Early settlers to the area came from Georgia and South Carolina beginning in 1818. Evergreen was founded officially in 1819 when Revolutionary War veteran James Cosey and several other men settled within the present limits of the city. The Reverend Alexander Travis first called the town by its present name of Evergreen for the abundance of surrounding green foliage, plants, and ferns. The former county seat of Sparta was burned in a federal raid during the Civil War. In 1866, the county seat was moved to Evergreen as it was more centrally located in the county. Evergreen was incorporated as a city on March 28, 1873. In 1882, a tornado hit the city, destroying every building except for the Episcopal church. On November 7, 1895, fire destroyed every business and house located on the east side of the railroad. Five days later, fire destroyed every business and house on the west side. The Conecuh County Courthouse burned in 1868, 1875, 1885, and 1895. The first female pilot in the U. S. Navy, Barbara Allen Rainey, crashed and died in 1982 near Evergreen.
Geography
Evergreen is located near the center of Conecuh County at . Interstate 65 passes through the northwest side of the town, leading northeast to Montgomery and southwest to Mobile. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and, or 1.12%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 3,944 people, 1,536 households, and 981 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 1,912 housing units. According to the 2000 census the racial makeup of the city was 46.23% White, 52.78% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 0.83% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 1,536 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% were married couples living together, 24.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 69.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,979, and the median income for a family was $29,258. Males had a median income of $25,357 versus $21,356 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,828. About 27.6% of families and 34.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 50.6% of those under age 18 and 28.0% of those age 65 or over.
