Tuscumbia, Alabama

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tuscumbia is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 7,856. The city is the county seat of Colbert County, and is included in The Shoals MSA. It is the hometown of Helen Keller and the location of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. It is also home to Deshler High School, whose football team currently holds the record for all time winning percentage in the region. The team went to 3 consecutive 4A state championships from 2002 to 2005 but lost all 3 of the games. The team had a bit of a down season in 2006, winning only 6 games and being eliminated in the first round of the Playoffs.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 The Stephen Colbert Museum
4 Notable residents
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Tuscumbia is located at 34°43′51″N, 87°42′10″W (34.730839, -87.702854)^GR1.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.9 km² (7.3 mi²). 18.9 km² (7.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.14% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,856 people, 3,469 households, and 2,199 families residing in the city. The population density was 415.5/km² (1,076.3/mi²). There were 3,801 housing units at an average density of 201.0/km² (520.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.01% White, 22.51% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,469 households out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,793, and the median income for a family was $39,831. Males had a median income of $32,159 versus $18,860 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,302. About 11.1% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] The Stephen Colbert Museum

Tuscumbia recieved national attention from November 28-30, 2006 when the Colbert Report ran a three part series, entitled, Alabama Miracle: The Making Of Colbert County's The Stephen Colbert Museum and Gift Shop. Although it has yet to come into existence Colbert calls it the "Eighth Wonder of the World."^{[citation needed]}

Interviews for the series were claimed by Colbert to have been conducted by his building manager Tad, with the lead in tune of "Sweet Home Alabama".

Tuscumbia first had a museum for Helen Keller, which Tad referred to as, "the enemy."^{[citation needed]} When he visited the museum, he asked to borrow the famous water pump. When refused, he then asked for their favorite Helen Keller joke, which was also refused. The museum was force to close down after another rival museum, Joe Scarborough Museum and Gift Shop, opened across the street.