Eutaw, Alabama
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Eutaw ( ) is a city in and 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 ...
of
Greene County, Alabama Greene County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,730, the least populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Eutaw. It was named in honor of Revolutiona ...
, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,937. The city was named in honor of the
Battle of Eutaw Springs The Battle of Eutaw Springs on September 8, 1781, was the last major engagement of the Revolutionary War to be fought in the Carolinas. Both sides claimed a victory. Background In early 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the ...
, the last engagement of the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
in the
Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...
.


History

Eutaw was laid out in December 1838 at the time that Greene County voters chose to relocate the county seat from Erie, which was located on the
Black Warrior River The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the ...
. It was incorporated by an act of the state legislature on January 2, 1841. As the county seat, Eutaw also developed as the trading center for the county, which developed an economy based on cultivation and processing of cotton, the chief commodity crop in the antebellum years. The crop was lucrative for major planters, who depended on the labor of enslaved African Americans and built fine homes in the city. Many have been preserved. Eutaw has twenty-seven
antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...
structures 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 ...
. Twenty-three of these are included in the Antebellum Homes in Eutaw
multiple property submission The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
. The Coleman-Banks House, Old Greene County Courthouse, First Presbyterian Church, and Kirkwood are listed individually. Additionally, the
Greene County Courthouse Square District The Greene County Courthouse Square District is a historic district in Eutaw, Alabama, United States. It is centered on the old Old Greene County Courthouse and extends outward along U.S. Route 11 and Alabama State Route 7. It features exa ...
is a listed
historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...
in the heart of downtown. A nearby property, Everhope Plantation, is also listed in the register. During the
Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...
, Eutaw was the site of a number of Klan murders and acts by insurgents. The county courthouse was burned in 1868; the prevailing theory for the burning of the courthouse is that it was intended to destroy the records of some 1,800 suits by
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...
against planters, which were about to be prosecuted. On March 31, 1870, the Republican county solicitor, Alexander Boyd, was shot and killed at his hotel when resisting being taken by a masked group of armed Klan members. (An early-20th century historian of the Klan claimed the group was from Mississippi.) That same night, James Martin, a black Republican leader, was killed near his home in Union, Alabama, also in Greene County. In the fall of 1870, in the run-up to the
gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
, two more black Republican politicians were killed in Greene County. On October 25, 1870, whites attacked a Republican rally in the courthouse square that had attracted 2,000 black Republicans. The Eutaw massacre resulted in four black deaths and some 54 wounded outside the county courthouse. Most blacks did not vote in the fall's election, which helped the Democratic candidate for governor. The use of violence and intimidation of blacks continued across Alabama in the
Post-Reconstruction The nadir of American race relations was the period in African-American history and the history of the United States from the end of Reconstruction era, Reconstruction in 1877 through the early 20th century, when racism in the United States, r ...
era.
Lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
s took place in the state, but none were documented in Greene County during this period, according to a 2015 report by the
Equal Justice Initiative The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is a non-profit organization, based in Montgomery, Alabama, that provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and ot ...
. This may be attributable to local officials enforcing the rule of law. On May 16, 1892, Sheriff Cullen and Deputy Sheriff E. C. Meredith of Greene County, with aid of a posse, distinguished themselves by going into Pickens County after a lynch mob of about 50 men. The mob had taken African-American suspect Jim Jones from the Greene County jail, saying they were going to hang him in Carrollton for an alleged crime there. Cullen and his posse confronted the mob at gunpoint, and took Jones back to Greene County.


20th century to present

Agriculture continues to dominate the county's economy. Now conducted on an industrial scale, it has reduced the need for farm workers. Unemployment is high in the rural county.
James Bevel James Luther Bevel (October 19, 1936 – December 19, 2008) was an American minister and a leader and major strategist of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. As a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and then as its direct ...
, the main strategist and architect of the Civil Rights Movement, was buried in Ancestors Village Cemetery in Eutaw on December 29, 2008. In addition to his early work in the
Nashville Student Movement The Nashville Student Movement was an organization that challenged legalized racial segregation in Nashville, Tennessee, during the Civil Rights Movement. It was created during workshops in nonviolence taught by James Lawson at the Clark Memo ...
and Mississippi movement, Bevel initiated, planned, and directed the strategies for the 1963 Birmingham Children's Crusade, the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march, and the 1966 Chicago Open Housing Movement. Eutaw is home to the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Convent of Our Lady of Consolata, the Consolata Sisters, a small monastery for nuns in West Alabama. They are known throughout Greene County for their humanitarian efforts.


Geography

Eutaw is located east of the center of Greene County. U.S. Routes 11 and 43 pass through the center of town. The highways enter together from the northeast as Tuscaloosa Street; US 11 exits the city to the west as Boligee Street, while US 43 leaves to the south as Demopolis Highway. Alabama State Route 14 passes through the city as Greensboro Street to the southeast and Mesopotamia Street to the northwest. Interstates 20 and 59 run through the northwest corner of the city, with access from Exit 40 (Highway 14), northwest of the center of town.
Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...
is to the northeast via Interstate 20/59, and
Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...
, is to the southwest. Demopolis is south via US 43,
Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...
is to the southeast via Highway 14, and Aliceville is to the northwest via Highway 14. 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 ...
, Eutaw has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.63%, is water. The center of town is west of the
Black Warrior River The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the ...
, accessible to boats at Finches Ferry Public Use Area.


Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Eutaw has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,937 people, 1,041 households, and 551 families residing in the town.


2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 2,934 people in 1,203 households, including 760 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 1,355 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 80.2% Black or African American, 18.1% White, 0.1% Native American, 0.4% Asian, and 0.6% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,203 households 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were married couples living together, 28.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 34.2% of households were one person and 15.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.10. The age distribution was 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.5 males. The median household income was $29,196 and the median family income was $39,722. Males had a median income of $43,125 versus $28,077 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,126. About 27.4% of families and 28.7% 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 38.7% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.


2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 1,878 people in 778 households, including 504 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 899 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 33.01% White, 66.03% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.21% Asian, and 0.48% from two or more races. 0.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 778 households 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% were married couples living together, 21.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 33.5% of households were one person and 15.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.95. The age distribution was 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males. The median household income was $23,056 and the median family income was $32,946. Males had a median income of $30,284 versus $18,869 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,573. About 24.7% of families and 28.9% 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 39.4% of those under age 18 and 22.5% of those age 65 or over.


Notable people

* Benjamin F. Alexander, state representative during the
Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...
* Oliver H. Cross,
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
* Edward deGraffenried, U.S. Representative from
Alabama's 6th congressional district Alabama's 6th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Alabama that elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It is composed of the wealthier portions of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham, ...
* Cob Jarvis, basketball player and head basketball coach for the
University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
* Bill Lee, professional football player * Matthew Leonard, Sergeant First Class who posthumously received the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
and
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
for his actions in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
* James McQueen, president of Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Company * Willie Powell, baseball pitcher in the
Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...
* Bo Scarbrough, professional football player * Margaret Charles Smith, midwife and member of the AL Women's Hall of Fame


In popular culture

Eutaw is the home town of the protagonist in the 2004
Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana (music), Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, ''Remedy (Old Crow Med ...
song "Big Time in the Jungle" . The band also released a 2001 album entitled ''Eutaw''. In addition, the town's name is referenced in the song "Don't Ride That Horse," among the other cities of Winnipeg, Joliet, Saskatoon, and Wawa. The 1981 horror film '' Jaws of Satan'' takes place in Eutaw.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Greene County, Alabama


References


External links

*Davis, Stephen Duane II, and Alfred L. Brophy
"The Most Esteemed Act of My Life: Family, Property, Will, and Trust in the Antebellum South"
an empirical study of probate in Greene County, Alabama {{authority control Cities in Alabama Cities in Greene County, Alabama County seats in Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama metropolitan area Populated places established in 1838