Blountsville, Alabama

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Blountsville is a town in Blount County, Alabama, United States. Blount County was created by the Alabama Territorial legislature on 1818 Feb. 6, from land ceded to the Federal government by the Creek Nation on 1814 Aug. 9. It was named for Gov. Willie G. Blount of Tennessee, who provided assistance to settlers in Alabama during the Creek War of 1813-14. It lies in the northeastern section of the state, generally known as the mineral region. Blount County is bordered by Cullman, Marshall, Etowah, Jefferson, and Walker Counties. The county is drained by the Locust and Mulberry Forks of the Black Warrior River. Blount County contains 643 square miles. The Warrior coal field is located in Blount County. From 1818 to 1889, Blountsville served as the county seat, 1889 was a election year and resulted in the county seat's transfer to Oneonta.

1 History
2 Attractions
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 External links

[edit] History

Bear Meat Cabin/Blountsville was the first settlement in Blount County. The town was established by Caleb Fryley and John Jones in 1816 as Bear Meat Cabin. The post office was opened in 1821. Blountsville was incorporated December 13 ,1827. It was the county seat until 1889 when the government was moved to Oneonta. There were many schools in the town in the early years - The academy, Blount College and The district Agricultural School plus the public schools. Blount County Court house and jail was built in 1833 and remained there until it was moved to Oneonta. Blountsville was very involved in the Civil war with General Forrest and General Streight fighting in the town. The Blount College was in the building that was originally the court house. It was established in 1890. Blountsville United Methodist Church was established in 1818 and the beautiful church is still in use today.

the site of the Civil War event known as the Forrest-Streight Raid which occurred here in May 1863. Every first week end in May this event is re-enacted here.

Owen, Thomas McAdory. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1921. Toulmin's Digest, 1823.

[edit] Attractions

The Copeland-Bussey house built in c. 1835, is one of the oldest structures in northeast Alabama. It is representative of the dwellings of farmers and shareholders of the mid nineteenth century. Lewis used slave labor to burn the bricks used and build the structure which also served as a stagecoach stop and inn. The structure has been stabilized by theAlabama Historic Preservation Alliance and the Blountsville Historical Society.

The Freeman House, built circa 1825, was damaged by a storm and the 2 story brick dwelling was rebuilt, using the same bricks, into a one story. The porches face the historic Bear Meat Cabin Rd. (still apparent) and the other porch faces the U.S. Highway 231. Annual re-enactment is held on the grounds. The structure has been renovated by the Blountsville Historical Society and now serves as a museum and visitors center on a part-time basis. During the reenactment it is furnished with period furnishings and is open to the public for tours.

The Thomas Nation House, circa 1835, is now a ruin due to a storm that took all but one and one half walls down in 1998 before it could be stabilized. The ruins can still be seen from the U.S. Highway 231.

Spring Valey Beach, Blountsville is also home to the Spring Valley Beach waterpark, one of the few waterparks in the Blount-Culman County area. As of March 2006, the park had 3 large slides and one of the largest pools in the southeast.

[edit] Geography

Blountsville is located at 34°4'54.880" North, 86°35'19.601" West (34.081911, -86.588778)^GR1, elevation is 712 feet.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.2 km² (5.5 mi²). 14.0 km² (5.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.27%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,768 people, 743 households, and 479 families residing in the town. The population density was 125.9/km² (326.4/mi²). There were 853 housing units at an average density of 60.8/km² (157.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.54% White, 0.79% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 8.20% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. 16.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 743 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,432, and the median income for a family was $34,050. Males had a median income of $27,847 versus $18,869 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,426. About 19.3% of families and 25.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.4% of those under age 18 and 28.8% of those age 65 or over.