Geneva 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
southeastern part of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
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 26,659.
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
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
.
Geneva County is a
dry county
In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties n ...
. However, beer and wine are sold in the city limits of
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
,
Samson
SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
,
Slocomb, and most recently in
Hartford
Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, after residents voted to become wet in a 2022 election.
Geneva County is part of the
Dothan, Alabama metropolitan area.
History
Geneva County was established on December 26, 1868 from Coffee, Dale, and Henry counties. The county was named after its county seat, which in turn was named after
Geneva, New York
Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...
, which was named after
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, Switzerland, by Walter H. Yonge, an early town resident and Swiss native.
The county was declared a disaster area in September 1979 due to damage from
Hurricane Frederic
Hurricane Frederic, known in Latin America as Federico, was an intense and damaging tropical cyclone that carved a path of destruction from the Lesser Antilles to Quebec, in particular devastating areas of the United States Gulf Coast. Though ...
.
On March 10, 2009, a gunman, identified as Michael McLendon, went on
a shooting spree at nine locations in Geneva County from the town of
Samson
SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
to the city of
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, killing ten people and wounding six others. McLendon entered his former place of employment, Reliable Metal Products on the northeastern side of Geneva, where he killed himself.
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 (0.8%) is water.
The county is located in the
Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama.
It is the fifth-smallest county in Alabama by total area.
Major highways
*
State Route 27
*
State Route 52
*
State Route 54
*
State Route 85
*
State Route 87
*
State Route 103
*
State Route 123
*
State Route 153
*
State Route 167
*
State Route 196
Adjacent counties
*
Dale County (north-northeast)
*
Houston County (east)
*
Jackson County, Florida
Jackson County is a County (United States), county located in the "Panhandle" of the U.S. state of Florida, on its northwestern border with Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 47,319. Its county seat i ...
(southeast)
*
Holmes County, Florida
Holmes County is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida, in the Florida Panhandle, Panhandle. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,653. Its county seat i ...
(south)
*
Walton County, Florida
Walton County is a County (United States), county located on the Emerald Coast in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida, with its southern border on the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the populat ...
(southwest)
*
Covington County (west)
*
Coffee County (north-northwest)
Demographics
2020
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 26,659 people, 10,383 households, and 6,902 families residing in the county.
2010
The
2010 United States census has the breakdown as:
*86.3%
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 ...
*9.5%
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 ...
*0.8%
Native American
*0.3%
Asian
*0.0%
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiʻi was set ...
or
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 ...
*1.6%
Two or more races
*3.4%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
2000
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 25,764 people, 10,477 households, and 7,459 families residing in the county. 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 12,115 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.11%
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 ...
, 10.65%
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 ...
, 0.76%
Native American, 0.12%
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 ...
, 0.62% from
other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. 1.76% 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 10,477 households, out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.40% 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, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.00% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 25.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.70 males. For every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 90.00 men.
The median income for a household in the county was $26,448, and the median income for a family was $32,563. Males had a median income of $26,018 versus $19,341 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 county was $14,620. About 15.90% of families and 19.60% 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 27.20% of those under age 18 and 21.80% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
*
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
(county seat)
*
Hartford
Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
*
Samson
SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
*
Slocomb
Towns
*
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 ...
*
Coffee Springs
*
Malvern
*
Taylor (partly in
Houston County)
Census-designated place
*
Eunola
Unincorporated communities
*
Bellwood
*
Chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
*
Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
*
Earlytown
*
Fadette
*
Hacoda
*
High Bluff
*
Highfalls
*
Highnote
Government and politics
Much like the state and the rest of the Deep South, Geneva County was locked for the Democrats before
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
, until
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...
won against Democrat nominee
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...
in
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...
by 48 votes. However, ever since
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
, Geneva County has been a Republican stronghold. The last Democrat to carry the county was
Deep South
The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...
native
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
in
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
.
Geneva is also noteworthy for being the best county in the country for Alabama native
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...
in the
1968 election, where his main support was from the
Deep South
The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...
and was strongest in the
Wiregrass and
Piney Woods regions.
Education
There are two school districts including parts of the county:
Geneva City School District and
Geneva County School District.
[ ]
Text list
/ref>
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Geneva County, Alabama
* Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in Geneva County, Alabama
References
External links
* https://www.genevacountyal.gov/
{{coord, 31, 05, 32, N, 85, 50, 18, W, region:US-AL_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title
1868 establishments in Alabama
Dothan metropolitan area, Alabama
Populated places established in 1868