Bullock County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,357. Union Springs was chosen as 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 ...

in 1867, and presently is the county's only incorporated city. The county was named for Confederate Army Colonel Edward C. Bullock who was a state senator and outspoken secessionist who died during the

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

. A National Center for Education Statistics report released in January 2009 showed that Bullock County had the highest illiteracy rate in Alabama at 34 percent.

History

Bullock County was established by act of the state legislature dated December 5, 1866, with areas partitioned from Macon, Pike, Montgomery, and Barbour counties. The boundaries were changed in February 1867. Prior to the arrival of white settlers, the future Bullock County was inhabited by Creek Indians. The Treaty of Fort Jackson (1814) ceded much of Alabama and Georgia to the US government, and the Creeks were removed completely after 1830. From 1818 through the 1830s, white settlers poured into the area, turning the rich soil into cotton-producing plantations and the area into one of the state's richest. Bullock County was devastated by 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 ...

. Its once-enslaved population (about seventy percent of the total population) had sustained its output, but their emancipation caused a sharp decline in the economy. In the aftermath, Bullock County elected two former slaves to the state legislature, but with end of Reconstruction, the black population were severely restricted and kept down. By 1877 the boll weevil had migrated into Bullock County cotton fields from Mexico, and the area's economy was further depressed. A significant portion of the once-cotton-producing area was converted to a site of the Amateur Field Trial competition for bird dogs and a game preserve.

Geography

Prior to white settlement, the future Bullock County terrain was completely wooded. It still bears a significant coverage of trees, with the remainder having been cleared for agricultural or urban usage.''Bullock County AL'' (Google Maps, accessed September 13, 2020)
/ref> A range of hills, called Chunnenugga Ridge, bisects the county running east to west. It forms the watershed for the Tallapoosa River on the north, and streams on the south that flow to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, including the Conecuh River, which flows through the extreme west end of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to reach the Gulf. The highest point on this ridge (approximately ASL) lies about west of Sehoy Lake. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Macon County - north * Russell County - northeast * Barbour County - southeast * Pike County - southwest * Montgomery County - west

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 29 * U.S. Highway 82 * State Route 51 * State Route 110 * State Route 197 * State Route 239

Airport

* Franklin Field - county-owned public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

, WNW from Union Springs.

Communities

City

* Union Springs (county seat)

Town

* Midway

Census-designated place

* Fitzpatrick

Unincorporated communities

* Aberfoil * Blues Old Stand *

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

* High Ridge * Inverness * Perote * Scottland * Smutts Eye ( Thompson

Ghost town

* Suspension

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,357 people, 3,521 households, and 2,504 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 10,914 people in the county. 70.2% were Black or African American, 23.0%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 5.2% of some other race and 0.8% of two or more races. 7.1% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 11,714 people, 3,986 households, and 2,730 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 4,727 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 73.11%

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 ...

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 ...

, 25.25%

, 0.38% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02%

, 0.37% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 2.75% 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 3,986 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.50% were married couples living together, 28.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.13. The county population contained 26.10% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 110.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $20,605, and the median income for a family was $23,990. Males had a median income of $22,560 versus $19,069 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 county was $10,163. About 29.80% of families and 33.50% 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 ...

, including 44.70% of those under age 18 and 29.10% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Bullock County contains one public school district. There are approximately 1,400 students in public PK-12 schools in Bullock County.

Districts

School districts include: * Bullock County School District

Government and infrastructure

Bullock County is powerfully Democratic. It was one of only six Wallace counties to vote for George McGovern against

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's 3,000-plus-county landslide of 1972 and it was only one of nine counties to back Goldwater and McGovern, all of which are located in the Deep South. Alabama Department of Corrections operates the Bullock Correctional Facility in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the county.Union Springs city, Alabama
United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on July 4, 2011.

Climate

References

Notes

External links

Barbour / Bullock County Drug Task Force Webpage

* Owen, Thomas McAdory. ''History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography''. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1921. {{authority control 1866 establishments in Alabama Populated places established in 1866 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Alabama