Hale County, Alabama Information

Hale County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of Confederate officer Stephen Fowler Hale. As of 2010 the population was 15,760. Its county seat is Greensboro and it is part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Hale County was established following the end of the American Civil War, on January 30, 1867. Located in the west-central section of the state, it was created from portions of Greene, Marengo, Perry, and Tuscaloosa counties. The vast majority came from Greene County. The first American settlers hailed from Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas.^[1][2]

Hale County is connected to three major twentieth century artists: Walker Evans photographed the area in 1936 while he collaborated with James Agee on the 1941 book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Since the 1960s, artist William Christenberry, born in Tuscaloosa, has been photographing various structures in Hale County as part of his multi-media artistic investigations. More recently, Hale County has become the home of the nationally-recognized Auburn University Rural Studio, an architectural outreach program founded by architect and artist Samuel Mockbee and D. K. Ruth.^[2] It is also the birthplace of Eugene Sawyer, the second African American mayor of Chicago.^[3]

Since the American Civil War, whites controlled economic and political power in Hale County. However, in 1997 after a highly contested mayoral election the City of Greensboro elected its first African American Mayor, John E. Owens Jr. At this time Greensboro appointed its first African American Police Chief, Claude E. Hamilton. In 2006, African American and white citizens joined together and elected Hale County's first African American Sheriff, Kenneth W. Ellis. Prior to being elected Sheriff, Ellis served as the Police Chief of the Town of Moundville, in north Hale County.

In recent years Hale County has experienced some cases of voter fraud. In the late 1990s former Greensboro police officer, Aaron Evans, who is African American, was convicted of voter fraud in a Greensboro Municipal Election. In 2008, former Hale County Circuit Clerk, Gay Nell Tinker Singleton, and former Greensboro City Council person, Valaida Paige, both whom are also African American, were indicted by a Hale County grand jury for voter fraud in county and municipal elections.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 656.47 square miles (1,700.2 km²), of which 643.74 square miles (1,667.3 km²) (or 98.06%) is land and 12.74 square miles (33.0 km²) (or 1.94%) is water.^[4]

Adjacent counties

• Tuscaloosa County (north)
• Bibb County (northeast)
• Perry County (southeast)
• Marengo County (south)
• Greene County (west)

National protected area

• Talladega National Forest (part)

Transportation

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 80
• State Route 14
• State Route 25
• State Route 60
• State Route 61
• State Route 69

Airports

• Greensboro Municipal Airport (7A0) in Greensboro
• Moundville Airport (L44) in Moundville

Demographics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 17,185 people, 6,415 households, and 4,605 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 7,756 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 39.83% White, 58.95% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,415 households out of which 36.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.60% were married couples living together, 22.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the county the population was spread out with 29.60% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 89.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,807, and the median income for a family was $31,875. Males had a median income of $28,493 versus $19,363 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,661. About 22.20% of families and 26.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.00% of those under age 18 and 26.70% of those age 65 or over.

Tourism

Greensboro, the county seat, is home to the Safe House Museum. This house was used to shelter Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from the Ku Klux Klan during a 1960's meeting at St. Matthew Church, also located in Greensboro.^[2] It is also home to a large number of antebellum-era houses and churches, including some that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places such as Glencairn and Magnolia Grove.^[2][6]

Settlements

City

• Greensboro

Towns

• Akron
• Moundville (partial; part of Moundville is in Tuscaloosa County)
• Newbern

Unincorporated communities

• Gallion
• Prairieville
• Sawyerville

Ghost town

Arcola

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hale County, Alabama
• Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in Hale County, Alabama

References

1. ^ "Alabama Counties: Hale County". Alabama Department of Archives and History. State of Alabama. http://www.archives.state.al.us/counties/hale.html. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Hale County". The Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1330. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
3. ^ "Former Mayor Eugene Sawyer Dies", Chicago Tribune, January 20, 2008, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-080120swayer-obit-story,0,2893144.story?coll=chi_breaking
4. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
6. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.

External links

• Moundville Archaelogical Park, Hale County, AL
• William Christenberry: Place, Time, and Memory Southern Spaces September 28, 2007

Coordinates: 32°45′39″N 87°37′47″W / 32.76083°N 87.62972°W

Categories:

• Alabama counties
• Hale County, Alabama
• Counties of the United States with African American majority populations
• Tuscaloosa metropolitan area
• 1867 establishments

Related 'Hale County, Alabama' Searches:

See Also:

• Atlantic Gray Whale
• Catholic Church By Country
• Countries By Human Development Index
• Developing Countries
• History of West Midlands County
• John Hales
• List of Countries and Outlying Territories By Total Area
• List of Countries By Human Development Index
• Sumter County Florida