Sawyerville, previously known as Sawyers Depot, is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in west-central

Hale County, Alabama Hale 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 14,785. Its county seat is Greensboro. It is named in honor of Confederate officer Stephen Fowler Hale. Hale ...

and is a part of the

Tuscaloosa metropolitan area The Tuscaloosa metropolitan area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in west central Alabama, anchored by the city of Tuscaloosa. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 268,674. Cou ...

. It derives its name from the town's first post master. The community is rural and came to flourish due to its proximity to the railroad that once traveled through it. The community covers the historic area of the county once called Hollow Square and includes the abandoned town site of Erie, the former county seat of Greene County. It also includes the communities of Wedgeworth, Melton, Warrior Dam, and Mason Bend. The area was the site of several Pickens family plantations, most notably those of early Alabama governor,

Israel Pickens Israel Pickens (January 30, 1780 – April 24, 1827) was an American politician and lawyer, third Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama (1821–1825), member of the North Carolina Senate (1808–1810), and United States Congressman from North Car ...

, and his younger brother, Samuel Pickens. The Samuel Pickens homestead,

Umbria Plantation Umbria Plantation, also known as the Samuel Pickens Plantation, was a historic cotton plantations in the American South, plantation and Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival-style Plantation house in the Southern United States, plantation house ...

, was destroyed by fire in 1971.

Tornadoes

On April 27, 2011 a destructive, long-tracked EF3 tornado passed to the northwest of town, causing damage to sparsely populated areas. It killed seven and injured at least 52 others along its path. On March 25, 2021, another long-tracked EF3 tornado passed southeast of town, destroying or heavily damaging numerous structures and trees. It injured 13 people along its track, which was the seventh longest track in state history. On February 3, 2022, an EF2 tornado caused heavy damage to the town, killing one person and injuring eight others.

Demographics

Based upon the census result of the year 2000 Sawyerville had a population of 795 residents with a population decrease to an estimated 500 by the year 2017. The area is composed of 88.5% African American, 11.1 Caucasian, 1.0 Hispanic, 0.4 mixed race and 0.1 other.

Notable residents

Charles McGruder Charles McGruder Sr. was born to Ned and Mariah Magruder as a slave in North Carolina in 1829. Charles' owners used him as a stud, a human breeder, in order to increase their slave population. Charles ultimately became the father to some one-hund ...

, slave * Curtis Travis, member of the Alabama House of Representatives and born in Sawyerville

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Alabama Unincorporated communities in Hale County, Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama metropolitan area