Etowah County, Alabama
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Etowah 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 ...
located in the northeastern part 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 103,436. Its
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 ...
is Gadsden. Its name is from a
Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
word meaning 'edible tree'. In total area, it is the smallest county in Alabama, albeit one of the most densely populated. Etowah County comprises the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area.


History

The area was split first among neighboring counties, with most of it belonging to DeKalb and
Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
counties. On December 7, 1866, the first postwar legislature separated and established Baine County, named for David W. Baine, a politician and Confederate military officer who died in battle in 1862. Gadsden was designated 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 ...
. Because of postwar tensions and actions of insurgents against freedmen, at the state constitutional convention in 1868, the new county was abolished, replaced on December 1, 1868, by one aligned to the same boundaries and named Etowah County, from a Cherokee-language word. The Cherokee people in northeast Alabama had been forcibly removed in the 1830s to
Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...
(now part of Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi River.


20th century to present

Etowah County had issues of racial discrimination and injustice, and
Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...
. It had one documented lynching between 1877 and 1950, which occurred in 1906. Bunk Richardson, an innocent African-American, only because he was associated with a case in which a white woman was raped and killed. The whites were angry that the governor had commuted the death sentence of one defendant in the case (who was likely also innocent of charges), after two men had already been executed for the crime.William Thornton, "Why the story of a 1906 Alabama lynching won't be forgotten"
AL.com, December 11, 2016; accessed April 13, 2018 An F4 tornado struck here on Palm Sunday March 27, 1994. It destroyed
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
's Goshen United Methodist Church twelve minutes after the
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
issued a tornado warning for northern Calhoun, southeastern Etowah, and southern Cherokee counties.


Geography

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 , or 2.5%, is water. It is the smallest county by area in Alabama.


Adjacent counties

* DeKalb County – north * Cherokee County – east * Calhoun County – southeast * St. Clair County – southwest * Blount County – west * Marshall County – northwest


Transportation


Transit

* Gadsden Trolley System * Greyhound Lines


Major highways

* Interstate 59 * Interstate 759 * U.S. Route 11 * U.S. Route 278 * U.S. Route 411 *
U.S. Route 431 U.S. Route 431 (US 431) is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently travels for approximately from U.S. Route 231, US 231/Alabama State Route 210 and U.S. Route 231 Business (Dothan, Alabama), US 231 Business (US 231 Bus. ...
* State Route 77 * State Route 132 * State Route 179 * State Route 205 * State Route 211 * State Route 291 * State Route 759


Rail

* Alabama and Tennessee River Railway * Norfolk Southern Railway * Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway (Defunct)


Demographics


2020 Census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 103,436 people, 40,053 households, and 25,177 families residing in the county.


2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 104,430 people, 42,036 households, and 28,708 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 47,454 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 80.3% White, 15.1% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.9% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 3.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 42,036 households 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 28.1% of households were one person and 11.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.97. The age distribution was 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% 65 or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males. The median household income was $36,422 and the median family income was $44,706. Males had a median income of $39,814 versus $30,220 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,439. About 13.1% of families and 16.8% 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 24.6% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.


2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 103,459 people, 41,615 households, and 29,463 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 45,959 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.9% White, 14.7% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. 1.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 41,615 households 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 26.3% of households were one person and 12.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.93. The age distribution was 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.90 males. The median household income was $31,170 and the median family income was $38,697. Males had a median income of $31,610 versus $21,346 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,783. About 12.3% of families and 15.7% 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 21.6% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.


Government

Etowah County is reliably Republican at the presidential level. The last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election is
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, who won it by a plurality in 1996.


Communities


Cities

* Attalla * Boaz (partly in Marshall County) * Gadsden (county seat) * Glencoe (partly in Calhoun County) * Hokes Bluff * Rainbow City * Southside (partly in Calhoun County)


Towns

* Altoona (partly in Blount County) * Reece City * Ridgeville * Sardis City (partly in Marshall County) * Walnut Grove


Census-designated places

* Ballplay * Bristow Cove * Carlisle-Rockledge * Coats Bend *
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
* Gallant * Ivalee * Lookout Mountain * New Union * Tidmore Bend * Whitesboro


Unincorporated communities

* Anderson * Keener * Liberty Hill * Mountainboro * Pilgrims Rest


Former city

* Alabama City


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Etowah County, Alabama __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Etowah County, Alabama. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Etowah County, Alab ...
* Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in Etowah County, Alabama


References


External links

* {{authority control Alabama placenames of Native American origin 1866 establishments in Alabama Populated places established in 1866 Micropolitan areas of Alabama