Wedowee is a town in Randolph 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. At the 2010 census the population was 823, up from 818 in 2000. The small town 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 Randolph County. It was initially incorporated in 1836, but its charter lapsed by the late 19th century. It was reincorporated in 1901. Randolph County High School is located in Wedowee.

History

Wedowee, which means "old water" in the Creek language, was named after a Muscogee Creek Indian chief. This area was historically occupied by the Muscogee Creek people. Following Indian Removal of the Creek in the 1830s to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

west of the Mississippi River by the US government, this area was settled by European Americans. The town of Wedowee was designated as the county seat of Randolph County in 1835. The county was developed for the cultivation of cotton as a commodity crop, with labor primarily done by enslaved African Americans, many of whom had been sold to the Deep South from the Upper South in the domestic slave trade. Since the late 20th century, Lake Wedowee was created by the impoundment of the

Tallapoosa River The Tallapoosa River runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 from the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United Sta ...

. This has enhanced the tourist drawing power of the town. Also known as the R. L. Harris Reservoir, the lake draws thousands of visitors to Wedowee every year.

Geography

Wedowee is located on the

Piedmont plateau The Piedmont ( ) is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States. It is situated between the Atlantic Plain and the Blue Ridge Mountains, stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont Province i ...

at (33.308603, -85.485447). It is also located in the foothills of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

. The city is located in the central part of Randolph County along

U.S. Route 431 U.S. Route 431 (US 431) is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently travels for approximately from U.S. Route 231, US 231/Alabama State Route 210 and U.S. Route 231 Business (Dothan, Alabama), US 231 Business (US 231 Bus. ...

, which is the main route through the city. U.S. 431 leads northwest 34 mi (55 km) to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and southeast 13 mi (21 km) to Roanoke. Alabama State Route 48 also runs through the city, leading northeast 9 mi (14 km) to

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

and west 16 mi (26 km) to Lineville. 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 , of which is land and (0.85%) is water.

Demographics

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 818 people, 337 households, and 200 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 378 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 68.70%

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 ...

, 30.20%

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.24% from two or more races. 0.12% 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 337 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% 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, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.95. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,136, and the median income for a family was $37,292. Males had a median income of $24,250 versus $22,250 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 $12,638. About 17.1% of families and 20.9% 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 25.7% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Hulond Humphries – part-time hog farmer; former high school principal and district superintendent. * John Merrill – politician; former Secretary of State of Alabama * T. Jack Lee – sixth Director of the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Marshall Space Flight Center Marshall Space Flight Center (officially the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center; MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville postal address), is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government's ...

in Huntsville, Alabama, 1989-1994 *

Stanley O'Neal Earnest Stanley O'Neal (born October 7, 1951) is a retired American business executive. He was CEO of Merrill Lynch from 2002 to 2007, and chairman and CEO from 2003 to 2007, having worked at the firm since 1986. He was the first African-America ...

– former CEO of

Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...

; currently on the board of

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

* William Hugh Smith – 21st Governor of Alabama, 1868-1870; serving during the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

era, he was the first Republican

Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

. He had moved with his parents to Wedowee in 1839, at the age of 13; read law under John T. Heflin of Wedowee. A historic marker now stands on the site of his family's home along N. Main Street (

) in Wedowee. * Alvin Wright – former NFL

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

Gallery

File:Downtown Wedowee Alabama.JPG, Downtown Wedowee File:Wedowee Alabama City Hall.JPG, Wedowee City Hall File:Randolph County Alabama Courthouse.JPG, The Randolph County Courthouse is located in Wedowee. File:Randolph County Alabama Historic Marker.JPG, A historic marker which describes the early history of Randolph County is located on the grounds of the Randolph County Courthouse in Wedowee. File:Wedowee Alabama Governor William Hugh Smith Historic Marker.JPG, This historic marker marks the site of the home of William Hugh Smith, 21st Governor of Alabama (1868–1870).

References

External links

Wedowee article, Encyclopedia of Alabama
{{authority control Towns in Randolph County, Alabama Towns in Alabama County seats in Alabama Alabama placenames of Native American origin