Lowndes County, Alabama

Lowndes County
County
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°09′N 86°39′W
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Founded	January 20, 1830
Seat	Hayneville
Largest city	Fort Deposit
Area
• Total	725 sq mi (1,880 km2)
• Land	718 sq mi (1,860 km2)
• Water	7 sq mi (20 km2)  (0.98%)%
Population  (2000)
• Total	13,473
• Density	8/sq mi (3/km2)

Lowndes County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of William Lowndes, a member of the United States Congress from South Carolina. As of 2000 the population was 13,473. Its county seat is Hayneville.

History

Lowndes County, Alabama was established on January 20, 1830.

The county is the site of a rare criminal case. In 1928, Two individuals, Lousie Butler and George Yelder, were convicted of murdering a person who was later found alive.

Civil Rights Era

The county was referred to as "Bloody Lowndes," the rusty buckle of Alabama's black belt. In 1965, a full century after the American Civil War, things hadn't changed much: 86 white families owned 90 percent of the land in the county and controlled the government. Not one black resident was registered to vote.

The success of the Selma to Montgomery marches, though, encouraged civil rights leaders to believe they could fight racism even in Bloody Lowndes. "The Lowndes County Freedom Organization" was founded in the county as a new, independent political party designed to help blacks stand up to murder and intimidation.

Organized by the young, dynamic civil rights leader Stokely Carmichael of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lowndes residents launched an intensive effort to register blacks to vote in County.

SNCC's plan was simple: get enough people to vote so blacks might control the local government and redirect services to black residents -- 80 percent of whom lived below the poverty line. Carmichael and others organized registration drives, demonstrations, and political education classes in support of the black residents. In 1966, the Lowndes County Freedom Organization -- having adopted the emblem of the black panther in opposition to the white-dominated Alabama Democratic party's white rooster -- entered several local residents as candidates in the county races.

Whites in Lowndes County reacted strongly to the LCFO. In retaliation for civil rights work, white landowners would evict black sharecroppers, leaving many blacks homeless and unemployed. The SNCC and Lowndes County leaders worked to help these families stay together and remain in the county. They bought tents, cots, heaters, food, and water and helped several families build a temporary "tent city". Despite harassment — including shots regularly fired into the encampment — residents persevered for nearly two years as organizers helped them find new jobs and look for permanent housing. Whites also refused to serve known LCFO members in stores and restaurants, while several small riots broke out over the issue. However, the LCFO pushed forward and continued to organize and register voters.

But it wasn't enough. The black candidates were defeated. While their attempt was unsuccessful, the LCFO continued to fight and their goal of democratic, community control of politics spread into the wider civil rights movement.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 725 square miles (1,878 km²), of which, 718 square miles (1,859 km²) of it is land and 7 square miles (18 km²) of it (0.98%) is water.

Major Highways

• Interstate 65
• U.S. Highway 31
• U.S. Highway 80
• State Route 21
• State Route 97

Adjacent Counties

• Autauga County (north)
• Montgomery County (east)
• Crenshaw County (southeast)
• Butler County (south)
• Wilcox County (southwest)
• Dallas County (west)

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 13,473 people, 4,909 households, and 3,588 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile (7/km²). There were 5,801 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 73.37% Black or African American, 25.86% White, 0.11% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. 0.63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,909 households out of which 35.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.90% were married couples living together, 25.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.90% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the county the population was spread out with 30.20% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $23,050, and the median income for a family was $28,935. Males had a median income of $27,694 versus $20,137 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,457. About 26.60% of families and 31.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.70% of those under age 18 and 26.60% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Benton
• Fort Deposit
• Gordonville
• Hayneville
• Letohatchee
• Lowndesboro
• Mosses
• White Hall

External links

• Welcome To Lowndes County, Alabama

32°09′00″N 86°38′55″W