Evergreen is a city in

Conecuh County, Alabama Conecuh County () is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 11,597. Its county seat is Evergreen. Its name is believed to be derived from a Creek Indian term meanin ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 3,944. The city is 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 Conecuh County.

History

Early settlers to the area came from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

beginning in 1818. Evergreen was founded officially in 1819 when Revolutionary War veteran James Cosey and several other men settled within the present limits of the city. The Reverend Alexander Travis first called the town by its present name of Evergreen for the abundance of surrounding green foliage, plants, and ferns. The former county seat of Sparta was burned in a federal raid during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. In 1866, the county seat was moved to Evergreen as it was more centrally located in the county. Evergreen was incorporated as a city on March 28, 1873. In 1882, a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

hit the city, destroying every building except for the

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

church. On November 7, 1895, fire destroyed every business and house located on the east side of the railroad. Five days later, fire destroyed every business and house on the west side. The Conecuh County Courthouse burned in 1868, 1875, 1885, and 1895. The first female pilot in the U. S. Navy, Barbara Allen Rainey, crashed and died in 1982 near Evergreen.

Geography

Evergreen is located near the center of Conecuh County at (31.435025, -86.954905).

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 northwest side of the town, leading northeast to Montgomery and southwest to Mobile. 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 has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.12%, is water.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,520 people, 1,441 households, and 862 families residing in the city.

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 3,944 people, 1,536 households, and 981 families residing 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 1,912 housing units. According to the 2000 census the racial makeup of the city was 46.23%

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 ...

, 52.78%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.19% 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 ...

, 0.08% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 0.83% 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 1,536 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% 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, 24.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% 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 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 69.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,979, and the median income for a family was $29,258. Males had a median income of $25,357 versus $21,356 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 $13,828. About 27.6% of families and 34.2% 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 50.6% of those under age 18 and 28.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Evergreen's public schools include: * Hillcrest High School *Thurgood Marshall Middle School *Evergreen Elementary School *Southside Preparatory Magnet Academy Private schools in Evergreen include: *Sparta Academy Trade schools: * Reid State Technical College

Media

*Radio stations ** WPPG 101.1 FM, licensed to Repton, AL (

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

) ** WNWF 1470 AM (

Nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...

) *Newspapers
The Monthly View Newspaper
**The Evergreen Courant

Notable people

Herman Autrey Herman Autrey (December 4, 1904 – June 14, 1980) was an American jazz trumpeter. Career Autrey was born into a musical family in Evergreen, Alabama, United States. He played alto horn before taking up trumpet as a teenager and performing lo ...

, jazz trumpeter * Ken Clark (running back), former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

player * Kelvin Davis, professional basketball player who became the oldest rookie to play in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

* Wayne Frazier, former

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

player, starter for

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

in first

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

* Warren Elliot Henry, physicist * Ben Rudolph, former National Football League player *

James Adams Stallworth James Adams Stallworth (April 7, 1822 – August 31, 1861) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama. Born in Evergreen, Alabama, Stallworth attended Old Field Piney Woods Schools. He engaged as a planter. He studied law. He was admitted to t ...

, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

* William B. Travis, commander of Texan forces at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...

Collard Greens and Bigfoot

In 1973, Evergreen was labeled the "collard green capital of Alabama". The town hosts an annual Collard Green Festival to acknowledge the designation. The town was also named the "Bigfoot capital of Alabama" in 2017. The title was awarded by a city councilman during the annual Collard Green Festival. Evergreen is seeking official recognition of the title from the state of Alabama.

References

External links

City of Evergreen official website
{{authority control * Cities in Alabama Cities in Conecuh County, Alabama County seats in Alabama Populated places established in 1819