Calhoun County, Alabama

Calhoun County
U.S. county
Calhoun County courthouse in Anniston
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°46′10″N 85°49′15″W / 33.769444444444°N 85.820833333333°W / 33.769444444444; -85.820833333333
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Founded	December 18, 1832 as Benton County
Named for	John C. Calhoun
Seat	Anniston
Largest city	Anniston
Area
• Total	612 sq mi (1,590 km2)
• Land	606 sq mi (1,570 km2)
• Water	6.4 sq mi (17 km2)  1.0%
Population  (2020)
• Total	116,441
• Density	190/sq mi (73/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.calhouncounty.org
County Number 11 on Alabama License Plates

Calhoun County is a county in the east central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,441.^[1] Its county seat is Anniston.^[2] It was named in honor of John C. Calhoun, noted politician and US Senator from South Carolina.

Calhoun County is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History[]

Benton County was established on December 18, 1832, named for Thomas Hart Benton, a member of the United States Senate from Missouri. Its county seat was Jacksonville. Benton, a slave owner, was a political ally of John C. Calhoun, U.S. senator from South Carolina and also a slaveholder and planter. Through the 1820s-1840s, however, Benton's and Calhoun's political interests diverged. Calhoun was increasingly interested in using the threat of secession as a weapon to maintain and expand slavery throughout the United States. Benton, on the other hand, was slowly coming to the conclusion that slavery was wrong and that preservation of the union was paramount. On January 29, 1858, Alabama supporters of slavery, objecting to Benton's change of heart, renamed Benton County as Calhoun County.

During the Reconstruction era and widespread violence by whites to suppress black and white Republican voting in the state during the campaign for the 1870 gubernatorial election, four blacks and one white were lynched.^[3]

After years of controversy and a State Supreme Court ruling in June 1900, the county seat was moved to Anniston.

The city was hit by an F4 tornado during the 1994 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak on March 27, 1994. Twelve minutes after the National Weather Service of Birmingham issued a tornado warning for northern Calhoun, southeastern Etowah, and southern Cherokee counties, the tornado destroyed Piedmont's Goshen United Methodist Church.

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 612 square miles (1,590 km²), of which 606 square miles (1,570 km²) is land and 6.4 square miles (17 km²) (1.0%) is water.^[4]

Adjacent counties[]

• Cherokee County - northeast
• Cleburne County - east
• Talladega County - south
• St. Clair County - west
• Etowah County - northwest

National protected areas[]

• Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge
• Talladega National Forest (part)

Transportation[]

Major highways[]

Rail[]

• Alabama and Tennessee River Railway
• Norfolk Southern Railway
• Amtrak

Demographics[]

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	14,260		—
1850	17,163		20.4%
1860	21,539		25.5%
1870	13,980		−35.1%
1880	19,591		40.1%
1890	33,835		72.7%
1900	34,874		3.1%
1910	39,115		12.2%
1920	47,822		22.3%
1930	55,611		16.3%
1940	63,319		13.9%
1950	79,539		25.6%
1960	95,878		20.5%
1970	103,092		7.5%
1980	119,761		16.2%
1990	116,034		−3.1%
2000	112,249		−3.3%
2010	118,572		5.6%
2020	116,441		−1.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790–1960[6] 1900–1990[7] 1990–2000[8] 2010–2020[1]

As of the census^[9] of 2010, there were 118,572 people, 47,331 households, and 31,609 families residing in the county. The population density was 194 people per square mile (75/km²). There were 53,289 housing units at an average density of 87 per square mile (34/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 74.9% White, 20.6% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 3.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 47,331 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% 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 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,407, and the median income for a family was $49,532. Males had a median income of $41,599 versus $29,756 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,574. About 15.2% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics[]

The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976. In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won almost sixty-nine percent of the county's vote.

Calhoun is part of Alabama's 3rd congressional district, which is held by Republican Mike D. Rogers.

Communities[]

Cities[]

Towns[]

Census-designated places[]

Unincorporated communities[]

Ghost towns[]

Places of interest[]

Calhoun County is home to Jacksonville State University, the Anniston Museum of Natural History, the Berman Museum of World History and the Coldwater Covered Bridge. It also contains a portion of the Talladega National Forest.

See also[]

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

References[]

Coordinates: 33°46′10″N 85°49′15″W / 33.76944°N 85.82083°W / 33.76944; -85.82083