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Citronelle is a city on the northern border of 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. At the 2020 census, the population was 3,946. It is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area and is about north of Mobile.


History

The area was inhabited by
indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
for thousands of years. By the time of European contact, the historic
Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...
and Creek people hunted in the area. The first known European explorers of this area were French in the 18th century. They learned that the land had healing herbs and mineral springs. The area was settled in 1811 and established as a jurisdiction (incorporated) in 1892. The name "Citronelle" is French and is derived from the citronella plant. In the late 19th century, the town became a popular resort destination because of the climate, herbs, and healing waters. Many hotels were built to accommodate the surge of visitors. On May 4, 1865, one of the last significant
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
armies was surrendered by Lieutenant General Richard Taylor under the "Surrender Oak". This was the third in the series of five major surrenders of armies that ended the war. The two previous surrenders occurred at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, between Confederate General
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
and US General
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
; and the second and largest at Bennett Place near
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
between US General
William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
and Confederate General
Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from ...
. A living history/reenactment of the surrender occurs each year in Citronelle. The historic "Surrender Oak" no longer stands, as it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1902. In 1955, oil was discovered in the area. Today Citronelle is known as the oil capital of Alabama.


Geology

Citronelle developed on what is known as the Citronelle Dome, a salt dome formation that is still rising, as shown by the radial drainage of streams away from the center. In 1955 oil was discovered in this geologic structure at a greater depth than had previously been considered as feasible. The Citronelle Dome was developed as among the first of many "deep" oil fields. The discovery well yielded oil from the Glen Rose Formation at a depth of . "Citronelle Dome is a giant salt-cored
anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of Fold (geology), fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest Bed (geology), beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex curve, c ...
in the eastern
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
Interior Salt Basin of southwest Alabama. The
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
forms an elliptical structural closure containing multiple opportunities for
enhanced oil recovery Enhanced oil recovery (abbreviated EOR), also called tertiary recovery, is the extraction of crude oil from an oil field that cannot be extracted after primary and secondary recovery methods have been completely exhausted. Whereas primary and se ...
(EOR) and saline reservoir CO2 sequestration. Citronelle Oil Field, located on the crest of the dome, has produced more than of 42-46°
American Petroleum Institute The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in extraction of petroleum, production, oil refinery, refinement, pipeline ...
(API) gravity oil from the Lower Cretaceous Donovan Sand."


Geography

Citronelle is located in northern Mobile County at . The northern border of the city is at the Washington County line. U.S. Route 45 runs from north to south through the city, to the west of the downtown area. Via US 45, downtown Mobile is to the south, and State Line, Mississippi is to the northwest. 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 Citronelle has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.06%, are water.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,946 people, 1,412 households, and 1,021 families residing in the city.


2010 census

As of 2010 Citronelle had a population of 3,905. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 70.7% white, 20.2% black or African American, 4.9% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.5% from some other race, 2.2% reporting two or more races and 2.6% Hispanic or Latino from 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 3,659 people, 1,318 households, and 1,009 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,441 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 76.96%
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 ...
, 18.61%
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 ...
, 2.76% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.03%
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 ...
, 0.25% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. 0.82% 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 1,318 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% 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, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.19. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,739, and the median income for a family was $39,922. Males had a median income of $32,200 versus $19,702 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 $16,455. About 12.0% of families and 15.4% 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 21.1% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.


Education

The city is served by the Mobile County Public School System and has the following public schools: McDavid-Jones Elementary School (K-5), Lott Middle School (6-8), and Citronelle High School (9-12).


Notable people

* Bama Rowell, former professional baseball player, was born and raised here. Living in Citronelle throughout his adult life, he played for the
Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...
and the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
. * Joey Dumas, National Championship winning race car driver and attorney. In 2021, Joey won the National Championship for the National Auto Sport Association at Daytona International Speedway (road course configuration) in his Porsche 911. Joey was born and raised in Citronelle. He is currently an attorney living in Perdido Key, Florida.


See also

* 2016 Citronelle homicides


References


External links

*
Citronelle Historical Preservation Society
{{authority control 1811 establishments in Mississippi Territory Cities in Alabama Cities in Mobile County, Alabama Populated places established in 1811