Midway is a town located in eastern

Bullock County Bullock County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,357. Union Springs was chosen as the county seat in 1867, and presently is the county's only incorporated city. The county was named for Con ...

, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 421.

Old Merritt School

Margaret Elizabeth Merritt of Midway sold two acres for $5 to the State of Alabama in 1921 as a site for an elementary school for

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

children. Built in 1922 with matching Rosenwald funds, the Midway Colored Public School featured

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

construction and two classrooms divided by a partition. The building is one of the few surviving of the more than 5,000 rural black schools built with contributions for the

Julius Rosenwald Fund The Rosenwald Fund (also known as the Rosenwald Foundation, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and the Julius Rosenwald Foundation) was established in 1917 by Julius Rosenwald and his family for "the well-being of mankind." Rosenwald became part-owner of S ...

. The building was enlarged twice then renovated in 1978. It is now used as a

community center A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

. It was added to the

Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage (ARLH), commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These pr ...

on November 2, 1990, and 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 February 20, 1998. The school is located in Bullock County, which has the highest illiteracy rate of any county in Alabama.

Geography

Midway is located in eastern Bullock County at 32°4'27.854" North, 85°31'12.857" West (32.074404, −85.520238). 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. Midway is located on the

U.S. Route 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a route extending from the White Sands of New ...

, the

Jefferson Davis Highway The Jefferson Davis Highway, also known as the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway, was a transcontinental highway in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s that began in Arlington County, Virginia, and extended south and west to San Diego, Cali ...

, east of Union Springs, the county seat. It is east to Eufaula via US-82.

Alabama State Route 51 State Route 51 (SR 51) is a state highway in the southeastern and east-central parts of the U.S. state of Alabama. The southern terminus of the highway is at an intersection with U.S. Route 84 (US 84) near New Brockton. T ...

leads south to Clayton.

Demographics

2020 census

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 457 people, 189 households, and 124 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 230 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 88.84%

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 ...

and 11.16%

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 ...

. 0.22% 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 189 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.5% were married couples living together, 37.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 29.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 71.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 63.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $12,143, and the median income for a family was $19,063. Males had a median income of $25,938 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $9,036. About 38.1% of families and 42.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 52.4% of those under age 18 and 45.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Johnny Ford, mayor of

Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee ( ) is a city in Macon County, Alabama, Macon County, Alabama, United States. General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, laid out the city and founded it in 1833. It became the county seat in the same y ...

Jerrel Jernigan Jerrel Marquis Jernigan (born June 14, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft and w ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Jesse Lee Peterson, media personality, minister and author * Harold Pierce, founded the

Harold's Chicken Shack Harold's Chicken Shack (also referred to as The Fried Chicken King, Harold's Chicken, or simply Harold's) is a popular fried chicken restaurant based in Chicago, Illinois. The chain operates primarily in Chicago's predominantly black communities ...

restaurant chain in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

* Bobby Turner,

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

coach

In popular culture

* Rufus Amos Adams is said to be from Midway in the

Paul and Storm Paul and Storm are an American, Arlington, Virginia-based comedic musical duo, consisting of Paul Sabourin and Greg "Storm" DiCostanzo. They are best known for their humorous songs about geek culture and for amassing an internet fan base. They ...

song of the same name.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Alabama Towns in Bullock County, Alabama