Chickasaw is a city in
Mobile 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. As of the
2020 census the population was 6,457,
up from 6,106 at the 2010 census. It is part of the
Mobile metropolitan area
The Mobile Metropolitan Area comprises Mobile County, Alabama, Mobile in the southwest corner of Alabama in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the metropolitan area had a population of 430,197. The Mobile metropoli ...
.
History
Company town
In the early 20th century before the city now standing was incorporated, the present site of Chickasaw was a
company town
A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...
, wholly owned by Chickasaw Shipyard and developed for its workers. The property was bought by
Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation in 1940. It expanded with the defense buildup during World War II.
It attempted to restrict the activities of
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
, the subject of a case that reached the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
, ''
Marsh v. Alabama
''Marsh v. Alabama'', 326 U.S. 501 (1946), was a case decided by the US Supreme Court, which ruled that a state trespassing statute could not be used to prevent the distribution of religious materials on a town's sidewalk even though the sidewalk ...
'', 326 U.S. 501 (1946). The court ruled that although the Chickasaw Shipyard Village was privately owned, because it functioned as a town open to the public, the right conferred on residents and visitors by the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Federal government of the United States, Congress from making laws respecting an Establishment Clause, establishment of religion; prohibiting the Free Exercise Cla ...
cannot be abridged.
In 1946 the village was purchased by Leedy Investment Company. It renovated housing and offered it for sale to renters. Some former residents returned to the village and bought houses. It suffered from downturns in shipbuilding, which caused the loss of jobs.
Residents worked to have the village documented, and in 2004 the
Chickasaw Shipyard Village Historic District was added to 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 ...
.
Geography
Chickasaw is located in eastern Mobile County at .
It is bordered to the east by the city of
Mobile, to the south and west by
Prichard, and to the north by
Saraland.
U.S. Route 43 (Telegraph Road and North Craft Highway) is the main road through Chickasaw, leading south to downtown Mobile and north to
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
Places Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
.
Interstate 65
Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...
passes through the west side of Chickasaw, with access from Exit 10 (West Lee Street). I-65 leads south into Mobile and northeast to
Montgomery.
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 of Chickasaw has a total area of , of which are land and , or 7.70%, are water.
Chickasaw Creek, a tidal arm of the
Mobile River
The Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georg ...
, forms the northeast border of the city. The Port of Chickasaw is in the eastern part of the city, on Chickasaw Creek.
Demographics
The city had its peak of population in 1960, when the shipyard was still operating at high capacity. Decline in shipyard jobs has resulted in a decline in overall population since then.
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 6,364 people, 2,747 households, and 1,747 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 2,989 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.89%
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 ...
, 8.12%
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 ...
, 1.35%
Native American, 0.24%
Asian, 0.02%
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 ...
, 0.30% from
other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. 1.15% 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 2,747 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% 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, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the city, the population dispersal was 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,036, and the median income for a family was $33,125. Males had a median income of $29,074 versus $21,181 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 city was $14,190. About 13.0% of families and 17.1% 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 25.1% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.
2010 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 2010, there were 6,106 people, 2,430 households, and 1,612 families living in the city. 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 2,879 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 63.0%
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 ...
, 33.6%
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 ...
, .8%
Native American, 0.5%
Asian, 0.0%
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 ...
, 0.9% from
other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. 2.3% 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 2,430 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% 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, 22.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city, the population dispersal was 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,061, and the median income for a family was $40,625. Males had a median income of $35,300 versus $25,369 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 city was $18,105. About 18.9% of families and 20.7% 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 30.0% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over. The median home price was an estimated $83,800 in 2010. The rent burden was 47.9%.
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 6,457 people, 2,134 households, and 1,246 families residing in the city.
Education
Chickasaw's public schools are within the
Chickasaw City Schools district. The city voted in 2012 to form its own school system with
Satsuma, Alabama, leaving that operated by Mobile County School Board.
History of schools
Chickasaw's public schools were previously operated by the
Mobile County Public School System. Hamilton Elementary School was within the Chickasaw city limits and serves Chickasaw residents. In addition two magnet schools, the elementary
Chickasaw School of Mathematics and Science and the
Clark School of Mathematics, Science and Technology (high school), were in the city.
[Philips, Rena Havner.]
Chickasaw officials to examine possible school split
" '' Mobile Press-Register''. March 27, 2009. Retrieved on March 31, 2009. Residents zoned to Hamilton are also zoned to Chastang Middle School.
Several years prior to 2009, officials of Chickasaw,
Satsuma, and
Saraland contemplated forming the "Delta School District." Around 2009 Chickasaw officials considered a plan to secede from the Mobile County school system, after Mobile County officials considered closing the Chickasaw magnets, which together have a combined total of 14% Chickasaw residents. The remainder of the students came from other locations, including the unincorporated area of
Grand Bay. Mobile County considered moving the magnets to
Shaw High School in western
Mobile.
Chickasaw did separate from the Mobile County school system, effective in 2013, with the understanding that the elementary Chickasaw School of Mathematics and Science would be relocated from Chickasaw within four years. While it remained, the residents of Chickasaw were required to pay $2,200 per year per child in order to attend the school, as they were no longer part of the county system. In January 2013 the Mobile County school board decided to move the elementary Mathematics and Science school to the former Howard Elementary School near Downtown Mobile.
[Philips, Rena Havner.]
Magnet school moving from Chickasaw to downtown Mobile
" AL.com. January 31, 2013. Retrieved on July 29, 2016.
Notable person
*
Ray Sawyer of the band
Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show was born in Chickasaw in 1937.
See also
*
Bible Belt
The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Cities in Alabama
Cities in Mobile County, Alabama
Company towns in Alabama
Alabama placenames of Native American origin