Loachapoka, Alabama
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Loachapoka ( ) is a town in Lee 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. It is located less than 1/2 mile west of Auburn and approximately west of
Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...
, in west-central Lee County. The population was 180 as of the 2010 Census. It is part of the Auburn metropolitan area. The name "Loachapoka" means "turtle killing place" in Muskogee, with ''locha'' meaning "turtle" and ''poga'' meaning "killing place". In literature, Lochapoka was the destination of the colonists in James H. Street's 1940 novel ''Oh, Promised Land''. Loachapoka is the location of the first Rosenwald School.


Government

Loachapoka is governed by a mayor and five town council members. However, in the most recent municipal election (2016), no incumbents submitted the qualifying paperwork to run for re-election. Therefore, the only citizen that did qualify for the ballot became mayor-elect, as per state law, and this was confirmed by the AL Director of Elections. When the mayor-elect brought the issue to light, several town, county and state officials worked together in a poorly hatched plan to improperly disqualify the only candidate to follow the law for qualification, as referenced in several newspaper articles and audio recordings of town hall meetings. The corruption portrayed in this series of events reflects a pattern of politics in Alabama that has been commonplace for many years, as reported in the Harvard Political Review.


History

Loachapoka was a
Creek Indian The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsNative removal to
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, Loachapoka was found to have a population of 564. During the Creek War of 1836, Loachapoka was a center of rebellion; the town was destroyed by a force of Alabama and Georgia militia and friendly Creeks on May 15, 1836. Upon settlement by Euro-Americans, Loachapoka—temporarily renamed Ball's Fork—became the regional trade center, a position that was reinforced in 1845 when it became the easternmost point on the
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
to Montgomery. Loachapoka's influence peaked in the early 1870s, when its population reached nearly 1,300. Within a few years, a collapse of trade due to the
Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...
and additional rail lines in the area sent Loachapoka into economic decline. Loachapoka roughly stabilized as a small farming community by the mid-20th century, and by the early 2000s (decade) had become a small-town suburb of Auburn. The mayor of Loachapoka is Ricky Holder.


Culture

Loachapoka was home to two fall festivals, both held on the same day each fall—the annual Syrup Sopping Day o the south of Highway 14and the Lee County Historical Fair t Pioneer Park, to the north of Highway 14.Many fairgoers were not aware that they were actually attending two celebrations of area history. The Syrup Sop featured the making of syrup in traditional methods from
sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...
and ribbon cane. The Historical Fair featured life in the 1850s in east central Alabama. The two festivals were combined into one named Pioneer Day. Combined, the two events attract more than 20,000 people to Loachapoka annually. Loachapoaka is the hometown of country music singer Freddie Hart. The Lee County Historical Society Museum is located in an 1845
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
in the Loachapoka historic district, located at "Pioneer Park," a six and-a-half-acre park of nine buildings and five gardens reminiscent of the 1850s in east central Alabama.


Photo gallery

File:Loachapoka, AL Town Hall.JPG, Loachapoka Town Hall File:Loachapoka, AL Post Office (36865).JPG, The post office in Loachapoka ( ZIP code: 36865) File:Loachapoka, AL High School.JPG, Loachapoka High School File:LeeCountyMuseum.JPG, A
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
built in 1845 now serves a
The Lee County Historical Society
Museum File:SyrupSoppingSign.JPG, The famous Syrup Sopping sign as seen from Alabama State Route 14 File:FredsFeedandSeedFacade.JPG, Fred's Feed & Seed, located in downtown Loachapoka, also serves as a music venue and "pickin' parlor." Fred's regularly features traditional barn dances on the first and third Thursdays of every month. File:RuthPurdySpeakeHistoricSite2.JPG, The Loachapoka Historic District was added to 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 ...
on May 11, 1973. File:RuthPurdySpeakeHistoricSite1.JPG, The Ruth Purdy Speake House and Historic Marker File:TheRattlingGourdArtGallery.JPG, The now-defunct Rattling Gourd Gallery, Downtown Loachapoka File:SaugahatcheeCreek.JPG, The Saugahatchee Creek, which runs through the area, serves as a popular
swimming hole A swimming hole is a place in a river, stream, stream, creek, spring (hydrosphere), spring, or similar natural body of water, which is large enough and deep enough for a person to human swimming, swim in. Common usage usually refers to freshwate ...
for locals during spring and summer months. File:SaugahatcheeBridge.JPG, A span across The Saugahatchee Creek


Geography

Loachapoka is located at (32.604844, -85.596890). 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 town has a total area of , all land.


Demographics

Loachapoka has appeared sporadically on census records. It first appeared as a separate community on the 1880 U.S. Census and again in 1890. It did not appear in 1900–1920, although one source said it did incorporate in 1910 with 359 residents, but this is not corroborated by the census of that year. In 1930, it appeared again, citing it had been incorporated in 1926. However, it failed to appear again in 1940, presumably losing its charter during the 1930s. It did not reincorporate again until 1974.


2020 census


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 165 people, 69 households, and 46 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 77 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 61.21%
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 ...
, 38.18%
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 ...
, and 0.61% Asian. Additionally, 0.61% 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 69 households, out of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.7% 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, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.81. In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.8% under the age of 18, 14.5% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,938, and the median income for a family was $33,571. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $28,500 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 town was $14,477. About 9.5% of families and 16.3% 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 18.5% of those under the age of eighteen and 20.0% of those 65 or over.


Notable person

* Freddie Hart,
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 ...
singer and songwriter


References

*Historic Chattahoochee Commission (1978). ''Boom and Change''. Historic Marker, Loachapoka, Ala. *Nunn, Alexander (Ed.) (1983). ''Lee County and Her Forebears''. Montgomery, Ala., Herff Jones. LCCCN 83-081693 *Schafer, Elizabeth.
Loachapoka, Alabama
'. Retrieved September 25, 2005. *Wright, John Peavy (1969). ''Glimpses into the past from my Grandfather's Trunk''. Alexander City, Ala., Outlook Publishing Company, Inc. LCCCN 74-101331


External links

{{authority control Towns in Lee County, Alabama Towns in Alabama Columbus metropolitan area, Georgia Auburn metropolitan area, Alabama Alabama placenames of Native American origin