Anniston, AL

Anniston is a city in Calhoun County in the state of Alabama, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 24,276. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 23,741. The city is the county seat of Calhoun County and one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Downtown Anniston

The oaks that line the center of Quintard Street in downtown Anniston were part of the detailed plan for the model city developed and implemented by founders Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler.

Woodstock Iron Company Certificate, Woodstock Iron Company, founded by the Noble and Tyler families in 1872, was the earliest industry in the town that would become Anniston.

Named the The Model City by Atlanta newspaperman Henry W. Grady for its careful planning in the late 1800s, the city is situated on the slope of Blue Mountain, and it has always been a small town.

History

Though the surrounding area was settled long before, the mineral resources in the area of Anniston weren't exploited until the civil war. During that time, the Confederate States of America established and operated an iron furnace near present day downtown Anniston, until the furnace was destroyed by Union troops in 1865. Later, clay pipe for sewer systems became the focus of Anniston's industrial output. Clay pipe, also called soil pipe, was popular until the advent of plastic pipe in the 1960s.

John B. Knox

As Anniston took steps to becoming a small town, the largest city in the state became a boom town for the steel industry 60 miles southwestward in Birmingham. In 1872, Anniston's Woodstock Iron Company organized by Samuel Noble and Union Gen. Daniel Tyler (1799-1882), rebuilt a furnace on a much larger scale, as well as a planned community. Iron and steel manufacturing boomed during the post-Civil War period in the central part of Alabama. Birmingham 60 miles (100 km) became a major new US city overnight. Anniston maintained its company town demeanor where a few families governed the hierarchy of Southern gentilism. Though it was not opened for general settlement until twelve years later, Anniston was chartered as a "company town" in 1879. The community name reportedly derives from Annie's Town, named for Annie Scott Tyler, wife of railroad president Alfred L. Tyler.

This panoramic map with marked points of interest illustrates a bird's-eye view of Anniston, Alabama in 1888, sixteen years after the area was first settled in April 1872. The 1880 census showed an Anniston population of 942 and, by 1890, the population was 9,998.

Though the roots of the town's economy were in Iron and steel and clay pipe, planners touted it as a health resort, and several hotels began operating. Schools appeared. The Noble Institute, a school for girls, established in 1886, and the Alabama Presbyterian College for Men founded in 1905. Planning and easy access to rail transportation helped make Anniston the fifth largest city in the state from 1890's to 1950's.

Fort McClellan

In 1917, the United States Army established a training camp at Fort McClellan during the start of World War I. On the other side of town, the Anniston Army Depot opened during World War II as a major storage and maintenance site, a role it continues to serve as incineration progresses. Most of the old site of Fort McClellan was incorporated into Anniston in the late 1990s. The Army closed the fort in 1999, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure round of 1995. Some of the old Fort McClellan property is now being redeveloped for civilian use. As the northernmost edge of town, McClellan is hoped to become the star of Anniston's future.

1888 drawing and positioning of the Noble Institute for Girls in Anniston

The Anniston Eastern Bypass is set to be revived with the signing of the 2009 Federal Stimulus Package. According to the Birmingham News, "The Anniston Eastern Bypass and a Memorial Parkway overpass in Huntsville will be the big transportation winners if Congress gives final approval today to a $789 billion economic stimulus package."

Anniston Star

The Anniston Eastern Bypass was planned to officially stop construction in 2009. The project stalled when the federal and state money for the bypass was used up purchasing right-of-way and grading about half the roadbed.

Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility

Alabama is set to receive more than $550 million for transportation under the Federal Stimulus Package. One of the first road projects to receive that money is Calhoun County's Eastern Bypass. That road connects Highway 431 to I-20. Road construction began years ago but stopped when the money ran out. With stimulus funding promised, drivers look forward to a shorter commute while Calhoun County leaders see dollar signs. Anniston Mayor Gene Robinson says, "It's going to be the catalyst that gets McClellan and Anniston cranked up and going again."

Anniston has been a center of national controversy in the past. During the American civil rights movement, a group known as the Freedom Riders was riding an integrated bus in protest of southern segregation laws. One of the buses was fire-bombed outside of Anniston on Mother's Day Sunday May 14, 1961. As the bus burned, the mob held the doors shut, intent on burning the riders to death. An exploding fuel tank caused the mob to retreat, allowing the riders to escape the bus. The Riders were viciously beaten as they fled the burning bus, and only warning shots fired into the air by highway patrolmen prevented the riders from being lynched on the spot. The site is now home to a marker along Alabama Highway 202 west about five miles west of downtown.

Culture, events and attractions

Anniston is home to the country's largest and the one-time world's largest chair, as designated by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1982.

In 1899, the county seat of Calhoun County moved from Jacksonville to Anniston. More than 100 years later, the community is a bustling center of industry and commerce with more than 24,000 residents. Over the years, city officials and local citizens have done everything possible not only to retain the environmental beauty of the area while allowing it to thrive economically, but also to preserve its history. The Spirit of Anniston Main Street Program, Inc., a nonprofit organization started in 1993, spearheaded the restoration and revitalization of historic downtown Anniston, with a strong focus on the city's main thoroughfare, Noble Street.

The Noble Streetscape Project encouraged local business owners to refurbish storefront facades, while historic homes throughout the downtown area have been repaired and returned to their former glory. The preservation effort even included the historic Calhoun County Courthouse, located on the corner of 11th Street & Gurnee Avenue since 1900. The original building burned down in 1931, but the courthouse was rebuilt a year later. Thanks to a complete restoration in 1990, the stately structure is still in use today.

Anniston has long been a cultural center for northeastern Alabama. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival was founded in the city in 1972, and has since moved to Montgomery to receive more robust support. The Knox Concert Series regularly brings world-renowned musical and dance productions to the area. The city also is home to the Anniston Museum of Natural History and the Berman Museum of World History. These quaint institutions house mummies, dioramas of wildlife and artifacts from a bygone age in an understandable fashion. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 2004 has performed a summer series of outdoor concerts, Music at McClellan, in Anniston at the former Fort McClellan. Organizers have said they hope to make the concerts the center of an arts community.

The city has many examples of Victorian-style homes, some of which have been restored or preserved. Several of the city’s churches are architecturally significant or historic, including the gorgeous Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Grace Episcopal Church, and Parker Memorial Baptist Church. Temple Beth EL, dedicated in 1893, has the oldest building in the state continuously and currently being used for Jewish worship.

The original main street, Noble Street, is seeing a rebirth as a downtown shopping and dining district in the heart of downtown. All of the large shopping centers in the area are in Oxford, the boom town on Interstate 20 that borders south Anniston. Oxford completed its Western Bypass before federal money ran out, and it houses the Quintard Mall and the toney, upscale Oxford Exchange.

Restaurants

Anniston is home to many restaurants ranging from American, Italian, Greek, Cajun, Mexican, and Chinese cuisines, as well as Barbecue and Southern flavored cuisines. Many locally owned dining establishments are located in the downtown CBD (along Noble Street and Quintard Ave.), as well as Buckner Circle (McClellan), Lenlock, the south Quintard area, and the Golden Springs area.

Chemical Cleanup

Back in 2002, a CBS 60 Minutes investigation revealed Anniston had been among the most toxic cities in the country. The source of local contamination was a Monsanto chemical factory, which closed years ago. The EPA site description reads in part:

The Anniston PCB site consists of residential, commercial, and public properties located in and around Anniston, Calhoun County, Alabama, that contain or may contain hazardous substances, including polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) impacted media. The Site is not listed on the NPL, but is considered to be a NPL-caliber site. Solutia Inc.'s Anniston plant encompasses approximately 70 acres of land and is located about 1 mile west of downtown Anniston, Alabama. The plant is bounded to the north by the Norfolk Southern and Erie railroads, to the east by Clydesdale Avenue, to the west by First Avenue, and to the south by U.S. Highway 202. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were produced at the plant from 1929 until 1971.

Anniston residents began class action suits against Monsanto. Monsanto for knowingly dumping PCBs in west Anniston. Many residents have yet to receive compensation as attorneys for Monsanto's offshoot, Solutia, continue to delay disbursements of damages.

The West Palm Beach TV station, WPTV, in July 2008 reported medical researchers are studying a potential link between PCBs and diabetes.

An excerpt from the TV report:

Allen Silverstone, Ph.D., an immunologist at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y., told Ivanhoe. 'Diabetes is one thing that can happen and that probably happens because these chemicals can affect glucose metabolism,' he said. The study found that residents of Anniston who live near the old plant had levels of PCBs that were four times greater than other people throughout the United States and had two to four times greater the risk of developing diabetes."

A portion of the remaining Fort McClellan, is used for Alabama National Guard training and the US Homeland Security anti-terrorism department. It houses the nation's only "live agent" training center which means military and emergency responder personnel from all over the world come to Fort McClellan to be trained in dealing with live agents and weapons in a real-time, monitored setting. These chemical weapons were stored for decades in a secured manner by the US Army. Anniston is one of nine areas in the US that housed such stockpiles. In 2003, the Anniston Army Depot began the process of destroying nerve agents it had stored over the years. The incinerator was built to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile of Sarin and VX nerve agent and mustard blister agent stored at the depot. The depot, along with associated defense contractors, is now Anniston's largest employer. Destruction of most of the stored munitions around Anniston has proceeded without incident and is expected to be completed during by 2019.

Military

Anniston is home to the United States Army's Anniston Army Depot which is used for the maintenance of most Army tracked vehicles. The depot houses a major chemical weapons storage facility, the Anniston Chemical Activity, and a program to destroy those weapons, the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. Fort McClellan, former site of the U.S. Army Military Police Training Academy and Chemical Warfare training center, was de-commissioned in the 1990s. A portion of the former fort is now home to the Alabama National Guard Training Center. Another 9000 acres (36 km²) of the fort were set aside for the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge in 2003. The Department of Homeland Security also uses a portion of the de-commissioned fort for training and fieldwork.

Notable Residents and Former Residents:

George T. Anderson, Civil War general.

Michael Biehn, actor

Larry Bowie, former American NFL football player

Anne Braden, Civil Rights activist

June Burn, author

Red Byron, NASCAR driver

Asa Earl Carter, Segregationist, speech writer, and author of The Education of Little Tree

Quinton Caver, American NFL football player

B. B. Comer, Governor of Alabama.

Michael Curry, NBA player

Cow Cow Davenport, Boogie-woogie pianist

Eric Davis, NFL corner back.

William Levi Dawson, (b. 23 September 1899), composer of Negro Folk Symphony.

Bobby Edwards, country singer

Kevin Greene, retired American NFL football player

Audrey Marie Hilley, famous for poisoning her husband and trying to poison her daughter.

Delvin Hughley, American AFL and former NFL football player

Thomas Kilby, Governor of Alabama.

Perry Lentz, author and professor of English

Douglas Leigh, innovative lighting designer of Times Square and the Empire State Building

Lucky Millinder, Rhythm and blues and swing band leader and singer.

Will Owsley, singer-songwriter.

John L. Pennington, Newspaper publisher, governor of Dakota Territory.

Patrick J. Que Smith, Grammy winning songwriter

Shannon Spruill, professional wrestler

David Satcher, former Surgeon General

Vaughn Stewart, former NFL football player.

The city of Anniston emerged as a key industrial center in the mountainous northeastern section of Alabama during the Reconstruction Era. Founders Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler envisioned the city, situated 60 miles east of Birmingham, as an idealized industrial and conservative Christian community, where workers would earn higher wages than their peers in the North and would resist the temptations of alcohol and gambling. By the early twentieth century, the "Model City" had outgrown the original designs of its creators but remained an important commercial and manufacturing hub.



The establishment and growth of Fort McClellan and the Anniston Army Depot during the First and the Second World Wars boosted the city’s social life and economic status, luring in thousands of new residents. During the second half of the twentieth century, however, civil rights clashes, economic decline, environmental contamination from a local chemical plant, and the construction of a chemical weapons incinerator at the Army Depot presented fresh challenges to Anniston residents.

Early History

Anniston's roots can be traced back to the antebellum era. In 1851, industrialist James Noble Sr., father of Samuel Noble, visited his native country of England, where he attended the Crystal Palace Exposition in London. Strolling through the various exhibits, Noble came across samples of hematite ore from the southeastern United States that he judged far superior to the product he regularly used at his iron foundry in Reading, Pennsylvania. This, coupled with the region's favorable climate, persuaded him to seek his fortunes in the South. In 1855, Noble and his family relocated to Rome, Georgia, and built one of the largest iron-producing companies south of Richmond. During the Civil War, the Noble Brothers and Company facility produced weaponry for the Confederacy until its capture and subsequent destruction by Federal troops in 1864. After the war, the Nobles secured enough capital to rebuild the foundries in Rome.


Mill with Water Wheel, Aderholdt's Mill Road, Anniston vicinity, Calhoun County, AL

In 1871, seeking to expand their iron enterprises into Alabama, the Nobles acquired hundreds of acres of prime timber and ore land in southern Calhoun County, near the town of Oxford, and devised plans for a new furnace. During a business trip to Charleston, South Carolina, Samuel Noble met Daniel Tyler, a former Union general and native of Connecticut. In need of additional investors, Noble invited Tyler to tour the family's newly acquired properties in Alabama. Tyler apparently liked what he saw. On April 29, 1872, representatives from both families convened in Rome, drew up a contract, and officially established the Woodstock Iron Company. Within a year, a small village, also called Woodstock, sprang up around the new furnace in Calhoun County. By the summer of 1873, the Woodstock furnace had become fully operational, producing 120 to 150 tons of pig iron per week. Upon discovery that another village named Woodstock already existed in central Alabama, town officials changed the name to Anniston in 1873 in honor of Daniel Tyler's daughter-in-law, Annie Tyler.

Anniston originated as a planned private community. Noble and Tyler began by laying out the city streets in a perfect checkerboard fashion. Next, they meticulously designed the cityscape, down to the planting of oak trees along Quintard Avenue, which can still be found there. At first, the pair limited the number of settlers and maintained a strict "closed-door policy," going so far as to erect a fence around their properties to ward off outsiders. They claimed that by doing so, they could lay out the town according to their own desires, without the competing interests of diverse economic classes. The Woodstock Company constructed parks, worker housing, a sewer system, a company store, churches, and schools. To foster this idealized company town, they hand selected residents, paid them above-average wages, housed them in tidy four-room cottages, and banned alcohol. As a result of the company's closed-door policy, Anniston's population remained relatively low in the early years. By 1880, only 942 people resided within the city. Just over two-thirds of the residents were white—a ratio that would not change until the latter half of the twentieth century. Most of the residents were recruited from Alabama and Georgia, but a number of skilled artisans were brought in from England, Sweden, and Poland. A majority of the men, both white and black, were employed at Woodstock Iron, where they toiled at the furnaces, extracted ore from the surrounding hillsides, and cut timber to be used as charcoal. In 1879, the Noble and Tyler families established a cotton mill in the city, the Anniston Manufacturing Company, which employed many of the wives and children of white furnace workers. African American women, if they could find work, were typically employed as domestic servants or laundry workers. Initially, a significant number of working-class blacks and whites resided in the same neighborhoods, following the same paths to work each morning. Strict racial segregation would not be imposed in the city until the 1890s.

Downtown Anniston

By 1880, Anniston's future as an industrial center seemed assured. The Nobles and Tylers formulated plans to expand the iron furnaces and relocate many of the family holdings in Rome, such as the Noble Brothers Wheel Works, to the growing city. In 1883, believing that their vision for the city was assured, the proprietors of Woodstock Iron opened the town to the public, allowing outside investors and entrepreneurs to enter the community for the first time, purchase vacant lots, and establish various commercial and industrial firms. Chronicling the town's opening in the Atlanta Constitution, editor Henry Grady dubbed Anniston the "Model City of the New South." The nickname stuck. Investors, entrepreneurs, and working people from across the South streamed into the new city, prompting a building boom that would help stimulate the local economy for nearly a decade. By 1890, more than 9,000 people called Anniston home. Most of the black and white residents lived on the west side of Noble Street, the city's main thoroughfare, and worked at one of Anniston's numerous manufacturing firms. By 1890, the original Noble and Tyler enterprises, such as Woodstock Iron and the Anniston Manufacturing Company, had been joined by several new ones, including the Hercules Pipe Company and the Anniston Pipe & Foundry Company, further diversifying a growing local economy. Many wealthy and influential whites, such as attorney J. J. Willett and future governor Thomas Kilby, entered the community during this period of growth, building their homes on the east side of the city, far removed from the smoke and noise of the manufacturing sector. Economic depression in the 1890s slowed the city's growth, but the temporary establishment of Camp Shipp during the Spanish-American War helped revive the local economy. In 1899, the city replaced Jacksonville as the seat of Calhoun County.

The Twentieth Century

Anniston entered the twentieth century as one of the leading industrial cities in Alabama, producing everything from cotton textiles to locomotive brakes. Along the way, the city earned a second nickname, "the soil pipe capital of the world," for its production of sewer pipes. In fact, by the 1940s, one of Anniston's leading manufacturing firms, the Alabama Pipe Company, annually produced 22 percent of the nation's cast-iron soilpipe. Politically, the city had risen far in the affairs of the state. Anniston attorney John B. Knox presided over the Constitutional Convention of 1901, and in 1918, Thomas Kilby, a leading industrialist and former mayor of Anniston, was elected governor of Alabama.



During World War I, the U.S. Army established Camp McClellan north of the city, beginning Anniston's ongoing relationship with the U.S. military. In 1929, at the behest of Anniston Star publisher Harry Mell Ayers and others, the government re-christened the camp Fort McClellan and gave it permanent status. During World War II, the fort witnessed an extensive rebuilding project, as barracks, latrines, officers' quarters, and similar facilities were constructed for the roughly half million troops who would ultimately train there during the conflict. A prisoner-of-war camp was added to Fort McClellan in 1943.

The war brought additional economic development to Anniston. Millions of dollars from the federal government poured into the city to buy war-related material, such as artillery shells and cartridge cases, lifting employment levels and boosting production at the Anniston Foundry Company, Kilby Steel, and other plants. Thousands of people flocked to the city to find work in one of the mills or foundries, or at the new Anniston Army Depot, built on the outskirts of the city in 1941 to store ammunition, and managed by the Chrysler Corporation from 1943 to 1945. In 1930, Anniston's metro population stood at just 22,345. By 1940, the number had risen to 25,523 in the city and 68,000 across the entire metro area. During the 1950s and 1960s, the city's industrial and military sectors continued to grow, evidenced by the addition of a Chemical Corps training facility at Fort McClellan and the expansion of the Anniston Army Depot. By the mid-1960s, Anniston's population exceeded 33,000, with more than 100,000 people residing within the metropolitan area.

Main Street

In May 1961, Anniston garnered international media attention when area Klansmen halted and burned a Greyhound bus carrying Congress of Racial Equality Freedom Riders who were testing a recent Supreme Court decision banning segregated bus facilities along interstate routes. Following another round of racial violence in 1963, Mayor Claude Dear and his fellow city commissioners created the biracial Human Relations Council to foster better race relations and pave the way for the eventual desegregation of area schools and businesses. By 1965, legal segregation had ended in the Model City, and several African American students had crossed the color barrier at Anniston High School. In 1971, when racial conflict again arose, representatives from the black and white communities formed the Community of Unified Leadership (COUL), which did much to heal the racial divide by creating job-training programs and convincing downtown shops to hire African American employees in front-end positions.

Challenges in the Post-Civil Rights Era

The decade of the 1970s saw many positive developments in the city. In 1972 the renowned Alabama Shakespeare Festival was founded in Anniston, remaining there until its relocation to Montgomery in 1985. In 1977, citing its deft management of racial crises in the 1960s and 1970s, along with its progressive nature, the National Civil League named Anniston an All-American City.

Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility By the 1980s and 1990s, however, a stagnant economy, a lack of commercial and industrial diversification, the impending closure of Fort McClellan, PCB contamination from the local Monsanto (now Solutia) plant, and the proposed construction of a chemical weapons incinerator at the Anniston Army Depot had left the Model City's economic future in doubt. Many of the factories and mills that had employed thousands and gained the city a reputation for progress and efficiency, such as the Anniston Cordage Company, had been shut down or gutted. A market shift to plastic piping in the 1970s and a general decline in the heavy-metal and concrete industries, as foreign firms became more competitive, further damaged Anniston's economy. By 1993, unemployment rates in the city had inched above 17 percent (Calhoun County's unemployment rate stood at 9 percent). Seven years later, according to the 2000 federal census, the median family income in Anniston stood at $36,067, far below the national average of $50,046. More than 20 percent of the city's residents lived below the poverty level.

Stature Of Samuel Noble

In 1995, the Base Realignment and Closure Committee (BRAC) voted to close Fort McClellan, sending panic waves through the community. Despite a concerted effort by local officials to keep it open, the fort officially closed it doors in May 1999, leaving much uncertainty in its wake.

Anniston Today

In the twenty-first century, Anniston officials struggle to overcome its environmental and economic woes. For 50 years, the Monsanto Corporation manufactured polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the city for use as insulation in electrical equipment and appliances. As a result, high levels of PCB contamination have been detected in neighborhoods surrounding the plant. Countless residents have reported myriad health problems, including cancer, headaches, low IQ scores in children, and respiratory distress, which they blame on the PCBs. Class-action suits were brought against the company in the late 1990s, involving more than 20,000 residents. In 2003, the plaintiffs reached a settlement

Anniston Museum of Natural History with Monsanto/Solutia worth more than $600 million. That same year, in a highly controversial move, the Army began incinerating more than 2,200 tons of chemical weapons that had been stored at the Anniston Army Depot since the 1960s. Officials estimated that it would take approximately a decade to eliminate the chemical stockpile, which included sarin and mustard gas.


Fort McClellan Ammunition Storage Area, Building No. 4409, Second Avenue (Magazine Road), Anniston vicinity, Calhoun County, AL

With the lawsuits settled and the environmental cleanup underway, Anniston's 24,000 residents hope for a brighter future. Since the early 1990s, the Spirit of Anniston Main Street Program, Inc., which was created by local business leaders to revitalize the old downtown shopping district, has worked successfully to preserve historical landmarks, refurbish storefronts, and attract new businesses to Noble Street. Following the closure of Fort McClellan in 1999, the Joint Powers Authority and the city of Anniston began working to redevelop the facility for civilian use. Today, more than 300 families reside in the newly christened McClellan, an 18,000-acre planned community. Several business firms and educational facilities, such as Lowe's and the Jacksonville State Higher Education Consortium, have opened their doors on the former military base, with promises of more to follow. The Anniston Army Depot continues to be the area's largest employer.

Fort McClellan Ammunition Storage Area, Building No. 4408, Second Avenue (Magazine Road), Anniston vicinity, Calhoun County, AL

Talladega Superspeedway approximately 6,700 civilian and military personnel. Thousands of other residents find work at the Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center, Federal Mogul, Union Foundry, Jacksonville State University, and the new Honda plant in nearby Lincoln. Area attractions, such as the Berman Museum of World History, the Anniston Museum of Natural History, the Talladega Superspeedway, and Cheaha State Park, continue to bring tourists and newcomers to the city.

Jasper, AL

Jasper is a city in Walker County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 14,659. As of July 1, 2006 the population had increased to 15,117. The city is the county seat of Walker County, and once ranked among the world's leading producers of coal.

A welcome sign sits beside Walker High School, notating the school's state titles.

History

Jasper, named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, a Red Stick War soldier, was settled in 1815, but was not incorporated until 1888. The first significiant growth of the area was realized in 1886, when the Kansas City-Memphis & Birmingham and the Sheffield & Birmingham Railroads were completed through Jasper. The population grew from 200 people in 1886 to more than 3,000 in 1890. In a special edition in 1891, The Mountain Eagle stated there were 400 coke ovens in operation, six coal mines, one foundry and machine shop, two saw mills, one brick work, two sandstone quarries, four hotels, and two banks.

Temple Emanu El, 1501 Fifth Avenue North, Jasper, Walker County, AL

Notable residents

It is the birthplace of famous TV and movie stars Polly Holliday and George Lindsey, the actor who played Goober on The Andy Griffith Show, as well as singer Sandy Posey. It is also the birthplace of United States Senator John H. Bankhead II, former Speaker of the House William Brockman Bankhead, Alabama millionaire James Stanley Freeman and his son, famed World War II admiral James Shepherd Freeman, and home of the late Congressman Tom Bevill, who is known for making the first 911 emergency call. The late actress Tallulah Brockman Bankhead lived for a while at her father's home in Jasper as a child, and was later married in that home. One of the fictional characters from the TV show, Lost, James "Sawyer" Ford was originally from Jasper, Alabama. He reveals this in Season 3. MMA fighter and famous boxer "Butterbean" Eric Esche resides in Jasper and owns the Mr. Bean's BBQ restaurant.

References in popular culture

Jasper is the birthplace of James "Sawyer" Ford, a fictional character from ABC's television series Lost.

The city of Jasper is mentioned multiple times by Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show, as it was the actual hometown of actor George Lindsey.

Jasper is the birthplace of actress Polly Holliday as "Flo" on the popular television series Alice and her own series Flo

The city of Jasper is mentioned as the birthplace of the children's storybook chihuahua, Coco Bear.

The father of American Idol winner Taylor Hicks is currently a dentist in Jasper.

Businesses

MonsterFM.com/Broadcast Services - Broadcast Media

Dill Communications - Communications

Drummond Company - Coal

Walker Baptist Hospital - Healthcare

Computer Electronics Service - Computer Repair

Sirius Design Studio - Web Design

WJBE/WJLX FM&AM - Broadcast Media

Confederate Veterans' Memorial, Courthouse Square, Jasper, Walker County, AL


G. W. Posey Store, Twentieth Street & Elliot Boulevard, Jasper, Walker County, AL


First Methodist Church, 1900 Third Avenue North, Jasper, Walker County, AL

John Hollis Bankhead House, 1400 Seventh Avenue, Jasper, Walker County, AL


Corry Homestead, Southern Museum of Folklife, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper, Oakman, Walker County, AL

Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 Scho, Oakman, Walker County, AL

Gadsden, AL

Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County, northeastern Alabama, United States, approximately 60 miles northeast of Birmingham. It is the principal city of and is included in the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 103,459. As of the 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 37,291.

It was at one time the state's second most important industrial center, trailing only Mobile. The two cities were important shipping centers: Gadsden for riverboats and Mobile for international trade. Up until the 1980s, Gadsden was almost totally dependent on heavy industry, including Goodyear Tire, and Republic Steel. After virtually crumbling in the 1970s and 1980s, Gadsden decided its best course of action was to stop being dependent on industry, and shedding its "company town" image. In 1991, Gadsden was awarded the honor of "All-America City" by the National Civic League, an award that honored the way Gadsden's citizens, government, businesses, and voluntary organizations work together to address critical local issues.

History

The first substantial white settlement in what is now Gadsden was a tiny town called Double Springs. It was begun by a mixed Indian-white settler named John Riley when he built his house near two springs around 1825. It became a stagecoach stop on the Huntsville-to-Rome route. The original house still stands today as the oldest house in Gadsden. The house changed hands to a couple named Gabriel and Asenath Hughes in 1840. Shortly thereafter, they began to purchase much of the land between Lookout Mountain, the Coosa River, and down to the mouth of Wills Creek. Their land, plus that of John S. Moragne and Joseph Rhea, became the first part of the city of Gadsden. Double Springs was transformed on July 4, 1845, when one Captain James Lafferty piloted the first steamboat to the area, aptly named the Coosa. He landed near the site of the current Memorial Bridge on that date. The Hughes brothers offered to name the town "Lafferty's Landing" in his honor, but Lafferty declined. Instead, the name Gadsden was chosen, in honor of Colonel James Gadsden of South Carolina, famous for the later Gadsden Purchase.

Perspective map of Gadsden in 1887.

The Spirit of American Citizenship Monument on Rainbow Drive (US 411), just before the Broad Street Bridge. The Coosa River and East Gadsden are visible in the background.

After the civil rights movement and the closing of most of Gadsden's major industries in the 1970s and 80's, the city began to crash. A 1989 Rand McNally article listed Gadsden as one of the "Seven Worst Cities to Live in the United States." Spurred to action by these reports, efforts like the Cultural Arts Center and downtown redevelopment earned Gadsden first place in the 2000 City Livability Awards Program.

Employment

Citing statistics from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations and the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, the Gadsden-Etowah County Industrial Development Authority reports that approximately 12,000 residents of Etowah County are underemployed and 2,179 residents are unemployed as of 2008.

Education

The Gadsden City Board of Education oversees fourteen schools: eight elementary schools, three middle schools, one high school, and two specialty schools (one alternative center and one technical center).

Coosa River Bridge

A new high school, Gadsden City High School, replaced the three former city high schools (Emma Sansom High School, Gadsden High School, and Litchfield High School) via merger for the 2006-2007 school year.

Gadsden is home to three institutions of higher learning: Gadsden State Community College, which is the second largest among the 27 two-year institutions comprising the Alabama College System, Jacksonville State University, and the University of Alabama, although the latter are small satellite institutions.

Points of interest

Noccalula Falls Park

The Legend of Noccalula

The LEGEND OF NOCCALULA came from these early times. Originally known as Black Creek Falls, the legend as written by Mathilde Bilbro says that "long ago, on a mountain summit within sight and sound of a rushing waterfall, lived a great Indian Chief whose young daughter, Noccalula, was famed far and wide for her beauty and loveliness of character. Many gallant braves sought the old chief for the hand of Noccalula, but only on was favored by the girl's father, a rich chief of a powerful neighboring tribe, who had much to offer in exchange: wampum, horses, blankets. Vainly Noccalula pleaded that her heart was already given to a young brave of her own tribe. But this young warrior, though noted for his skill and valor, possessed but little in worldly goods.

"The old chief refused to listen and ordered his daughter to make ready for the marriage he had arranged. What was a maiden's silly fancy against many horses, much wampum, and union with another strong tribe? The girl's lover was driven from the tribe, and a marriage agreement was made with the neighboring chief.

"The wedding day came and a great feast was prepared. In silence Noccalula allowed herself to be arrayed in festive wedding robes. It was incredible!......To be sold to a stranger by the father she loved! Her chosen lover forever banished! Overcome with grief, she quietly slipped away from the merrymakers during the festivities.......the soft rhythmical rush of waters called her.....a moment she stood poised upon the brink of the yawning chasm. One leap--and her troubles were over.

"Heartbroken, the remorseful father gave the great cataract his daughter's name and since that day the falls has been called Noccalula.

Noccalula Falls Park will open for visitors on March 1, 2008. Tickets will be sold at the Entry and Pavilion for walk-in as well as for the train rides.

Princess Noccalula

Renovations on the Park were completed in 2006, now visitors will be able to walk or ride the train through the Park. The Habitat area and Petting Zoo are also open.


Gilliland-Reese Covered Bridge

Coosa River

Downtown Gadsden

James D. Martin Wildlife Park

Notable natives and residents

James B. Allen, Former United States Senator

Ron Billingsley, Retired American football player

Marion Blakey, Former United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator

Brodie Croyle, Quarterback for Kansas City Chiefs

Holley Ann Dorrough, Former Playboy Playmate

Danny Ford, Former American college football coach

Gold City, American Southern gospel group

Beth Grant, American actress

Steve Grissom, NASCAR driver

La'Donte Harris, Former Wide Receiver for the Clemson Tigers

Linda Howard, Romance novelist

Mathew Knowles, Father of Beyoncé Knowles,

Britt Leach, American actor

Theodore J. Lowi, Cornell University professor, author, and past president of the American Political Science Association

Eric Martin, lead singer for rock group Mr. Big

James D. Martin, Former United States Representative

Aimee Mayo, Songwriter

Jerry McCain, Blues artist

Roy Moore, Controversial "Ten Commandments" judge

B. L. Noojin, Athlete and businessman

John Perkins Ralls, Gadsden physician who served in the First Confederate Congress

Emma Sansom, Aided the Southern Confederacy during the Civil War

Steve Shields, Retired American baseball player

Ted Sizemore, Former major league baseball player

Warren Smith, Former professional golfer

Carnell Williams, Running Back for Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Decatur, AL

Nickname(s): Chicago of the South, The River City,The Dec, D-Rock, The Heart of the Valley

Decatur, Alabama (top center), along the Tennessee River, is southwest of Huntsville and north of Birmingham, along Interstate 65. Nearby towns include: Madison, Hartselle and Athens, Alabama.Decatur is a city in Limestone and Morgan Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The city, known as "The River City", is located in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. It is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County. The estimated population in 2006 was 55,778.

Decatur, Alabama (top center), along the Tennessee River, is southwest of Huntsville and north of Birmingham, along Interstate 65. Nearby towns include: Madison, Hartselle and Athens, Alabama.

Decatur is also the core city of the two-county large Decatur Metropolitan Area which had 150,125 in 2006. Combined with the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the two create the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area, of which, Decatur is the second largest city.

Like many southern cities in the early 1800s, Decatur's early success was based upon its location along a river. Railroad routes and boating traffic pushed the city to the front of North Alabama's economic atmosphere. The city rapidly grew into a large economic center within the Tennessee Valley and was a hub for travelers and cargo between Nashville/Chattanooga and Mobile/New Orleans. Throughout the 20th century, the city experienced steady growth, but was eclipsed as the regional economic center by a fast growing Huntsville during the space race. The city now finds its economy heavily based on manufacturing industries, cargo transit, and hi-tech industries such as General Electric, and the United Launch Alliance.

History

Initially the area was known as "Rhodes Ferry Landing", named for Dr. Henry W. Rhodes, an early landowner who operated a ferry that crossed the Tennessee River in the 1810s at the present-day location of Rhodes Ferry Park. The city was incorporated as Decatur in the year 1821. It was named in honor of Stephen Decatur; after he was killed in a duel in 1820, President Monroe directed that the Alabama town be named for him.

Keller Memorial Bridge, Spanning Tennessee River at U.S. Highway 31, Decatur, Morgan County, AL

Decatur was a very important point in North Alabama during its earliest days. Decatur was the eastern terminus of the Decatur-Courtland-Tuscumbia Railroad (in the late 1820s and early 1830s), the first railway built west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Because of its location on the strategic Memphis & Charleston Railroad, Decatur was the site of several encounters during the American Civil War. All but three buildings were burned down during the 1864 Battle of Decatur, when Decatur was referred to as A Tough Nut To Crack. The three that remained are the Old State Bank, Dancy-Polk House, and the Burleson-Hinds-McEntire House.

While the city was under Confederate control, plans for the Battle of Shiloh were mapped out within the Burleson-Hinds-McEntire House. These activities made the house one of the most historic buildings in Decatur.

New Decatur, Alabama was a city that rose out of the ashes of former Decatur west of the railroad tracks. New Decatur was founded in 1887 and incorporated in 1889. But residents of the older Decatur resented the new town, founded and occupied by people who moved from the northern states. Animosity built until New Decatur renamed their town Albany, after Albany, N.Y., in September 1916. The impetus to meld the two towns came from the need for a bridge, instead of a ferry, across the Tennessee River. The Decatur Kiwanis Club was formed with an equal number of members from each town to organize efforts to get the state to build the bridge. In 1925, the two cities merged to form one City of Decatur. There is a noticeable difference between the two sides of town. The cities developed differently at different times, and still to this day have somewhat different cultures. Eastern portions of Decatur tend to act more suburban and traditional, while western portions tend to look more metropolitan and contemporary.

The Old State Bank, on the edge of downtown, is the oldest bank building in the State of Alabama, at 173 years old. The first wave pool in the United States was built in Decatur and is still in operation at the Point Mallard Aquatic Center. The city has the largest Victorian era home district in the state of Alabama. Decatur is also home to Alabama's oldest opera house, the (Cotaco Opera House), which still stands on Johnston Street.

State Bank Building, Decatur Branch (Old State Bank)

In the past its industries included repair shops of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, car works, engine works, tannery, bottling plants, and manufacturers of lumber, sashes and blinds, fertilizers, cigars, flour, cottonseed oil, and various other products.

Early Historical Timeline

Area founded as Rhodes Ferry in 1810s.

Rhodes Ferry incorporated as Albany in 1821.

Dancy-Polk House erected in 1829.

Also in 1829-1830, Decatur became the home to the first railroad ever built west of the Appalachian Mountains Tuscumbia-Courtland-Decatur Railroad.

Old State Bank erected on July 29, 1833.

Rhea-McEntire House built in 1836.

Battle of Decatur takes place during the American Civil War in November, 1864.

Decatur's Victorian Era Home District built between 1870 and 1910

New Decatur founded in 1887, incorporated in 1889.

New Decatur renames itself Albany (although the post office designation is New Albany), 1916

Princess Theatre built in 1919.

Albany and New Decatur merge in 1925.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicates Delano Park in 1930s.

TVA brings new business to Decatur through the military, and energy management in the 1930s.

Geography

The Tennessee River has traditionally been the northern border of the city and Morgan County, while Flint Creek and the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge on the east side of the city. The city does extend to the other side of Flint Creek and the Refuge in the Indian Hills and Burningtree subdivision areas. There is also an inlet that extends one mile (1.6 km) into the city limits from Wheeler Lake called Dry Branch. There is also a small portion of Decatur that extends into Limestone County north along the Highway 31 corridor to the Calhoun College area and along Hwy 20 Corridor until it reaches I-65.

Wheeler Lock and Dam, impounding Wheeler Lake on the Tennessee River

The northern portion of Decatur sits on top of a short hill that overlooks the Tennessee River, this creates a very steep dropoff to the river shore a Rhodes Ferry Park. This hill allows the "Steamboat Bill" Memorial Bridge to leave the mainland at grade without any major sloping required more height to cross the river while not interfering with Decatur's heavy barge traffic. This hill extends from the banks of the river about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south to the 14th St./Magnolia St. intersection with 6th Avenue (US 31).

The "Steamboat Bill" Memorial Bridges

South past the 14th St. and 6th Ave. intersection, land continues to remain flat. South, and also west, past Alabama 67 there are a few minor mountains that sit within the city limits.

Bodies of water

Wheeler Lake,

Wheeler Lake is located in the northern part of the United States state of Alabama, between Rogersville and Huntsville. Created by Wheeler Dam along the Tennessee River, it stretches 60 miles (96.5 km) from Wheeler Dam to Guntersville Dam. It is Alabama's second largest lake at 67,100 acres (272 km²).

Decatur operates the busiest port along the Tennessee River on this lake, Port of Decatur.

Wheeler Lake is a major recreation and tourist center, attracting about four million visits a year. Along with camping, boating, and fishing, visitors enjoy the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge several miles upstream from the dam.

The lake and dam are named for General Joseph "Joe" Wheeler.

Tennessee River

The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles (1049 km) long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names.

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge

The Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is a 35,000 acre (142 km²) National Wildlife Refuge located along the Tennessee River near Decatur, Alabama. Named after Major General Joseph Wheeler, it was established to provide a habitat for wintering and migrating birds in the eastern United States.

Of the 35,000 acres (142 km²) of the refuge, about 4,085 acres (16.5 km²) are located within Redstone Arsenal. Approximately 1,500 acres (6 km²) of the Redstone Arsenal land is administered by the Marshall Space Flight Center. The facility has a sixteen person staff with a $1,694,000 annual budget.



Wheeler NWR is charged with the administration of four other National Wildlife Refuges including Fern Cave, Key Cave, Sauta Cave, and the Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge. Until recently, Wheeler NWR also administered the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge (now administered by the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge).

Flint Creek

Chula Vista Lake

Neighborhoods

Decatur is, unofficially, divided into four different regions of town (Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest). The reason for the existence of these four regions is because of The Beltline. Southeast and Northeast Decatur already existed as parts of town, but were simply thought of as one, as there was a much lower population at that time in the West. Southwest consists mostly of the area bordered by 6th Avenue (US 31), 8th Street W, and Moulton Street. Northwest is bordered by Moulton Street, Central Parkway, and 14th Street W.

Two halves of town were successfully created in the years following the completion of The Beltline as a bypass. While there are few major cultural differences between the East and the West, minute differences such as street grid patterns, zoning patterns, and architectural styles are noticeable.

Northeast

Albany (Old Decatur)
Downtown Decatur
East Acres
New Decatur
Bank Street (Downtown Shopping District)
Harborview (Riverfront)

Limestone County

Whiteside
Irvington

Southeast

Bayside
Brookmeade
Burleson Mountain
Burningtree Mountain
Cedar Lake
Fairview
Flint
Hickory Hills
Indian Hills
Point Mallard Estates

Northwest

Moulton Heights
Oakworth
West Decatur

Southwest

Austinville
Basham
Braswell
Cedar Ridge
Chapel Hill
Chula Vista
Deerfoot Estates
Dogwood Estates
Dunbarton
Flint
Graystone
Griffin Addition
Longleaf Estates
Oak Lea
Russell Village
Vestavia
Westmeade
Woodtrail

Economy

Decatur has grown to be the busiest river port on the Tennessee River. The Port of Decatur sees large amounts of barge traffic from up and down the Tennessee River, which has led to twenty Fortune 500 companies opening plants in the city.

Decatur is also known as the "Home of Meow Mix", after the company bought a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) facility in town, and now utilizes its riverfront property to ship the finished product up and down the Tennessee River.

Meow Mix is a popular variety of cat food made mostly from corn, and is well known for its popular advertising jingle. Corn based dry cat food is known to cause digestive problems in cats.[citation needed]

The Meow Mix Company operates from a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) facility in Decatur, Alabama, and also produces Alley Cat brand cat food products. Originally a product of Ralston Purina, Meow Mix was divested for antitrust reasons in the early 2000s. The brand was acquired by Del Monte Foods in May, 2006. Their most famous slogan is, “Tastes so good, cats ask for it by name.”

Being part of the Huntsville-Decatur CSA, the city lies within the region having the most engineers per person in the nation.

A recent BRAC Base realignment will bring a population, conservatively estimated at 5,000–10,000 people (not including their families), to the area surrounding Redstone Arsenal.

Delta IV Medium launch carrying DSCS III-B6

Approval of the United Launch Alliance combined Lockheed-Martin and Boeing's rocket manufacturing contracts to a central location at the plant in Decatur. All satellite launching rockets used by the U.S. government will be built in Decatur. This approval brought over 230 new jobs to the Decatur area. The ULA plant utilizes the Tennessee River to ship the rockets to Cape Canaveral.

In March 2008, a $1.3 Billion development, including a Bass Pro Shops was announced for the Interstate 65/Interstate 565 interchange inside the city limits. The development, named Sweetwater, will include more than 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of retail space, 825,000 square feet (76,600 m2) of medical and office space, 2,700 residences, and an entertainment venue with seating for up to 8,000 people. A school, fire department, parks and lakes are expected to support the future development.

Major Employers



3M



United Launch Alliance



BP, Manufactures Paraxylene and Purified Terephthalic Acid



Bunge International



Daikin America

Decatur City Schools



General Electric



Hyosung



Meow Mix,



Nucor



Solutia



Tennessee Valley Authority

MPW Industrial Services

Tourism

Tourism is a major part of Decatur's economy. Hundreds of thousands of people from in and out of town, and from many other countries and territories, attend some of the premier festivals in the South.

View of Balloons Inflating At The Alabama Jubilee

The Alabama Jubilee, begun in 1977, is the oldest hot air balloon race south of the Kentucky Derby's Great Balloon Race (from 1973). With visiting populations rising into 75,000, people crowd around numerous seven-story tall inflating balloons. Because of the Alabama Jubilee, Decatur has been named "The Ballooning Capital of Alabama" by the Alabama State Legislature.

The Spirit of America Festival is one of the largest free 4th of July festivals in the south. More than 65,000 people arrive in Decatur to watch annual celebrations and the Miss Point Mallard Beauty Pageant.

Riverfest is a celebration sponsored by the Decatur Jaycees. Set at Ingalls Harbor, along the beautiful Tennessee River, barbecuers come from all over the country to try their luck at beating Big Bob Gibson's Barbecue, the seven-time world champion winner.

Another big celebration in Decatur and North Alabama, the Racking Horse World Celebration, attracts numerous horses from around the world to compete in the largest racking horse competition. Set in the Racking Horse World Celebration Arena, the celebration draws up to 75,000 fans and competitors each year.

Parks and celebrations

Replica of historic structure in the re-constructed Rose Garden in Delano Park

Alabama Jubilee

Decatur City Cemetery

Delano Park

Jack Allen Soccer Complex

Point Mallard Park

J. Gilmer Blackburn Aquatic Center

"Home of America's first wave pool"

Spirit of America Festival

Riverfest

Racking Horse World Celebration Arena

Wilson Morgan Park

Education

The Decatur City School System is well regarded throughout the nation. Both of the city's high schools (Decatur High School and Austin High School) have been awarded the Safe Schools Award for the past two years that it has been presented in the State of Alabama. The two schools are the only ones in the state to have won this award both years. With the addition of the International Baccalaureate Program to Austin and Decatur High Schools, Decatur has become the first Alabama school system north of Birmingham and one of five in the state to offer the honors program for juniors and seniors (as of July 2006).

All high school football and soccer teams compete in the 10,000 seat Ogle Stadium. Indoor track meets are held at the 10,000 seat Racking Horse World Celebration Arena.

However, both Austin and Decatur failed to make adequate yearly progress in 2006 as mandated in the No Child Left Behind Act. The state said Austin's 86 percent graduation rate was four points too low.

Decatur High missed in two categories: percent of special education students the system tested in reading and percent tested in math. The graduate rate was 76 percent. However, the graduation rate is unreliable since students who move to different schools are considered "dropouts" and this drastically distorts the figures of how many students actually graduate.

The only institution of higher education located within the Decatur city limits is Calhoun Community College. It has three campuses; the main campus is located just north of the city on Highway 31.

Alabama A&M University - Huntsville
Athens State University - Athens
Calhoun Community College System
Calhoun Main Campus - Decatur
Calhoun Redstone Arsenal Campus - Huntsville
Calhoun Cummings Research Park Campus - Huntsville
University of Alabama in Huntsville - Huntsville
University of North Alabama - Florence

Nicknames

"A Grand City on a Charming Scale" - The official Decatur City tag line adopted in 2005.

The River City - So named because of the Tennessee River that flows on the northern edge of town and that inspires festivals and culture in the city.

The Chicago of the South - Given to Decatur in the 1880s by a company formed to create a planned community, "New Decatur," just south of the original Decatur. At that time the city was home to several industries, including a boxcar plant, and home to the huge Louisville & Nashville railyards.

"Ballooning Capital of Alabama" - Bestowed by the Alabama Legislature because of the annual Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic, which brings over 50 hot air balloons to Point Mallard Park. Begun in 1978, it is one of the oldest hot-air balloon rallies in the U.S.

The Heart of the Valley - Because of Decatur's location at the very center of the Alabama portion of the Tennessee River and Tennessee Valley.

"Home of America's First Wave Pool" - Decatur is home to the first wave pool ever built in the United States at the popular Point Mallard Aquatic Center.

"Home of Meow Mix" - Decatur is home to one of the Meow Mix production facilities, and a sign reading "Decatur: Home of Meow Mix" is visible on one of the city's buildings from the Tennessee River bridge.

D-Rock or The Dec - nickname given by high school students inside Decatur. Many people outside of Decatur also refer to the city with this nickname.

"Hub of the South" - Decatur is in a convenient location nearby many important southern cities.

"City of Opportunity" - a popular name in the 1950s and 1960s due to the city's rapid growth during that era.

"Decatur where it's Greater" - a more recent phrase used by people in the area, sometimes in joking by people in larger cities such as Huntsville.

Famous Decaturites:

Seth Kimbrough, Frontman of former Unblack metal/Deathcore band Mortal Treason, and Professional BMX rider.

Joseph Abbott, Texas politician.

Mae C. Jemison, first African American woman in space.

Dean Jones, actor.

Lucas Black, actor.

Taye Biddle, football player

Philip Rivers, football player.

Charles Redding Pitt, United States Attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama; private lawyer; Democratic politician

John O'Sullivan, conservative columnist and pundit.

Gary Knotts, baseball player

Gary Redus, baseball player

Rip Sewell, baseball player

Brad Tuggle, Rhodes scholar