Wilcox County, Alabama

Wilcox County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,600. Its county seat is Camden.

History Wilcox County was established on December 13, 1819. The county was named after Joseph M. Wilcox, a United States Army lieutenant who was killed in Alabama during the Creek War.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water.

Major highways State Route 5 State Route 10 State Route 21 State Route 25 State Route 28 State Route 41 State Route 89 State Route 162 State Route 164 State Route 221 State Route 265

Adjacent counties Dallas County (northeast) Lowndes County (east-northeast) Butler County (east-southeast) Monroe County (south) Clarke County (southwest) Marengo County (northwest)

Demographics

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 10,600. The median age was 43.8 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.3 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 27.2% White, 70.6% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.3% from some other race, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.1% of the population.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 4,316 households in the county, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 40.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 5,261 housing units, of which 18.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 77.2% were owner-occupied and 22.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.8%.

Racial and ethnic composition +Wilcox County, Alabama – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)3,6113,1102,86627.39%26.65%27.04%Black or African American alone (NH)9,4238,4207,42571.48%72.15%70.05%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1914110.14%0.12%0.10%Asian alone (NH)8470.06%0.03%0.07%Pacific Islander alone (NH)2150.02%0.01%0.05%Other race alone (NH)02160.00%0.02%0.15%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)23471580.17%0.40%1.49%Hispanic or Latino (any race)97721120.74%0.62%1.06%Total13,18311,67010,600100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 11,670 people living in the county. 72.5% were Black or African American, 26.8% White, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% of some other race and 0.4% of two or more races. 0.6% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 13,183 people, 4,776 households, and 3,376 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 6,183 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 71.90% Black or African American, 27.51% White, 0.14% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, and 0.19% from two or more races. Nearly 0.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,776 households, out of which 36.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.80% were married couples living together, 26.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. Nearly 27.50% 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 2.70, and the average family size was 3.31.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.70% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $16,646, and the median income for a family was $22,200. Males had a median income of $26,216 versus $17,274 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,903. About 36.10% of families and 39.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.40% of those under age 18 and 32.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government Wilcox County leans heavily towards the Democratic Party. The only Republican to carry the county since 1900 has been Barry Goldwater in 1964 – when little to none of the county's black majority had voted for over seven decades and opposition by the voting white minority to Civil Rights meant that national Democrat Lyndon Johnson was not allowed on the ballot. Even after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, black registration was so slow that segregationist George Wallace comfortably carried the county in 1968, but since then the Democratic presidential candidate has carried Wilcox in every election. It was one of only six Wallace counties to vote for George McGovern against Richard Nixon's 3,000-plus-county landslide of 1972.

Religion According to the Association of Religion Data Archives at Pennsylvania State University, religious affiliation in Wilcox County in 2010 was as follows: African Methodist Episcopal Church (2443 adherents) Southern Baptist Convention (2177) Nondenominational Protestant (477) The United Methodist Church (463) Pentecostalism (320) Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (262) Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (251) Churches of Christ (206)

Education All public schools in the county are operated by the Wilcox County School District, which covers the entire county. - Text list The schools include: and Camden School of Arts and Technology and Wilcox Central Academy. The community is also served by one private school, Wilcox Academy, founded in 1970 as a segregation academy. The public schools are effectively all-Black.

Economy Major industries in the county include a paper mill operated by International Paper, based in Memphis, Tennessee, on the Alabama River near Pine Hill that employs roughly 400 people, and a copper tubing plant owned by Golden Dragon Copper Group of Xinxiang, China in Sunny South that opened in 2014; it employs approximately 300.

Communities

City Camden (county seat)

Towns Oak Hill Pine Apple Pine Hill Yellow Bluff

Census-designated places Boykin Catherine

Unincorporated communities

Ackerville Alberta Anne Manie Arlington Bethel Canton Bend Coy Fatama Furman Gastonburg Gee's Bend Kimbrough Lamison Lower Peach Tree McWilliams Millers Ferry Pebble Hill Prairie Rockwest Rosebud Snow Hill Sunny South

Ghost towns Prairie Bluff Ruthven

Places of interest Wilcox County is home to Roland Cooper State Park, Lake Dannelly, and Bridgeport Beach.

Notable people William Q. Atwood, former slave who became a lumber baron based in Saginaw, Michigan Judy L. Bonner, 28th President of The University of Alabama Fred Cone, former running back in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys James Crawford (basketball), former professional basketball player who played in the Australian National Basketball League Laurance L. Cross, Presbyterian minister and Mayor of Berkeley, California Marie Foster, leader in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement Kenneth R. Giddens, Broadcaster and Voice of America executive John Cooper Godbold, United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Kay Ivey, 54th governor of Alabama Philemon T. Herbert, former U.S. Representative from California Bill Lee (musician), American musician Noah Purifoy, visual artist and sculptor Benjamin M. Miller, 39th governor of Alabama Lucy Mingo, American quilt maker and member of the Gee's Bend Collective Estella Payton, co-star on the Woman's World cooking show that aired on WKRG-TV in Mobile, Alabama Joseph Smitherman, mayor of Selma, Alabama William J. Vaughn, American university professor, school principal, librarian and book collector Rosa Young, Lutheran educator from Rosebud

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilcox County, Alabama Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in Wilcox County, Alabama Rufus Randolph Rhodes

References

Notes

Wilcox County, Alabama

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