Benton, Alabama
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Benton is a town in Lowndes County,
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. Its population was 41 at the 2020 census, down from 49 at the 2010 census.


Geography

Benton is located at (32.306248, -86.817551). 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 town has a total area of , of which is land and (8.82%) is water.


History

Settled in 1832 on land owned by James Maull, it was initially known as Maull's Landing, before it was renamed and incorporated as Benton in 1834. It was named after Thomas Hart Benton, then the
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
from
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, who had served under General
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
in the Creek Campaign. During the steamboat era, it was a major trading stop along the
Alabama River The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa River, Tallapoosa and Coosa River, Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka, Alabama, Wetumpka. Over a co ...
. Maull's son, Edward, auctioned off lots in 1855, that were incorporated into the town. The earliest year any population figures were returned by the U.S. Census for the area (below the county level) was in 1870, when Benton Beat (then one of ten divisions in Lowndes County) returned 2,627 residents, the majority of whom were newly emancipated blacks. In 1880, Lowndes County was subdivided further into 20 beats (precincts), and the Benton Beat fell to 1,094 residents. In 1890, it declined to 994, and for the first time, the town of Benton was reported separately with a population of 265. Benton's incorporation would lapse shortly (the town did not report a separate population in 1900) and with the shift to railroads, followed by the outmigration of the majority black population, it would dwindle in size. The Benton Precinct would fall from 1,049 in 1900 (same as its 1880 population), down to 409 by 1950, before all the county precincts were eliminated and redistricted into census divisions. In 1964, Benton was reincorporated, reporting 115 residents as of the 1970 census. As of 1990, it has declined to just under 50 residents and has held steady as of 2010. Out of Lowndes County's seven incorporated communities, it is one of only two with a white majority (as of 2000 and 2010), Lowndesboro being the other. It is also one of the smallest incorporated communities in the state. Benton, Alabama can be confused in genealogy research with
Calhoun County, Alabama Calhoun County is a county in the east central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,441. Its county seat is Anniston. It is named in honor of John C. Calhoun, a US Senator from South Carolina. Cal ...
, which was known as Benton County from 1832 to 1858, and which was also originally named for Senator Benton, but renamed because of his unpopular (in Alabama) political views — namely, opposition to slavery — by the late 1850s.


Demographics

As of the
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 ...
of 2000, there were 47 people, 18 households, and 14 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 19 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 76.60%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
and 23.40%
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 ...
. There were 18 households, out of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.2% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.7% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.87. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.8% under the age of 18, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 135.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $90,000, and the median income for a family was $92,113. Males had a median income of $41,250 versus $26,875 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $28,035. There were 7.7% of families and 7.5% of the population living 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 ...
, including 14.3% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.


Notable people

* David Gordon Lyon, Hollis Chair at
Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...
and founding curator of Semitic Museum * Bill Traylor, African American self-taught artist * Zeke Wilson, former
Major League Baseball 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 ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...


References

{{authority control Towns in Lowndes County, Alabama Towns in Alabama Montgomery metropolitan area