Carrollton is a city in and the county seat of Pickens 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. At the 2010 census the population was 1,019, up from 987 in 2000. The Hugh Wilson Hill House / Kelly - Stone - Hill Place is a historic residence listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The Pickens County Courthouse in the center of Carrollton was erected in 1877. The first courthouse in Carrollton was burned on April 5, 1865, by troops of Union General John T. Croxton. A second courthouse was destroyed by a fire on November 16, 1876.

History

Incorporated in 1831, the town was named after

Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic signatory ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, the only Roman Catholic and longest-living signer of the Declaration of Independence. A post office has been in operation at Carrollton since 1831. The county jail was located at the courthouse. The courthouse square was used frequently as a site for public lynchings by whites of African Americans, part of numerous efforts to suppress them during a time of high tensions as whites struggled for dominance. It was part of a program of intimidation and racial

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

, with these murders frequent in the decades on either side of the turn of the 20th century. Among the numerous African Americans lynched in Carrollton was John Gibson, hanged on August 28, 1907. Pickens County had the fifth highest total of lynchings in Alabama, according to ''Lynching in America'' (2015, 3rd edition), published by the Equal Justice Initiative.

Geography

Carrollton is located at (33.260858, -88.094452). 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 (0.96%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,023 people, 353 households, and 218 families residing in the town.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 1,019 people living in the town. 49.0% were

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 ...

, 43.1%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 3.6% from some other race and 4.2% of two or more races. 10.4% 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.

2000 census

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 987 people, 384 households, and 279 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 437 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 53.39%

, 44.58%

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 ...

, 0.10% Asian, and 1.93% from two or more races. 0.41% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 384 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% 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, 28.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.4% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 65.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,318, and the median income for a family was $29,612. Males had a median income of $30,833 versus $18,333 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 $12,153. About 31.4% of families and 38.5% 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 56.9% of those under age 18 and 26.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Pickens County Board of Education is located in Carrollton. Students in the area can attend Carrollton Elementary School for Grades K-6. Carrollton is also the home of the Pickens County Educational Center, a branch of Bevill State Community College.

Notable people

* Hanley Funderburk, president of

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

from 1980 to 1983 * Walter Jones, NFL All Pro football player and part of the NFL Hall of Fame * John H. Kelly, one of the youngest generals to die 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 ...

at the age of 24 * Homer H. Norton, head coach for

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

from 1934 to 1947. Inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 1971. * Lewis M. Stone, lawyer and politicianhttps://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=37447 * Courtney Taylor, former

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Gallery

Below are photographs taken in Carrollton as part of the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

conducted during the Great Depression to document the buildings across the US: File:Historic American Buildings Survey Alex Bush, Photographer, April 14, 1937 SOUTH (FRONT) AND WEST ELEVATION - Phoenix Hotel, Phoenix Street, Carrollton, Pickens County, AL HABS ALA,54-CARL,2-1.tif, Phoenix Hotel File:Historic American Buildings Survey Alex Bush, Photographer, April 15, 1937 SOUTH AND EAST ELEVATION - Methodist Episcopal Church, Tuscaloosa Street (State Highway 86), Carrollton, HABS ALA,54-CARL,3-1.tif, Methodist Episcopal Church

References

* {{authority control Towns in Pickens County, Alabama Towns in Alabama County seats in Alabama