Woodstock is a town in Bibb and

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

counties in 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 ...

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 ...

. Formerly known as North Bibb, by referendum in August 2000, the town adopted the name of a long-established local

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and, as of October 1, 2000, is now known officially as "Woodstock". As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,428. The Bibb County portion of Woodstock is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area, while the Tuscaloosa County portion is part of the Tuscaloosa metropolitan area.

History

Bibb County, founded as Cahawba County in 1818, played an important role in the early industrial history of Alabama.

Ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloome ...

and

foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

produced goods from the brown iron ore found on Roupes Creek. Woodstock, known as North Bibb until 2000, is a small town on the northern boundary of Bibb County. This community was once the center of a thriving railroad business. Woodstock was first settled in the 1820s, with a formal land grant to William Houston on February 27, 1826. The settlement was established along the old

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

stagecoach line. Woodstock got its name when Dr. J.U. Ray named it after the home of his ancestors,

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, England. Ray's ancestors arrived in America from England at

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent British colonization of the Americas, English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Willia ...

. In 1870, Ray built the first depot for the newly constructed Alabama-Chattanooga Railroad. After the

Alabama Great Southern Railroad The Alabama Great Southern Railroad is a railroad in the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia (U.S.), Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It is an operating subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS), running southwest from Chatt ...

came the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of ...

. Each operated a depot in the area. In 1872, a line was installed down to

West Blocton West Blocton is a town in Bibb County, Alabama, Bibb County, Alabama, United States. The population was 1,217 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History It was built on land once owned by Uriah Smith, near the company town Blocton, ...

to ship the large abundance of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

found in the area. Woodstock became a break and storage yard for coal, red and brown

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. After the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, rich iron ore deposits were mined. In 1872, Giles Edwards relocated to Woodstock from Tannehill and built a blast furnace to manufacture

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...

. Edwards was later joined in the business by his son-in-law, James W. McQueen, who went on to become the president of Sloss-Sheffield Iron Company in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. In addition to the iron ore mining, coal mining, and farming, a jug factory was built to take advantage of the large deposits of fire clay that was in the area. The clay was used to make bricks, jugs, pots, and churns. As many as eight trains per day stopped in Woodstock, carrying away its riches, six of them carrying mail. On June 18, 1919, Jim McMillan was lynched by a White mob. Woodstock was also the roots of a newspaper business in the 1800s. This publication moved to Six Mile and then to Birmingham where it became ''

The Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' was the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States in the latter half of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st. The paper was owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its ...

''. Woodstock was incorporated in 1996 as the Town of North Bibb, with Carl Jones as mayor. Woodstock changed its name back to Woodstock by Ordinance 2008-08-03, effective October 1, 2000, S.B. Albert Hutchens, Mayor.

Geography

Woodstock is located in northern Bibb County at (33.201248, -87.150242). A portion of the town extends to the northwest into Tuscaloosa County.

U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

passes northwest of the town center, leading northeast to downtown

and west to

Interstate 59 Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia ...

passes northwest of Woodstock, with the closest access via Exit 97 north of town. 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 , or 2.11%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,472 people, 565 households, and 391 families residing in the town.

2010 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 2010, there were 1,428 people, 507 households, and 395 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 549 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93%

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 ...

, 3.4%

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 ...

, and 1.0% from two or more races. 2.1% 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 507 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% 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, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 16.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $48,750, and the median income for a family was $52,417. Males had a median income of $42,500 versus $32,885 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 $20,855. About 8.0% of families and 9.2% 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 8.7% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable persons

* Ross F. Gray,

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

who

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

ly received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

. Born in the nearby community of Marvel Valley. * John B. McLemore, the central figure in the '' S-Town'' podcast and a notable

horologist Chronometry or horology () is the science studying the measurement of time and timekeeping. Chronometry enables the establishment of standard measurements of time, which have applications in a broad range of social and scientific areas. ''Hor ...

Culture

The

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

'' S-Town'', from ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'', is set and recorded in Woodstock.

References

{{authority control Towns in Alabama Towns in Bibb County, Alabama Towns in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Birmingham metropolitan area, Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama metropolitan area U.S. Route 11 1826 establishments in Alabama Populated places established in 1826