Macon County, Alabama

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Macon County, Alabama
Map of Alabama highlighting Macon County
Location in the state of Alabama
Map of the United States highlighting Alabama
Alabama's location in the U.S.
Founded December 18, 1832
Seat Tuskegee
Largest city Tuskegee
Area
 • Total 613.24 sq mi (1,588 km2)
 • Land 610.52 sq mi (1,581 km2)
 • Water 2.72 sq mi (7 km2), 1.25%
Population
 • (2010) 21,452
 • Density 35/sq mi (13.5/km²)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5

Macon County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Nathaniel Macon, a member of the United States Senate from North Carolina. Developed for cotton plantation agriculture in the nineteenth century, it is one of the counties in Alabama within the Black Belt of the South.

As of the 2010 census, the population was 21,452.[1] Its county seat is Tuskegee.[2] Mostly rural and with high rates of poverty, the county has a majority African American population, descendants of slaves who worked on the plantations before the American Civil War. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, Macon had the third-highest number of voters in the state for the Democratic Senator John Kerry. It was the setting of the 1974 movie, Macon County Line.

Tuskegee, Alabama is the county seat of Macon County and home to the Macon County Courthouse

History

For thousands of years, this area was inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples. The historic tribes encountered by European explorers were the Creek people, descendants of the Mississippian culture.

Macon County was established by European Americans on December 18, 1832, from land ceded by the Creek, following the US Congress' passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Creek were removed to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. The new settlers brought slaves with them from eastern areas of the South, or purchased them in slave markets, such as at New Orleans. They developed the county for large cotton plantations.

In the first half of the twentieth century, thousands of blacks migrated out of the county to industrial cities in the North and Midwest for job opportunities, and lives away from legal segregation. Those who remained have struggled in the mostly rural county.

Before 1983, Macon County, Alabama, was primarily known as the home of historic Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, and its famous founder and first president, Dr. Booker T. Washington. The quiet hamlet began to awaken in 1983 when parimutuel gambling came to Macon County in the form of VictoryLand greyhound racing.[3]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 613.24 square miles (1,588.3 km2), of which 610.52 square miles (1,581.2 km2) (or 99.56%) is land and 2.72 square miles (7.0 km2) (or 0.44%) is water.[4]

Major highways

  • Interstate 85
  • U.S. Highway 29
  • U.S. Highway 80
  • State Route 14
  • State Route 49
  • State Route 81

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
184011,247
—
185026,898139.2%
186026,802−0.4%
187017,727−33.9%
188017,371−2.0%
189018,4396.1%
190023,12625.4%
191026,04912.6%
192023,561−9.6%
193027,10315.0%
194027,6542.0%
195030,56110.5%
196026,717−12.6%
197024,841−7.0%
198026,8298.0%
199024,928−7.1%
200024,105−3.3%
201021,452−11.0%
Est. 201220,535−4.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
2012 Estimate[6]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 21,452 people residing in the county. 82.6% were Black or African American, 15.5% White, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% of some other race and 1.1% of two or more races. 1.1% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 24,105 people, 8,950 households, and 5,543 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile (15/km2). There were 10,627 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.64% Black or African American, 13.96% White, 0.16% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,950 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.70% were married couples living together, 25.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.10% were non-families. 33.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 16.90% from 18 to 24, 22.90% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 85.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $21,180, and the median income for a family was $28,511. Males had a median income of $25,971 versus $21,773 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,714. About 26.80% of families and 32.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.80% of those under age 18 and 26.00% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Places of interest

Macon County is home to the Tuskegee University, a historically black college; Tuskegee National Forest, Tuskegee Lake, the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Museum, and Moton Field, the training site of the Tuskegee Airmen.

See also

References

  1. ↑ United States Census Bureau. "2010 Census Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 19 July 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  3. ↑ Hope for Families & Comty Serv., Inc.. v. Warren, 721 F.Supp.2d 1079, 1086 (M.D. Ala. 2010)
  4. ↑ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
  5. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Retrieved June 30, 2013. 
  6. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Census.gov. Retrieved June 30, 2013. 
  7. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
 Elmore County Tallapoosa County Lee County
  Macon County, Alabama  
Montgomery County Bullock County Russell County
Municipalities and communities of Macon County, Alabama, United States
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‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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Location of the Columbus, Georgia-Auburn, Alabama CSA and its counties:
  Columbus, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area
  Auburn, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area
  Tuskegee, Alabama Micropolitan Statistical Area
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Cities in Alabama
Counties in Georgia
Counties in Alabama
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Coordinates: 32°23′07″N 85°41′37″W / 32.38528°N 85.69361°W / 32.38528; -85.69361

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