Etowah County, Alabama


Etowah County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census the population was 104,430. Its county seat is Gadsden. Its name is from a Cherokee word meaning "edible tree". In total area, it is the smallest county in Alabama, but one of the most densely populated.
Etowah County comprises the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The territory of Etowah County was originally split among the neighboring counties, with most of it belonging to DeKalb and Cherokee counties. It was separated and established as Baine County on December 7, 1866, by the first postwar legislature, and was named for General David W. Baine of the Confederate Army. The county seat was designated as Gadsden.
Because of postwar tensions and actions of insurgents against freedmen, a state constitutional convention was called in 1868. During it, this new county was abolished, replaced on December 1, 1868 by one aligned to the same boundaries and named Etowah County, from a Cherokee language word. Most of the Cherokee had been removed in the 1830s to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

20th century to present

Etowah County had issues of racial discrimination and injustice, and Jim Crow. It had one documented lynching. Bunk Richardson, an innocent African-American, only because he was associated with a case in which a white woman was raped and killed. The whites were angry that the governor had commuted the death sentence of one defendant in the case, after two men had already been executed for the crime.
An F4 tornado struck here on Palm Sunday March 27, 1994. It destroyed Piedmont's Goshen United Methodist Church twelve minutes after the National Weather Service of Birmingham issued a tornado warning for northern Calhoun, southeastern Etowah, and southern Cherokee counties.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is the smallest county by area in Alabama.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

At the 2000 census there were 103,459 people, 41,615 households, and 29,463 families living in the county. The population density was 193 people per square mile. There were 45,959 housing units at an average density of 86 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 82.9% White, 14.7% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. 1.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 41,615 households 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 26.3% of households were one person and 12.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.93.
The age distribution was 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.90 males.
The median household income was $31,170 and the median family income was $38,697. Males had a median income of $31,610 versus $21,346 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,783. About 12.3% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.6% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 104,430 people, 42,036 households, and 28,708 families living in the county. The population density was 195 people per square mile. There were 47,454 housing units at an average density of 86 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 80.3% White, 15.1% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.9% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 3.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 42,036 households 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 28.1% of households were one person and 11.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.97.
The age distribution was 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% 65 or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.
The median household income was $36,422 and the median family income was $44,706. Males had a median income of $39,814 versus $30,220 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,439. About 13.1% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

YearGOPDemOthers
201673.3% 32,35323.6% 10,4423.1% 1,369
201268.3% 29,13030.0% 12,8031.6% 691
200868.4% 30,59530.2% 13,4971.4% 645
200463.3% 26,99935.9% 15,3280.8% 353
200053.6% 21,08744.3% 17,4332.1% 828
199644.8% 16,83547.9% 17,9767.3% 2,750
199241.2% 17,46748.4% 20,55810.4% 4,426
198849.7% 17,82849.5% 17,7620.8% 301
198449.6% 19,24349.2% 19,0741.2% 464
198042.8% 16,17755.0% 20,7902.2% 839
197628.9% 10,33370.0% 25,0201.1% 397
197273.0% 20,85125.8% 7,3721.3% 358
196814.0% 4,35114.8% 4,61371.3% 22,222
196459.1% 12,89440.9% 8,939
196032.9% 7,12866.3% 14,3720.9% 185
195636.2% 7,19862.2% 12,3741.6% 314
195229.5% 4,63470.1% 10,9970.4% 66
194821.1% 1,61578.9% 6,046
194420.3% 1,52578.4% 5,8951.3% 101
194015.3% 1,27084.3% 7,0120.4% 33
193617.3% 1,20782.2% 5,7390.5% 32
193217.3% 1,09381.7% 5,1671.0% 62
192858.9% 3,61240.5% 2,4840.6% 38
192433.2% 1,66461.4% 3,0815.4% 272
192034.8% 3,21864.1% 5,9171.1% 103
191630.5% 86266.7% 1,8832.8% 80
191212.2% 35452.2% 1,51135.6% 1,031
190841.3% 99654.3% 1,3094.4% 106
190432.7% 82356.9% 1,43110.4% 262

Communities

Cities