74-463: Maplesville is a town in Chilton County , Alabama , United States. At the 2020 census , the population was 637. It is located approximately halfway between Tuscaloosa and Montgomery on U.S. Route 82 . The town of Maplesville first began to grow in a location 3 miles (5 km) east of its present location, near Mulberry Creek . European settlers migrated to the area from Georgia and
148-568: A 5 feet (1.5 m)-high picket fence of heavy posts planted in the ground and sharpened at the top. At prominent positions, earthen forts were built with artillery in position to cover the ground over which an assault would have to be made. The North had learned of the importance of Selma to the Confederate military, and the US military planned to take the city. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman first made an effort to reach it, but after advancing from
222-464: A Confederate courier, who was found to be carrying dispatches from Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest describing his scattered forces. Wilson sent a brigade to destroy the bridge across the Cahaba River at Centreville, which cut off most of Forrest's reinforcements from reaching the area. He began a running fight with Forrest's forces that did not end until after the fall of Selma. On
296-426: A day and slept in nearby fields. The federal government provided protection in the form of National Guard and military troops. Thousands joined the march along the way. By the time the marchers reached the capital four days later, on March 25, their strength had swelled to around 25,000 people. Their moral campaign had attracted thousands from across the country. The events at Selma helped increase public support for
370-585: A depot was constructed at that location. Residents and businesspeople from the original Maplesville began moving closer to the railroad, and when the Maplesville Post Office was relocated to the railroad town in 1856, the new town was renamed Maplesville. The original town site gradually became deserted, and all that remains today is the Old Maplesville Cemetery along Highway 191 . The Old Maplesville Cemetery contains many of
444-465: A highly effective anti-personnel ammunition. The Federals suffered many casualties (including General Long) but continued their attack. Once the Union Army reached the works, there was vicious hand-to-hand fighting. Many soldiers were struck down with clubbed muskets, but they kept pouring into the works with their greater numbers. In less than 30 minutes, Long's men had captured the works protecting
518-527: A household in the town was $ 27,500, and the median income for a family was $ 36,250. Males had a median income of $ 31,042 versus $ 22,361 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 12,777. About 12.6% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 26.7% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over. 32°46′55″N 86°52′32″W / 32.781889°N 86.875517°W / 32.781889; -86.875517 Chilton County, Alabama Chilton County
592-790: A leader of the Alabama Sharecroppers Union , which worked from 1931 to 1936 to get better pay and treatment from white planters, was beaten by a mob near his field, taken to the jail in Selma and beaten more; his body was left in a field near Greensboro . In 1901, the state legislature passed a new constitution with electoral provisions, such as poll taxes and literacy tests , that effectively disenfranchised most blacks and tens of thousands of poor whites, leaving them without representation in government, and deprived them of participation in juries and other forms of citizenship. Selma, Dallas County and other jurisdictions carried out
666-417: A local lynch mob, but the mob abducted Webb from the jail and killed him. In June 1893, a lynch mob numbering 100 men seized "a black man named Daniel Edwards from the Selma jail, hanged him from a tree, and fired multiple rounds into his body" for allegedly becoming intimate with a white woman. In the 20th century, African-Americans were also lynched for labor-organizing activities. In 1935, Joe Spinner Johnson,
740-558: A lumber mill opened near the town, and the town's population grew as people moved to Maplesville to work at the mill. Maplesville incorporated in 1914, but the incorporation soon lapsed because the town failed to hold elections after the initial round. It reincorporated in 1947, and by 1951 had established a telephone system, garbage pick-up, and water system. A new town hall was completed in 1975. There are four historic sites currently recognized in Maplesville. The Walker-Klinner Farm
814-458: A minority of voters an opportunity to concentrate their support for a candidate or candidates more effectively than they can under the more traditional voting rules used in this country." In 2014, the county commission had an African-American commissioner among its seven members. However, in 2018, the county commissioners were all white males. The commission hires a County Administrator to handle daily management of county business. Chilton County
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#1732771943402888-464: A semicircle around the city. They were anchored on the north and south by the Alabama River . The works had been built two years earlier, and while neglected for the most part since, were still formidable. They were 8 to 12 feet (2.4 to 3.7 m) high, 15 feet (4.6 m) thick at the base, with a ditch 4 feet (1.2 m) wide and 5 feet (1.5 m) deep along the front. In front of this was
962-683: A stand next to the Plantersville Road (present day Broad Street). The fighting there was heavy, but by 7 p.m. the superior numbers of Union troops had managed to flank the Southern positions. The Confederates abandoned the depot as well as the inner line of works. In the darkness, the Federals rounded up hundreds of prisoners, but hundreds more escaped down the Burnsville Road, including generals Forrest, Armstrong, and Roddey. To
1036-405: A symbolic march over the bridge. By then local activists and residents had been joined by hundreds of protesters from across the country, including numerous clergy and nuns. White people made up one-third of the marchers. King pulled the marchers back from entering the county and having another confrontation with county and state forces. But that night, white minister James Reeb , who had traveled to
1110-480: A system dominated by the majority. The adoption of cumulative voting in Chilton County has enabled the minority to elect candidates of their choice by pooling their votes. Bobby Agee was elected as a Chilton County Commissioner in 1988 and again in the second cumulative voting election in 1992. Cumulative voting depends on a multi-seat election, whether at-large or by district. "The cumulative options provide
1184-514: A year after the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, nearly 11,000 black people had registered to vote in Selma, where 12,000 white people were registered. Registration increased by November, when Wilson Baker was elected as Dallas County Sheriff to replace the notorious Jim Clark . However, seven years later, black people had not been able to elect a candidate of their choice to the city council. The council's members were elected at-large by
1258-573: Is 30% less than the state average. One in every three residents in Selma lives below the state poverty line . Before discovery and settlement, the area of present-day Selma had been inhabited for thousands of years by various warring tribes of Native Americans . The Europeans encountered the historic Native American people known as the Muscogee (also known as the Creek), who had been in the area for hundreds of years. French explorers and colonists were
1332-608: Is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama . As of the 2020 census , the population was 45,014. The county seat is Clanton . Its name is in honor of William Parish Chilton, Sr. (1810–1871), a lawyer who became Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and later represented Montgomery County in the Congress of the Confederate States of America . Chilton County
1406-651: Is included in the Birmingham Metropolitan Statistical Area . In 2010, the center of population of Alabama was located in Chilton County, near the city of Jemison , an area known as Jemison Division. The county is known for its peaches and its unique landscape. It is home to swamps, prairies, and mountains due to the foothills of the Appalachians which end in the county, the Coosa River basin, and its proximity to
1480-471: Is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km), or 1.22%, is water. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 637 people, 246 households, and 163 families residing in the town. As of the census of 2007, there were 2500 people, 268 households, and 183 families residing in the town. The population density was 205.8 inhabitants per square mile (79.5/km). There were 313 housing units at an average density of 95.9 per square mile (37.0/km). The racial makeup of
1554-522: Is land and 7.9 square miles (20 km ) (1.1%) is water. As of the census of 2020, there were 45,014 people, 16,927 households, and 11,908 families residing in the county. According to the 2010 United States census , the population identifies by the following ethnicities: Chilton County is the 23rd-richest county per capita income in Alabama. As of the census , of 2000, there were 39,593 people, 15,287 households, and 11,342 families residing in
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#17327719434021628-550: Is listed on the National Register of Historic Places , and the following three locations are listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage : Maplesville is located in southwestern Chilton County at 32°46'54.800" North, 86°52'31.861" West (32.781889, -86.875517). It is located along U.S. Route 82 , which runs northwest to southeast on the south side of town. Tuscaloosa is 55 mi (89 km) to
1702-521: Is made up of seven members elected by cumulative vote (CV). "Chilton County adopted cumulative voting in 1988 as part of the settlement of a vote dilution lawsuit brought against its previous election system. According to the 1990 Census, African Americans constituted 9.9% of the county's voting age population." Although passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 enabled African Americans to register and vote, in Chilton County no African American
1776-502: Is reliably Republican at the presidential level. The last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election is Jimmy Carter , who won it by a majority in 1976 . 32°50′43″N 86°42′52″W / 32.84528°N 86.71444°W / 32.84528; -86.71444 Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County , in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to
1850-640: The Battle of Selma , in the final full month of the war. In modern times, the city is best known for the 1960s civil rights movement and the Selma to Montgomery marches , beginning with "Bloody Sunday" in March 1965, when unarmed peaceful protesters were assaulted by County and state highway police. By the end of March 1965, an estimated 25,000 people entered Montgomery to press for voting rights. This activism generated national attention for social justice. That summer,
1924-483: The Black Belt Prairie that was long a center of cotton production. Baker County was established on December 30, 1868, named for Alfred Baker , with its county seat at Grantville . Residents of the county petitioned the Alabama legislature for the renaming of their county; it was not something forced upon them. On December 17, 1874, the petitioners accepted the suggestion of Chilton County , even though
1998-649: The Dallas County Voters League (DCVL). In 1963, under the leadership of Patricia Swift Blalock , the public library of Selma-Dallas County was integrated. Against fierce opposition from Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark and his volunteer posse, black people continued their voter registration and desegregation efforts, which expanded during 1963 and the first part of 1964. Defying intimidation, economic retaliation, arrests, firings and beatings, an ever-increasing number of Dallas County blacks tried to register to vote, but few were able to do so under
2072-567: The Ossianic poem The Songs of Selma . During the Civil War , Selma was one of the South's main military manufacturing centers, producing many supplies and munitions, and building Confederate warships such as the ironclad Tennessee . The Selma iron works and foundry, where a young William Kehoe made bullets, was considered the second-most important source of weaponry for the South, after
2146-613: The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia . Half the cannon and two thirds of the fixed ammunition used by the Confederacy in the last two years of the war were made there. This strategic concentration of manufacturing capabilities eventually made Selma a target of Union raids into Alabama late in the Civil War . Because of its military importance, Selma had been fortified by three miles of earthworks that ran in
2220-468: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress to authorize federal oversight and enforcement of constitutional rights of all American citizens. Due to agriculture and industry decline, Selma has lost about a third of its peak population since the 1960s. The city is focusing on heritage tourism, to build on its role as a major influence in civil rights and desegregation. Selma is one of Alabama's poorest cities, with an average income of $ 35,500, which
2294-450: The 1960s, black people who pushed the boundaries, attempting to eat at "white-only" lunch counters or sit in the downstairs "white" section of movie theaters, were still beaten and arrested. Nearly half of Selma's residents were black, but because of the restrictive electoral laws and practices in place since the turn of the century, only one percent were registered to vote, preventing them from serving on juries or serving in local office. All
Maplesville, Alabama - Misplaced Pages Continue
2368-662: The Carolinas following the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, after the Native Americans who had been living there were defeated. The town was named after Stephen W. Maples, a merchant and the town's first postmaster. The town was located at the crossroads of two important trading routes: the Elyton Road from Selma to Birmingham , and the Fort Jackson Road from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery . By 1850,
2442-536: The Chicago Board of Trade Battery in support. Gen. Emory Upton 's Division was placed across the Range Line Road with Battery I, 4th US Artillery in support. Altogether Wilson had 9,000 troops available for the assault. The Federal commander's plan was for Upton to send in a 300-man detachment after dark to cross the swamp on the Confederate right; enter the works, and begin a flanking movement toward
2516-673: The Chief Justice had not lived within its boundaries. In 1871, the county seat was moved to what is now Clanton after the Grantville courthouse burned. In 1942, the U.S. Navy commissioned a new vessel, the USS Chilton , in honor of Chilton County. According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 701 square miles (1,820 km ), of which 693 square miles (1,790 km )
2590-415: The Selma fortifications to neutralize the enemy attack in his rear. Long's troops attacked in a single rank in three main lines, dismounted and shooting their Spencer's carbines, supported by their own artillery fire. The Confederates replied with heavy small arms and artillery fire. The Southern artillery had only solid shot on hand, while a short distance away was an arsenal which produced tons of canister,
2664-532: The Summerfield Road. Meanwhile, General Upton, observing Long's success, ordered his division forward. They succeeded in overmounting the defenses and soon U.S. flags could be seen waving over the works from Range Line Road to Summerfield Road. After the outer works fell, General Wilson led the 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment in a mounted charge down the Range Line Road toward the unfinished inner line of works. The retreating Confederate forces, upon reaching
2738-787: The afternoon of April 1, opening what would be the final full month of the war, and after skirmishing all morning, Wilson's advanced guard ran into Forrest's line of battle at Ebenezer Church, where the Randolph Road intersected the main Selma road. Forrest had hoped to bring his entire force to bear on Wilson. Delays caused by flooding, plus earlier contact with the enemy, resulted in Forrest's mustering fewer than 2,000 men, many of whom were not war veterans but home militia consisting of old men and young boys. The outnumbered and outgunned Confederates fought for more than an hour as reinforcements of Union cavalry and artillery were deployed. Forrest
2812-598: The area who reviewed the injunction, decided in favor of the demonstrators, saying: The law is clear that the right to petition one's government for the redress of grievances may be exercised in large groups ... and these rights may be exercised by marching, even along public highways. On Sunday, March 21, 1965, approximately 3,200 marchers departed for Montgomery. Marching in the front row with King were Rev. Ralph Abernathy , Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel , Greek Orthodox Father Iakovos (later Archbishop Iakovos of America ) and Roman Catholic nuns. They walked approximately 12 miles
2886-464: The arsenal and naval foundry. They left Selma heading to Montgomery. When the war ended three weeks later, they were en route to Columbus and Macon, Georgia . Selma became the seat of Dallas County in 1866 and the county courthouse was built there. Planters and other slaveholders struggled with how to deal with freed slaves after the war. Insurgents tried to keep white supremacy over the freedmen , and most whites resented former slaves being granted
2960-483: The bridge. Governor George Wallace had vowed that the march would not be permitted. Seventeen marchers were hospitalized and 50 more were treated for lesser injuries. Because of the brutal attacks, this became known as "Bloody Sunday." It was covered by national press and television news, reaching many American and international homes. Two days after the first march, on March 9, 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr. led
3034-400: The cause; later that year the U.S. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , a bill introduced, supported and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson . It provided for federal oversight and enforcement of voting rights for all citizens in state or jurisdictions where patterns of underrepresentation showed discrimination against certain populations such as ethnic minorities. By March 1966,
Maplesville, Alabama - Misplaced Pages Continue
3108-461: The center moving along the line of fortifications. A single gun from Upton's artillery would signal the attack to be undertaken by the entire Federal Corps. At 5 pm, however, Gen. Eli Long 's ammunition train in the rear was attacked by advance elements of Forrest's scattered forces approaching Selma. Both Long and Upton had positioned significant numbers of troops in their rear for just such an event. But, Long decided to begin his assault against
3182-419: The citizens of Selma who were "volunteered" to man the works. Altogether this force numbered less than 4,000. As the Selma fortifications were built to be defended by 20,000 men, Forrest's soldiers had to stand 10 to 12 feet (3.7 m) apart to try to cover the works. Wilson's force arrived in front of the Selma fortifications at 2 pm. He had placed Gen. Eli Long's Division across the Summerfield Road with
3256-459: The city from Boston, was attacked and killed in Selma by members of the KKK. King and other civil-rights leaders filed for court protection for a third, larger-scale march from Selma to Montgomery, the state capital. King was also in touch with the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who arranged for protection for another march. Frank Minis Johnson, Jr. , the federal district court judge for
3330-480: The council. On January 12, 2023 , Selma was hit by a large and destructive EF2 tornado. Many buildings were heavily damaged throughout the city and two people were injured. Selma is located at 32°24′26″N 87°1′16″W / 32.40722°N 87.02111°W / 32.40722; -87.02111 , west of Montgomery. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 14.4 square miles (37 km ), of which 13.9 square miles (36 km )
3404-424: The county. The population density was 57 people per square mile (22 people/km ). There were 17,651 housing units at an average density of 25 units per square mile (9.7 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 86.71% White , 10.61% Black or African American , 0.28% Native American , 0.18% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 1.51% from other races , and 0.69% from two or more races. Nearly 2.91% of
3478-501: The entire city, and the white majority had managed to control the elections. Threatened with a lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act, the council voted to adopt a system of electing its ten members from single-member districts. After the change, five African-American Democrats were elected to the city council, including activist Frederick Douglas Reese , who became a major power in the city; five white people were also elected to
3552-541: The first Europeans to explore this area. In 1732, they recorded the site of present-day Selma as Écor Bienville. Later Anglo-Americans called it the Moore's Bluff settlement. Selma was incorporated in 1820. The city was planned and named as Selma by William R. King , a politician and planter from North Carolina who was a future vice president of the United States. The name, meaning 'high seat' or 'throne', came from
3626-415: The inner works, united and fired repeatedly together into the charging column. This broke up the charge and sent General Wilson sprawling to the ground when his favorite horse was wounded. He quickly remounted his stricken horse and ordered a dismounted assault by several regiments. Mixed units of Confederate troops had also occupied the Selma railroad depot and the adjoining banks of the railroad bed to make
3700-543: The members of the city council were elected by at-large voting. Black people were prevented from registering to vote by means of a literacy test , administered in a subjective way, as well as through economic retaliation organized by the White Citizens' Council in response to civil rights activism, Ku Klux Klan violence and police repression. After the Supreme Court case Smith v. Allwright (1944) ended
3774-487: The modern civil-rights movement. On March 7, 1965, approximately 600 civil rights marchers departed Selma on U.S. Highway 80 , heading east to the capital. After they passed over the crest of the Edmund Pettus Bridge and left the boundaries of the city, they were confronted by county sheriff's deputies and state troopers, who attacked them using tear gas , horses and billy clubs , and drove them back across
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#17327719434023848-429: The northwest, and Montgomery is 49 mi (79 km) to the southeast, both via US-82. Alabama State Route 22 runs west to east through the center of town, leading east 15 mi (24 km) to Clanton , the Chilton County seat, and southwest 29 mi (47 km) to Selma . According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.6 km), of which 3.3 square miles (8.5 km)
3922-424: The original town of Maplesville had a population of 809. The town had two horse-racing tracks, which brought visitors to the town, and had several inns and taverns to accommodate the stagecoach traffic. The original town site began to decline in the early 1850s, after two railway lines were completed 3 miles west of the town. The Alabama & Tennessee River Railway was constructed through in 1853. That same year,
3996-446: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 15,287 households, of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.80% were non-families. Nearly 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
4070-452: The right to vote. As in other southern states, white Democrats regained political power in the mid-1870s after suppressing black voting through violence and fraud; Reconstruction officially ended in 1877 when federal troops were withdrawn. The white Democratic state legislature imposed Jim Crow laws of racial segregation in public facilities and other means of white supremacy. The city developed its own police force. County law enforcement
4144-478: The segregation laws passed by the state. Especially in the post-World War II period, legal challenges by the NAACP against Southern discriminatory laws enabled blacks to more freely exercise their constitutional rights as citizens. Selma maintained segregated schools and other facilities, enforcing the state law in new enterprises such as movie theaters. The Jim Crow laws and customs were enforced with violence. In
4218-431: The state's political system for decades in the 20th century before Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . After that, African Americans were able finally to register and vote in the county and state for the first time since the late 19th century. In counties in which there is a minority population and members are elected at-large or by single-member districts, minorities may be unable to elect representatives in
4292-544: The struggle at Brown Chapel AME Church on January 2, 1965. He had been invited by local leaders to help their movement. Beginning in January 1965, SCLC and SNCC initiated a revived voting-rights campaign designed to focus national attention on the systematic denial of black voting rights in Alabama, and particularly in Selma. Over the next weeks, more than 3,000 African-Americans were arrested, and they suffered police violence and economic retaliation. Jimmie Lee Jackson , who
4366-465: The subjective system administered by whites. In the summer of 1964, a sweeping injunction issued by local judge James Hare barred any gathering of three or more people under sponsorship of SNCC, SCLC or DCVL, or with the involvement of 41 named civil rights leaders. This injunction temporarily halted civil-rights activity until Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. defied it by speaking to a crowd about
4440-482: The surrounding area. In 1865, the train depot was destroyed in a raid by Union general James H. Wilson , as Wilson's Raiders marched on to Selma. It was replaced soon after the Civil War , but was destroyed by fire in 1911. Maplesville continued to prosper after the Mobile and Ohio Railroad ran a line through the town in 1897, and many of the historic buildings in the town today were built during that period. In 1901,
4514-481: The town was 69.94% White , 29.61% Black or African American and 0.45% Native American . 0.89% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 268 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who
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#17327719434024588-442: The town's original inhabitants. This cemetery is also home to the oldest grave in Chilton County , dating back to 1833. However, the cemetery is just a fraction of its former size. Today, roughly 50 of the original tombstones remain. During the construction of Highway 191 , several of the graves were destroyed during the process. Because of Maplesville's abundant rail access, it became a shipping point for cotton and other goods from
4662-926: The use of white primaries by the Democratic Party, the Alabama state legislature passed a law giving voting registrars more authority to challenge prospective voters under the literacy test. In Selma, the county registration board opened doors for registration only two days a month, arrived late and took long lunches. In early 1963, Bernard Lafayette and Colia Lafayette of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) began organizing in Selma alongside local civil rights leaders Sam, Amelia and Bruce Boynton, Rev. L.L. Anderson of Tabernacle Baptist Church, J.L. Chestnut (Selma's first black attorney), SCLC Citizenship School teacher Marie Foster , public school teacher Marie Moore, Frederick D. Reese and others active with
4736-691: The west as far as Meridian, Mississippi , within 107 miles (172 km) of Selma, his forces retreated back to the Mississippi River. Gen. Benjamin Grierson , invading with a cavalry force from Memphis, Tennessee , was intercepted and returned. Gen. Rousseau made a dash in the direction of Selma, but was misled by his guides and struck the railroad forty miles east of Montgomery . On March 30, 1865, Union General James H. Wilson detached Gen. John T. Croxton 's brigade to destroy all Confederate property at Tuscaloosa . Wilson's forces captured
4810-474: The west, many Confederate soldiers fought the pursuing Union Army all the way down to the eastern side of Valley Creek. They escaped in the darkness by swimming across the Alabama River near the mouth of Valley Creek (where the present day Battle of Selma Reenactment is held.) The Union troops looted the city that night and burned many businesses and private residences. They spent the next week destroying
4884-545: The west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River , the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census . About 80% of the population is African-American. Selma was a trading center and market town during the antebellum years of King Cotton in the South. It was also an important armaments-manufacturing and iron shipbuilding center for the Confederacy during the Civil War , surrounded by miles of earthen fortifications. The Confederate forces were defeated during
4958-483: Was $ 39,505. Males had a median income of $ 31,006 versus $ 21,275 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 15,303. About 12.60% of families and 15.70% of the population were below the poverty line , including 19.40% of those under age 18 and 18.20% of those age 65 or over. Chilton County contains one public school district. There are approximately 7,700 students in public PK-12 schools in Chilton County. School districts include: The County Commission
5032-423: Was 2.57, and the average family size was 3.00. 25.70% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.90 males. The median household income was $ 32,588 and the median family income
5106-450: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males. The median income for
5180-474: Was elected to the County Commission until the first cumulative voting election, held in 1988. African Americans in Alabama had been essentially disenfranchised by the 1901 state constitution, which required payment of a poll tax and qualification by a literacy test in order to register to vote. Discriminatory in practice as administered by white officials, this system excluded most blacks from
5254-504: Was protected by fortifications that circled much of the city; it was protected on the north and south by the Alabama River . The wall was high and deep, surrounded by a ditch and picket fence. Earthen forts were built to cover the grounds with artillery fire. Forrest's defenders consisted of his Tennessee escort company, McCullough 's Missouri Regiment, Crossland's Kentucky Brigade, Roddey's Alabama Brigade, Frank Armstrong 's Mississippi Brigade, General Daniel W. Adams ' state reserves, and
5328-471: Was run by an elected county sheriff, whose jurisdiction included the grounds of the county courthouse. The county courthouse and jail were scenes of numerous lynchings of African-Americans , as sometimes mobs would take prisoners from the jail and hang them before trial. In February 1892, Willy Webb was put in the jail in Selma after police arrested him in Waynesville. The police intended to save Webb from
5402-423: Was unarmed, was killed in a café in nearby Marion after state police broke up a peaceful protest in the town. Activists planned a larger, more public march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery to publicize their cause. It was initiated and organized by James Bevel , SCLC's Director of Direct Action, who was directing SCLC's Selma Movement. This march represented one of the political and emotional peaks of
5476-413: Was wounded by a saber-wielding Union captain, whom he shot and killed with his revolver. Finally, a Union cavalry charge broke the Confederate militia, causing Forrest to be flanked on his right. He was forced to retreat. Early the next morning, Forrest reached Selma; he advised Gen. Richard Taylor , departmental commander, to leave the city. Taylor did so after giving Forrest command of the defense. Selma
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