Bullock County, Alabama


Bullock County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,914. Union Springs was chosen as the county seat in 1867. The county was named in honor of Colonel Edward C. Bullock who was a state senator and outspoken secessionist who died serving in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.
A National Center for Education Statistics report released in January 2009 showed that Bullock County had the highest illiteracy rate in Alabama at 34 percent.

History

Bullock County was established on December 5, 1866. The boundaries were changed in February 1867.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The county is in the southeastern section of the state, in the prairie region. The Chunnennuggee Ridge runs through the center of the county.

Adjacent counties

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 10,914 people living in the county. 70.2% were Black or African American, 23.0% White, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 5.2% of some other race and 0.8% of two or more races. 7.1% were Hispanic or Latino.
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,714 people, 3,986 households, and 2,730 families living in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile. There were 4,727 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 73.11% Black or African American, 25.25% White, 0.38% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 2.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,986 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.50% were married couples living together, 28.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 110.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $20,605, and the median income for a family was $23,990. Males had a median income of $22,560 versus $19,069 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,163. About 29.80% of families and 33.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.70% of those under age 18 and 29.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

Bullock County is powerfully Democratic. The only Republican to carry the county since 1900 has been Barry Goldwater in 1964 – when essentially 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 Governor George Wallace carried the county by five percentage points in 1968, but since then the Democratic presidential candidate has carried Bullock 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.
YearGOPDEMOthers
201624.2% 1,14075.0% 3,5300.9% 40
201223.5% 1,25176.3% 4,0610.2% 10
200825.7% 1,39174.1% 4,0110.2% 13
200431.7% 1,49468.1% 3,2100.3% 13
200029.2% 1,43369.2% 3,3951.6% 76
199626.3% 1,15470.2% 3,0783.5% 152
199226.0% 1,25367.7% 3,2596.3% 304
198831.0% 1,42168.1% 3,1220.9% 41
198432.0% 1,69766.8% 3,5371.2% 65
198025.7% 1,44670.3% 3,9604.1% 231
197629.1% 1,48269.4% 3,5361.5% 74
197247.4% 2,17850.6% 2,3212.0% 92
19684.4% 19045.2% 1,96450.5% 2,193
196457.6% 1,51642.4% 1,114
196035.1% 41264.5% 7570.4% 5
195624.3% 30464.9% 81210.9% 136
195232.5% 44267.5% 9180.0% 0
19481.2% 1098.8% 799
19442.2% 2497.8% 1,0560.0% 0
19401.4% 1898.6% 1,3010.0% 0
19360.4% 599.5% 1,1880.1% 1
19321.2% 1298.7% 1,0040.1% 1
192826.3% 24973.7% 6990.0% 0
19241.0% 898.8% 7630.1% 1
19200.2% 299.7% 8770.1% 1
19160.5% 499.2% 7430.3% 2
19120.5% 499.2% 7360.3% 2
19081.3% 1098.7% 7820.0% 0
19040.0% 099.7% 7260.3% 2

Alabama Department of Corrections operates the Bullock Correctional Facility in an unincorporated area in the county.

Transportation

Major highways

is a county-owned public-use airport located five nautical miles west of the central business district of Union Springs, Alabama.

Communities

City

Bullock County is home to several historic homes including the McCaslan-Garner House and Bonus-Foster-Chapman House.

Climate