Arcola is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

on the

Black Warrior River The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the ...

in what is now

Hale County Hale County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Hale County, Alabama *Hale County, Texas Hale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 32,522. The county seat is Plainview ...

, formerly Marengo County,

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 ...

. Named to honor the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

victory during the Battle of Arcola, it was established in the early 1820s by former French

Bonapartist Bonapartism (french: Bonapartisme) is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In thi ...

s as part of their Vine and Olive Colony, after they were forced to abandon their first town at Demopolis and many found Aigleville unsuitable. The first settler at the site was Frederic Ravesies, who established himself at what later became the Hatch Plantation. Although never more than a village, Arcola became the largest settlement in the colony. Beginning in the 1830s American settlers moved into the area and purchased most of the former French land grants, primarily using Arcola as a river landing. By the 1850s the French settlement had disappeared, replaced by a community of adjoining

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

Geography

Arcola is located at and has an elevation of .

Demographics

According to the census returns from 1850-2010 for Alabama, it has never reported a population figure separately on the U.S. Census.

References

{{Hale County, Alabama Populated places established in 1820 Ghost towns in Alabama Populated places in Hale County, Alabama Vine and Olive Colony French-American culture in Alabama Ghost towns in the United States Lists of places in Alabama