs to educate area children in the arts for free. The city is home to the
Anniston Museum of Natural History and the Berman Museum of World History. These institutions house mummies, dioramas of wildlife, and artifacts from a bygone age in contemporary, professional displays and exhibits. The
Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 2004 has performed a summer series of outdoor concerts, Music at McClellan, at the former
Fort McClellan.
The city has many examples of
Victorian-style homes, some of which have been restored or preserved. Several of the city's churches are architecturally significant or historic, including the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Grace Episcopal Church, Parker Memorial Baptist Church, and the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, a predominantly African-American church in what is known as the Zion Hill community. Temple Beth El, dedicated in 1893, is the oldest building in the state continuously used for
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
worship.
The original main street, Noble Street, is seeing a rebirth as a shopping and dining district in the heart of downtown.
The
Chief Ladiga Trail, part of a paved
rail trail
A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...
with the
Silver Comet Trail of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, has its western terminus in Anniston.
Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan—former site of the U.S. Army Military Police Training Academy, a Vietnam era Infantry Training Center,
Chemical Corps Regimental Headquarters, Chemical Warfare training center, and Women's Army Corps Headquarters—was decommissioned in the 1990s. A portion of the former fort is now home to the
Alabama National Guard Training Center. Another of the fort were set aside for the
Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge in 2003. The
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
also uses a portion of the decommissioned fort for the
Center for Domestic Preparedness, the nation's only civilian "live agent" training center; emergency response providers from all over the world come to Fort McClellan to be trained in dealing with live agents and weapons in a real-time, monitored setting.
Government
Anniston is governed by Alabama's "weak mayor" form of city government. Four city council members are elected to represent the city's four wards, and the mayor is elected at-large. Day-to-day functions of city government are carried out by the city manager, who is appointed by the mayor and city council.
The current five-member city council includes Ciara Smith (mayor), Jay Jenkins (Ward 1), D.D. Roberts (Ward 2), and Millie Harris (Ward 4). The offices of vice mayor and Ward 3 are vacant as of May 2025.
Anniston is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Calhoun County, Alabama. Circuit and district courts for the county and the
district attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
's office are located in the Calhoun County Courthouse at the corner of 11th Street and Gurnee Avenue. Other county administrative offices are in the Calhoun County Administrative Building at the corner of 17th and Noble streets, and a United States Courthouse, part of the U.S. Alabama Northern District Court, is located at the corner of 12th and Noble streets.
List of mayors
Source:
Education
Public schools in Anniston are operated by
Anniston City Schools. These include:
* Anniston High School (Grades 9–12)
* Anniston Middle School (Grades 6–8)
* Golden Springs Elementary School (Grades 1–5)
* Randolph Park Elementary School (Grades 1–5)
* Cobb Pre-School Academy (Pre-K)
Statewide testing ranks the schools in Alabama. Those in the bottom six percent are listed as "failing". As of early 2018, Anniston High School was included in this category.
A public four-year institution of higher learning,
Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State University (JSU or Jax State) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, mas ...
, is located to the north in
Jacksonville
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
. Anniston is home to some satellite campuses of
Gadsden State Community College, both at the former Fort McClellan and at the Ayers campus in southern Anniston.
There are several private primary and secondary schools in Anniston, including:
* Faith Christian School
*
Sacred Heart of Jesus School, a longstanding Roman Catholic school
*
The Donoho School, a K–12 college-preparatory school
An obelisk installed in 1905 commemorates "Dr. Clarence J. Owens, president of the Anniston College for Young Ladies".
Former schools in Anniston include the
Anniston Normal and Industrial School (1898–c. 1915), a private Baptist school for African American students during the time of segregation.
Media
Anniston is served by two daily newspapers: ''
The Birmingham News
''The Birmingham News'' was the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States in the latter half of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st. The paper was owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its ...
'' statewide edition, and the local 25,000 circulation daily paper, ''
The Anniston Star''. Anniston-based Consolidated Publishing Co., publisher of ''The Anniston Star'', also owns and operates advertising-supported newspapers in nearby
Jacksonville
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
,
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
and
Cleburne County. Local radio stations include
WHMA AM and
FM and WHOG 1120 AM.
WEAC-CD is the only television station that directly broadcasts from the Anniston area, but many
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
stations have towers and news bureaus here, such as WJSU-TV (WJSU is a local broadcast station for Birmingham-based
ABC 33/40), WBRC-TV (
Fox), and WVTM-TV (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
).
Alabama Public Television erected its tallest tower atop
Cheaha Mountain
Cheaha Mountain , often called Mount Cheaha, is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located a few miles northwest of the town of Delta, Alabama, Delta in Cheaha State Park, which offers a lodge, a restaurant, and other ...
south of Anniston. WJSU-TV 40 was historically a local CBS affiliate, broadcasting local newscasts daily.
Formerly its own
Arbitron
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
-defined broadcast market, today Anniston is a part of the Birmingham-Anniston-
Tuscaloosa television
designated market area
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
. Radio stations are divided into three sub markets within that market; Anniston is in the Anniston-
Gadsden–
Talladega radio sub market.
Infrastructure
Transportation
The following major highways pass through Anniston:
*
U.S. Highway 431 (Anniston Eastern Bypass/Golden Springs Road)
*
State Route 21 (Quintard Avenue/McClellan Boulevard)
*
State Route 202
The Anniston Western Bypass runs from
Interstate 20 in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
(the Coldwater exit) and runs north into the present
State Route 202. It is five lanes wide, handling
Anniston Army Depot traffic. Future plans will extend it on the present County Road 109 by widening it to connect with
US 431.
State Route 202 follows this route from CR 109 (Bynum-Leatherwood Road) southward.
The
Anniston Eastern Bypass
U.S. Route 431 (US 431), internally designated by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) as State Route 1 (SR 1), is a major north–south state highway across the eastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. Although US  ...
was a stalled project of the
Alabama Department of Transportation
The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is the government agency responsible for transportation infrastructure in Alabama. The Department is organized into five geographic regions, with a Central Office located in Montgomery, Alabama, ...
to build a four-lane highway in Calhoun County until revived by the
2009 federal stimulus package. It was the largest influx of federal money into the local economy since Fort McClellan closed. More than $21 million was earmarked for this project in 2005. This funding was spent acquiring rights of way and grading a section of the proposed bypass from Oxford to the community of Golden Springs. As of April 2009, the section was a graded, but undriveable, clay dirt road bed. The Eastern Bypass was revived by the 2009 Federal Stimulus Package and was opened to traffic into McClellan on the northwest end in January 2011. As of December 2015, the route is now open to traffic and carries US-431 from the Saks community southward.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
serves
Anniston with its
Crescent
A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
In Hindu iconography, Hind ...
service, operating to and from
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. Southbound trains depart at 10:30am, and northbound trains depart at 6:59pm (central time).
The
Areawide Community Transportation System (ACTS) provides fixed-route bus and paratransit services within Anniston and Oxford. The service operates Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and on Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. There is no service on Sundays.
Anniston Army Depot
Anniston is home to the
Anniston Army Depot which is used for the maintenance of most Army tracked vehicles. The depot also housed a major chemical weapons storage facility, the
Anniston Chemical Activity, and a program to destroy those weapons, the
Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. In 2003, the Anniston Army Depot began the process of destroying the
chemical weapon
A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...
s it had stored at the depot and at Fort McClellan. An incinerator was built to destroy the stockpile of
Sarin,
VX nerve agent, and
mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...
blister agent stored at the depot. Destruction of the weapons was completed in 2011.
[ The incinerator and related operations were officially closed in May 2013, and the incinerator was disassembled and removed from the depot at the end of 2013.]
Health care
* Sarrell Dental & Eye Centers
Notable people
* Jonathan Allen, NFL football player
* General Edward "Ned" Almond, active during Korean War
* George T. Anderson, Civil War general
* Ray Anderson, boxer
* Michael Biehn
Michael Biehn ( or ; born July 31, 1956) is an American actor, primarily known for his roles in science fiction films directed by James Cameron; as Sgt. Kyle Reese in ''The Terminator'' (1984), Cpl. Dwayne Hicks in ''Aliens (film), Aliens'' (1 ...
, actor
* Larry Bowie, former NFL player
* Anne Braden
Anne McCarty Braden (July 28, 1924 – March 6, 2006) was an American civil rights activist, journalist, and educator dedicated to the cause of racial equality. She and her husband bought a suburban house for an African American couple during ...
, civil rights activist
* Winifred Burks-Houck, organic chemist
* June Burn
June Burn (1893–1969) was an American non-fiction writer and columnist.
Background and career
Burn was born Inez Chandler Harris on June 19, 1893, in Anniston, Alabama. Her father was a Methodist circuit riding minister. At age sixteen, she m ...
, author
* Keith Butler, NFL player and football coach
* Red Byron, NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
driver
* Asa Earl Carter, segregationist
Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by peopl ...
, speech writer, and author of '' The Education of Little Tree''
* Quinton Caver, NFL player
* B. B. Comer, 33rd Governor of Alabama
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
* John Craton, classical composer
* Louie Crew, emeritus professor, poet, gay activist
* Michael Curry, NBA player, Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
head coach
* Cow Cow Davenport, boogie-woogie pianist
* Eric Davis, NFL cornerback
* William Levi Dawson (1899–1990), composer, whose best-known work is his '' Negro Folk Symphony''
* Nannie Doss, serial killer
* Bobby Edwards, country music singer known for " You're the Reason"
* Ruth Elder, pilot, first female aviator to attempt to cross the Atlantic in 1927, founding member of the 99's, silent movie actress
* Andra Franklin, NFL football player
* David F. Friedman, filmmaker and film producer
* Howard G. Garrison, US Army major general
* James R. Hall, retired Lieutenant General, U.S. Army; final commanding officer of the Fourth United States Army
* William C. Hamilton Jr., last commanding officer of the USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65), the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
* James Harman, blues singer, harmonica player
* Audrey Marie Hilley, infamous for poisoning her husband and trying to poison her daughter
* Delvin Lamar Hughley, NFL and Arena Football player
* Ken Hutcherson, NFL player and religious leader
* Thomas Kilby, eighth Lieutenant Governor of Alabama and the 36th Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of Alabama
* Douglas Leigh, innovative lighting designer of Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
and Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...
* Perry Lentz, author and professor of English
* Harry Mabry, television news director and anchor
* Kivuusama Mays, former NFL player
* Lucky Millinder
Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing music, swing and rhythm and blues, rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang ...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
and swing bandleader and singer
* George C. Nichopoulos, physician known as Dr. Nick; raised in Anniston
* Robert Ernest Noble, U.S. Army major general
* Tommy O'Brien, MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
third base and outfielder; born, died and interred in Anniston
* Katherine Orrison, author and film historian
* Will Owsley, Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-nominated singer-songwriter
* John L. Pennington, newspaper publisher, governor of Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...
* Tito Perdue, novelist, was raised in Anniston.
* Troymaine Pope, NFL player
* John Reaves, quarterback, University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
and NFL
* Mike D. Rogers, congressman from Alabama's 3rd district
* Samuel U. Rodgers, physician, educator, and public health advocate
* David Satcher, Surgeon General, 1998–2002
* Patrick "J. Que" Smith, Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-winning songwriter
* Tremon Smith, cornerback for the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
Established in 1959 ...
* Willie Smith, MLB pitcher and outfielder
* Shannon Spruill, professional wrestler
* Vaughn Stewart, former NFL player
* Vaughn Stewart III, delegate in Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...
* Max Wellborn, chairman and governor of Atlanta Fed
See also
* German Italian Memorial Cemetery
Footnotes
Further reading
* Grace Hooten Gates, ''The Model City of the New South: Anniston, Alabama, 1872–1900.'' Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1996.
* Kimberly O'Dell, ''Anniston.'' Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2000.
* Ellen Griffith Spears, ''Baptized in PCBs: Race, Pollution, and Justice in an All-American Town.'' Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2013.
External links
City of Anniston official website
"Anniston"
''Encyclopedia of Alabama''
{{Authority control
1872 establishments in Alabama
Cities in Alabama
Cities in Calhoun County, Alabama
County seats in Alabama
Civil rights movement
Planned communities in the United States
Populated places established in 1872